I love that I've been asked to do so many engagement session lately! Ariel and Steve were really fun to work with and I love being able to shoot locally in Olympia. I've been to Burfoot park many times but this was my first time doing a photography session there. Despite my familiarity we got a little lost in the woods on the way back but they just laughed about it.
When Grace first contacted me about an engagement session she said my photos brought tears to her eyes. Woah that's a high bar to clear! She and her fiance Michael were getting married in just a few weeks and what they had hoped would be an intimate ceremony had grown to include almost 200 guests! I knew I wanted to do something intimate and special for them that highlighted the city of Seattle since their wedding was taking place in Chicago. I asked them what they like to do around Seattle and since they both love riding bikes at Gasworks park and getting beers at Fremont Brewing company obviously that was the perfect location. The park was a little crowded but we had beautiful weather and a really great time capturing the love between them. Congratulations you two and I hope your wedding is fun and beautiful!
Meg and Drew met in Arizona and moved to Washington for work but thankfully they were hearty enough to brave the cold for this beautiful Fall engagement session. We met up first for a consultation to discuss some of the details of their upcoming July wedding at Trinity Tree Farm. They told me they are not big fans of posing for the camera and were mostly interested in candid images which is my specialty! When we headed to Luther Burbank to do photos I told them to just embrace the awkwardness of being in front of the camera and pretty soon we were all having fun with it, especially when their crazy little dog Ava joined us! I can't wait to photograph their wedding next summer!
Kristen contacted me about a week before she and her fiance Bradley were planning to get married in a small ceremony at Thurston Courthouse. Thankfully since it's November and the wedding was on a week day I was free. We braved the cold and met up beforehand at Capital Lake as it had just snowed heavily that morning. There were still a lot of fall colors and I got some great shots of the two of them before we headed up to the courthouse. Bradley is in the service and is being sent to Germany shortly which is why they wanted to get married. Kristen was overcome with emotion while saying her vows, girl I feel you! Every time I even think about what I'm going to say for my vows I get a little teary. Even though it was a short, small ceremony these two clearly have a lot of love for each other and I was so happy to capture it.
It's always a little risky to schedule an outdoor wedding in the fall in the Pacific Northwest but if you get lucky with the weather it's worth it for those beautiful vibrant fall colors. Jenn and Matt were such a fun couple to work with even though they were super nervous in front of the camera at first. They barely wanted any group photos so I was able to spend the majority of my energy focused on getting fun candids which is my absolute favorite. They didn't have a DJ so I wasn't expecting their friends and family to dance much but I was wrong about that! There was dancing, there were rowdy sing alongs and there was love and fun for everyone in attendance.
Katie and David loved my work so much that they were ready to hire before we even spoke on the phone. It is so flattering and encouraging to know that your clients really appreciate your skill and trust you completely! That and the fact that their wedding was so beautiful and had so many thoughtful details made it such a thrill to photograph. The ceremony took place up in Snoqualmie Pass at the absolutely stunning Salish Lodge and was my first mountain wedding. The scenery was breathtaking, the dining room was gorgeous and the guests were so much fun! This was definitely one of my favorite weddings of the summer.
Tabitha and Darrick found me through my listing on A Practical Wedding, which is my favorite wedding blog. We met at a cafe in Portland and bonded over our love for feminist scifi and they told me they were hoping for a pretty simple, laid back ceremony that would take place on Mount Tabor. Hell yes! On the day of the wedding we were all a little nervous because there had been so much smoke in the air from the summer wildfires but luckily it seemed to clear up a bit on their day. Then as Tabitha was putting on her dress there was a catastrophic wardrobe malfunction- her zipper separated making it impossible to close. With a cool head and a pair of pliers I managed to get it back together and save the day. Phew! The rest of the day went off without a hitch and Tabitha and Darrick had a beautiful ceremony surrounded by friends and family. It even rained a bit during the reception at the Kennedy School, which was a welcome relief after so much smoke and drought.
Kristen and Cade really put an emphasis on keeping it low stress and fun for their wedding day. It was a beautiful sunny day at Jacob Smith House which was perfect for all the yard games they had set up. They even included an amazing prize bucket that pretty much everyone got to dip into. There was also a delicious grilled cheese truck and yummy cupcakes for everyone.
Gavin and Nell tied the knot in a sweet backyard ceremony at a family vacation home on Puget Sound. I loved that Nell chose to wear a beautiful gold sequin gown rather than a traditional wedding dress. Also instead of a wedding cake they had a dozen different pies made by family and friends. Their dinner was catered by Streetzeria pizza company so they had pies x2!
When Lara contacted me a mere week in advance of her small backyard ceremony I assumed it would be a fairly casual get together. When I got there and saw that everyone was dressed to the nines, with flowers, cake and oh my gosh her gorgeous dress! I was blown away. The only guests in attendance were their closest family members so I felt particularly honored to be a witness to Lara and Miguel's union. In addition to a traditional ceremony they also included the Hispanic custom of blessing coins (las arras) and passing them between each other as a way of promising to provide for each other, and the Lazo cord which is wrapped around the bride and groom to symbolize unity. The coins and rope were then given to Lara's sisters for safe keeping.
I love classical music and have been to quite a few performances at Benaroya Hall in Seattle so I was so excited to meet Julie. She is a classically trained violin player for the Olympia Symphony who met her husband Morris when she was giving lessons to his daughter. I knew their wedding would have poise and feature their love for music and Julie's friends from the Symphony did not disappoint. Having a string quartet at your wedding will never not be classy!
Emily and Jesen were a little nervous about planning their Washington wedding all the way from Massachusetts but everything came together beautifully. They rented a gorgeous beach house for their intimate ceremony that included about 30 of their closest friends and family. They tossed tradition by getting ready together which I thought was so sweet! It was such an honor to part of this little gathering that was my first wedding of the 2017 season.
I'm 34 and I've never been married so you can imagine I've experienced my fair share of heartbreak and disappointment when it comes to relationships. A few years ago I pretty much made peace with the fact that I was happy with who I was and being single, even if it meant dying alone. That didn't stop me from dating though! I'd been on OkCupid off and on for years and had nearly given up when I got a message from a guy who was handsome, smart and referenced Nick Cave (one of my favorite musicians) on his profile. I had to meet him! We instantly connected on our first date and have been together since. I fall in love with him more and more every day. Meeting Hans has given me the confidence (not to mention the free time now that I'm not dating anymore) to pursue my dream of starting a photography business. So when you come to me with your heart all aflutter, engaged and dreaming of the life you're going to spend with your love, know that I am right there with you.
Nick and Sal met a few years ago in downtown Olympia when Sal was stationed at Fort Lewis and they have been dedicated to each other ever since. These guys were up for an adventure which made this a really fun session. First we went out to the abandoned logging town of Bordeaux which is hidden about 20 minutes south of Olympia. The graffitied building in the background used to be an old bank! Then we headed out to the infamous Mima Mounds. These guys were so handsome and comfortable with each other, it made me really happy to be a lgbt friendly photographer in Olympia. Sal is about to head to the Middle East for one last tour and when he returns they will finally be able to settle down together. Stay safe Sal!
You've heard of a story book wedding so why not a comic book wedding? When Laurel and Joe told me they were doing a Superman vs Batman theme I knew they were going to be so fun to work with. Laurel spent hours making paper flowers out of old comic books, not just for the center pieces but also for her and her four bridesmaids bouquets. They held their ceremony out by the gazebo and Joe said such beautiful words for his vows, I hate to admit it but I got a little misty eyed. Thankfully it was raining so hopefully nobody noticed. The intermittent drizzling was not nearly enough to dampen the spirit of love and celebration in the air and I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all!
Amy and Bergen had a short and sweet ceremony on a beautiful, sunny September day. It was a family friends estate and it was just the perfect place for an intimate ceremony and dinner with family and friends. And it even though it was a small group of people they made it super fun with yard games and beer pong. I was particularly impressed by the incredibly detailed cake that featured a mountain and a cute little camping scene in honor of the bride and groom's favorite activity.
I was so excited when Cassandra first contacted me about her wedding at the Lord Mansion in Olympia. We met at Olympia Coffee Roasters and totally hit it off. On top of the fact that she is an absolute stunner it's always a little bonus to photograph at a local venue. The historic Lord Mansion has beautiful grounds that gave me so many different looks even though it's less than an acre. The coach house was the perfect little space for a buffet and later dancing. Cassandra and Michael were so adorable and totally goofy with each other. The party was a little bittersweet for their friends knowing that Michael was being restationed to Texas in a few months but I'm so glad I was there and able to capture this happy time of everyone being all together.
This wonderfully intimate backyard ceremony was both Tara and Kevin's second marriage, and they're both bringing three beautiful children each to make a new BIG happy family. All six of their children were incredibly excited to see Tara and Kevin come together and commit to their love for each other. Tara surprised Kevin by singing "At Last", his favorite song, as she emerged from the forest to join him at the altar. And the children surprised them both by singing together for their new parents after they said their vows. After Kevin dug up a bottle of bourbon that had been buried in the yard the day before (a southern custom I'm told) everyone had a toast to the new couple.
I've known Rhea for almost ten years so it was so exciting to watch her get married and even better to be able to capture it. Rhea and Kieran weren't going to have a wedding photographer but I was like GIRL, NO. I really wanted them to have photos so I gave them a friend's discount that worked for their budget. Normally I wouldn't want to work at a friend's wedding but their's was so laid back and they trusted me to do whatever I wanted that I really had fun with it. I'm so glad I was able to capture these beautiful images of such a fun and special day.
I'll be honest, this was my first wedding I've done professionally since working with families and babies over the past four years and I was particularly nervous since it was going to be on the beach in bright sun in the middle of the day. But my resourcefulness kicked in and I managed to find some great places for group photos and portraits. Kat and Thom were so gracious and sweet together. They had their intimate wedding reception at the Galway Irish Pub which was fitting since Kat comes from a big Irish family. I'm ready and excited to photograph more weddings this season in Olympia and elsewhere in Washington.
