Washington Coast Elopement & Celebration | Lindsey & Jared

If you’re stuck between wanting an elopement, feeling like this huge moment is something you want to keep quiet and special, but also want the chance to be able to celebrate with everyone else in your life, well, there’s good news. Do both. In a stunning blush wedding dress. In Lindsey & Jared’s case, on the same day. We met at Washington Park in Anacortes, WA, where they had a stunning intimate wedding ceremony on the rocks overlooking the water. Lindsey, Jared and their pastor on one peak and the guests on another. Visually, it was striking. I scrambled up and down the rocks so many times to get different angles!

What I love about elopements is that we have plenty of time for amazing portraits. It really comes down to less of posing and taking photos and more of conversation, laughter, talking about how crazy and weird it feels to be on your own wedding day, and just being in the moment. Your photos shouldn’t feel like you’re hitting pause on the enjoyment of the day, it should be part of it.

Following a small (and amazing!) dinner prepared by family and friends, and carried down the steep cliffside to the rocks, we all headed back to Seattle to the larger celebration. Everyone was waiting there with cocktails and charcuterie, excited to greet the new couple. I loved seeing the way their community surrounded them with love and really created their wedding day from top to bottom. Capturing these weddings is such an honor, and it’s a gift to be in the room soaking in all those good vibes and beautiful feelings.

Lindsey and Jared are incredible people (see their engagement session here). Their love for each other is so old-soul. They channel a spirit of rock and roll, effortless in their ease with each other, bucking tradition to create a path all their own. I was so honored to capture their wedding day.

One of the peak moments was the birdseed exit. You’ll see.

Enjoy.

 

Great Hall at Green Lake Untraditional Wedding | Erinn & Raj

Let me begin by saying that I love weddings of all kinds. Even if everything has been done a million times, I still well up during several parts of the day, just floored with what I’m witnessing. Humans are so incredibly complex and deep-feeling, and weddings are a chance to let it all flow.

That said, I love when couples come to me with a unique vision for their day. Yeah, it’s fun to photograph something unique, but moreover, it means they’ve put something of themselves into it. They’ve crafted a day around their love, and to me, there’s nothing more exciting than capturing authentic joy.

So after finding me on Junebug Weddings, when Erinn told me the plans of their wedding, I was so on board. Getting ready together, a classic portrait session, a tiny private ceremony followed by a big celebration with all their family and friends. The best of ALL worlds. If you’re not one for committing your life to someone with a crowd hanging, this is such a great way of including everyone in the joy without making it a performance, if that’s how it tends to feel to you. They kept the day simple and focused on the most important things: their love story and the ones they share it with.

The Great Hall at Green Lake is a historic and beautiful space for a wedding. I love its great amounts of natural light (especially later in the afternoon when the sun comes streaming in through the big windows!). I also love that it has string lights set up, which make any — I say ANY — wedding more beautiful. Any kind of glowy light you can add to your wedding, man, do it.

Enjoy.

 

Seattle Family Photographer | Parr Family

I’ve loved following along with my clients as they grow their families. The ongoing relationships I get to build with people I come to care a lot about is one of the biggest perks of this job. Having a toddler myself, I understand the value of freezing time to capture his little dimple and chubby hands and sweet smiles so I can always look back and remember how it felt to love my son at this time. When I think about capturing it in photos, it’s so much more than just a couple shots to consider for a Christmas card. It’s nice to have a few photos where we’re all looking and smiling, but I want the LIFE stuff. The real stuff. The quirks and the looks and the interactions and the touches. I’ve always considered myself a lifestyle photographer, and value candid moments over posed ones, and since having my own baby that’s become even more certain.

Here’s a session from sunnier days with a family that I adore. Our boys are about the same age and growing with them has been a treasure. We shot these at Volunteer Park in Seattle, a great place for family photos because there’s so much to work with in such a small space. Note that even though the conservatory is really beautiful, a special photo permit is required to take pictures inside.

 

Olymic Rooftop Pavilion at Hotel Ballard Wedding | Alma & Drew

There are just some days that I feel so, so, lucky to do what I do. Standing alongside Alma and Drew as they began their lives together was just joyful. Two super beautiful souls. None of the day felt like work for a second and it was incredible to be a part of it.

I was excited to finally capture a wedding at the Olympic Rooftop Pavilion in historic downtown Ballard. Seattle has many great neighborhoods, but Ballard is my favorite. Hotel Ballard is beautiful, and has the Rooftop Pavilion as well as Stoneburner. It feels classy, but it’s simple. I loved the view of the city from the rooftop.

They weren’t super traditional, so I wanted to try something a little nontraditional for their first look. I love some of the sharp corners in Ballard, and the angular buildings like MacLeod’s. I had them stand on either side and come around the corner at the same time (I think this came to me in a dream or in remembering something from Spice World. Either way I’m glad it came.). I loved it. It felt like equally presenting each other to the other person, a here we are on mutual terms. :)

My advice to couples is to schedule some golden hour portraits! It was so fun to head out with a couple of their closest friends to Discovery Park to get some sun-soaked moments before delving into the reception activities. It’s your wedding, so do whatever the hell you want!

The talented vendors:

Venue: Olympic Rooftop Pavilion

Photography: Emily Keeney Photography

Florist: Seattle Flower Lab

Dress: W.too via A&Be Seattle

Veil: Britten Weddings

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik

Rings: Blue Nile

Bridesmaid Dresses: Birdy Grey

Groom & Groomsmen: Men’s Wearhouse

Makeup & Hair: OffWhite

DJ: Braden Landon

Officiant: David Marshall

Cake: Morfey’s Cake

Desserts: Stoneburner & La Parisienne

Rentals: Vintage Ambiance

Photobooth: Drunken Pixel

Invitations & Welcome Sign: Shine Wedding Invitations

This wedding was also shared on the aandbe blog here.