Kelly Chandler

You never know what you are going to get for weather in Seattle in January.  But somebody must be living right….because Kelsey Strand and Mark Kincaid were blessed with a perfect day for a January wedding at The Four Seasons in Seattle.  The morning of their wedding the sky looked a bit dark and I was worried that the rain would be fierce.  But as I drove across the 520 bridge I saw that the threat of rain was quickly disappearing.

Kelsey has exquisite taste and every time I turned around there was something else magnificent to photograph.   When I arrived and saw these Jimmy Choo shoes and her gorgeous dress, I could barely wait get my gear unloaded.  I was eager to get to work capturing the beauty of the day.

Marcella’s la Boutique helped Kelsey find the perfect Lazaro dress.  A ballerina for the past 22 years, nothing suited her better than this dress with layers and layers of tool.  The crystal and flowered belt on the dress was amazing.  I loved the feather accent on her bouquet by Ring Around the Rose Florist.  It added just the right touch of graceful femininity.

 Four Seasons Hotel was the site for both the ceremony and reception. Located just a block from Pike Place market in downtown Seattle, the photo opportunities are limitless.

And of course, you can’t visit Pike Place without a photo by the famous pig.

I used some fun lighting at the Pike Place Gum Wall to create the illusion of it being night time.  We had quite a crowd standing by watching but Kelsey and Mark didn’t seem to mind.  They had no problem at all snuggling up and kissing for this shot.

 Now this is a good group of friends and family….it was barely above freezing with temperatures in the mid-thirties and yet not one person complained about being cold.

The new Seattle Ferris Wheel on the pier made for a fun backdrop in our photos as the sun set and the clouds darkened.

Waiting for the wedding can make for a long day for little ones.  But Kelsey’s nieces found entertainment people watching on the street below.

With this ring……

During the ceremony I caught this moment of Kelsey’s mom and dad.  They look so proud.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Mark Kincaid!

As guests enjoyed cocktail hour, the ceremony site was transformed into this gorgeous reception room.

Kelsey and her dad Greg share a very special moment on the dance floor.

If you want a great party DJ Scott Dulin is your man.   He always gets the crowd moving.

As I drove home from Kelsey and Mark’s wedding the skies opened up and dumped rain so hard that my windshield wipers were on high.  I just smiled and thought how fortunate we were to get a beautiful day to photograph outside in January.

Meet Peter and Katrina - two of the most fun people ever.  Katrina was a bridesmaid in a wedding I photographed a few years ago.  When she and Peter got engaged, they contacted me to see if they could fly me to California to photograph their wedding.   I always love to shoot in new locations and to travel, so I was excited to have the opportunity.  Knowing how fun Katrina was as a bridesmaid, I could only imagine what we were up for on her big day.  They flew up to Seattle and when I met Peter and heard the details of their day, I knew it was going to be an event not to be believed.

Every detail of Katrina and Peter’s day was exquisite.  From the custom made hanger for her wedding dress to the Christian Louboutin Cinderella shoes.

My assistant Christiana and I arrived on Thursday to scout out the area.  Katrina picked us up and we spent a fabulous day together finding little treasured spots to offer tons of diversity in our photos.  Katrina was willing to give me whatever time I wanted on the day of the wedding for photos (can we say dream bride).  We started in Spreckles, a small town outside of Monterey, California.  It was literally like a throwback to Smalltown, USA…complete with the vintage Coke sign painted on the side of the corner grocery store.

Katrina and her father had always talked about fixing up a 57 Chevy together.  He surprised Katrina in February with this beautiful 57 Chevy Bel Air.  It was the perfect ride for the wedding day photos.

Despite living in California…..You won’t meet bigger WSU Cougar fans that Katrina and her family.  Pete is a graduate from San Luis Obispo but he is an honorary Coug and he loves coming up to Seattle to cheer on the Cougs and the annual Coug/Husky football game.

Look at how happy Peter looks. Such a fantastic guy!

Across from the corner store was this lettuce field….who knew they grew the Artisan lettuce in rows to cut, wash and bag on site.  I loved the colorful lines it created in the background.

One little treasure we found when scouting out the area was this old abandoned chapel.  We literally had to climb over a chain link fence that was partially knocked over to get to it.  Don’t worry, we stepped on the fence to hold it down for Katrina so she wouldn’t catch her dress.  I loved that Katrina and Peter were willing to do whatever I wanted to get the interesting and fun shots that I have envisioned.

Notice how the graffiti says “St. Peter”.  How ironic is that?  I’d say it was right on target with that one.  Peter is wonderful and totally adores his bride.

Hello beautiful!

Katrina has a bit of a shoe fetish.  She wore three different pairs during the wedding.  Some crystal flip flops, her red boots and finally the Louboutin Crystal Cinderella Stilettos.  Oh and for bridesmaids gifts, how about taking her girls shopping in Vegas on a bachelorette party and buying each girl their choice of black Christian Louboutin shoes.

You can’t get married in Monterey without a visit to the beach and to the Fisherman’s Wharf.

Katrina and Peter’s favorite place to go for World Famous Chowder….Old Fisherman’s Grotto. Yes, those are chowder shots.

On to the wedding.  Now when I mentioned earlier that the details were exquisite, I wasn’t kidding.  Peter is a pilot and proposed to Katrina after their first solo flight together in a private plane.  Peter told Katrina that since she trusted him enough to fly with him, would she trust him for the rest of her life and marry him.  Every detail of their day was in someway connected to airplanes.  Save the date cards were printed on old airplane tear tickets.  Party favors were small bags of peanuts with mini bottles of Crown Royal like you get on an airplane and they were displayed in vintage suitcases.  And best of all, the wedding was in a private airplane hanger with 5 vintage airplanes on display.  Lynn and his daughter drove down the taxiway in the 57 Chevy arriving at the ceremony just in time for the hangar doors to open and the guests to get a first glimpse of the blushing bride.

Paper airplanes were tucked into the back of each guest’s chair imprinted “When the newlyweds walk you way…gently toss and yell hoorah!”

I had a conversation with Katrina’s father early during our visit.  He carries these stones in his pocket everywhere he goes.  They signify special times in his life and memories that make him smile.  The day of the rehearsal dinner I stumbled across a store that had this “unity” rock and I simply couldn’t pass it by.  I bought it to give to Lynn to signify the day his little girl got married.

The food at this wedding was nothing short of amazing.  The perimeter of the tarmac was lined with food trucks.  Babaloo’s Cuban Cuisine, Mansmith’s Barbecue, Tacos Pachero, The Pizza Gypse Woodfired Pizza. YUM!

Their dancing was a entertainment at it’s finest.  Katrina and Peter had a choreographed dance that was nothing short of spectacular.

Their dance was followed by a father/daughter dance that featured 7 snips of songs and a routine that made me laugh so hard I cried.

As a surprise for Peter, Katrina had a grooms cake made by Marina Sousa from Just Cake.  It was an exact replica of the plane he proposed to Katrina in (shown behind in this photo).

Thank you Peter and Katrina for an amazing 4 days!  You treated Christiana and I like family and we loved being there to capture your events with photos to cherish.

A big thanks to Karissa Paxton of Coastside Couture for helping coordinate the wedding and keeping things running smoothly the day of the wedding.

I am excited to announce that my photography is on display at Starbucks in Pine Lake through May 15th.   Stop by Starbucks at 3016 Issaquah Pine Lake Road in Sammamish to see a variety of my work gracing the walls for customers to enjoy.  It is truly an honor to be their featured artist.

A special thanks to Pink Blossom Events for posting this blog of a wedding that I photographed this summer.  Robert and Linda were wonderful to work with and all of their vendors were top notch.  Click on the photos and you can see the entire story of Robert and Linda’s big day.

This was my favorite shot from a wedding last month at Newcastle Golf Club.  We took a golf cart just after sunset and ventured out on the course. Erin and Mike were willing to do whatever I asked, including trekking into the tall grasses for this shot.  Thanks for being so adventuresome you two, it paid off. 

Aimee and Jeff picked the perfect fall day for a wedding..sunny, warm, lovely.  Both of these love birds couldn’t wait to see the other and start taking photos.  It was easy to see that they were both confident in their love and that they just simply enjoyed being together.  That makes my job easy and being around these two couldn’t have been more fun. 

They laugh and are playful and yet had a romantic side that was electric.

There was no swaying side to side to the  music for these two.  They had an AMAZING dance choreographed including swings, dips and lots of twirls.

Lord Hill Farms is a beautiful spot for a wedding.  It offers a rustic yet classy environment.  The views in the daytime and the lights in the evening are hard to rival.

I wish Aimee and Jeff a beautiful life together.  You two are sure starting it out right.

First and foremost, I am sorry…..Kelli and Sean’s blog photos are WAY overdue!  Kelli and Sean have had their photos for months, but I still wanted to share some of my favorites.  They were married this fall at Semiahmoo on a beautiful fall day.  Shortly after their wedding the wheels went in motion for building my studio.  So for the most part, blogs have been on the back burner behind finalizing floor plans, getting permits, picking my contractor, and every other little decision to pick items down to the knobs on cabinets and hardwood floor stain color.  Whew, I’m happy to report that my part in the decision making part of this project is pretty much over (except for decorating the lobby).  So now I can catch up on a few blogs.

Semiahmoo has gorgeous rustic waterfront scenery.  I love the old weathered wood. 

During the ceremony I noticed the reflection of the service taking place in the window.  Thought this was a fun shot.

Many congratulations to Sean and Kelli….here is to a lifetime of beautiful days like your wedding day.

Casey and Even got married in September….better late than never with my blog post.  I have been unbelievably busy trying to keep up on my work flow with fall weddings, family portraits, sports photography, senior photo deadlines for schools, designing holiday cards and building a brand new studio.  Balancing all that with my busy family life of non-stop sporting and school activities….the blog posts just took a back seat.   I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now (off in the distance)….so I’ll try to be better and keep up on the blog posts!  I’ve had some amazing photo shoots and weddings this fall and I can’t wait to share them on my blog.  Thanks to everyone who checks in regularly to see what’s been happening.

Now, back to Casey and Evan.  You’ve got to love the socks Evan chose.  All the groomsmen had socks to match. 

The wedding was at The Plateau Club in Sammamish.  The lush green of the golf course was a beautiful background for this fun couple. 

Okay, so you won’t believe this, but the bridesmaid to the right of Casey in the photo is her sister who is 9 months pregnant.  I told her not to jump but she insisted that she was feeling great and ready to make the photo work for her sister’s wedding day.  I was terrified that she was going to deliver the baby on the golf course….but she waited another week or so after the wedding.  Now that is a dedicated sister!

 Walking down the aisle, Casey and her dad look so genuinely happy to be seeing Evan.

Congratulations to Casey and Evan!

I was super excited for Melissa’s wedding to arrive.  I knew she would be a stunning bride and WOW was she ever!  I loved the flower in her hair with the veil.  It is often one or the other.  But I thought together they looked fantastic.

The two tone gown flowed beautifully.

The accent colors of green and brown could not have been classier as they ran throughout the wedding.  Even Melissa’s shoes were custom made and exceptionally fun.

Special thanks to Wendy Wojcik for having all the detail items from the day collected and ready to photograph when we arrived.  The sign of a great wedding coordinator. 

I met Adam for the first time the day of the wedding.  He was charming and so totally smitten with Melissa.  The two lovebirds were unable to stop smiling and looking at each other. 

Alderbrook offers such a gorgeous setting.  The last time I was here was for a winter wedding.  There were twinkle lights and Christmas trees everywhere.  It is a totally different feeling in the summer with an outdoor wedding.  Both looks were equally beautiful but different from each other.

The girls all wore different tones of brown and green…each to compliment their figure and skin tone.  Loved that idea!

When they finally said “I DO” it was tears of joy and celebration by all.

Cheers to Melissa and Adam and a lifetime of sunny beautiful days like your wedding day!

Danielle & Gregg are huge Mariner fans.  They love going to games and supporting the M’s.  So when they mentioned heading to Safeco for photos, I loved the idea.  Despite lots of activities happening in Seattle including Hempfest and a Seahawks game…we made our way to the stadium.  Some of my favorite photos from their day were taken around the Safeco.

This ticket sales vendor was trying to sell them some tickets….but Danielle and Gregg had something more important to get to….like their wedding!

However, they decided to make one quick stop.  This was their reaction upon realizing the food vendor was open at the ballpark. 

They have to have been the most dressed up couple to ever buy at hot-dog at Safeco.

Snack-time!

After weaving our way back through all the Hempfest traffic…a gorgeous affair followed at the Edgewater Hotel.  Thanks for the honor of photographing your day!