Kelly Chandler

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!

Hidden Meadows was the spot for the beautiful wedding of Jason and Lyndsey.   This day was all about family and friends joining to celebrate the marriage of two fantastic people.  You could just simply feel the love and excitement that everyone was feeling for this big event.  The bridal party was a blast too.  Super nice people who were so supportive of their friend’s union.  Loved the railroad tracks and the trestle that provided for some fun backdrops in this rural location.

Lyndsey had lots of attention to detail.  Her florist created beautiful touches here and there throughout the event.  I particularly loved the flowers lining the aisle and the moss holders that they were hanging in.

I always love the backdrop that Hidden Meadows offers for the wedding ceremony.  The fields look like they could go on forever.

One of my favorite moments of the night was seeing grandpa dancing with his grand-daughters.  He looked like he was having such a fantastic time.  Both of my grandfathers passed away before I was born so I have a real soft spot for capturing photos of grandpas and their grand-kids.

It is always a huge honor to have someone who is typically behind the camera choose me to capture their day.   In this case it was not just one, but two people who are typically behind the camera.  Both bride and groom are photographers and have a real love for creative photography.  I was impressed by they way they let me run the show.  Only once did I get a comment by Jeremy about how he missed having his camera in his hand to capture the moments of this special day.  I assured him that Christiana and I had it covered.  He just needed to be the groom and enjoy his bride…clearly by the photo below….he was doing just that.

I was loving Melody’s beautiful red hair!  She normally wears it curly and yet today it was soft romantic waves that were pulled back into a simple jeweled clip.  Sexy.

Christina pulled the little kids in the wedding aside while I was working with the adult wedding party.  I’m not sure exactly what was happening here but I laughed so hard when I was editing photos and I came across this image.  She looks like she is having a blast and the boys look like they think she is crazy.  Notice the same gorgeous red hair on the flower girl.  I was shocked to hear that she isn’t related to the bride.  Simply a special friend’s daughter.

I loved the cake topper.  The bride has red hair and the groom black hair….a perfect match.

A special moment between dad and his daughter. 

A big thank you to Christiana Childers for rocking this wedding with me.  The two of us created so many fun photos that I struggled to edit them down to a reasonable amount of images.  Can’t wait to share the images with you Melody and Jeremy. 

I couldn’t be more excited to post this blog and announce the marriage of Chris & Erin Hoppe.  I met Erin 5 years ago when her son Jack was in the Kindergarten with my son.   Erin is one of those women who you meet and immediately know, she is the kind of person who makes a great friend.  She’s funny, full of life, laughs all the time and lets the little things in life roll off her back.  She seriously has the best attitude about whatever life brings her way. 

 In 2008, life brought Erin a wonderful man, Chris Hoppe.  Chris is a perfect fit for Erin.  Being one of Erin’s close friends, I held Chris to some pretty high standards…and he surpassed my expectations.  Most importantly, he adores Erin and her two children Maddy and Jack.  How cute is this shot as Chris helped Jack adjust his tux.

Maddy and Jack share their mom’s love of laughter.

Erin’s nieces were dressed alike in beautiful dresses.

The wedding was an intimate family only affair.  I felt so honored to be able to witness the event and capture their day.   

As Chris walked Erin down the aisle you can see their genuine love and excitement about getting married.

I love Chris’ expression here during the ceremony.  Notice Jack and how happy he looks to see his Mom and Chris getting married.

After the ceremony, Maddy was keeping an eye on Kate as she played near the water.

Jack and his new cousins were also found playing by the water fountain.  You can tell there is trouble on the way by the look in Jack’s eyes.

Jack was trying to catch some fish….all I could think was thank goodness my son isn’t here with Jack….or the two of them would be swimming in the fountain.  They seem to bring out the adventuresome side in each other.

Yum!

As I left for the evening, I loved seeing Erin and Chris surrounded by all their family in this beautiful setting.   I couldn’t be more excited for what the future brings for my dear friend and her family.

I love doing engagement sessions….it is like a warm up for the wedding day.  Brides and grooms get comfortable with how I work, they get to see how they photograph best, and they gain a deeper sense of trust in me.  They learn that if they just let their “camera shy” inhibitions go the photos will reflect that the day of their wedding.

Kelli and Sean brought along their “kids”, a.k.a. dogs, to add to the photos.  You know they say dogs look like their owners.  It cracked me up to see that these two dogs matched their Kelli & Sean to a tee.   Both dogs were owned prior to Kelli & Sean meeting.  

Just hoping a train wouldn’t come along the tracks while were were working in the area…..I told them, “I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine!”

Thankfully, we were off the tracks by the time the train came zipping by.

I love the expression on the dogs faces…..like….”common’ really, they are kissing again?!!”

Kelli & Sean, I can’t wait for your wedding next month.