Meet Ben and Dana! This fantastic couple met while attending Penn State…  two college degrees, a cross country move and two careers at Boeing later…. Ben popped the question and wedding plans began. Sadly we won’t be the photographers at their Pennsylvania wedding this summer, but sure had a blast photographing them in their current home of Seattle. We roamed around Pioneer Square on a beautiful sunny day and then headed to their backyard for some comfortable down home play time with their fur baby.

Ben and Dana!

Thank you so much for a fabulous afternoon and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. I wish you both the best in life and love together and hope to stay in touch for the rest of your life events!!

xo,
Laura

This sweet little family is growing with the addition of a baby boy. We spent a gorgeous afternoon traipsing around Snohomish and on the grounds of Craven Farm, a lovely little wedding venue. Tanya is an amazing florist here in Seattle (Elements in Bloom), and her sense of style and color confidence is so chic! Congratulations Marty and Tanya! Can’t wait to see you and little Andrew for our newborn session!!

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It wasn’t that long ago that I was sharing with you the story of how the mister proposed. It was a moment that I have a lack of words to describe. If anyone has ever witnessed or been the recipient of a proposal, they see the emotions fly by in a split second. Confusion, nervousness, joy, passion, giddiness, disbelief, fear and excitement all make an appearance within that 30 second time period after the ring is flashed. Oh to be a fly on that wall!

Proposal stories are some of my favorites from clients, it really says a lot about who they are as a couple, and allows me to get to know them deeper. The stories I’ve heard really vary, and some of them you’ve likely read on this blog if you’re a regular here. They range from over the top, to down home, all with one link in common, perfection. You can always expect to hear that something didn’t go quite as planned, or she thought he was joking around with her so she slapped him and said no, those are my favorite moments, the ones that speak volumes to their connection, humor and spice with each other.

The weather was unpredictable, but we didn’t care, we headed out across the mountains to camp, wine taste, and see some friends who were about to change their lives for the better. The plan was laid, not set in stone, but for the most part we knew the when and the where. The day it was supposed to happen, we arrived early to scope it out. Then we hid. Billy and I giggled for what seemed like forever. Excited at the anticipation. The spot was epic, truly amazing, romantic, gorgeous.

Taryn is a wine lover, so I’m sure it didn’t take Scott much convincing to get her to Chelan for the weekend of her birthday. He played his cards right, hired a limo to take them tasting. The second to last stop on the tour brought them to Karma Vineyards, a gorgeous tasting room overlooking the lake and they made plans to tour the cellar. As Julie, the proprietress, brought them into the impressive cave cellar, she slipped away and Scott dropped to his knee. Billy and I popped out of our hiding spot like ninjas and did our best to capture the fastest proposal in the history of proposals.

The best part is that Taryn didn’t even see her ring before she shouted out her “YES!!!!”. It was tied to the wine glass she held, and after she discovered it, between the tears of joy and laughter, she gasped at it’s beauty and placed it on her finger. Taryn is a woman of impeccable taste, take a look at her ring and you’ll know she knows her style. She’s also an incredibly talented wedding planner, can’t wait to see what she comes up with for her big day!

After snapping a few cute pre-engagement images, we joined them for tasting and an afternoon of celebration with their lovely families.

—-
Scott and Taryn,

I couldn’t be more happy for you both! We had such an awesome time witnessing your day and celebrating with you. You were magnificently shining, both of you.

We wish you both the best in planning the wedding of your dreams!

All our love,

Laura and Billy

—-

ALSO a HUGE thank you to Julie Pittsinger and her incredible staff at Karma Vineyards for being so welcoming and warm to us. I’m sorry if we scared you a couple times from our hiding spot. ;-) And because every story is better with a picture… here are a few of my favorites from this day.

And here is Taryn discovering her ring… ha!

PS. How gorgeous is Chelan? Swoon.

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In honor of Mother’s day  recently, I wanted to share a memory I have of a really wonderful mother. She’s not my mother, but her daughter was one of my best friends growing up. I’m actually not sure how we became such great friends, other than our mutual love of her mother. We went to entirely different schools, lived in different towns, and grew up with different circles of friends.

Kaycie and I were virtually inseparable in our formative years. We spent our after school time choreographing dance routines to Roxette, pirating push-pops from her freezer, and giggling about boys. Our weekends were slumber parties, trips to the Salem Center mall, and more giggling about boys. Mrs. Keeton was more than just my best friends mom though… She was one of the best teacher’s I’ve ever had.

Patty was the music teacher at Sublimity Elementary and Middle. In her almost 40 years of teaching, she has instilled an appreciation of musical education in hundreds, probably THOUSANDS of children in my community. She personally taught me how to read music, to sing, to play the flute, piano, and oboe. An amazing woman, mother and educator I am also proud to call a friend is retiring this year. Last year when I offered up a free session to someone who loves deeply, Kaycie nominated her mom. I cannot think of someone who has loved  more deeply or broadly, someone who has given more to the most.

Here is Kaycie’s nomination:

Miss Laura,
I would like to nominate my mother, Patty Keeton. As you know, she is an incredible woman. She’s touched so many people and children in her life through the art of music. This year is her 35th year teaching Music and she will be retiring very soon. (Though she could have retired after 30 yrs, she wasn’t quite ready to bid adieu to her passion for teaching music and touching people’s lives) Her positive energy and indisputable selflessness is infectious to everyone she is around. TODAY is actually her 57th birthday!!! Don’t let her age fool you…each year that goes by she doesn’t miss a “beat”. :-) I am so grateful to have a mother as wonderful as her. I have never encountered a person that has so much unconditional love to give and share with the world, with no expectation of any type of payment in return. She is a beautiful person, inside and out. I believe that this would be the PERFECT gift for her (to tag her birthday/retirement)…and I believe that your uncanny creative ability to capture moments and love through photography would illustrate her beauty inside and out. Furthermore, I personally believe no one would appreciate this gift more than my mother. On behalf of the hundreds upon thousands of children she’s touched (including both you and I) – thank you for considering my mother for this awesome opportunity!
~Kaycie

And their most deserving session for their awesome and growing family…

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Julia and Ryan are the type of couple you only need to be around for about 10 minutes before you get exactly what makes them tick. The perfect balance of yin to yang, peas to carrots, and peanut butter to jelly, they just compliment each other so well. He jokes, she laughs… she plays, he plays back. We braved the weather and roamed around Seattle for an afternoon of gorgeous image capture. These two will tie the knot this October in Las Vegas, the place they first met and fell in love.

On a sidenote, I want to personally congratulate Ryan on one of the BEST, most romantic proposal stories I’ve heard to date. Regular readers know I like to save these proposal stories for the post about their wedding day. I will however tell you that it involved a trip to Paris, and a big surprise waiting for Julia there.

Ryan and Julia,

Thank you so much for braving the weather and traipsing around Seattle with us! Ryan you were a champ, I know it’s hard to be that GQ, but you rocked it out. It was a blast getting to know you better and I’m so excited about your upcoming wedding (with or without me)!

xo,
Laura

Hair and makeup by Swink!

Ryan… I’m sorry but I couldn’t help it.

Shut up JULIAAAAAAAA…. you are so unbelievably gorgeous!!!

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