I’m not trying to turn this into a commercial for online dating, but I guess it’s a testimonial of sorts. This summer I have the privilege of photographing TJ and Kate’s wedding, who found themselves on their first date, sitting across the table from their soul mates. Thank you eHarmony :-). This process sounds like the way to go to me. Plug in your information and let a computer filter out the misfits for you!

These two crazy kids are madly in love, and after this session with them I can’t help but dream about their wedding day. It’s a joy to photograph two beautiful people who are perfect for each other.

GASP!

You can view a slideshow of their entire session here.

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I absolutely love the location they chose to say their “I do’s”. Salish Lodge is 100% Northwest. Overlooking Snoqualmie Falls, the hotel, spa, and restaurant are unmatched. They day was winterish, a frigid temperature of 20 when I pulled into the hotel, but Glenn and Madeline didn’t bat an eyelash, they headed out and braved the cold with me.

Glenn and Madeline,

Thank you for including me in your day. I am incredibly honored to have been there among the few to witness your devotion and commitment to each other. It was a blast tromping around the grounds with you!

Wishing you both the best,
Laura

I think this image says it all. It’s Glenn seeing his bride Madeline in her wedding dress for the first time as she walks toward him. One of my favorite moments hands down.

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His confidence even surprised him a little. They strode off the elevator once they reached the top of the tower and he knew exactly where to go. Leading her gently, he held her hand and walked through the doors to the observation deck. The chilled fall air blew off the sound, but it didn’t seem to phase either of them. It’s the kind of air that soaks into your lungs and refreshes you, and from this height you can almost taste the sweetness of the clouds. He wrapped his arms around her as they looked out over the railing at the city below, soon to be their city. They’re planning to settle here, and who can blame them?

He whispered in her ear and grabbed her close, all while reaching in his pocket, hand slightly trembling, for the box… THE box. As his hand slid out, his knee dropped down and he said the most important words he’ll say until their wedding day. Would she be his wife? Would she say yes to forever with him?

Her hands flew to her mouth and she cried out YES!! As the crowd around them erupted in applause and cheering. Wind, tears, salt air in her face, she said yes to marry this man. Smart girl.

Congratulations Mike and Bri!

I was so honored to be a fly on this wall, tears streaming down my face, I’ll never forget this beautiful moment either.

Warmly,
Laura

I’m not sure what I said here… but these two think I’m REAL funny.

View a slideshow of the rest of the moments we captured from the day Mike proposed to Bri by clicking here.

Contact us about photographing your special moments, including proposals!

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Justin and Kelsey…. so sweet, so endearing, so in love. Where one of them lets go, the other picks up. Kelsey would describe her husband as shy. He’s more of the strong silent type, where Kelsey couldn’t be more opposite. Her bubbly little personality warms you to the core from the moment you meet. They are each others’ perfect compliment. We broke into what makes them tick at their springtime engagement session. It had me anxious for more!

Justin carried his father’s pocket watch. A charming heartfelt memento of a father I’m sure would be so proud of his son on his wedding day.

We headed to the roof of Hotel 1000 for their first look, and some stunning Seattle views. If you’ve been a long time reader of my blog you know how much I love the first look. From my own experience, to watching other couples share this intimate moment… I just think they’re amazing.

Kelsey’s favorite flower… and I can see why… made for a STUNNING bouquet. Flown in from some rare South American location and then artfully assembled by Maureen at Posh.

These girls call themselves Alvin and the chipmunks. So allow me to introduce you to Simon, Alvin and Theodore. :-)

So sweet…

I must say… Herban Feast really outdoes themselves everytime. I absolutely adore them.

Justin and Kelsey’s all star lineup:

Venue: Sodo Park by Herban Feast

Coordinator: Bobbi Roth Wedding Design

Floral: Posh Wedding Flowers

DJ: Adam Tiegs, Adam’s DJ Service

Lighting: Adam Tiegs, Adam’s DJ Service

Dress: Jim Hjelm,  La Belle Elaines

Hair: Kristal Locke, Lockes on Location

Makeup: Jenny Bowker Makeup

Getting Ready location: Hotel 1000

Cake: Ashleigh Stebner

Officiant: Rev. Ray Van Winkle

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Bryce and Annicca,

It was so AWESOME being your photographer for this amazing day. I enjoyed every minute!! Your bridal party? TOPS… seriously, tops the charts. They were a handful yes, but felt like old friends at the end of the night. Thank you for making us feel like family, and putting so much into your day, it was a visual feast! We wish you both the very very best in life and love, and can’t wait to see what life has in store for you!
Warmly,
Laura

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Shazaam! Annicca!!! You are stunning!

ummm seriously?

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They tied the knot at one of my favorite venues, Semiahmoo Resort, on a gorgeous summer day surrounded by their closest family and friends. Roberta is Canadian (have I mentioned lately that I LOVE Canadians?), so the blend of cultures and accents was sublime. Her lovely taste is translated seamlessly in the elegant summery decor, and the beautiful view of the water and Canada just across the way is the cherry on top.

Brian and Roberta,

Thank you for your ease and hospitality and welcoming me into your family for the day. I had a wonderful afternoon photographing you, your family and friends.

I wish you all the best in life and love.

Warmly,

Laura

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Do you remember the feeling of that first relationship in high school like I do? The first one that really mattered? Like floating on air. The feeling like your heart would burst out of your chest if it could. Fear and excitement of the unknown… what do we really know about the opposite sex at 15 anyway? Well, I knew nothing.

There are the lucky few who can hold on to those feelings of anticipation, adoration and twitterpation and turn it into love. Meet two of those few, Bryce and Annicca. It’s no mystery what makes these two so amazing together, it’s plain as day in the photos you’re about to see. They didn’t let the spark die, they’ve been inseparable since that dance he asked her to. A house, two dogs, and seven years later the perfect proposal at the Space Needle. Now in a few short weeks, they’ll say “I do” and make it official.

Bryce and Annicca,

I can’t wait for your big day! It was such a blast tromping through the park with you. Looking forward to more adventures in a couple weeks! Here is to forever!

xo,
Laura

Annicca… are you kidding me?? You’re GORGEOUS!

My favorite from the day…

I’ll never ever forget that moment: time absolutely stood still, and we were the only people in the room… I’ve watched the playback on CreativeLive (admittedly maybe one too many times) and I can’t believe how LONG it was. We had so much build up coming to this moment, so many stressful moments in planning a four week wedding, it all clashed together right when we saw each other. It was all worth it for this moment. I think I really realized that no matter if we had planned our wedding in 18 months or one, we would have had the same family drama, the same decisions over linen color, the same stressful tears. Ours was just bottled up and served in a 4 week time frame. We held each other during our first look, and both of us let go, it was here. Nothing could stop the freight train now, and at the end of tomorrow the only thing that would matter is that he would be my husband and I would be his wife. I laugh now, because most of my first looks as a photographer last about a minute tops. Ours was probably almost ten. Sorry about that.

One unreal experience.

For those of you who don’t know, a year ago, my husband and I got married live on the internet. We won a contest that provided us with our dream wedding for free. It was part of a wedding photography workshop offered by CreativeLive with uber famous and talented rockstar photographer Jasmine Star.  Today marks the one year anniversary of the first day of the rest of our lives. I’m so thankful for everyone who made our “I do’s” possible. I’ve been pretty quiet about the entire thing, both here and in real life. Honestly, I was trying to live it like a bride, and I think afterward I suffered from a slight-to-moderate case of PTSD.

One amazing photographer.

It’s never good to open on a bad note, but I want to address that I heard through the grapevine, some people had a negative attitude while watching the class. I guess I should expect that everyone will have opinions, and success generally breeds jealousy and envy. Dale Carnegie said, “The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.” Jasmine really took a giant leap in putting herself out there for the sake of educating other photographers, and as a photographer myself, I’m grateful for her fearlessness. It’s no easy feat to be placed in front of the entire world of your peers. Criticism is to be expected, but to those who were cruel and personal about it, shame on you and your small ugly minds. It’s easy to forget that words have impact, and as my father always said, “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all”.

I want to say a few NICE words from a brides perspective on working with Jasmine as my photographer. First off, I will admit, I knew Jasmine before this all happened. I started reading her blog 3-4 years ago. Her canter and her wit made her blog a nice escape from my desk job at the time. I wasn’t a wedding photographer, nor did I have aspirations to be one. I was climbing my way up the commercial photography industry with dreams of becoming the next cover of Gourmet magazine, or maybe just being published.. anywhere… ever. Food, lifestyle, architecture, that was my life. I felt first love for Jasmine, and then understood her work. When I made the decision to change my path, I attended her very first workshop. So yes, maybe I’m biased, because I love her and don’t feel threatened by her openess. In fact, I hope it’s contagious and I catch it.

Seeing photographers from a Brides perspective was a different way to view the world I lived in. I’m a visual person. I realized the vision of what I wanted my wedding images to look like. How I saw myself through the camera…. Jasmine might not have been my first choice. Let’s be honest, she wasn’t even in the running because I’m not necessarily her bride, I’m poor.  As it worked out, the thought of having Jasmine as our wedding photographer was as much a thrill as the wedding itself. We understood the connection she made with her clients, we could see it in her work. We put our trust wholeheartedly in her.

Jasmine’s selling point isn’t in her technical ability, her Photoshop skills, her posing, her eye. All of those are strong, this is true, but none of those are what we saw in her work.

Jasmine connected with us. She KNEW us. What we see in our wedding images is our connection with each other… and that was made possible because we are relaxed and comfortable with her. She took the time to learn about our family and friends and made them feel important and included. We saw that, we noticed that. She must have asked me 5 or 6 times on my wedding day how I was doing, how I was feeling, did I need anything? She and JD (and maybe another photographer or two?) made a point to take a gorgeous portrait during cocktail hour of every guest that attended our wedding. Our images might not be heavily composed, or lit, or photoshopped. They might not be cutting edge poses, or something you haven’t seen before, but they are of US, and we cherish them because they remind us of how we felt on our wedding day, of how our photographers made us feel while we were taking them, of how we felt toward each other, of how our guests felt about being there. These are all things that make our experience as her clients unmatched. We will forever be evangelists for her and her business.

Can you believe I have nothing negative to say? I’m trying to come up with something to keep it objective…. If I think of something I’ll edit it in.

I’ve only ever shared detail photos on this blog, but today I wanted to share with you some of the images I cherish from our wedding day. I hope you’ll be surprised.

I love this photo, it’s of me and I can’t believe how sexy, feminine and glamorous this makes me look. It’s just of my feet! Which I’ve never liked by the way. This photo makes me love my feet, and especially those shoes on my feet.

This photo is SO BILLY…. it cracks me up. This is how he puts on his shirts every morning. Why would his wedding day be any different? Notice: the tie is already tied on the shirt, and it’s completely buttoned. Weirdo. I adore this image of him.

Each one of these women means the world to me.

This image perfectly illustrates what I was trying to describe. I am so soaked in him, and when I see this picture it takes me right back. It was so natural. I love that I’m holding his hand behind my back, and intertwined with him like I never want to let go. It still makes me cry to see this.

To me, this image exudes confidence. Neither of us were scared, timid or unsure of the commitment we were about to make. This images shows the strength of our love.

One image that says it all.

This is it. If I only had this one image from our wedding day, I would be happy. This is the moment right after we exited the building from our ceremony. It’s a split second, and I can’t believe Jasmine was even there, I don’t remember her being there. This image sits framed on my desk, and every time I steal a glance, it makes me cry. I love this image above every other.

This is somewhat of an inside joke. But I can share with you that it involves a very embarrassing moment between one of my bridesmaids, and my father-in-law. I’m not sure which photographer snagged this gem, but I love you forever.

This picture is so perfect on so many levels. These two can gab on the phone for hours. It’s ridiculous. You would think I live with a 13 year-old girl with the amount of giggling, feet kicking and hysterical banter that goes back and forth. These two are soul mates, well second to me.

The atmosphere of the evening… so memorable, so awesome.

One Million Thank you’s:

Thank you Jasmine, JD, Sachin, Nate, Victoria, Stephanie, and Audrey for your breathtaking imagery and commitment to making this entire experience for us about us.

Thank you Celeste for being a shoulder to cry on and an advocate for me, and for holding everything together. To you I give: producer of the year.

Thank you Craig for believing that everything I could dream was possible.

Thank you Chase for letting me have my chairs.

Thank you world wide web for all of your cheers and congratulatory tweets on our wedding day, it wouldn’t have happened without you.

Thank you Billy for asking me to marry you, and agreeing to take this leap of faith in life starting with this very bizarre way to plan a wedding.

One incredible year full of life’s unyielding changes and triumphs.

One UNREAL honeymoon to Europe (which I can’t remember if I blogged about, so probably not… maybe I should do that).

One amazing meal on the day of our wedding.

Or actually two if you count last night. Last night we went out to Russell’s to celebrate our first year of marriage. Chef Ben Riggs re-created our wedding menu just for us. It was like living it all over again… so divine. We were so busy hiding during cocktail hour, coupled with the fact that they were so delectable, the appetizers went really fast. I didn’t get a single one. AND my bustier was so tight, I couldn’t enjoy much of my dinner. In fact, I got up halfway through the main course, went in the bathroom, took it off and threw it in the trash. The next person who threw their paper towel away was probably pretty alarmed. :-) Russell was right… with everything going on at the event, the only thing the guests still comment on, is the food.

Last night I wore a really comfortable outfit and stuffed my face.

One tiny life that is growing inside of me. Loved already so much by these two parents.  Maybe it’s the hormones, but I’ve never felt happiness and excitement quite like this. We are overjoyed with the realization that our dreams of having a family together are very near.

Looking at the above picture now, I probably shouldn’t have been holding Billy’s wine. But that’s just my sense of humor :-) I promise, I was only smelling it.

Thank you for reading this far.

All our love,

Laura and Billy