Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your friends at Wallflower — Laura, Scott, and our seasonal "mascot" Bailey.

Sweet Home Tacoma

While we love photographing weddings in places we've never been, sometimes it's even more enjoyable to shoot weddings that are practically in our own backyard. Hannah and Gordon's wedding last month definitely fit the bill, with their ceremony at First Congregrational Church in Tacoma, just a few blocks from our studio, and their reception downtown at The Vault.

Hannah and Gordon got ready at the church, and stayed hidden away from each other until their big moment walking down the aisle. I love Scott's shot of Hannah peeking around the corner waiting for her turn during the processional, with her dad "standing guard" above!

First Congregational is a beautiful, historic Tacoma church. During the ceremony we were able to get some stunning overviews both from behind the pews and from the balcony above that show off the church's soaring architecture.

After the ceremony, Gordon's super-cute daughter Alohi joined us in the side chapel for a little comic relief and veil assistance before we started in on the formal portraits.

We definitely made good use of the church for wedding party and family portraits ...

... before enjoying one of fall's last days with Hannah and Gordon at Wright Park across the street.

Down at The Vault, the reception was under way. We've been to a lot of weddings where the kids all crowd around in awe of the cake, but I have to say this is the first one we've been to where the main attraction seemed to be the meat! Scott and I couldn't resist taking a photo of these little girls all smiling down at the roast.

After dinner, Hannah and Gordon shared a first dance and some time on the dance floor with their families too ...

... before the party really got started! The vibe on the dance floor was definitely a lively one, and the wedding featured another first for us: a celebratory surprise hazing of the bride and groom with good ol' Silly String.

Congratulations Hannah and Gordon. We're looking forward to seeing you soon.

Fall Color, Revisited

Now that only the most stubborn trees are hanging onto their leaves, it seems a nice time to post more photos of those terrific fall colors and sunshine we enjoyed a few short weeks ago. These shots feature our Five Mile engagement portrait tour with Melissa and Kevin at Point Defiance (obviously).

Melissa and Kevin, here's hoping that the weather will be just as lovely this summer at your Thornewood Castle wedding!

Hip and Hilarious at the Pan-Pacific Hotel

On the first day of November, we enjoyed photographing our second O'Donnell family wedding, this one featuring Ali's younger sister Christi and her fiance Gavin at the Pan-Pacific Hotel in Seattle. This place is fab! It really manages to take a modern, urban design style and make it feel cozy, with zebra-wood wall panels, warm tones, and comfy furnishings. It was a great choice for this fun, outgoing couple and their exuberant friends!

Christi got ready in her hotel room upstairs with mom Marcie while Gavin and the rest of the wedding party rehearsed for the ceremony.


The couple rented the entire second story of the hotel to ensure smooth transitions between the ceremony, dinner, and reception party. The ceremony blended American and Asian traditions, the latter of which included bell-ringing and a saki ceremony.


Then, while the guests headed off to the dining room for cocktails, we took Christi and Gavin down to the lobby area for some fantastic portraits! Giddy and rambunctious as can be, these two definitely know how to strike a pose, and we had a great time taking shots of them with this awesome staircase ...


... and this wild painting!



After dinner and a series of toasts roasts of Gavin, the party moved back into the ceremony room, where a karaoke machine awaited, and we were treated to some impressive performances, including a surprisingly adept version of The Real Slim Shady. Eminem's not an easy cover, folks!




Congrats Christi and Gavin, and thanks for a most entertaining evening at a really cool venue!

A Union at the Station

When it comes to Tacoma wedding venues, Union Station is one of our very favorites. We just love the juxtaposition of historic architecture and modern Chihuly art glass! And as a large, round building, Union Station offers seemingly limitless ways in which you can stage your wedding. Every wedding we shoot there is arranged in a different way, which we love. Seeing each couple's interpretation on the venue is a lot of fun. Kristen and Jason had the benefit of a real pro to coordinate their wedding: our friend Melissa Parker of Amazing Events.

This ceremony was aligned toward one of the front corners, as you can see in the overviews below — the front entrance is just to the right, under the red glass spikes. Their "altar" was flanked by a number of live trees, rented from Christian's Tree Rentals. It looked gorgeous, and Scott and I really worked as a team to cover a wide variety of perspectives on the ceremony from both the upper and lower levels, as you can see! The corner arrangement made it possible for the reception tables to be set up before the ceremony, making the transition quick and painless.

After the ceremony, we conducted a very quick portrait session with Kristen and Jason and their family while the cocktail hour got rolling around us. We were sure to make good use of the Monarch Window, Basket Mural, and gorgeous exterior of Union Station itself.

Being November, it was quite cold outside! After posing for a few shots with us, Kristen — who had her fair share of pre-wedding jitters — took a much-deserved smoke break! We took this shot through the diamond metalwork that supports an overhang outside the station. This is one of those quick candid moments that happens throughout the wedding day that we really value! I love how during what's an "off moment" you can still see the obvious connection between the two of them.

Back inside, Kristen and Jason treated their guests to a great catered dinner, followed by one of the most impressive dessert bars we have ever seen! Kristen had planned great details throughout the wedding and the dessert bar itself had a wide variety of well-thought-out and personalized treats for sampling.

Kristen and Jason wrapped up the evening with a romantic last dance and then jetted off on their honeymoon in an antique car.

Congrats, Kristen and Jason!