Top of the World

After getting a rare weekend off, we kicked off the last stretch of the 2009 summer wedding season with Mikaely and Pat. We split up right away to photograph the simultaneous preparations of our bride and groom at Tacoma's top two downtown hotels. Mikaely and the girls prepped at the glass-art-themed Hotel Murano.

Pat and the guys got ready at the Courtyard by Marriott, where they had one of the rooms in the Waddell, a beautifully restored historic building that forms a bookend to the otherwise modern hotel. Then Pat and a friend (with Scott in tow) walked over to the Murano for a first-look date with Mikaely.

We took a few portraits of Mikaely and Pat around the Murano, and were greatly impressed with an impromptu offer from one of the hotel staffers to take us up to the top-floor balcony, which offered sweeping views of a quite-beautiful city from one of its highest points. You can see where the four of us will be heading next — Union Station and Museum of Glass — behind them in the second photo.

This shot cracked us up! It's a banner promoting an exhibit at the Washington State History Museum. The pose is something the girls spontaneously came up with. We took one of them smiling at the camera, too, but this one's more fun!

Both ceremony and reception were held at Union Station, a former railroad station that is now one of our region's most amazing event venues. We've seen many directions the ceremony can face, including on the balcony level (from which this photo won an award), but we think the angle Mikaely and Pat chose is the best!

We've photographed a few weddings at Union Station that had minimal decor. With its soaring domed ceiling, Chihuly art on all four walls and hanging from the dome, and wonderful geometric patterns on the floors, you can skimp on decorations and still have a beautiful wedding. That wasn't the case for this wedding, though!

Under the expert guidance of wedding planner Terese LeMoine of Truly Eventful, the room came alive with orange and green tones from the linens and flower arrangements, and with potted trees from Christian's Trees. Snuffins Catering provided delicious food in a rather unique cross configuration that was effective at getting hungry people through in a hurry.

Union Station does get rather dim at night, and it's no place for amateur photographers (or amateur DJs for that matter, with those crazy acoustics)! But even if the constellation of lightbulbs in the ceiling don't crank out a lot of light, the beauty is still awesome.

Congrats to Mikaely and Pat!