Shannon and Jeremy at Mt. Rainier

We recently joined Shannon and Jeremy for their wedding at Copper Creek Inn in Ashford, right at the base of Mt. Rainier. It was quite a chilly day, and unfortunately also more than a bit wet! Teresé of Truly Eventful coordinated the event while Michelle of Muse Dezign assisted. Both are complete professionals and a total joy to work with. They pulled off the outdoor wedding without a hitch, despite the last-minute switch to a tented ceremony due to the rain!

Luckily, the skies held clear long enough for our portrait session, so we were able to take the couple through the forest to get some great shots, like this one above. Tromping through the deep forest with a bride in full wedding dress and veil is not something we get to do every day. I was thrilled to see that Shannon was a great sport and having as much fun as we were!

Shannon and Jeremy, the love you have for each other is so obvious and so touching. We enjoyed every minute around you and were glad to be able to add to your day. Thank you for being a fantastic client every step of the way!

Lesá and Jason at Kiana Lodge

Kiana Lodge, located in Poulsbo along the Hood Canal, is among the most beautiful wedding venues in the Puget Sound region. We had the pleasure of joining Lesá and Jason at Kiana Lodge for their wedding and had such a blast taking advantage of all the beautiful backdrops. This photo is one of my top picks from the wedding, a shot of Lesá and her daughter dancing. Of course, I love the tender moment between mother and daughter, but I think it's also great that, by choosing to shoot their reflection in a nearby window, Scott also captured the lush gardens that are so characteristic of the location. Our congrats to Lesá, Jason, and Nicole!

Emma and Tom in Seattle

One last post before we close shop for the Thanksgiving holiday! I promised more photos from our summer favorites, and so here are a couple more. These are from Emma and Tom's wedding in Seattle. Rather than go with the usual bride and groom shot, I wanted to pass along some images from one of the less noticed times of the day: the getting ready.

Above, you can see Emma's flowergirl showing off her brand new shoes. I love the framing here, catching a very fleeting moment while also showing off all the colors from their bouquets. And down below is a great "faces" shot of Emma, laughing up at her mother as they wait in the prep room for the ceremony to start. While they certainly aren't central moments of the day, I think getting-ready shots like these still tell a very important part of the story.

A season packed with pet portraits

This fall, we've been fortunate to have several family portrait sessions that focused heavily on furry friends. We absolutely love taking pet portraits, and it's fun to see other families like us who think of dogs as their children (just better behaved!).

Pet portraits are an exercise in patience, and we've found the best approach is simply to take a ton of photos. Ironically, one of the greater challenges in pet portraits is not getting a good shot of the animal, it's getting a good shot of the human (who often is too worried about what their pet is doing to pay attention to the camera!).

I love this shot, taken in Point Defiance Park, not only for its great color but also the artsy feel it takes on by viewing the family through the water ripples. It keeps the emphasis on the dogs but includes their "family life" too.

A few favorites from our summer

I'll be the first to admit that our blog has been a little boring lately! We've been caught in a whirlwind of photo processing and album designing, and have fallen short on sharing photos with you.

As a quick catch-up on a summer packed full of wonderful weddings, we're including a random collection of a few of our favorites, and hopefully I'll be able to post more soon.

Pilar and Matt, Court in the Square in Seattle. A fun covered courtyard tucked away near Qwest Stadium. Look through our June archives to see our post from their engagement session.

Cynthia and Aaron, Lakewold Gardens in Lakewood. One of our favorite spots, and we appreciated how freely the bride and groom smiled and laughed! It obviously was a fun day for everyone.

Anna and Dave, Scenic Beach State Park in Seabeck. An especially fun wedding for us because this is where we got married, too! It was the first time we'd been back in the five years since our wedding. Anna and Dave were such a sweet, easygoing couple and made for a perfect return to the park.

Jessica and Derek in Gig Harbor

One of these days I'll figure out how to juggle blogging with all of the rest of the work we do during our busy summer months! In the meantime, thank you for being patient in waiting for our latest post.

I wanted to share one of our favorite photos from Jessica and Derek's wedding, which was held at her aunt and uncle's home in Gig Harbor, on an absolutely beautiful property overlooking Puget Sound. They had some really gorgeous metalwork surrounding the home: garden gates, yard ornaments, and a large arch, part of which you see here.

Jessica and Derek, thank you for recognizing the value of a great photo and for making photography such a priority for your wedding! Knowing how important it is to you, we were very flattered and honored to be asked to take part in your day. And Jess, I just have to add that you looked stunning in that dress. We wish you both all the best.

Becky and David at Lakewold Gardens

7/7/07 — perhaps the most popular date of this decade. We got to spend it at Lakewold Gardens, one of our favorites: beautiful and big, with a thousand different photographic opportunities. We get amazing shots here, and every wedding is different because we always find something new! Becky and David's reception featured two pianists from Chopstix, who took turns playing their red pianos and singing popular songs from the last several decades.