Kathryn + Brian | 50 Ways to Leaf Your Lover

Meet Kathryn and Brian.

Kathryn and I attended 6th-8th grade together over at Eckstein in North Seattle. While the fine institution that is Nathan Eckstein Middle School is now the home of the majestic Eagles, we both remember that back in the day we were Roadrunners. Seriously, what kind of mascot is that? BTW, congrats to the student body for finally making that change happen. And only a decade too late, thanks a million. I hope you're catching my sarcasm.

Wait, where was I...? Right.

Kathryn and Brian met me at Seward park (I told you I'd be back here) on a cool overcast day a couple weeks back for a lovely stroll in the woods.I had no idea how beautiful it was in there! Gorgeous green trees, the smell of moss, and tons of bright orange leaves to play in. :)

After our stroll, we headed back to their place for some fun photos around their home with their sweet, sweet Vizsla Beaufort and two adorable Rex kitties, Murray and Flemming. They have the coolest house right by the park with awesome artwork and a beautiful backyard oasis that Brian built himself. It's simply amazing.

I am so completely giddy about shooting their wedding this New Year's Eve at Sodo Park! It is going to be outstanding! Thanks you guys for climbing in trees, throwing leaves, and blowing dandelion in each other's faces.  A special thanks to Brian for taking a claw-shot to the face from Murray and continuing on with our shoot like a pro.

YOU TWO ROCK!
xoxo,
amy

Erica + Jon | Fantastical Fair Fun!

Drum roll please.... It is fair time again!

So here's the situation. After sitting in front of my computer for the past 15..make that 18... minutes trying desperately to come up with some amazingly descriptive text to convey how charming, fun, and beautiful Erica and Jon are and how much I enjoyed spending the morning with them, I am now beginning to realize that this was one of those shoots that I should just let the photos do the talking.

What I will say is this- After just one meeting and about 3 hours of fair meandering, I completely fell in love with these two. And while I am so incredibly bummed that I am not available to shoot their wedding next year, I am so honored that they wanted me for their engagement photos. Erica is just the sweetest, most adorable person you could meet (Jon, you're not so bad yourself!) and I was incredibly lucky to have met them.

Congratulation you guys, and best wishes for your wedding and future. I have a feeling this wasn't our last shoot together.

xoxo,
ames

Stephanie + Mike | Kick Up Your Heels!

OK, so admittedly, I got a little ahead of myself with that last post. I was going to post this lovely little engagement session first and then apparently lost my mind. So much so, that some of the images I'd already uploaded have my previous logo.  It's been a weird day.  Anyway, I have a feeling you guys won't mind. So here you go, the fabulous Stephanie and Mike!

Stephanie suggested that we meet up at Seward Park over in Rainier Valley. To be honest, heading into this shoot I was a little apprehensive as to how well everything would turn out. It had been cloudy and raining all morning and the park is sort of in the ghetto. Well, when we met up in the early evening, the weather had cleared and I came to find that this park was really beautiful. While we didn't venture up into the forested area (stay tuned for Kathryn and Brian's upcoming blog post for those pics), we did take advantage of the beautiful beach, docks, and white puffy clouds that remained after the rain cleared.

These two were a lot of fun (I love that Mike can kick up his heels like leprechaun even though he's like 9 feet tall).  It was nice to get to know them a little better and goof around while we got our exercise walking the perimeter of the expansive park. They're getting married in just a few short weeks over on Whidbey Island and, while I can't spoil the surprise, I know their wedding is going to have some extra-awesome moments.

Stay tuned!!
xoxo,
amy

Laura + Samuel | Doin' the Puyallup!

A couple weeks back on a fabulously sunny Saturday, I had the pleasure of not just one but TWO fabulous engagement shoots at the Puyallup Fair. I have been wanting to do a fair couples shoot for quite some time now and was so super excited to finally have my chance. I'll share my first shoot that day in a bit, but first I'd like to introduce you to Samuel and Laura.

This shoot began how the best of all engagment shoots - at the beer garden. These two were stuck in terrible traffic for so long on the way to meet me that we decided that the best way to begin was with a cold beverage. Cheers.

After some quality people watching and now throughly refreshed, we headed off for games, hay, and rides. Samuel tried his hand at the soccer kick while Laura attemped to knock down some bottles. They played Whack-A-Mole and the water guns in an attempt to walk home with a plush alligator wearing sunglasses. We watched the crazies line up for the Extreme Scream, had hot dogs, nachos, and waited in a huge line for our necessary Fischer scone fix. Mmmm...

Laura and Samuel are just SO much fun to hang out with! They jumped off hay bales, wore the wax mustashes I brought, and made fun of rednecks not wearing shirts with me. I am so excited for their wedding at Januik Winery next year!!! Eeeee!

Fun fun fun, here we come!!

xoxo,
a

Deena + Michael | Victorian Final Fantasy

Deena and Michael are not your typical bride and groom.  No wedding party, no first dance, no cake cutting, no bouquet toss. But what they lacked in tradition, they more than made up for in originality and creativity. And THAT was what made their wedding so spectacular.

I met up with the couple at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel where instead of her bridesmaids, Deena had Michael to help her with her dress and shoes. Once they were ready, Deena in her custom-made Victorian gown and Michael in top hat and tails, we headed out to get some photos in the hotel.  It was to be a renaissance wedding and they were more than ready to step out in style! 

After a few photos in the lobby, an awaiting Bentley whisked the two of them off to the gorgeous Clise Mansion in Redmond where their ceremony would take place. Like I said, Deena and Michael are not your typical bride and groom.

Allow me to elaborate on the pure awesomeness of this wedding. Their officiant wore a kilt and their guests were encouraged to wear Victorian garb. Each of the dinner tables were named after video games (Tetris, Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc.) and all had a 3D puzzle for the table to pitch together and share.  I had a blast helping to fit together our table's blue diamond and I'm sure my assistant Adam (who took the awesome guests photos below) appreciated seeing me channel my inner child/geek.  There was also a full-scale electronic R2D2, Weighted Companion Cube favors filled with candy, and to top it all off they had RockBand set up for their guests to play!!!!

While all of these things were super unique and cool, my very favorite part was their wedding cake, another beautifully crafted masterpiece from Mike's Amazing Cakes.  It was an open storybook topped with both of their likenesses, in full medieval costume, swords drawn on a fabulously dapper dragon in a top hat.  Best wedding cake ever.

Thanks to Michael and Deena for sharing in their wonderfully creative and personal day with me, I'm fairly certain it'll be quite awhile before I attend another wedding with R2D2.  :)

xoxo,
amy