Justin + Lisa | Just Dance!

Once a year I get a rare wedding that is quirky and different and completely awesome.  Lisa and Justin had just such a wedding.  They were married outside at the gorgeous Salish Lodge in a small ceremony of maybe 30 people.  You may remember them from their gamer engagement shoot a few months back.

Everything was tailored to the two of them- from Lisa's black wrist cuff and dark polish to Justin's vegan cupcakes (Salish makes them!) and the treasure chest that held their rings.  It was a simple ceremony on a Sunday evening in front of their closest family and friends. My favorite part being after their first kiss when they walked back down the aisle and Lisa spiked her bouquet!

The reception that followed was a three course dinner followed by cupcakes and their first dance.  But these two are not your conventional bride and groom, so why would they have a conventional first dance?  No, instead they started up Kinect Dance Central and treated us all to a tandem dance to Lady Gaga's Just Dance.  It was awesome!

After lots more Dance Central and plenty of laughs, everyone said their good byes and we followed Justin and Lisa up to their room for a few more fun photos before we said our own good byes.  This was definitely my most unique wedding of the year and certainly one of the most entertaining.  We had such a fantastic time spending the evening with all of you!!!

xoxo,
Amy

 

 

Aaron + Emily | Lovin' on a Jet Plane

I met Aaron and Emily about two months a go and knew right away that we were going to have a lot of fun together. So far, I have not been disappointed.  First of all you should know that Aaron is one of those people that just magically gets stuff done.  Basically the lead up dialog prior to our shoot yesterday went a little like this:

Aaron: "We were thinking it'd be cool to shoot at the airport or on an airplane because we both love to travel."
Pretty sure there is no way the TSA is letting us on an aircraft. Especially with a camera.
Aaron: "I've been talking with Alaska Air and I think this might work"
That'd be awesome, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Aaron: We're all set. Gail will be meeting us at the training facility on her day off so that we can shoot in Alaska's training fuselage.
Seriously?!

And that's Aaron for you.  Oh, you want me to come in on my day off so that I can show your around a secure facility even thought I don't know you from Adam, and let you on the same aircraft where we train all of our employees?  Of course!  There is no way I could have made that happen.  But Aaron did. And the magic didn't stop there.

When we got to the facility, Gail was running late. While waiting outside of the building for her we happened upon Bill, or rather Bill happened upon us.  Bill also works at the training facility and took it upon himself to ask if while we were waiting we might want to shoot inside their flight simulator.  Um, yes please!

While, needless to say, we had an awesome day of shooting inside, with such a gorgeous day outside we decided to end our afternoon of fun at Greenlake.  Really, how many couple do you know that would wade into a lily pad bog for some great photo ops?  I was so blessed to be able to shoot at such awesome locations with two amazing people!

I want to thank you two for showing me such a fantastic time and for feeding me cookies when I had a tummy ache.  :)  I can't think of two more awesome people I want to share an afternoon at the courthouse with next month!!!

xoxo,
a

Alice + Philip | Double Happiness

Meet Alice and Philip, two of the most ambitious, accommodating, and adorable people I've ever met. The strange and wonderful thing that strikes me most about these two is that while they're both incredibly driven and independent, they balance each other perfectly.  I had such an awesome time sharing their wedding day with them and am already excited to seem again in just a few short weeks at Kay Kay and Socrates wedding!!! I had SO many moments and photos that I wanted to post in this blog, but had to cut if off somewhere.  (Be sure to ask Philip or his back up dancers about his amazing mustached dance in the driveway if you get a chance...)  Here we go...

We began our super-fun morning of shooting with the entire bridal party at the Botanical Gardens in Bellevue.  You'll be able to tell right away that these guys were my kind of people.  They came ready to have fun! There were balloons, letter cut-outs, pom-poms,  goofy sunglasses and most importantly, a big group of people who were more than willing to be a little silly.  I have to say I very rarely have the opportunity to shoot wedding parties who give me 100% participation.  There's almost always at least one person in the group who doesn't want to party, but thankfully today was not that day!  You guys were ALL rock stars!

After our garden frivolities we headed out to Covenant Presbyterian in Issaquah where Alice quickly changed into a gorgeous traditional Chinese dress for their tea ceremony.  I had never had the privilege of witnessing a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony and was so excited to be there to capture these special moments.

Their wedding followed and was just as special with a fantastic slide show (which I've never seen during the ceremony, but was such a cool addition) before Alice walked down the aisle and thanks given by the couple to both families.  In short, I was personally moved, most likely in part because Phil may have shed a few tears and I simply can't keep it together when grooms cry....)

Thank you so much to Alice and Philip for sharing such a special day.  You are both so beautiful inside and out and I wish you so much happiness, double happiness as it were, for many many years to come.  See you in August!!!!!

xoxo,
amy