Seattle Engagement Photography Session at Discovery Park

If you’re planning a wedding, it’s a ton of work and sometimes can be stressful. One thing that feels like a highlight during all of this is enjoying your engagement session. It’s something that you can pretty easily check off your list, it gives you a great experience and memory, and it helps move you forward with other elements of wedding plans, like save-the-dates and a wedding website. I love getting to enjoy this stage with my couples because it feels truly celebratory.

Even though you might not think it at first, your photo session is actually a great chance to spend some quality time together and just focus on one another. Obviously, getting beautiful and candid photos of your relationship is a huge plus, too! For 99.9% of my couples, their engagement session is the first time ever being photographed professionally. So amidst all the excitement you might feel slightly nervous about a camera being around your personal space and story. As a photographer who shoots a lot of weddings, elopements and engagement sessions, I feel like my secret weapon is to help put you at ease and create a space where you can really just be yourself and trust that I’ll find the beauty in that and turn it into great photos. It doesn’t hurt that living in Seattle gives us so many beautiful PNW locations to get the setting just right, too.

Enjoy this sunny session at Discovery Park!

Seattle Forest Elopement in a Cozy Cabin | PNW Wedding Photographer

This was the coziest elopement tucked into the North Cascades in early autumn. Just the couple and the bride’s sister & brother-in-law, oh and an amazing private chef (well, and me). It was not over-planned. In fact, we came up with the idea for the candles in the days before, texting photos and ideas and a quick store trip! Her jumpsuit was so simple and chic, and sneakers won over fussy heels. Sometimes less is truly more. It was a gorgeous day and I was honored to capture it. A few elopement planning tips after the jump!

3 Tips For Elopement Planning

1. Choose a location that has personal significance to you. One of the biggest benefits to opting for an elopement is that you don’t have to consider factors like venues, guests preferences, ease of access, parking, etc. AirBnB is an awesome place to start. Oftentimes the property of your rental is enough to make for the perfect setting.

2. Write your own vows or love letters, and do it by hand. Not only will your personal words make for a much more intimate and meaningful celebration but being able to look back at your handwriting and hold those words in your hands forever is one of the best gifts you can give to yourselves.

3. Hire your key vendors! For some this might mean having a planner take over all the details and ensure your elopement both looks and feels perfect, letting you relax and take it all in. Even though elopements are smaller than full weddings, they still have lots of moving pieces that you won’t realize until you’re in the final swing! Having a chef cater a dinner makes it feel really luxurious at a way smaller price tag than a full wedding, and is much more special than a frozen pizza. Hiring a photographer to capture it all is a gift to yourself that you’ll treasure forever (and maybe to share with loved ones who didn’t attend in person!).

If you have dreams of a smaller elopement that’s still full of magic, don’t hesitate to get in touch! I’d love to hear your story and help you make it all come true.

Kalaloch WA Coastal Elopement on Film + Digital

As winter sets in in the beautiful PNW, I’m sitting writing this with rain pouring down my windows and a cup of coffee I’ve reheated at least three times. Covid living is a temporal mystery, with hours stretching into full afternoons and many toddler requests on repeat. I’m grateful for our health and safety, but very ready for a sense of normalcy to return.

With this year looking so incredibly different than most, I’ve been able to harness my creativity and explore new worlds that previously I just didn’t have the time for. My biggest and most exciting foray of the last 12 months has been in introducing film to my work. I began my photography journey just as the industry was making the switch from analog to digital, and I feel like I missed out on the foundational darkroom training that was such a rite of passage for many photographers. Though my analog journey takes me only so far as sending rolls off to a lab to be developed and scanned, I’m excited for the vastness of this unexplored medium and the incredible addition it’s bringing into my work.

For as long as I can remember, my mission has been to invoke some magic of human connection in my work. Whether it’s between the subjects in the frame, or a direct and subtle communication from me as an artist to my viewer, I want my photos to reach people at a soul level, not to just simply document. Film has brought a new set of tools in invoking nostalgia, embracing imperfection, and giving up an element of control in a tech-heavy world. I plan on using analog 35mm film in all of my wedding work (and likely lifestyle work) going forward. It’s the blend of digital and film that is so magical in telling a full story.

The shoot I’m sharing in this post was born of a need to create freely. I first met Sammy & Alejandro, the “models,” when they reached out to me for an engagement session earlier this year. I loved working with them, witnessing their love, and knew it wouldn’t be the end! They’re planning a destination wedding and I asked them to come out to the coast to create with us, and I’m so glad they agreed. Shooting a creative editorial is such an opportunity to dig into new ideas, work with a talented and like-minded vendor team, and push yourself into new growth. It wouldn’t be the same if the models weren’t truly in love or actually getting married, it really makes a difference.

We set our location to Kalaloch Beach on the Washington Coast. It’s a truly magical place for me, as I’ve been going yearly with my husband to camp. It’s just down the road from the more-popular Ruby Beach, but since that area gets so much attention, we wanted to celebrate the beauty and solitude that Kalaloch has to offer. We stayed in their beachside cabins and truly immersed in the environment to create this shoot. A highlight memory was a bonfire overlooking the darkening ocean and sky after the shoot with the team.

The team:

I did the planning, along with my friend Marnie Cornell, who also did makeup. I did the hair! We wanted to keep it simple and easy, wanted to sip coffee and chat together while getting ready, and make it an experience for all of us to enjoy.

The florals: Colibri Blooms

The stationery: Sablewood Paper Co.

Dress: Lulus

Groomswear: H&M

Venue: Kalaloch Beach & Kalaloch Lodge

Film (Fuji & Kodak) developed by Indie Film Lab

The following is a mix of digital, film and instant film:

And a few personal shots from that weekend:

Multicultural Home Micro Wedding in Seattle

Daniel and Jessica are the kind of couple that instantly make you feel included, like their joy is yours to share in, and that they’re really and truly just present in the moment. Which is why, even at the end of a very intimate wedding, I felt the same rush of energy that I would feel at 200-person weddings, just an air of absolute celebration.

I’ve written a bit about the joys of the micro-wedding this year, but truly, seeing it play out in different settings and avenues just continues to show how magical small weddings really are. Their day still held the traditional elements of getting ready, a church ceremony, portraits and a gathering, but when pared down to such a small group the energy is immediately calmer, simpler and I’ve noticed how present the couple can be with each other and their guests. I love big celebrations, too, but I’ve really come to embrace the limitations that Covid-era weddings has brought upon us!

We kept the timeline simple, super-simple, but I still urged them to make time for a 20-minute stop at one of my favorite little forests just north of Seattle for some quick portraits. I love this time of the day because I get to connect with just the couple, really get a wavelength going and document their love with open creativity and freedom. I brought both film and digital to their wedding and, as usual, the film holds the magic for me!

Enjoy, dare you to try not to grin ear to ear.