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!

Modern Boho Garden Wedding at Stonehouse 101 & Cle Elum

Getting to know my couples during the wedding planning process is one of the most rewarding parts of my job, but even more rewarding is when I do work with clients from other areas of my life. Case in point: my husband has a music school in Seattle (Sound Music School, look it up!), and Scott had been a student for a while. Scott is also a mortgage broker and helped us buy our house earlier this year. When he and Theresa got engaged, one thing led to another and soon we were going down the wedding road together, too! Love keeping it all in the family. :)

Theresa floored me with the amount of countless hours she poured into her wedding details. She did basically everything you see with her amazing mom. The love that went into those hours was really tangible. This was really a day created around her vision of bringing her loved ones together in a beautiful setting to witness something even more beautiful. Their ceremony left everyone in a fit of laughter and tears as the afternoon sun glowed into the Stonehouse 101 garden yard in Roslyn, just over 1.5 hours from Seattle. (What an amazing crew there, by the way.)

Driving across Snoqualmie Pass on their wedding day was one of those perfect Seattle/PNW fall days where the sun lit up the just-beginning-to-change foliage and shone brilliantly off of Lake Cle Elum where they got ready in a large cabin overlooking the water. Something I loved is that they opted for a first look, but privately. Usually I’m there to capture those moments but Theresa wanted it to be just the two of them. I really respected that notion of a true moment of peace between them before the busy day set in. After that, the bridal party made its way down the steep, steep rocky slope down to the lake where the wind nearly killed us but the photos nearly killed me. ;D

I captured this wedding on a blend of digital and film, both shown here. I shoot most weddings on a hybrid, and have been using more and more film lately. It’s such a beautiful way to add a little modern nostalgia and a classic vibe to your wedding day photography, especially in Seattle where the blues and greens that are so beautifully represented in film can really bloom.

Vendor Team:

Getting ready rental: VRBO

Venue, Bar & Catering: Stonehouse 101 in Roslyn, WA

Photography: Emily Keeney Photography

Seattle Garden Wedding at Center for Urban Horticulture

Nathan and Malia planned their wedding during a cross-country move during a pandemic. For that alone they should win an award. They should also win an award, however, for pulling together one of the most heartfelt, artful, meaningful and essential weddings of all time. The day was so beautiful (much due to some talented contributions from the vendor team), but it wasn’t “about” the details. Nathan and Malia were so focused on each other and their guests, and were fully immersed in each moment. It was a joy to be part of it.

The UW Center for Urban Horticulture is a gem of a Seattle wedding venue. It’s right in the mix of things for ease of traveling guests but its pastoral reaches are vast and lush, surprising for a venue so proximate to the city. The garden for the ceremony is just far removed enough from the reception area that it feels like you’re transported to another little plane. Chanel from Elevine Field did the most beautiful arrangement for their ceremony space. She also created one of the most fragrant and dreamy bouquets ever, filled with fresh geranium leaves. Kirstie from Simply Wed kept the whole day running smoothly and made everyone feel right at home.

For their wedding, Nathan and Malia decided to put their trust in me to capture a good deal of it on film. Shooting film is my favorite way to capture weddings. It helps me stay present moment to moment because I’m not checking the back of my camera. It makes me more conscious of my compositions since I can’t shoot a thousand frames and it helps me feel so connected to a tangible art form. And your wedding photos should feel artful, not just document the day! I’m also drawn to the natural texture and colors inherent in film. The only editing I do is a little exposure correction here and there, maybe a crop. Otherwise it’s a real piece of the day physically created in the moment. I think that’s really cool.

Vendor Team:

Wedding Planner Simply Wed - Kirstie Warren simplywed.com

Photography Emily Keeney emilykeeney.com

Catering & Cake Table Catering Co. - Brooke Perez tablecateringco.com

Florist Elevine Field & Flora - Chanel elevinefield.com

Band Blue Wave Band - David Dawda info@bluewaveband.com

Hair & Makeup Katherine Esque

Gown Veka Bridal (Brooklyn, NY) vekabridal.com

Alterations Jill McGowan (Portland, Maine) jillmcgowan.com

Groom's Attire Suit Supply suitsupply.com

Rentals Cort Party Rentals - Renee Eddy cort.com

Farm Tables Seattle Farm Tables - Mike seattlefarmtables@gmail.com

Towncar Seattle Elite Towncar seattleelitetowncar.com

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.