Laurel McConnell Photography

I was honored that Courtney tracked me down when her and Tyrone decided to have their wedding. We went to school together at the University of Washington- at the time I was studying to be a psychologist (go figure!) and she was soon to be a nurse. Courtney and Tyrone had their fall ceremony at the Faith Lutheran Church here in Seattle, and the celebration continued at one of my favorite venues, The Edgewater Hotel in downtown Seattle. Rewind a bit to the hospital where Courtney works. She and Tyrone met there while she was treating his mother. He loved her sweet and caring nature, and it was there that love was born! 

Fast forward back now to present day. Her beautiful dress was by Casablanca, the cake was designed by New Renaissance Cakes, and her ring is estate jewelry that she picked out on a previous trip to New York. Her gorgeous flowers were designed by Maxine’s, and are a vivid mix of flowers from Tyrone’s family’s state of Hawaii and the Northwest. DJ Austin Beaver kept the party swinging well into the night. 

Let me tell you a little bit about her jewelry. A friend of Courtney’s, Mary Sue, designs jewelry in her spare time. She’s a school nurse, and would some day like to open a jewelry business. But for now she has a wonderfully thoughtful idea that is just like that movie, “Pay It Forward.” For the first thousand dollars that she raises selling her jewelry privately, she’ll donate the money to a handful of the teachers at her school. From there, the individual teachers can either use the money if they feel that they need it personally, or they can match the donation and further the chain of good-will, paying it forward. Well, after a few months, I just received word that she’s reached her goal, Good for you Mary Sue! I’m hoping to have another chapter to relay to you soon about what the teachers have done with the money, or perhaps even the launching of Mary Sue’s business.   

So back to the actual wedding… it was gorgeous.  We shot indoors and out, even though it was a typical fall rainy day.  The ceremony was beautiful in the quaint neighborhood church that Courtney’s family helped build (her grand parents were founding members!!).  Courtney designed the table decorations herself, and the favors were little hawaiian cookies to boot.  The toasts were so emotional- we went from tears of sorrow to laughter.  The dancing was so elegant, the room lit by the gorgeous chandeliers.   (this moment caught us all by surprise- Courtney faked dropping cake down Tyrone’s shirt as they were cutting the cake!)