Category Archives: real weddings

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.


Fort Worden: Trash The Dress Fashion Shoot

June 9, 2008 – 12:29 am

There’s nothing like getting together with a bunch of great folks in your industry and having a great time when you love what you do.  A couple of weeks ago, something like 20 or 30 other photographers and I traveled across the water in the wee hours of the morning to meet up at historic Fort Worden to shoot until we dropped. I dragged some of my clients with me, Arica and Eddie, (okay, maybe not DRAGGED… maybe they wanted to go!) and we all romped around the fields, rocks, barracks, bunkers, and beaches and had a grand old time before passing out in one of the 100-year-old Officer’s houses that you can rent on the park grounds.

If you’re not familiar with the one of the latest trends in wedding photography, it’s to have your own fashion session a day or a week or a month or a year after your wedding.

In the industry, we’ve taken to calling them “Trash The Dress” sessions although our aim is not to trash your gorgeous couture wedding gown that you saved your weekly allowance for since you were 8 years old, but to go somewhere and make some really fun fashion inspired images that you normally wouldn’t be able to make on your wedding day because of time or location constraints. (and your dress will survive, unless you decide to go for a swim in a swamp!)

If you’d like to book a session like this of your own (whether you’re up for wearing your wedding attire or just pulling some fun duds out of your closet!) contact me so we can schedule something for you- summer is tight (as it’s prime wedding season!) so dates are limited!!!

Special thanks to Steve Smith for heading up this whole event-we all had THE greatest time and can’t wait for you to plan the next hoedown!  Wink wink!!

By Laurel | Also posted in new products, travel | Tagged , , , | Comments (6)

Hitched: Juli & Christopher

April 20, 2008 – 6:08 pm

There are just some people, who, after meeting them and knowing them, have made your life even more fun and delightful.  Juli and Christopher are two of these people. I am so happy and thankful to be the one who has documented such a special time in their lives.  They met at one of the best places to find a friend and the love of your life, like many of my other clients and friends, online. He works at Microsoft (and is of course, therefor, totally into photography. What is it about Microsoft employees?! ;), and she brings technology to the masses through programs at UW and Seattle Schools.

With the last few days of crazy April weather (yes, rain, sun, hail, AND snow all in a one hour period this afternoon) I remember the gorgeous, warm sun quite clearly on their late February afternoon wedding.

They wanted their wedding to be all about bringing two families together and celebrating the love that they all have for each other. They each had their pastors speak during their ceremony, Juli wore the cuff of her great grandmother’s wedding dress around her ankle, and they had all sorts of great little surprises in honor of Chris’s two boys. There was a fun moment during the ceremony where Juli was presented a necklace: it was originally a gift from Christopher, and to welcome the boys into her life, she had Greenlake Jewelry Works amend it to include the boys’ birthstones. During the reception, Chris and Juli had a special surprise song planned just for the boys- the Muppet’s Muhnahmahnah song (I know you’re totally singing it in your head right now…). The drink du jour was from Juli’s brother’s award winning cider company, Blue Mountain Cider (you HAVE to have some of this- their cherry apple hard cider goes down like… er… apple juice?). Even the flowers had family importance- you could see tulips everywhere (invitation, programs, table tops, bouquets, even the bridesmaid’s earrings) because when Juli was a girl, her dad would tuck her in at night saying “Time to plant the tulip!”

Thank you guys both so much for welcoming me into your lives- Victoria and I had such a great time at your wedding and everyone made us feel like we were part of the family and welcome guests!!

Ceremony & reception: University Presbyterian Church and the Hollywood Schoolhouse

Hair and makeup: the fabulous Erin Skipley

Rings: Blue Nile

Photographer: guess who

Cake: Sharon’s Catering and Cakes

Music: the uber uber uber talented Michael Benson Band

Flowers: Ring Around the Rose

By Laurel | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Fine Art Albums

January 18, 2008 – 4:51 pm

This season is a great time to get caught up on all of those rainy day projects- not because you normally wouldn’t do them unless it is raining, but because you aren’t shooting because it is raining, giving you actual, non-interrupted time to do production work. Here are some great albums that we’ve designed in the last two months. These are the handmade Fine Art Albums- each real photographic print is mounted on heavy card stock pages, a throw back to the vintage wedding albums of our grandparents (minus the photo corners).

First, a large album for Matt and Mary’s parents. Since Matt’s parents were local (everyone else is out of state!), they came to me and we had a little design meeting, picking their favorite images, navy blue for the cover, and a text tile. It’s 12×12″ and each page has a different layout depending on how the day was unfolding at that moment.

Next was Molly’s 8×8″ belly album. This is volume one, the second one will be a larger one of baby Miles (post to come on that one!). The cover fabric is my favorite one offered (greeeeeen!), with an image trio. Each page holds one 5×7 print.

The last Fine Art Album was for Danny and Bria’s wedding album. It’s a 12×12″ album in a shiny black animal-friendly leather, with an image title trio. This one also shows the vellum title page that starts the story.

By Laurel | Also posted in bellies, new products | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Hitched: Holly & Mike

January 15, 2008 – 12:33 am

One of my favorite moments from all of the weddings that I was blessed to shoot was when Holly’s dad gave his speech at her wedding.  He told of how Mike came to him to talk about asking Holly to marry him.  He was trying to explain to Holly’s dad how he felt about her.  ”I love her more than a 2×4.”  That is a very strong statement coming from a real estate developer (because 2×4’s are especially important when building a home).  To Holly’s father, this statement was even more monumental since loooves 2×4’s too and he’s well known for attaching a 2×4 to just about everything and every car Holly had growing up- afterall, 2×4’s are good for all sorts of things.  The crowd roared with laughter.  It was a wonderful moment.  Holly and Mike (engagement session HERE) were married on a crisp November day in Seattle.  Here are some of my favorite shots from their beautiful, beautiful wedding.   

Dress: Lazzaro at Marcellas La Boutique (one of my favorite designers, gorgeous, love this dress! It is the most luscious silk!)
Photographer: Me! 
Ceremony: St. Ignatius Chapel
Reception: Lake Union Cafe 
Rings: EE Robins, Greenlake Jewelry Works
Flowers: Anne Bradfield of Floressence(just so you know, this woman works magic. The day after the wedding I stopped by Holly’s house (she’s my neighbor! and the bouquets were all there, perfect as they were the day before! So so fresh!)
DJ:  Joe Yamada (one of my favorite DJ’s who can also tickle the ivories!)  Cake: Madison Park Bakery 

By Laurel | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)