seattle wedding photographers blog of candid wedding photography

Erinn Houghton and Shawn Buckner  were married on a beautiful day aboard the historic MV Skansonia on Lake Union. After the ceremony we got everyone to assemble on the front of the old ferry and I made the panorama from up on the top deck.
Here is a link to some more pictures previously posted from Erinn  & Shawn‘s Wedding Photography .

A romantic and intimate wedding with family and close friends. That was what Sarah Hayden and Steve Forman who were married at the Alexis Hotel, in downtown Seattle successfully accomplished in mid-October. It was so apparent to see how much in love they are. What also was apparent was their sense of humor. They really know how to have a good time and laugh. Tradition is also important to them. The wedding cake topper was originally used on the top of Steve’s parents wedding cake. They brought their wedding album of old black and white pictures and it was fun to go through them and see how some things have changed and others are still the same.

Sarah hid herself away in the unique suite they would later spend the night while Steve got ready in the room his parents were staying in. They followed the tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony and so the picture of Steve seeing Sarah for the first time as she walked down the aisle is priceless.The small group of friends and family numbered about 65 and it was great to see how Sarah and Steve got to spend time with every one there. After the wedding ceremony, there was a reception in the Library Bistro.

It was great to watch the children’s table where they had games set out and then to watch them eat spaghetti. The toasts to Sarah and Steve were heartfelt and touching. They are both very close to their families. I would like to present some photograph showing the highlights of their day. Thanks to officiant Pat Stimac of A Heavenly Ceremony , Amber Zbitnoff, my associate photographer and to Angie Casper of the Alexis Hotel for making everything run smoothly.

The is the outside of the hotel at night.There is a real bookstore on the corner and the bar is called The Bookstore. Here is a link to Sarah and Steve’s  previous post of their Alexis Hotel Wedding.

Below is a mini-slide show with a larger selection of wedding pictures from Sarah and Steve’s wedding . Click on “toggle images” at top right to hide the thumbnails; to start just click on the right arrow on the image.

I have been photographing weddings professionally since 1997 and have seen hundreds of weddings in that time. Traditional American weddings are great to photograph and I have seen them evolve over the years as people see fit to define how they want to arrange their wedding. Some strictly follow tradition and many feel free to improvise. There is something very special about traditional Indian weddings.  No other culture has such elaborate rituals and ceremonies lasting days and such festive garments all of which make photographing them a radical departure from American weddings.   In October I had the pleasure along with Monica Frisell to photograph the wedding of  Namita Singh and Gauhar Junnarkar. Their wedding was a traditional Indian Hindu wedding with three days of festivities starting on Thursday with the Mehndi ceremony, one of the most important pre-wedding rituals especially for the bride. It was a fun and festive ritual, at Namita’s home with family and friends with the women wearing vivid colors. There was a a professional henna artist applying the mehndi to Namita and some of the other women as well. The designs are fascinating and the really good henna artists hide the name of the groom in the intricacies of the design.

Friday night the celebration of  Namita and Gauhar’s wedding continued at the Bainbridge Island Community Center with more dancing and feasting.

 The Golf Club at Newcastle.The weather was splendid and the light was grand. The Golf Club has a great white tent where the wedding ceremony took place and it was amazingly decorated with numerous flowers.

Before people began to arrive, Namita and Gauhar  and I went around the grounds and made some pictures with the beautiful scenery in the  background. The views from Newcastle are wonderful if the weather is clear and it was slightly hazy, but still very nice that day. In the traditional Indian manner, Gauhar mounted a horse ( if an elephant is not available) and with members of his family traveled around the grounds of Newcastle accompanied by music and drumming and dancing.  They finally arrived at the entrance of the Clubhouse and were formally greeted by Namita’s family. Then they all proceed to enter the tent for the ceremony.  Gauhar and the priests Mr Dilip Bhatt and Pandit Mahesh Shastriji entered along with almost everyone except the bride. The Hindu ceremony was performed according to Vedic traditions in the Sanskrit language. It was a relatively long ceremony made up of 16 different rituals. After the Hindu ceremony there was a cocktail hour on the terrace and then a formal dinner inside the main ballroom.

Here are some of the highlights of their wedding festivities beginning with the Mehndi and on through the end of the festivities on Saturday night.

Here is a link to Namita and Gauhar’s  previous post of their The Golf Club at Newcastle Wedding. I would like to give a shout out to videographer Aaron Horton of  Aaron Horton Productions who was a pleasure to work with. A real professional to work with. Would like to see his film with it is done. Finally hats offf to Erik Franklin and his staff at The Golf Club at Newcastle. They operate a really first class venue. One of the finest.

Below is a mini-slide show with a larger selection of wedding pictures from Namita and Gauhar’s wedding . Click on “toggle images” at top right to hide the thumbnails; to start just click on the right arrow on the image.

Patrick McVittie and Nicole Nichols were married aboard the historic ferry MV Skansonia and afterwards we had everyone out for this large group panorama portrait.
Here is a link to some more pictures previously posted from Patrick and Nicole”s Skansonia  Wedding.

Here is a link to the Nicole and Patrick’s Wedding Web gallery.

September 25th started out as a grey day and then it became a rainy day. Not so unusual in the Puget Sound area for late September but the garden of Laurel Creek Manor was where Jocelyn Byers and Stephen Randalf Jaeger were hoping to be married surrounded by the beautiful flowers and greenery. So they moved the ceremony indoors. We were warm and dry inside as the rain poured down outside.  A funny thing happened towards the end of the ceremony. Just as they were proclaimed husband and wife, the rain ceased and brilliant sunshine burst through the clouds. As Jocelyn and Stephen  walked down the aisle and came out into the daylight the sun kissed them on both cheeks with its rays.   Jocelyn and Stephen are one joyful couple and it was a pleasure to hang out with them and their friends. Monica Frisell and I had a great time photographing their day and we got a good number of wonderful moments preserved in these pictures. Here is a set of our favorites.

Here is a link to Jocelyn and Stephen‘s previous post of their Laurel Creek Manor Wedding.

Below is a mini-slide show with a larger selection of wedding pictures from Jocelyn and Stephen‘s wedding. Click on “toggle images” at top right to hide the thumbnails; to start just click on the right arrow on the image.