Our Thoughts Are With Oso
This weekend tragedy struck a little too close to home for comfort. The major mudslide in Oso hasn’t directly impacted me or my family, but at a mere 25 miles away, I can’t help the thoughts of “it could have been us…”
This weekend tragedy struck a little too close to home for comfort. The major mudslide in Oso hasn’t directly impacted me or my family, but at a mere 25 miles away, I can’t help the thoughts of “it could have been us…”
This afternoon, Mike and I headed down to Seattle from Marysville for an engagement photography session. It was rainy and nasty outside, but that was no big deal because we knew we’d be inside. We were heading to the Volunteer Park Conservatory up on Capitol Hill to meet our bride and groom to be. It was super humid inside, and crowded (guess a rainy Sunday in Seattle is a good day to go look at tropical flowers!). But we still had a great time with Julia and Tracy. They were even good enough sports to let me drag them out in the rain for a few fun umbrella photos at the end of out session.
As you probably know, we’re proud card-carrying members of the Snohomish Wedding Guild (well, we would be if they had membership cards, anyway). Every couple months we get together to talk shop, eat good food, and escape our toddlers. Maybe that last part is just me. We were the featured photographers at the event, which means you get another sneek peak at what we crazy wedding types do when we aren’t at your events.
Listen up, kids! There’s a new Snohomish wedding venue that you’ve just got to check out! It’s called Dairyland, and it’s the newest venue from John and Amee – owners of Woodland Meadow Farms (King 5’s Best of Western WA Winner for best wedding venue for 2013!). The venue is just a hop, skip and a jump away from us here in Marysville, and is easy access from Everett, Monroe, and just a quick trip up I-5 from Seattle.
There’s something magical about a snowflake, so when it started to snow on Saturday, I just knew that I had to talk my bride and groom for the day into going outside to take a couple photos in it. Luckily, Allison and Rob are awesome, and they were more than happy to make a quick dash outside in order to let me capture the magic. There wasn’t anything sticking to the ground, and there wasn’t a ton of snow coming down either… but you can see the flakes kissing their hair and floating through the air, and I love it. It isn’t every day you get a snowy wedding day in Everett, WA!
My baby is two. I suppose that means she’s not technically my baby anymore. But since I’m pretty sure I’ll be calling her my baby girl until she’s old and grey – it is what it is.
Last night Mike and I had a consultation with a wonderful couple whose wedding we will be photographing this August. During our conversation, the bride thanked me for something that we’ve heard many times over the last couple years – including people who aren’t “supermodel material” in our portfolio and showing that everyone can be beautiful. On top of that, she thanked me for including the images prominently on my website and not hiding them in some dark corner. She told us that she had done her comparison shopping carefully before meeting with us. Knowing that just made me stop to think about how hard it is to find photos of plus size brides out there, especially in use as portfolio material. For that matter, what about larger grooms? Or interracial couples? Or same sex couples? So I went looking.
The last couple weeks Mike and I have been busy participating in a couple local wedding shows. One was at The Manor in Everett, the other was out at Countryside Meadows in Arlington. Both shows had lots of great vendors, and when I had a chance I snuck away from the booth to grab some photos.
So here’s the deal. I’m a casual fan. I’ll just admit that right now. I don’t live and breathe Seahawks like some of my friends. You won’t find photos of me in blue and green all over my facebook news feed all winter long. I don’t watch every game. But the Seahawks have been my football team since before I even really cared about football. I grew up in southern Washington, and just like the Mariners and Trailblazers, they were the closest team in their sport to me, and therefore I was their devoted fan. Root for the Cowboys or the Lakers? I don’t THINK so. I didn’t care about stats or whether or not they were actually good – they were my “hometown team.”
Marriage Equality is a big deal. A really big deal. Our brides Sara and Jill couldn’t agree more, and this fall they finally made legal in Washington state what they’d already done in Canada in 2007. They invited their family and friends to celebrate with them as they tied the knot stateside in a more or less traditional Jewish ceremony.