maria and ash | an intimate + socially distant wedding at kerry park in seattle, washington
the arrival of the bride and groom, masked and ready to roll, and you know, GET MARRIED!!!
maria and ash's guests mingled social distance style in the warm summer sun, with perfectly clear views of the city and mildly hazy views of mount rainier.
despite the difficulty of the pandemic, maria and ash, as well as their guests, all exuded so much warmth and joy on this truly gorgeous day!
these two were sure to capture everything on instagram live!! so i made sure i was featured as well lol.
they also had a polaroid on site so everyone was taking pics! I HIGHLY recommend this! It's soo fun and allows everyone to be a photographer for the day :)
phones work of course too, but there's nothing like that instant satisfaction of printing out a polaroid!
two of ash and maria's friends and guests gifted them with a festive bottle of champagne.
and the judge who officiated the wedding took socially distancing super seriously (which we all truly appreciated!)
i'm serious, sun flares are kind of a love language of mine.
how can you not enjoy the strange way light bounces off my lens and creates an image like the one above?
so much texture, and feeling is immediately felt when i'm able to capture some sun flare. so fun and rad.
while many photographers may cringe at the prospect of shooting in broad daylight, i can quite enjoy it!
i love playing with sun flares (as you know already lol), and creating images that feel dynamic with strong linear compositions.
and gosh the colors. they are all just so prominent and bright. i love it so much.
how fun is this shot! seriously, i enjoy playing with movement so much. and creating an image that, hopefully, immerses you into the story.
humans are all so unique and beautiful in the ways they express themselves.
my photography is all about capturing this.
the art of humans.
the art of humanity.
and the art of your unique style! i mean, look at the bride's red dress! how fun!
maria looked so gorgeous in her dress - its design is so effortless minimalistic, with that gorgeous bold red, and chic little heels.
the champagne was chugged by the handsome groom (whoo!) and spilled on the tile. i thought it looked fun splattered like paint with maria's feet and shadow chilling near the top of the frame.
these are the strange photographs you can't ever recreate (in my opinion).
i'm not interested, mostly, in creating a moment.
i'm interested in witnessing it.
the good citizens they are, this group left no trash behind (here this fella is offering me the champagne bottle cork after fishing around for it in the grass. not sure why it became an offering to the photographer lol.)
oh and yes, i usually take any in-between moments to make sure your guests go home with some images of their own families.
usually, they end up being quite fun images to take! especially when the guests are as silly and open as these folks. lol.
the mask kiss. back when it was a new thing!!
these two really knew how to stare down the lens.
group photos you ask?
well yes OF COURSE, we will do group photos.
because these are your PEOPLE.
and no, it doesn't have to be super formal.
it can actually be fun :)
i love how the two folks on the far right (above) are ready to attack or something!! haha.
this sweet babe was adorably shy in front of the camera and it led to some really sweet moments like this one.
how dear, the way he's holding onto mama's hair!
his cuteness sure caught the attention of the bride as well!
so, as you can see, a super bright sunny wedding day doesn't have to be scary! we can manage to capture some amazing photos of everyone!
especially these two beautiful souls:
maria and ash.
maria's laughter around her new husband was so effortless and joy-filled.
no, these two are not huge fans of having the camera on them (like most people, right?! me included).
but their joy and tenderness towards one another shone through.
and let me tell you something - even if you feel the same way about being in front of a camera - know this:
your love for your favorite human(s)
ALWAYS shines through.
it's impossible for it not to, when you're sharing a closeness with the ones you love.
so no, we don't need you to do anything in particular or adjust how you move your body a ton.
i just want you to move close to your person. and connect. then, let me do the rest :)
intimacy is what i search for while i'm creating images.
and intimacy is not planned, or calculated.
no; truly, intimacy is some kind of magic. that no human could ever fully recreate authentically.
this is why i do not create replications - your images are YOUR images. they belong to you.
and they should be as unique as you are.
tenderness.
that word kept coming to my mind as i edited these images and now as i share them here.
what a truly beautiful couple.
i will be creating a wedding video for maria and ash this fall!
they opted to post-pone their larger wedding plans for the time being. so we all decided we should use the time to create a video documenting their love story instead.
stay tuned!!!! :)
as always, feel free to connect with me regarding your photo or video project needs. i honestly can't wait to hear from you :)
STAY WELL.
Sincerely,
