Seattle Photographer Specializing in Wedding Photography, Children and Family Photography, and Senior Portraits
A French/English Wedding at Holy Family Church in Kirkland
The only thing more romantic to me than a wedding is a wedding in French! I have been in love with the French language since I was 10 years old. It doesn’t matter what you say in French, it sounds absolutely beautiful and poetic.
I had the pleasure of photographing Laurine, a stunning beauty from France, and Matt, a charming American, tie the knot. While most of the ceremony was preformed in English, Laurine’s family interjected some beautiful moments in French that made my heart skip a beat.
Laurine and Matt chose to get married at their family church, Holy Family Church, in Kirkland in a beautiful light filled chapel.
I love “getting ready” shots. There is so much excitement and anticipation in the room. Laurine looked like a princess from a fairy tale as her mom and sister helped her get ready.
Venue: Holy Family Church
DJ: Ideal Entertainment
Matt was so cool and collected as he waited for the ceremony to begin.
I love the way that Matt looks at Laurine. Every time I held up my camera, he was gazing at her lovingly.
The reception was lovely with some personal touches handmade by Laurine herself, although, Matt proudly admitted that he was the one that cut the slit in the card box!
A Lovely Afternoon at Lincoln Park with Rheta, Ryan and the Girls
Eleanor and my daughter, Ilya, have played together since they were born. We used to swap date nights with Rheta and Ryan, so I can say with confidence that this is an outstanding family. They are always having fun together, and they are not afraid to act silly together. What I love about them most is the love. There is so much love in this family.
It was their first time at Lincoln Park, so I was so excited to get to show them around one of my favorite places. We started at the playground and followed the footsteps of the dragon to his resting place. Then we walked down the beach where the girls explored the driftwood and threw stones in the water. We wandered along the path and all the while they were playing together, laughing, and making up wonderful games. I love the fairy house that Eleanor and Rheta built! The jumping was probably the most fun, though. Just look at the joy on the girls faces as they fly through the air!
Welcome Little Jensen!
I’ve got it bad – babies on the brain! Photo sessions with adorable little children like baby Jensen are not helping. Every one of his expressions was precious – and he had SO much expression for such a little kid. The way that Brian and Kimber look at their little boy, though, is the part that really makes my heart melt.
An Intimate Wedding and Colorful engagement shoot at Pikes Market
After 9 years of marriage, Melissa and Davina were finally able to make it legal at an intimate courthouse ceremony overlooking the city. If you take away all the fancy trappings, the traditions, the decorations, even the guests, at the heart of every wedding is love. Pure. Simple. Beautiful. Love.
It was that love that Melissa and Davina celebrated in the court house surrounded by a group of friends who they had just met in the elevator on their way upstairs.
I met Melissa and Davina for the first time about an hour before the ceremony in their hotel room as they prepared. On this incredibly special and momentous day, they chose to spend the hour before their ceremony getting to know me, the bar tender who served them drinks, the taxi cab driver who drove us to the court house, and the couple in the elevator who were also getting married. They are so kind and loving towards everyone around them, and each other, that I just kept thinking that it is people like this who make the world a better place.
Seattle was a cold rainy mess as Melissa and Devina headed outside – officially married! I love this shot of Melissa with her umbrella. She looks so classic and beautiful. Devina used her bouquet to hail us a cab back to the hotel!
Since they had been married for 9 years before their official ceremony, we figured we’d do the engagement session the following day. I cannot tell you how much I love the red scarf that Melissa chose to wear. It was so bright and happy – just like her.
If you ever wanted to know what love looks like, you only have to look at these two women together. They are so tender and so beautiful to each other. The market was full of colors, and watching the joy and surprise on Melissa and Davina’s faces made me fall in love with my city all over again.
Princess Tea Time
It seams like every other week my daughter’s school goes on some sort of vacation. Over spring break, I decided that we would have a mommy llly princess day. We dressed up in our princess finest and headed to capital hill to enjoy some high tea at Remedy Tea. Ilya was disappointed by the decisive lack of chocolate, but I thought it was lovely. After we finished our high tea, we headed over to volunteer park where we did princess things…like climb trees and build fairy castles.
A beautiful Saturday afternoon in the backyard
I have had the pleasure of photographing Nika, Jeff, and little Matteo since he was just a few months old, and I have loved every minute of it!
I usually spend a great deal of time during my photo shoots encouraging people to relax (because, lets face it, very few people love having a giant camera shoved in their face) and suggesting activities to play together. The “smile for the camera” mentality is so engrained in us that it is very difficult to “act natural” and have fun in front of the camera, but not for this family.
Every time I show up to take their family pictures, they welcome me and continue enjoying each others company as if I am a friend visiting for the day. I LOVE it! So many beautiful, meaningful moments occur throughout the session that I can’t wait to get home and take a look.
Last Saturday was no exception. Nika had suggested doing the photo shoot in her yard as it is a place where they spend a great deal of time and has a lot of meaning for them. Nika’s mother joined us much to the delight of little Matteo who absolutely adores her.
It was so much fun to see how big Matteo has gotten. The last time I saw him, he was scooting along on his bottom. Saturday, he was walking around exploring every nook, cranny, rock, and worm in the garden. He chased the chickens, rode in his truck, and cuddled with his family. He is seriously one of the most awesome kids I’ve ever met.
Nika and Jeff are such amazing parents. I was thrilled when I saw Nika’s baby bump. I’m already excited about newborn photos!
A beautiful afternoon shoot at Luther Burbank Park in Mercer Island
I’ve known Mike for about six months now so I can say with some authority that he is a really good person. He classifies himself as an attorney (NOT a lawyer!) and is always ready to greet people with a smile.
What I did not know about Mike was that he has such a wonderful entourage of grandchildren. He invited me to join him and (some) of his grandchildren for an afternoon at Luther Burbank Park in Mercer Island. What a treat! Let me tell you, there is nothing sweeter than watching a proud grandpa play with his grandchildren.
The cousins hadn’t seen each other in quite some time, but, in the spirit of childhood, they picked right up where they left off. Climbing mountains, digging holes, exploring the sea life. Mike was such a good sport! He helped them climb trees, pretended to be hypnotized and chased them around with an energy that I wish I had.
An afternoon at Luther Burbank Park in Mercer Island
Last Sunday my family and I found ourselves in a rather unique situation: an entire afternoon and nothing planned! What were we to do with ourselves? Well, if you know us at all, the first thing we did was head over to Freemont to eat yummy Thai food and hit the farmers market.
Ilya has been going through a begging stage, so we offered her $5 to spend on whatever she wanted. Can I just tell you how impressed I was that she picked out this lovely bunch of fresh flowers! They are currently brightening up my living room. Make no mistake, though. They are HER flowers 
Next, we hit Luther Burbank Park in Mercer Island. This is a park that I had a wonderful photoshoot in last week that I couldn’t wait to explore more. It has just about everything I look for in a good shooting location – sweeping views, water, grass, branches, climbing trees, fences, old buildings… I just love it there. So did Ilya who wanted to climb and explore every nook and cranny. Just in case you were wondering, yes – she did dress herself, and yes – her shoes are on the wrong feet. Alwasys.
A Family Shoot at Hiawatha Playfield
I frist met Desiree when she hired me to photograph her annual Santa Breakfast (hands down, one of my favorite events of the year). Every year, she and her business partner, Kelly, host this fabulous event to thank their clients. Despite the challenge of coordinating hundreds of families, food, Santa, and crafts, Desiree was the picture of calm and positivity. You could tell how deeply she cared for all of her clients and how much they genuinely liked her as well. Just from that experience, I knew I wanted to work with her again, so I was thrilled when she asked me to take her family photos.
It was beautifully overcast the day of our shoot. Desiree and her family have a wonderfully fun vibe about them. You can tell how much they love each other just by being around them. They were probably on their best behavior, but the kids didn’t fight at all it broke my heart to watch how tender the older siblings were with their baby sister.
A Sunny Afternoon in Seattle with my Favorite Date
When the sun comes out in Seattle, I get a little loopy. Even if it is windy and freezing, I want to be outside absorbing as much light as I can and this last sunny day just so happened to co-incide with Ilya’s day off from school!
We walked to the SSCC gardens where Ilya proceeded to be a complete goofball.
I wanted one good picture of her where she wasn’t making some sort of silly face and I also wanted to play around with these bright sun rays that we never get to see. When I asked her to look at me, this is what I got.
So, I spent about 15 mintues shooting her making every concievable face until she finally got bored and gave me this.
Aline and Missie were much more accomodating and I snagged a few shots with the light streaming over their shoulders. LOVE.
What trip to the beach would be complete without a stop for hot coco?
