Andrea & Adam

Umbrellas Blazing & Temples Rising-

Andrea & Adam's Wedding

I have been behind on blog posts, because the new blog is in process and am looking forward to sharing it with you all soon.

Andrea & Adam were married Nov 10th 2009 at the breathtaking LDS Temple in Portland with a reception the next day in Olympia at the Heritage Room.

Since I am not Mormon, pictures were not allowed inside the Temple we did pictures outside. The Temple in Portland, OR is amazing!

Here is Andrea peeking out of the Temple doors, she was so excited to share the joy of being married with all of the people waiting.
& of course it was a joyful welcome to all.
It rained only after pictures on Tuesday...but the red umbrellas were a great accessory. Andrea gave each bridesmaid their own umbrella to keep, just in case. In fact right as me and the videographer got into the car, it poured buckets of rain. I guess Andrea & Adam were lucky!
Since many people could not attend the ceremony in Portland, the next day was their reception in Olympia, WA at the Heritage Room.

What an elegant reception it was, but my favorite part was doing the bridal party and family pictures outside by Capitol Lake. The autumn color, the stormy skies, who could ask for a more beautiful November wedding?

Fun Puppy! Photos

So our new Chihuahua puppy "Mouse" is inspiring me to get out there and take more pet photos and of course them with their people. This one of A Royal Frenchel (a mix between a Royal Spaniel and a French Bulldog) named Sunshine is so cute I had to get it made into a canvas. So cute. You can see some more of them at www.royalfrenchel.com

I have been MIA while I have been working on a new surprise and venture so stay tuned for more posts soon. I will be also getting a brand spanking new blog up soon too. Busy busy busy...

Nominated for Best of Western WA Portrait Photographer

Vote! 

I have been nominated for King 5 Best of Western WA. Voting ends soon and only takes a minute or two. 

It would be so awesome to be in the top 5 and I would love your vote! 

You can vote here

Also if you want to share the link 

http://best.king5.com/dinea-de-photo/biz/490706

with others that would be great too. You can blog it, facebook it, or tell your friends. 

Sarah & Jay

                             Meet Sarah & Jay married 8.22.09

                                                   To see their slideshow click here 

The music is by the incredibly talented songstress Greta Jane who also sings amazing Jazz for weddings!

Sarah & Jay live in Germany, but their families live in the states, so instead of having everyone fly out to see them, they opted to have their wedding at her parents home in Eatonville, WA. 

She chose a great color combination, oranges, reds popped. Making it happy and bright. I loved the cake because it was so happy and the way it was displayed after it was cute made it another aspect of art.

They also had these really fun red fans at the sign in table, so we played with them...

Sarah & Jay, I really enjoyed photographing your wedding and hope you are having a great time in Germany. 

Vintage Wedding in Leavenworth

Meet Kimberly & Jonathan- Married 8-8-09 at Pine River Ranch in Leavenworth, WA

Click here to see their SLIDESHOW

I have been looking forward to Kimberly & Jonathan's wedding for months and finally last weekend it came. They got married at the Pine River Ranch in Leavenworth, WA and apparently their setup was one of the most elaborate and glamorous they have had. I totally would get married there, it is a beautiful all inclusive destination wedding location. This was such a fun wedding to photograph because the details were flawless and so well thought out. Kimberly had a wedding planner, Julia Hanson who executed things perfectly.

Here is a shot of the reception room, the loft of a barn, can you believe it? So pretty.

All the tables had different things that went with their theme, from lace and pearls, to vintage Hollywood style glasses and photos of their engagement session which her sister Heidi photographed wonderfully. This hat arrangement was one of my favorite ones, so simple and so classic.

 The bouquet was beautiful, elegant and surrounded by lace fabric and pearls. The fabric was from her grandmothers wedding veil from 1947 in honor of Kimberly's grandma who could not be there.  Her grandmother actually made it.

They had the most AMAZING cake made by Busy Bea's Cakes

It was two cake shaped suitcases on top of a vintage suitcase, with  pearls, and cameras, and according to all the guests tasted incredible. I love that it is totally out of the box.

                The cakes even had little keys that went inside them, absolutely exquisite!

                         The attention to detail with all aspects to the wedding was so on par.

In true Hollywood Glamour fashion, the ladies spent most of the afternoon in the bridal suite getting ready. Kimberly had long finger waves in her hair and her sister Heidi patiently made her hair flawless all the while smiling her incredible smile. I loved seeing how close the two of them are. What a gift.

What would Hollywood Glamour be without mirrors? And sultry looks in them.

And Gorgeous Veils...this is a picture of Kimberly and her sister in the mirror adjusting her veil

Kimberly's dad met her down the ramp to drive her in his 1979 Chevy truck to the ceremony for her grand entrance, both of them were overjoyed to see each other. I totally love seeing the moment between a father and daughter before going down the aisle. 

Kimberly is an incredible singer, check out her myspace page, so it seemed only fitting that she would sing a surprise song she for Jonathan before her dad walked her down the isle.

Vintage style disposable cameras were on all the tables for the reception and I just could not resist putting their rings in one. Their family has a number of photographers within it so it was totally fitting. 

The bridesmaids were in black, each with their own vintage flair and had gloves, hats, and flowers, not matching, but coordinating beautifully.

After they signed their certificate of Marriage at the altar, I caught this sweet moment of sheer comfort and happiness.

                    I love this shot of Kimberly & Jonathan starting their journey together.

Thank you both for having me capture your special day, it was amazing, and your families were so gracious and welcoming. 

Melissa & Jerad

Melissa & Jerad married July 18, 2009 

Click to see their Slideshow

Melissa & Jerad have a totally fun style and their wedding was like a mix of Retro Vintage with a dash of Carnivale and Rustic. It was only fitting to make their wedding slideshow a little more lively. The wedding and reception took place at the Thurston County Fairgrounds in Olympia. The groomsmen smoked pipes, the best man was a woman, and the shoes, vintage Christian Louboutin shoes for the bride and her sister/maid of honor. 

There is something about Luxury red soled shoes from Paris... especially for a wedding!

Their first look was on the porch and there was a lot of tears of joy and happiness.

The rings...

The Groomsmen in the pens

We took advantage of the cool barns and the fun old "No Smoking" sign. Of course Jerad had his groom's pipe and Melissa was smoking hot as a bride.

Melissa had her grandmother's pearls and her mother helped her put them on. What a moment while getting ready. Such a mix of emotion, but Melissa exuded calmness and grace and looked so beautiful. 

Melissa & Jerad I loved working with you and your families and I wish you much happiness together.

Stephanie & Tyler Engagement Session

Stephanie & Tyler are one of the sweetest couples, they have known each other since they were kids growing up in Olympia, so it was only fitting to photograph them at the State Capitol in Oly. To see their slideshow click here

And then seeing them dancing...so fun. 

I love how sweetly Tyler looks at Stephanie it almost melts my heart and the way the sun is back lighting them. 

I have so much more to post...it has been a busy month and I will be trying to post more of the sessions and some fun news too...

Jamala & Craig Wedding Sneak Peak

Jamala & Craig were married on May 23rd at the Burien Country Club. I had such an amazing time photographing them. Here is a sneak peak of one of my favorite images from their wedding from the golf course overlooking the Seattle skyline.  I will post more as soon as they are done being edited. 

I think the weather was incredible too. Who says May is iffy weather wise?

Prom Photos!

Love Affair

Photography workshops are so important, and I have taken quite a few, but the Love Affair Workshop looks like it will take the cake! It is a women's only photography workshop on having a love affair with all aspects of life and business. I am hoping to go to this year's Atlanta workshop at the W Hotel.

April showers bring May weddings

Jamala & Craig are getting married towards the end of May and I am so excited for them. A few weeks ago we photographed their engagement session at Jamala's old home, and at Seahurst Park in Burien. It was a typical spring day in WA, rainy with breaks of sunshine and mist. They are totally in Love... and it was neat to finally meet them and get to know them better.

An umbrella can be fun...

And so can the beach...

Engagement sessions are really fun to do and I love getting to know my clients a little better before the wedding day. 

New Beginnings

I think that newborn babies are just incredible! So tiny and soft and so innocent.

The other day I had the pleasure of photographing Brynn & Eric and their new addition to their family. They are such a fun family to photograph anyhow, but with a new addition, well it was truly an honor. 

They loved their photos from their last session so much that Eric built this AMAZING wall of their photographs mounted on wood in a grid pattern. I have a picture of it somewhere and will post it when I find it. Anyhow I got to photograph Brynn literally the day before she gave birth almost 2 weeks early. 

She was so radiant and gorgeous. She is an amazing esthetician and makeup artist with this incredible spa that she operates out of a wing of her home. 

I love slideshows so for this post I linked TWO of them. 

Click here to see the slideshow

Then of course after the birth, I got to come back and photograph their newborn son with his sister, mom, and dad.  He had the cutest little hands, and his expressions were so distinct. You can see his emerging personality, and his little wrinkled forehead, just priceless. 

His sister has a really strong bond with him, you can see he is totally enamored by her. 

You can see the slideshow here

So a few tips for those sweet newborn shoots... nurse, get a lot of rest both mom & baby, nurse (I meant to say it two or three times) and don't worry if the baby is fussy, I don't rush these kinds of sessions.