You may remember Liz & Tom from their engagement portrait session at Discovery Park earlier this summer. They tied the knot at Willows Lodge in Woodinville, WA on a gorgeous summer day surrounded by family, friends and lots of laughter.






Liz has such an animated face. Always bright and smiling. Just look at those eyes.

We did the first look across the street at Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery.

I don't think I've seen a more excited groom during this moment.









Towards the end of the pre ceremony portraits I asked if there was anything else they wanted to do. Liz jumped into Tom's arms and said "I've been waiting my whole life to take this photo!"

Sweet honey favors, hanging in the sun.

I prefer to use the term "preserved".

Non-denominational minister Lyn Miletich was personable and fun. I highly recommend her!











A sweet one of Liz and her dad.



CAKE!

This is the second wedding I've shot for Liz's family, the first being her brother Bill's (below). Bill was responsible for the previous version of photojj.com. Sadly, it will be the last unless some more unmarried siblings pop out of the woodwork. I'm crossing my fingers!

Thank you to Liz, Tom, and their families for bringing me in and treating me like a part of the clan. I wish you all the best!

Caught these two cats on their way out. How purrfect, no? (sorry, I had to. blame my mother.)

Ann just added some new bird caketoppers to her online store. Grab one while you can. These sell out in the blink of an eye and she only takes a limited amount of custom orders.

I got to work with Cori & Aviva of the the Adventure School last night at a birthday party. They do untraditional events and parties with a twist. Last night there was bicycle powered spin art, psychic readings and huge balloons. I'd love to see what they'd do for a wedding (yes, they do those too). If you're looking for something memorable, fun and different, these are your ladies!

I'm buying a new lens tomorrow. I feel like I'm bringing home a baby!

Using your iPod instead of a DJ at the reception can be tricky. If you want dancing, you're gonna have to keep the rhythm going. Here are some songs that did the trick at my wedding:

Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin
Rapture by Blondie
Standing in the Way of Control by the Gossip
The Last Time by Gnarls Barkley
The Message by Grandmaster Flash
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
P.A.C.O! by Ladytron
Deceptacon by Le Tigre
Galang by M.I.A.
Workin' Day and Night by Michael Jackson
Hard to Handle by Otis Redding
Kiss by Prince
I Thank You by Sam & Dave
Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder
Regulate by Warren G

proof that they work:
photo by Breanne Curran

Does the Dress Fit? is a helpful resource for information on how to get a good fit for your wedding dress. It has reviews, a glossary of terms (, and recommendations based on your budget.

Here's Jen & Amy with me at the Twilight Exit last Saturday night. It was late. We were goofy.
If you read this thing at all you already know who Amy is but Jen is a new discovery. She's visiting from LA where she runs a rad lingerie shop called Panty Raid. Yes, Panty Raid! Pretty effin' awesome.

Saturday was Nabil & Michaela's wedding at the Corson Building with a live Lavender Diamond set of love songs and Matt Dillon's culinary genius filling our tummies full of local goodness (thank you Nabil & Michaela!). Girl time followed at Madison Beach where I wound down the day with Keiko, Amy & Jen (and tapped them for some Club D action at the Twilight).

Sunday brought rolling around with the kids at a Patterson Family shoot and later dinner & drinks (ting ting!) at Zayda Buddies with new awesome fun wedding couple Taryn & Ben. All the while I'm unable to get Lavender Diamond out of my head. Not that I want to!

Night Canopy website
Amy Blaschke solo

I used to see Mary years ago for massage therapy when my main lady couldn't fit me in. She always had great massage music on the stereo; Nouvelle Vague, Regina Spektor and Madeleine Peyroux. My insurance eventually ran out and I let things slide. It was a nice surprise to get an email from her asking for family portraits with her husband Alex & dog Sancho. She said "people always look like they're having so much fun in your photos". I have no idea what she's talking about.
Sancho, getting his licks in:



another random dog wanted in on the action.





sweet Sancho

this could be the cover of their debut folk album, no?

and the inside spread will be:



looking for Sancho

found!

We re-hydrated and went to cool off by the jungle gym area

this kid was hilarious

sweet sunset time:

Ok, I know this shot is so late 70's cheeseball but i just had to take it. It makes me want to sing the Riunite song. I hope they don't mind my indulgence!

Thank you guys for sharing your day with me and much thanks to Alex for making me that Johnny Guitar Watson cd. I looove it!

Bargoers at the Capitol Club on Capitol Hill. We didn't have a chance to talk but they look like fun peeps.



The Club Directory is published each week in the Stranger.

Winners have been announced in the first annual International Wedding Image Competition (aka WedComp) and I'm flattered to have placed in the Reception, Getting Ready and Portrait categories!
3rd Place, Reception Category: it's Michelle & Chip!! I hear there are a few fridge magnets of this image floating around.



5th Place, Portrait Category: This image of Andy & Ingo is everyone's favorite Moo minicard .



10th Place, Getting Ready Category: I've always loved this one of Sara with her mother and lady of honor putting on her veil. I can't believe it'll be a year in just a few days. Happy Anniversary, Sara & Andy!



13th Place, Reception Category: Chip, getting down with his bad self!



All proceeds from the competition go to Thirst Relief International, an organization that provides clean drinking water to those in need. Michelle and Chip are doing their part by sticking to tequila. Thank you to all my of my incredible, superstar couples. There would be nothing meaningful to photograph if it weren't for you. I'm so lucky!

One Light Seattle was two days ago (well, actually one day if you count our 2am Tuesday end time) and my head is still buzzing with inverse square law, bright white pops of light, grids and Sunpak 120Js. I was already familiar with a lot of what Zack spoke about but it was great to see him in action and it's always good to have a refresher. I highly recommended it for anyone looking to take their on location shoots a step further or if you need a nudge taking your flash off camera. Here's Zack, just before taking our group photo on the Bell St. Pier. Seconds after I took this image Zack moved his hand and the wind blew the stand to the ground, breaking the flash's plastic housing in half.. Luckily the umbrella cushioned the tube's fall and he was able to put the housing on gaffer tape life support.

Photojj.com can now be cruised on your iPhone! You can see a tiny version of what it looks like on your big computer here.

Sarah Murphy just posted a set of photos from Thursday's opening party here. Lots of familiar faces and fun times! Here we are - each of us below one of our pieces. We will have to go back and get one of Laura, who was very sick and couldn't make it. We missed you!

Found this on Anna Kuperberg's blog and could not resist sharing with you. Just hit play - you won't regret it.

Wow. What a night! Thank you to everyone who made it out. It meant a lot to me. Today calls for some heavy napping!

Welcome to the Funhouse. 20 points (Yes, twenty! Twice the amount of my previous offer. Think of all the tchotchkes you could buy!) if you can name the sliver of a guy in the back right of this photo. Hint: ginger lemondrops. Mmmmmm.

Club Directory is published each week in the Stranger.

This weekend's wedding on Orcas Island was picture perfect. The sun was consistently lit, the family treated me like one of their own and the property was GORGEOUS. I can't wait to share it with you. My friend and fellow photog Kate McElwee was also there for a separate wedding so we hung out during our off-time, exploring the island and being the goofballs that we are. Doe Bay sure lived up to its name. Deer were everywhere! I snuck into the field in front of my cabin and hunkered down until one of the fawns felt comfortable enough to get close.


We entertained ourselves while waiting for our food at the cafe. (photo by Kate)



We climbed to the top of Mount Constitution:



Then onto Mountain Lake for a hike with the cameras. As you can see, I've been playing with flare.



Kate does a ton of boudoir work so we did an impromptu outdoor session. I'll call this her Lara Croft look!

The last rays of incredible weekend.

Since Molly & Laurie hired me as the photographer for their October wedding up on Guemes Island Resort, I've been checking their wedsite every once and awhile to stay up to date on how their plans are coming along. I found out today that not only are their wedding rings ready, but they made em' themselves! Seriously - with their own four hands. The Wedding Ring Workshop matches you with a jeweler in your area (for Seattle, it's Jena Hounshell) who guides you through the process of melting, milling, bending, sawing, soldering, shaping, buffing and polishing each other's rings starting from little beads of your chosen precious metal. Molly & Laurie made theirs from platinum. Here's the finished result:
image courtesy of Molly & Laurie