Fonnie and Mitchell’s wedding day took place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle. They each started off with getting dressed in the rooms of the hotel. After they put their outfits on and looked like a bride and groom, I had them go to an area of the hotel that had good light coming in the windows so I could capture some nice photos of them for their first look. I always like to encourage couples to do the first look because it’s a great way for them to share a quiet and intimate moment together towards the beginning of their long day which allows them to relax a lot more before the ceremony. I can’t tell you how many brides have been nervous early on but after they see their man for the first look and spend a few minutes talking to him, those stresses are relieved. But the most important part of the first look is that I can do a lot of good photos of the couple and their wedding party before the ceremony starts. If the groom waits to see the bride for the first time at the ceremony, they are very limited in the amount of time for photos. Most of my best photos come from weddings where the couple did the first look.
Once Fonnie walked up to Mitchell and gave him the go-ahead to turn around and see her in her wedding dress, it was all smiles and a big hug!
Given the timeline we came up with for their big day, we only had enough time to do the bridal party photos within walking distance of the hotel. Fortunately, there were some nice spots just across the street from the hotel to photograph them and the wedding party without other people getting into the photo. The challenge for downtown Seattle is always trying to keep passerby’s out of the photos as much as possible.
After getting a good number of photos from across the street, we went back to the hotel for a quick lunch that consisted of tasty sandwiches from one of my favorite fast food sandwich shops – Jimmy John’s! Once we all got our energy levels back up to par, it was time for the bride and groom to do a tea ceremony with their parents. Everything went smoothly with the tea ceremony and then we moved on to family photos inside the hotel. I saw a nice backdrop that had good natural lighting and colors so I thought that would work the best for their formals.
The wedding ceremony took place shortly after the family photos and went really well. I started craving humbow when the officiant used it as part of his talk to the couple. I began daydreaming of the times I would go to the Ocean City restaurant in the international district and load up on them.
The ceremony featured musicians on piano and guitar. They played worship music so that Fonnie, Mitchell and their guests could sing along. I thought it was very refreshing.
After the bridal party members expressed themselves while walking down the aisle during the last portion of the ceremony, it was time for everyone to enjoy cocktails and appetizers which included a barbecued pig.
The doors to the main reception room opened about an hour later and everyone grabbed their seats to enjoy a nice meal, listen to toasts, and eat cake. Of course no reception is complete without dancing to the YMCA after breaking out the glow sticks! The guests had a lot of fun and I had fun capturing their smiles and all of their crazy dance moves!
Everything seemed to go perfect for Fonnie and Mitchell’s special day. I was honored and very thankful that this nice couple trusted me as their photographer to capture these important memories for them. A huge thank you goes to Tara, my second photographer, for helping me out on a long day after she had a big photo shoot the day before and for giving up her seat at the Huskies game. I know Fonnie and Mitchell will appreciate those amazing moments Tara captured for them.
Congratulations to Fonnie and Mitchell!!!
