Photographer: Black Cat White Cat Photography

Coordinator: Bella Signature Design

Caterer: Herban Feast

Dress: La Belle Elaine

Makeup: Laura Mercier at Nordstroms

Hair: Salon 7

Amelia and Brian, though I have only met you for a few short hours, I can tell how happy you are being with each other from your beautiful pictures, I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

Groom looking sharp!

The guys:

Bride and her beautiful girls.

Amelia looks so radiant and gorgeous! 

Amelia and Brian had not seen each other before the ceremony.  This is the first time Brian caught a glimpse of her walking out towards the ceremony.

Raarrr, gorgeous couple!

I love the dramatic clouds of the Seattle skyline, perfect backdrop for this gorgeous couple and their wedding party!

This shot and the one above are straight out of camera. 

Brian’s brother Ty is one of the funniest people in the wedding party.  Not sure what inspired him to hop onto that pole …

One thing led to another, we have the bride and groom kissing across a traffic sign …

Great way to start the fun!

The workshop certainly did not disappoint, I was ecstatic to meet both Jasmine and her husband JD.  And they are both as real and fabulous as they are on the internet.  Here are some images that I captured during the group shoot that Jasmine led.  It was awesome to see how she interacts with the models and how she finds the most creamy mcDreamy light even on a harsh brightly lit day.   Oh, the models are the gorgeous Carlie and Gabriel.  They were one of Jasmine’s first couples and photographers themselves.

Jasmine, JD, and Jasmine’s mom, thank you for such a great day!  Jasmine, thank you for being an open book and sharing everything and caring for everybody’s success!  JD, thank you for all the snacks and organizing the workshop, oh, and for holding and adjusting all 21 of our cameras so that we can pose with Jasmine!   Jasmine’s mom, thank you for the warm hug at the start of the workshop and I’m sure Jasmine’s fabulousness must have come from you! I love you guys!  

Gabriel playing air guitar to its full glory!

Laura getting ready:

Mike is getting ready on the side of the venue.

Laura planned for a first look with Mike and has allocated plenty of time before the ceremony for pictures for just the two of them.  I really love it when couples do that.  The first look is as emotional as the ceremony.  In fact, it made my eyes all teary when I shot the first look.

Mike is anxiously waiting for Laura’s approach.  He could hear her greet some of the family on the way here, and the wait is almost over.

They are so happy to see each other.

 I think this is the part that got to me …  They are such a sweet and loving couple. 

This picture is taken by my very talented second shooter John from a second angle. 

Laura and Mike planned an outdoor wedding at this gorgeous venue, but Seattle weather was extremely unpredictable.  The rain came and went and came back.  Lucikly, Laura had a backup plan!  The indoor space was ready within minutes of notice.

Laura’s emotional walking down the aisle accompanied by her dad. 

Here’s the bridal party!

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As I was waiting for the new website to be designed, I had to hold back the excitement that I have been accepted by the Wedding Photojournalist Association! It is really an honor for me.  WPJA was the place where I find out more about awesome wedding photojournalists from my area and around the world. Being accepted into that list of photographers is humbling and exciting for me. If you are a bride, I hope you can find great resources about photographers from that website as I did when I planned for my wedding.

1. Connect with your photographer
I’d say the number one tip is to connect with the photographer. Having a good match in personality is something you should not ignore when selecting the photographer. Having a photographer that can talk and laugh with you will help you be natural and relaxed in front the camera and be the best of yourself. One thing I highly recommend is doing an engagement session. When the big day comes, you already know exactly how your photographer works, and you will just have to worry about being your happy self!

2. Allocate a lot of time for your pictures
Make sure you plan enough time for pictures, not just enough time for formal pictures with the family. Having some private moments to capture images of you and your groom is priceless. I recommend that you think about this when planning your wedding day timeline. Pick a few locations that you’d like to have pictures taken and discuss this with your photographer before the big day.

3. First look
This is most definitely a personal choice. More and more brides chose to see each other before the ceremony nowadays. I did that on my wedding and I found that to be a great decision. The first look can be as emotional as the one walking down the aisle. This ties back to point number 2, by having the first look, you and your groom will be have a lot of time before the ceremony to take pictures. You will also feel less rushed after the ceremony ends. You can then enjoy that time talking and greeting all the guests that are at the wedding to celebrate your day with you.

4. Location, location, location
Your ceremony and your reception may not be at the grandest places. But you can pick some locations, or ask your photographer to help pick some great location for pictures of the bride-groom and wedding party. Have a place with large windows for getting ready (parents’ house, hotel, etc). A beautiful backdrop will never hurt!

5. Custom designed album
Many people asked what I did with my wedding pictures. I always laugh and tell them, nothing, absolutely nothing. I did not even have one printed out. I tried, I loved my wedding pictures a lot, but I could never make up my mind which ones of the hundreds of pictures I got back on DVD I wanted printed out. Now that I am a wedding photographer, I love designing wedding albums. Each album tells a story of love. They are hand selected pictures that completely tell the the story of the wedding day. These include little details that you’d never thought about printing out a picture for, to the formal and candid portraits of the bride and groom and the loved ones that attended the wedding. I know I would be designing the album for my own wedding. Soon I will also have a beautiful flushmount album to relive the story of my wedding day.

These are the tips I can think of for now. Feel free to drop me a comment on what you did for getting better pictures on your wedding day!