Last Saturday, I met up with Anne and Peter for their beautiful wedding at St Joseph’s on Capitol Hill and reception at Ray’s Boathouse (yum!) I started at the church with some quick getting ready shots in the basement dressing room. There were some access problems with the dressing room at first, but Anne was so calm and cheerful about it that I knew right then it was going to be a very relaxed and fun day. Possibly my favorite image of the day was a quick grab shot I made as Anne walked up the stairs from the dressing room. Something about the light, and the mood …
Our next stop was Volunteer Park where we held Peter and Anne’s hilarious first look. As I was setting up, Peter asked, “is she gonna run up and scare me?” to which I laughed and said “no, she’ll give you some kind of signal like a hug, or kiss, or say your name”. Wrong! I almost died laughing as Anne did exactly as predicted by Peter. Too cool. :-) We took full advantage of the shade at the park for the family “formals” (I really must find a more suitable term for these) and the wedding party shots. Hello amazing parasols!
The ceremony, a beautiful Catholic mass with communion, flowed seamlessly into a fun departure, followed by couples photos at Golden Gardens. I love how relaxed and happy Peter and Anne look in these photos, and we had a fun time clambering over the dunes. Meanwhile, my assistant Fiona did a phenomenal job getting detail shots and guest photos during cocktail hour at Ray’s … thank you Fiona! The reception was a whirlwind of fabulous food, great speeches, unusual first dances, kids with cameras (it was like having a miniature entourage!) and beautiful views. Thank you to Anne and Peter for including me in your gorgeous celebration, and I hope you enjoy your teaser photos and of course your slideshow … click here.
Click on the thumbnails below to see the full-size images - and don’t forget to check out the slideshow!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
These two are so funny. I have never seen so many goofy expressions and general silliness in one session before! I met up with Elisa and Max last week outside Volterra restaurant in Ballard. As well as being one of my all-time favorite restaurants, it’s also where these two are holding their rehearsal dinner this coming December - so to any family and friends reading this: you’re in for a treat.
After a few snaps along Ballard Ave we headed over to beautiful Discovery Park in Magnolia. The gloomy skies on the drive over didn’t fill me with hope, but in fact the color mix was perfect. A little moodiness in the sky contrasts so beautifully with warm, golden grasses. It was at Discovery that Max and Elisa really warmed up to the camera, and I especially love the shots by the purple foxgloves. So pretty! Thanks, guys, for trusting my crazy antics, and see you when I fly back for your wedding in December!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
It’s been a busy couple of weeks here again - or should I say, as usual? - and I’m still trying to get caught up on all my blogging. I’ve been itching to share these photos of Karrie and Ryan’s engagement session though and I’m so happy the time has finally come! I met up with Karrie and Ryan at their swank new pad in Kirkland, and off we cruised in the most awesome of open-top cars to downtown Kirkland and Heritage Park for some sunny evening portraits. Fun!
We started off wandering around the town, looking for neat photo spots and ogling the gorgeous restaurants, stores and fancy cars. Everything and everyone is more beautiful on the Eastside! The light is so pretty over there too. After we’d exhausted the streets, we headed along the waterfront and up into Heritage Park. I totally fell for the little garden filled with foxgloves and ferns, and the hill at the top of the park was also picture-perfect. We finished up the evening with chalk drawings on the road - Karrie had fallen in love with a photo of sidewalk chalk and footsies and wanted to recreate something similar for her and Ryan - I think we did a pretty good job. Thank you for a super fun evening, and for waiting so patiently for your pics! And this post wouldn’t be complete without a little shout-out to Karrie’s bridesmaid Amy, a budding photographer who I’m pretty sure is as anxious as Karrie to check out the pics. 
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Last Saturday was another beautiful day for a wedding, this time down in Puyallup. I first met Heather and her mom over a year and a half ago, and it was fun seeing how the wedding theme had developed since we met. In fact, all I knew going into Pioneer Park Pavilion on Saturday afternoon was that the colors were green and pink (so fresh!) It was a very cool surprise when I spotted the underlying theme to the day … Red Sox! I was particularly delighted as I’m now officially heading to Boston at the end of the summer.
Heather’s family hails from Boston, and both her and Gage are HUGE Sox fans - so much so that Gage felt it was utterly appropriate to propose at Fenway Park during a game. That’s courage for you! I love the way they threaded the theme through their wedding day, without it ever screaming sports. Gage’s Red Sox cufflinks … the tables named “Green Monster”, “Yawkey Way” and “Fenway Park” … the photo gallery next to the guest book with their Fenway Park engagement kiss … the rock back down the aisle to the Dropkick Murphies … It was very very cool.
Thank you to Heather and Gage’s family and friends for being so welcoming. And extra special thanks to the ladies for getting their cowboy boot groove on so early in the day (I adore those shots!) and to Gage’s best man for lots of pointers throughout. It was a very fun day. Oh, and after you’ve seen the teasers, check out the highlights slideshow, here.
Click on the thumbnails to see the full images. And don’t forget to check out the slideshow!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Arghhh … I am so behind on my blogging, and emailing, and everything else. Too many trips to Boston! Still, I’m home for a while now and determined to get caught up, and I’m excited to start with Laura and Alex’s gorgeous wedding from a couple of weeks ago.
This was a special day for me - it’s not often that I arrive at a wedding and get introduced as “Josh McElwee’s wife”, but I loved it! My husband Josh was once a grad student on the Molecular + Celular Biology program at UW. It was there that he met Alex, our British groom (yay, a fellow Brit!) and his gorgeous bride Laura. Go pretty science lady! The crazy thing is, that’s not how they found me … I’m pretty sure it was a google search of their venue, the fabulous DAR Rainier Chapter House on Capitol Hill, that led Laura to my photos (and they were doing this search from Sheffield in the UK where they both currently live).
Anyway, when we finally met a few months ago, it felt like seeing old friends, and I was beyond excited to be photographing their special day. There were so many things I loved about their wedding … Laura’s amazing smile; Alex’s emotion during their first look; the three beers brewed especially for the day by their multi-talented officiant friend; the delicious food by Ravishing Radish; the fascinators worn by many of the ladies (we Brits love our head gear); the mini burgers and mini fish ‘n’ chips served during cocktail hour; the amazing first dance - yeah, salsa! What I loved most was how they brought together such a fine mix of British and American traditions, and how well it all gelled. And I guess most of all it reminded me of my own wedding day, and that alone is pretty darn cool.
Thank you so much, Alex and Laura, for your amazing patience with the teaser photos, and for including me in your beautiful celebration. Oh, and be sure to check out your slideshow, over here.
Click on the thumbnails to view the full images, then navigate with the arrow keys. Don’t forget to check out the slideshow!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
It’s an incredible honor being asked to photograph momentous occasions in peoples’ lives - and never more so than when it’s for your very dear friends. Scotty and Michelle spent a while trying for their first baby, and it was announced to our family here in Seattle on Christmas day. It took me a few minutes to get what the heck their strange little Christmas card was all about (yeah, I’m slow like that) but when it finally dawned on me that they were expecting I burst into a quivering mess of happy tears.
Their belly session was rearranged four times, but we finally got to hang out and rub the bump last week, and I am so excited to post these pics. I always find it so much tougher photographing my friends (they know the real me that’s hiding behind the goofball exterior) but I think we did OK. Well, I’ll let you all be the judge of that.
It was Michelle’s baby shower on Sunday, so this is part of my absentee gift (I’m back in Boston right now, house hunting again). Thank you, good luck, and all my love to you guys. And congrats on the FAB paint job in baby Nougat’s room!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
One gorgeous evening last week, I met up with Brianne and Shane for their belly session at my favorite portrait spot in the world, Golden Gardens. It’s not the typical way to shoot a maternity session (it seems that most are done in a studio) but it worked out so well - even if we did get a few strange looks from the teen boys hanging around the bathhouse!
Brianne and Shane are the most amazing couple to work with. As well as being gorgeous, they are also incredibly natural in front of the camera. And I’m sure it helps that they are just bursting with pride for their soon-to-be baby, little Jackson … too cute! I love how they dressed, too - and their colors and the beach setting were chosen to work with the beach theme in Jackson’s new bedroom. Love!
Thank you, Shane and Brianne, for being so easy and fun to work with, and for fighting on through the evening despite the cold. I can’t wait to send you your full collection!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Things are crazy around here! I’m getting a little behind with my blogging, and it’s only just the start of the busy season. Then again, it’s hopefully almost the end of the madness and mayhem that is the selling of our little house here in Seattle. That’s right, the rumors are true - we’re selling up and heading to Boston at the end of the summer!
And Boston is where the lovely Nikki’s husband-to-be Zach currently lives … He isn’t back in Seattle too often, so when our session came around and we were blessed with the warmest day so far this year, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and decided to celebrate with ice cream. After ice creams at Sweet On You, we headed over to Discovery Park in Magnolia for a beautifully sun-drenched hour of wandering, snuggling, kissing and jumping, and even a little alfresco clothes-changing. It was most awesome. Thank you Nikki and Zach for your beauty and love, and I hope you enjoy your teasers.
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Saturday was another beautiful day for a wedding, and I was so happy to be driving back over to West Seattle, this time for Joanna and Lee’s wedding at Salty’s on Alki Beach. I met up with Joanna, her family and bridesmaids, at her good friend George’s new place, a beautiful home perched high up on the hillside with that spectacular view of downtown across the water. That place felt made for photographers, with its huge windows and gorgeous sleek interiors.
Getting ready was a relaxed affair - I loved that Joanna had allowed over an hour and a half for makeup and changing - it meant lots of time to just hang out, munch on strawberries and pastries (thanks George!), and sip Champagne (which I politely declined - no one needs a drunken Kate photographing their wedding!)
Early evening, we headed down to Salty’s for Lee and Joanna’s first look (which was perfect, despite Lee’s anxiety) and some family formals. Then it was into the ceremony which was held in the middle of the dining room with guests at their tables. I have to say, this makes for a wonderfully intimate ceremony, but my goodness it’s hard to photograph!
The reception was perfect - lots of laughter, a few tears, amazing food (of course - it’s Salty’s!), and some brilliant music courtesy of DJ Greg Lowder of Affairs to Remember - lots and lots of rock ‘n’ roll, yeah! Some highlights for me included Lee’s mom’s tears during the ceremony and mother-son dance; the amazing green bridesmaid dresses; pies - REAL pies - for dessert; Joanna’s rockin’ dance with her father; her amazing silver Kate Spade shoes (love!); and most of all, the way that Lee and Joanna look at each other - every time it made my heart skip a beat … magical.
Thanks, Joanna and Lee, for including me in your wonderful day, and be sure to check out the highlights slideshow here.
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Zachton and Nikki also have lots to look forward to this week … we had some fun in the sun at Discovery Park yesterday evening. Happy Memorial Day, everyone - I’m off to eat yet more grilled food and maybe even drink a beer or two …
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Yesterday’s wedding was utterly adorable in so many ways. I just wanted to share this. Flowers, and grandma, at George’s amazing home in West Seattle. It was some damn cool getting ready. Joanna and Lee have lots to look forward to …
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
Sonia and Tony are totally rad! And with such a rad couple to photograph I had to pay a visit to the raddest of Seattle locations, the OSP. I heart this place! My absolute favorite thing about the Sculpture Park is that huge rusty wave sculpture at the top of the park by the pavilion, and when I saw the awesome flare coming from my 20mm lens between the waves I was in photo heaven. It’s flare with arrows! With cute dancing people! Yeah, I was pretty excited.
After I had gotten over being all excited about the flare and the rust and such silly things, we strolled through the rest of the park, and down to the little grassy area overlooking the water, Myrtle Edwards Park. Sunday was toasty warm and we were all very happy to seek refuge in the shade of some tall trees and roll around in the grass for a little bit (me, and them). Sonia and Tony were fantabulous to photograph - so relaxed and smoochy and happy. Hurray!
At the end of the afternoon, we made a super speedy stop at Kerry park - the spot where these two cuties got engaged. It was crazy busy up there but we managed to steal the skyline for a couple of minutes, and then they hopped over the wall for some final shots in the grass. Thanks you both for a very fun time, and I hope you like your teasers!
© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography
by Kate
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