We had such pretty light that day – even at noon!

We didn’t have the best weather for portraits on the wedding day, so I wanted to make sure I got a few of Em alone. Her bouquet was made by Alexei for this shoot – wow!! He also made his own boutonniere (the man’s got some serious talent!)

The Connors Family Retreat is stunning in itself, but it’s also surrounded by lovely woodland. I really like the series we got in the woods to the side of the property:

I thought it would be fun to play with the crazy strong light and see what we could come up with … do you like these?

Probably my favorite shots of the day came from this spot on the stone wall that leads up to the main grounds:

And some final photos on the driveway. It was SO good to see you both again, and thank you so, so much for your patience with these. I really appreciate it! The full set will be with you very shortly.

Jessica and Jeff moved to Boston a few months ago for work, and they quickly fell for their new city.  They live in Beacon Hill and wanted some photos that showed off their favorite spots in the neighborhood.  We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful afternoon for photos – the light was truly incredible.  I’ll start with two of my favorite photos from our session:

We started out in the Boston Public Garden with some relaxed sitting and wandering.

I wanted to capture the beauty of the gardens, and the light that day, but without showing the throngs of tourists in the background. Patience was needed …

We headed over to Comm. Ave next, and it was here that I captured some of my very favorite images of the day:

Jessica wanted to show off the beauty of Beacon Hill so we wandered up through the cobblestone streets and found some great spots.

These two are so cute! I love how sweet and giggly they are with each other:

I loved the impromptu piggyback ride!

And one last photo to end the teasers for today. Thank you Jessica + Jeff for a super fun time – I hope you like your teasers!

Ali will tell you that she met Trevin – in a roundabout way – because of the show Beauty and the Geek (Trevin’s the “geek” in case you hadn’t guessed … although he’s pretty good lookin’ for a geek).

Trevin will tell you that he met Ali through his extraordinary pie-pimpin’ skills at a friend’s party.  This is also true. 

When these cutie-pies decided it was time to tie the knot, Trevin emailed me about being their photographer. I was totally bummed that I was already booked … apart from anything else, look at them! And … purple shoes and a purple birdcage veil. And … how many people do you know that work it quite so well in front of a camera? Yep, I was bummed.

Still, that’s what day after sessions are for, right? Trevin agrees.

And who knew that public restrooms would make such a fun backdrop for a wide angle portrait? Love this!

We had some fun working the eyes …

And a few last sweet shots of these cuties bathed in the prettiest of Seattle light … sigh.

Thank you both for an awesome afternoon, for rocking it out for my camera, and for bringing the beauty and the geek.  Next time: we’ll drink some beer!  And if you like what you’ve seen here, please come over and like my Facebook page – click right here.  Thanks!

We were blessed with gorgeous sunshine that lovely, warm afternoon at Olmsted Park and Leverett Pond in JP.  Thank you, Monique, for trusting me.  I hope you enjoy the results!

I am in love with those ducks!  And I love Monique’s bright blue eyes …

I was trying to get out of my open shade/backlit comfort zone with some of these shots – including the last image above …

Monique’s got killer shoes and a huge smile.  Love it!

(Seriously killer shoes …)

I’d love to know what you think – have you got any favorites?  And … if you’re a newly engaged couple wanting some kick ass wedding and engagement photos, view my portfolio here; if you’re more interested in kids and pets, click here; follow me on Facebook here … or contact me here!

Justin and Kat are amazing models – and I was surprised at how little direction they needed.  It could just be that Kat’s experience behind the lens plays a part; she’s a phenomenal photographer herself, and although she’s not been in business long she’s already creating a storm in Seattle – check out her wedding, engagement and boudoir portfolio here.  Thank you, guys, for waiting so patiently for your teasers, and for being such great sports.  I hope you enjoy your pics!

Seattle Trash the Dress Session with Justin + Kat

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© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography

Hang and Hai are getting married in China in January.  They have actually been married for several years, but the first time around it was a secret affair just before they moved to the US.  This time, it’s full on craziness – I think they told me there would be 350 guests! – and they booked me for an extended portrait session before heading back home for the big day.  We started off with what we photographers fondly refer to as a trash the dress session (although it’s actually pretty common for Chinese couples to do a pre-wedding portrait session in wedding clothing) and ended with a regular engagement session.  Being blessed with several hours to play with, a beautiful location (Elm Bank in Wellesley), the most amazingly gorgeous weather and a very camera-comfortable and cute couple, I had to break our session into two posts … and as you can see below, I still had trouble narrowing down the images for the teaser post here!  During the shoot, I asked Hang how long she’d been looking for a photographer for the session … she told me six months.  Wow!  I hope it was worth the wait!

Trash the dress session in Wellesley near Boston

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© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography

We met up in West Seattle, and after a rain-drenched wedding day last summer, this time the sun gods were beaming – it really was quite the melting pot on Alki that afternoon.  We started off right next to the water on some little steps that Alexa had spotted, then moved to the shade of a very tall and pretty tree.  I loved that Brian and Alexa were totally relaxed and smiley despite the many tourists and locals watching them cavort in their wedding outfits.    Our second stop was Lincoln Park.  I had fun trying to work the dappled light, but my favorite shots of the day came from our time spent rolling around in the grass (them, not me).  Our very last stop was a funky brick wall just around the corner from their lovely home.  It’s not often that I do much Photoshopping, but that kiss on the corner was just crying out for some vintagey goodness.

Thank you, guys, for waiting so patiently – I promise that your disk will be in the mail soon!

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© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography

Hailey wanted to get some cute beachy pictures, so of course I had to introduce them to my favorite watery Seattle spot, Golden Gardens.  If you haven’t been to Golden Gardens on a sunny evening then you pretty much haven’t lived!  They loved the beach, of course, and Hailey even braved the icy cold waters for a quick paddle … and I was very impressed to see how she managed to keep smiling, it was so cold in there!

They brought along the newest addition to the family, their super cute mini dachshund Jack.  He’s a little bit camera shy, but I could resist at least trying to get some cute shots of him too (and I got the most adorable family portrait of the three of them together!)

We finished the evening with a couple of shots down at the market (Stan proposed with a flying fish so the market has a lot of meaning for them).  Thanks guys for travelling so far for your photos – and I’m already looking forward to next time!

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© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography

© 2009 Kate McElwee Photography