Grace and Graham choose to get married on a sacred rock overlooking the sprawling family farm on the banks of a small island. It was a most relaxed affair leaving plenty of space for laughs and leisurely preparations.  Didier Gincig led a touching ceremony and Apotheca Design presented all of the gorgeous flowers.  Enjoy the story.

I had the pleasure of documenting a cute small wedding at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island last month.  Carrie and Nick’s no stress approach left plenty of time and space for taking in the scenery of the dramatic location.  Here are some of my favorites moments of the day.  Enjoy the story.

I love a Doe Bay Resort wedding.  JD + Natalie choose a fantastic setting for an intimate wedding. The love was evident, even through all the facemarks and long distance video calls for those that couldn’t be there. Enjoy the story.

Here’s another pandemic influenced fast-tracked wedding turned beautiful intimate elopement. Galen and Katie pulled off the most relaxing affair on the edge of a magical lake in the San Juan Islands.  Moran State Park to be exact.

A modest Park Ranger cabin felt safe enough for the free ranging chickens and apple hungry deer. A tree lined path led to a quiet corner of Cascade Lake where a pair of their bestest friends did the officiating and witnessing.  I feel blessed to have witnessed it also.

Enjoy the story and be sure to check out the first dance on rollerskates.

Cancelled weddings due to the pandemic have caused a spike in elopements this summer. (You can’t stop love!!!)  Brides and grooms can be authentically bummed going through the process of switching gears to something so low key.  But come the day of the ceremony, I enter  into a scene of bliss and udder joy for how it all plays out. Kristy and Sean was the perfect example.  Enjoy the story as I tried to capture their joy and love.

If a San Juans Island elopement is in your future, contact me for ideas to make it go beautiful and smooth.

No elopement in the Tuscany region of Italy is complete without a couple of days of touring vineyards.  Laura and I were blown away by the tradition and beauty of this region.  Morgan, a wellness coach, and Jonathon, a sommelier back in the States, embarked on a wine tasting of the highest caliber.

The morning started with a tour of the Castello di Brolio in Chianti, about 20 km NE of Siena. The palace has belonged to the Ricasoli family for nearly 800 years. The castle was destroyed more than once during the wars between Siena and Florence. Long before Italy was Italy.

The class and decadence kept going back at the accommodations.  Picture an 8th century Tuscany village turned 5 Star Resort and Spa.  What an experience! Borgo San Felice provided the setting for an unforgettable dinner and evening stroll through the ancient grounds.

Enjoy the story.

And stay tuned for day 2!

A message from Kate + Kyle:

We want to thank our awesome caterer The Kitchen, our florists at The Nest and Metropolitan Market, our DJ Carrie Barroll, and our supplier Orcas Events. We loved our venue at Odds Fellows where they let us visit multiple times over the summer and provided a space so beautiful and so perfect. Big shout out to Adam for memorializing this day in such a unique way. And finally we want to thank all of our family and friends that not only made the trip, but the ones that arrived early and stayed late, to the ones that put flowers in vases, filled their cars with food and supplies and brought them on the boat, moved chairs in their formal wear, and officiated our wedding. To the friends and family that ran the whole show from start to finish-this would not have been possible without you and we love that our life together started with you. Thank you to everyone!

Enjoy the Story.

To see the whole story, head over to the main gallery here.

Here’s a beautiful blended family wedding story from San Juan Island.  Scroll to the bottom to hear what the bride and groom have to say….

Shout outs!

There are many people to thank for making our special day happen.  Many who are listed had to give considerable time, effort, and travel for us.  We are touched more than you realize.  Thank you!

Saltwater farm – the newest wedding venue on San Juan Island. Thank you for hearing our story, recognizing our needs, and accommodated our family. We appreciate and admire your passion and vision. You made our dreams a reality.  Merriss and Andrew, we love your new venue and wish you much success. Hillary is a great asset to your team and we are so thankful we were able to get to know each of you.

Coho Catering – Anna Marie is a true professional. She was wonderful to work with from the beginning. She listened to our wants (oysters) and she made wonderful suggestions.  Despite some technical difficulty her team delivered on a reception dinner that was a hit. Thank you for making it all seamless.

Wild Berry Farm – Susie, you did everything we asked. Your attention to detail and your passion for your profession were unmatched. Your flowers captured the essence of what we were trying to accomplish. Thank you for caring as much as you do!

Adam Nash Photography– Adam, thank you for your talent capturing moments that speak for themselves through photographs. Thank you also for your chill style and your kindness. You understood our situation better than most could. Thank you for being there for our family. You are exactly the photographer we wanted to memorialize our special day.

Nancy Dahlberg – We are blessed to have your talent and love be a part of our wedding. There was never a doubt that we wanted to ask you to play a role in our ceremony.  You and your family are very special to our family. Your love and support over the years has touched us tremendously. We are so thankful you were there to be a part of it all.

Tim Schaaf – Tim, we could not have asked for a better pastor and master of ceremonies than you. You are a wonderful brother and friend.  You know our family better than most and your words meant so much to us. We couldn’t imagine making this commitment to each other and the girls without your love, guidance, and support over the years.

Claire Freeman and Jesse Wentz – You both are the amazing wedding beautifying team duo. Thank you for all that you did to make our wedding party feel beautiful and special. You’re talent is obvious and we couldn’t have imagined a more helpful hair styling team. You went above and beyond hair styling and we thank you tremendously!

Caitlin & Breck Grimm: You are truly the best wedding coordinators we could have hired. We admire your kindness, level-headedness, and tenacity.  Our wedding would not have been successful without your help. Caitlin, you somehow managed to make the wedding party beautiful all while coordinating details with vendors. And you made it look easy! Breck, you made all the details come to life. You negotiated decisions and you found solutions to problems without even letting us know what was happening. You are amazing individuals and even better together! We are fortunate to have you as friends.

Blue Wave Band – You guys rocked! We heard overwhelmingly positive reviews about the blue wave band. We couldn’t wait for the moment which you could begin playing at the reception. One of our hopes was that our guests would be moved to let loose and enjoy the evening. And they did! True to your testimonials, you were a hit. It was hard to leave the dance floor once the music started!

Deer Hazel– Kerry Andrews – Kerry, the jewelry you made for me and our girls was exactly what I had hoped for. You shared in my vision and you produced jewelry pieces that are not only beautiful but will hold cherished memories for a lifetime. I feel honored to have gotten to know you over the years. Despite not living on the island all year round, I feel like I have a friend that would be there if I needed it. Thank you for sharing your talents with us and making our day special.

To our family and friends, thank you for your love and support. When we started planning this wedding we initially thought that we would keep this pretty small and simple. When we started to talk about the people that we wanted to share this moment with us, we decided that our day would not be complete without each of you.  We know many of you had to make travel arrangements, hotel reservations, and take time off work to be there with us.  The fact that you made that effort to be there means so much to us.  We are blessed to have such a wonderful family and such dedicated friends.

Carrie & Scott

Nikki + Chris tied the knot on June 22, 2019.  I was honored to be ask to document the story.   It was  a wonderfully relaxed affair at the Orcas Island Oddfellows Hall overlooking Eastsound.   So many smiles and laughs that day.  Enjoy the story…..