Essential Stuff

Leavenworth was an appropriate place for Debby and Justin to marry.  Suitably mountainous and close to the Pacific Crest Trail, which is where they met, hiking (trail names, Wildchild and Dash).  The day started out gorgeous, with plenty of warmth and sun.  A storm front blew in that evening, but it didn’t bring more than a few drops of rain, and they fell just as the ceremony was over.

I always like the details that make the day unique:  the brilliant blue necklace, the ceremony written by Debby, the marriage certificate signed as part of the ceremony, the spontaneous dance outside while everyone else at the reception ate, and a leisurely stroll through an organic garden.  And, befitting their meeting on the Pacific Crest Trail, they planned to spend their honeymoon on the trail, making omelets  and burgers for hikers needing a meal.  You can see photographs from their wedding day here.

This is Amber and John.  And there are a few things to know that will help as you look through their wedding pictures.  First, they are easy to photograph.  But you’ll notice that on your own.  Second, there was apparently a good bit of discussion about kisses before the wedding day.  They wanted to do the portraits before the ceremony, but they decided that they would not kiss until they were announced as “husband and wife” during the ceremony.  Kisses on the cheek were permitted.  Eskimo kisses were permitted.  And something that might be called “finger-kisses” were permitted (see photo above).  But no kiss on the lips.  Just something to pay attention to.

Also, they discussed that ceremonial kiss as well.  They agreed that, in the interest of decorum, it would be a short, sweet kiss.  Not much more than a peck. But it didn’t exactly turn out that way.

Otherwise, everything went exactly as planned.

This is Rochelle and Jeffrey.  What was especially fun about shooting their wedding is that we were just a few weeks removed from a fun, relaxed engagement session in Riverfront Park that included some quality play time at the playground.  They held their ceremony in the Blue Room at the Masonic Temple, which was kind of cool, because while I’ve shot portraits in the Blue Room, and done plenty of weddings up in the Falls Room, I’ve never shot a wedding there.  And it was gorgeous.

The reception was also fun, with lots of candy (including some fizzy watermelon pop rock type things that I found addictive . . . shhhhh . . . don’t tell), fun dancing, toasts, and a guys-only cigar session on the balcony.  However, given where they both work (he as a lifeguard, she as an aquatics instructor), I was just a little disappointed their first dance wasn’t to the YMCA song.  All in all, a great evening.  A gallery of photographs from the wedding is available here.

Okay, so the story of how I ended up photographing Kallie and Jordan’s wedding is kind of a long one. Are you ready?

It all started in 2006, when Stefanie and Dustin married in Spokane. Dustin’s best man was a guy named Jordan, who gave a heart-felt speech, the gist of which I still remember: Dustin and Jordan had been about as close to brothers as two guys who aren’t brothers could be, who lived down the street from each other, spent enormous amounts of time at each other’s houses, and played some really physically brutal games together.

Skip forward to 2008, when I was shooting Brooke and Mike’s wedding at a gorgeous setting outside of Chewelah. Dances, toasts, bouquet, garter, all that, but when the guy caught the garter, I thought to myself, “I’ve seen this guy before”. Then I remembered Dustin’s wedding, so I looked up in my archived photos, and sure enough, it was Jordan, Dustin’s best man (maybe I didn’t recognize him right away without his tuxedo).

Now we go to Moses Lake in 2009 for Allyson and Kellen’s wedding, which was extra cool because I had photographed Allyson’s sister Katy’s (and brother-in-law DJ’s) wedding in 2007. And who should catch the garter? Jordan again! I recognized him right away this time, even with his new facial scruff. I remember stopping him and mentioning this odd coincidence, and I met at that time his companion, a certain Kallie who shows up in more than one photo from that day, wearing a black dress. I later learned that Jordan attended a slew of weddings that year and caught more than his fair share of garters (I wondered if he had used those elbows he had used against Dustin in their childhood games).

In 2009, I shot my first wedding at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center, which really is way, way up at the peak of the mountain. It was Christy and Travis’ wedding. It so happens that Kallie had once worked at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center, which meant that she knew Christy, whose mother is on the staff there. Later that summer, I was up at Chewelah Peak Learning Center again, this time for Kaleena and Joel’s wedding.

I had no idea that Kaleena was good friends with Kallie and Jordan until I learned (via facebook) that Kaleena would be attending their wedding. But the archived photos proves Kallie was, in fact, at Kaleena’s wedding, where she even appears in an unlikely portrait.  Like at Allyson’s wedding, Kallie wore black, and, apparently taking lessons from Jordan, she caught Kaleena’s bouquet.

And indeed, Kaleena not only attended Kallie and Jordan’s wedding, but was given the honor of reading a beautiful poem during the ceremony. I was looking forward to seeing Joel there, even though he’s a 49ers fan, but, alas, he had familial obligations (jerk). I had also hoped to see, perhaps irrationally, Allyson and Kellen and Katy and DJ and Christy and Travis and Brooke and Mike and Stefanie and Dustin. And I DID see Stefanie and Dustin again. Dustin was, naturally, a groomsman, and returned the honor Jordan had given him four years earlier with a heart-felt speech. I also met Stefanie and Dustin’s newest family member, Aubrey, who will be getting a little brother later this fall, both of whose weddings I hope to shoot, sometime in the summers of 2031 and 2033, respectively.

Anyway, all that leads back to Kallie and Jordan, at Chewelah Peak Learning Center, in the summer of 2010.  I had crossed paths with them so many times, through all these different people, that had they not selected me to shoot their wedding, I would have at least expected an invitation.  Fortunately for me, the did have me photograph their wedding (and what a great wedding it was).

I didn’t know the woman who caught the bouquet or the man who caught the garter at Kallie and Jordan’s wedding, but given all the times I’ve brushed shoulders with Kallie and Jordan, perhaps I should have given them my card.

This is Kallie and Jordan.  I’ve actually known of them for a while (see the whole story of that here), so it was fun to be able to photograph their wedding.

Kallie, to be honest, was just a bit nervous at first.  That is, until she saw Jordan.  And from then on, nothing could bother them.  Not a fairly chaotic portrait session.  Not the brief rain during the ceremony that sent many guests scampering under tents.  Not a phenomenally long receiving line of well-wishers (which is only natural given their large contingent of friends).

For me, I loved the little splash of rain that gave their wedding an extra bit of character (and, from my understanding, gives them an extra dose of good fortune).  I loved the poem they chose to have read during the ceremony.  I loved watching them with their guests.  You’ll notice in the photos that, beyond just hugs, many people touched their faces.  To me, that speaks of the meaningful connection they have with their friends and family.  And, of course, I loved watching their first dance, under a dark blue sky.

Here are some photographs from the wedding day.