Kyle and Nichole –  you might remember them from their e-session/family session here.   They had a beautiful winter wedding at the Red Lion here in Kelso.   I especially love Nichole’s choice of dress.   A beautiful red Maggie Sottero gown that looked absolutely breathtaking on Nichole.   I really enjoyed getting to know these two and their sweet kiddos.   They were both a joy to work with – Nichole was dream bride, so laid-back and relaxed, an absolute gem!  Kyle – you are a lucky guy to have a girl like Nichole! (though I know you already know that with how much you treasure her! )    Thank you so much for having me as your photographer you guys!

My friend and photographer Aaron Anderson was my second shooter for this event, he did an AWESOME job and I’m looking forward to having him for more weddings in the future!

When we arrived Christian and Linda were all ready to go for photos – so we started our day off with their “first look.”  For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s when the bride and groom and opt to see each other before the ceremony.  So while I know this is non-traditional in a sense,these days about 70% of my brides opt for this and while I love tradition (and you won’t find me opposed to bride’s and grooms that wait to see each at all!!! There are ways having awesome photos the traditional way too!) this way does make a smoother transition between ceremony and reception for the guest’s, which is why I recommend it when my opinion is asked.   I also love the fact that my second shooter and I can jump all over the place capturing those first look expressions and not worry about blocking the guests view.

So back to the photos,  I thought it would be fun to show the different shots Aaron and I got during the first look sequence – keep in mind all of this happens in less than 30 seconds.

Aaron’s view on the left, mine on the right:

And again, Aaron on the left, my two on the right:

Mine on the Left Aaron’s on the right:

Then we jumped right into the formals before it got dark.

You two are so stinking gorgeous!

I’m gonna say it again:  GORGEOUS!!!!

I love, love, LOVE that the entire wedding party wore TOMS!

Mine on left and a few second’s later Aaron’s on the right.

Some of the details:

The ceremony:

Epic fist-pumping by Linda at the pronouncement:

And then it was on to the reception:

Christian and Linda – thank you again!  I had so much fun working with you two and wish you both lot’s of blessings in your marriage together!  - Jess

Tanner and Shannon – Thank you!  I was honored to be there and throughly enjoyed being a part of your day!

3 years ago I was driving to the beach and saw this little road, I was totally intrigued and did the thing any normal photographer would do….I pulled off and took some photos of it.

Well…..3 years later I end up on the same road and wouldn’t you know it that is where this wedding happens to be.  Just a random spot on the side of the road (part of Caleb’s families property), but such a pretty spot that you can’t help but fall in love with it.    So yes..Caleb and Kellyn were married on the side of the road.   But what a beautiful roadside wedding it was!    I thought it was a funny coincidence when I realized “where” I was.

Caleb and Kellyn – I seriously LOVED your wedding.   Everything about it was absolutely beautiful….  Thank you for having me.  I felt so honored to be there!

What was the favorite part of your wedding day? 

Kellyn:  My favorite part of the day was saying my vows and hearing Caleb say his.  It felt so good to FINALLY become his wife!

Caleb:  My favorite part of the wedding day was seeing Kellyn come down the aisle.  She looked beautiful.

Why did you pick the venue you did?

Kellyn:  We picked family property for our little wedding because we wanted some place memorable and beautiful.  We picked The Loft at the Red Building for the reception because it’s a gorgeous location and the view is unbeatable!  :)

Caleb:  It was beautiful and intimate, which is just what we wanted.

Tell me about your details - 

Kellyn:  I didn’t fuss to much over the details.  Where we had the reception didn’t need a lot of decorating because it is already so beautiful, so I wanted to keep it simple.  Our main decoration was birch branches and we added purple and ivory flowers for color.  I purchased a bunch of lanterns for centerpieces, but left most of the decorating to our amazing florist.  Everything turned out perfect!  Caleb hand-made some of our decorations, like our Words of Wisdom Book.  I am thankful to be married to such a talented man!

Caleb:  The details were up to Kellyn, but it turned out great.

Tell me about your bridal party and why you picked them - 

Kellyn:  We had a very small family wedding, so my bridesmaids consisted of my sister, sister-in-law, and my two best friends.  :)  I picked them because they mean the world to me.  They are the people I wanted around me on my wedding day.

Caleb:  I had three groomsmen, my brother and my two brother-in-laws.  I picked them because they are family and have always been there for me.

What was the funniest thing that happened that day?

Kellyn:  Oh gosh, when it was happening it wasn’t very funny.  But looking back on it, it is now.  My biggest pet peeve is being late, but I was almost late to my own wedding!  Our hair appointment went too long.  I had about 10 minutes to get dressed and get ready.  Somehow I made it and the wedding started only a few minutes late.  I have no idea how I managed to get ready that fast!!

Caleb:  I thought watching our nephews was the funniest part of the day.  Not all of them were in the best mood…  

Where did you go for your honeymoon?

Kellyn:  We spent two glorious weeks in Maui!

Caleb:  MAUI!

Marian is a gem….and Nate is just flat out wonderful to her and their sweet little guy.  I had so much fun taking a mini-vacation up there (Bellingham) to photograph their wedding.   Catching up with family was also a nice little bonus.  ;-)    I’m gonna shut up now and let Marian tell ya’ll about their day in her words, but before I do I want to give a BIG. HUGE. GIGANTIC thank you to my wonderful friend Cindy for seconding with me again.  You rock girl!

What was the favorite part of your wedding day?   My favorite part of the day was hearing the words Mr. And Mrs. Nate Kelsey – it was a rather chaotic day , so to hear those sweet, simple words really calmed me down and made me forget why I was upset – at least for the night. 

Why did you pick the venue you did?    We chose Homestead Golf & Resort because we have been members there for years- and the venue looked like something out of a fairy tale when we booked it. 

Tell me about your details:   Details – well my favorite detail of the evening was the flowers. It was the only thing that I had planned that actually turned out to be what I had expected. They were beautiful! White, light & dark pink Gerber daisies with green fillers and white roses – the centerpieces had a fun, but classy edge to them, as the vases were lined with limes – which pulled my color scheme of pink and green altogether.

Tell me about your bridal party and why you picked them:      My bridal party consisted of mainly family. We are pretty close with our family & for me, it was out of the question to not ask Nate’s sisters, as they have been a huge part of our relationship. Also in the party, were our two good friends – Elizabeth, whom I have known for about 18 years and Nate’s good friend Liju, who has supported us from the beginning. The best part of our bridal party – was Nate’s best man, Peyton our son, who by all means is the best man. My maid of Honor was my cousin, Rheagan who has just the biggest heart & tries her best to give you her all. We had 5 flower girls – all our nieces; Aliyah, Adyson, Alexah, Audrie & Carlee alongside the ring bearer Kamden.

What was the funniest thing that happened that day?    The funniest thing that happened that day – would be my parents toasts & my brothers reactions to those toasts…. LOL (no details there… sorry!) 

Where did you go for your honeymoon?  Nate and I went to Vegas for our honeymoon; once we got there we were told that it was a very weird spot to choose… because it is one of the wedding capitals in the world…not honeymoon capitals. LOL. We had a great time, saw Kris Angel, the Excalibur knight show & even rented a Camaro to drive out to the Hoover Dam. It was VERY hot – a whopping 109 the entire time, which was a little too hot for us Washington folks… but we had a blast, staying at the Bellagio.

What was your favorite part of the wedding day? 

Sean- When I got to see Shannon for the first time in the dress.

Shannon- My favorite part of the day was seeing Sean dressed up and when we had our first look and he saw me in my wedding dress. The look on his face- I’ll never forget that. (me: check out his face on the first look…..so precious!!!) The other favorite part of the day was when Sean performed the song he wrote for me. It was a very pleasant surprise to me.

Why did you pick out the venue that you did?

Sean- It’s our home church and it is beautiful.

Shannon- We both always pictured getting married in a church and it just made sense for it to be our home church. Plus, it’s absolutely gorgeous. (me: agreed!!!)

Tell me about the details:

Sean- The flowers and wedding parties outfits looked really good and I was pleased with how they turned out.

Shannon- We chose to have an assortment of white flowers and lots of them. Along side a family friend/floweriest, I helped choose the particular white flowers I wanted everywhere. The flowers ended up turning just as lovely as I had hoped.

Tell me about your bridal party and why you picked them:

Sean- They people who have always been close to us and we could trust them.

Shannon- My bridesmaids are all very close friends of mine. Each have left a significant impact in my life.

What was the funniest thing that happened that day?

Sean- When the bridal party fixed Shannon’ dress, my groomsmen pat me down and one of them slapped my butt and gave me a thumbs up. Everyone laughed and got a kick out of the humor in it all. (me: you can totally see one of the groomsmen slapping his butt in one of the ceremony photos -HILARIOUS!!!)

Shannon- I laughed and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Sean’s grooms men come up behind him and give him a quick pat down during the same time in which my bridesmaids readjusted my wedding dress. It was a classic moment that fit in well during the ceremony even through neither Sean or I had purposely planned it to happen.

Where did you go for your honeymoon?   Sean and Shannon – Maui!

Here’s the photos:

Their first look:

Thank you Sean and Shannon for having me as your photographer and thank you Cindy for your help!  You rock girl!!!

Their first look:

The details:

The gorgeous bride:

The bridal party:

The ceremony:

Husband and wife:

My favorite one – they didn’t know I took and I love that!  :-)

]]> http://jessicalemmonsphotography.com/blog/steve-and-jill-july-30th-2011-wedding-photography-longview-wa/feed/ 2 http://jessicalemmonsphotography.com/blog/travis-and-ali-july-23rd-2011-wedding-photography-centralia-wa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=travis-and-ali-july-23rd-2011-wedding-photography-centralia-wa http://jessicalemmonsphotography.com/blog/travis-and-ali-july-23rd-2011-wedding-photography-centralia-wa/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:45:59 +0000 jessical http://jessicalemmonsphotography.com/blog/?p=3644 Ali’s older sister referred her to me in the spring – she is a photographer herself and we’ve known each other for a few years online.  I was honored to be shooting the little sis of a photographer I admire (and of course a little nervous – I always get nervous photographing other photogs!).  Ali and Travis were so much fun- we got to know each other first at their engagement session a few month’s back and I could tell by Travis’s sense of humor their wedding would be a fun one (note the cake-in-face shots and the cake topper….haha!!!). Their wedding was at Swede Hall in Centralia, and oh goodness was it HOT out that day!   Ali looked absolutely gorgeous and I so enjoyed getting to photograph the two of them.  A big thank you so my 2nd shooter Cindy – loved having you there with me girl! Thanks for the awesome work!