Jessica Lemmons Photography Blog, Longview Washington (Wa.) photographer.

Clinton and Kari were married at their home church – a small but beautiful Lutheran chapel in Chehalis.  You might remember Clinton and Kari from their e-session here.  My second shooter Ruth and I had an amazing time with these two (and Ruth rocked as my second btw and some of the photos below are from her).  We shot most of their photos just outside of their church – you’d never know we were in a parking lot now would ya?  ;-) and then finished up the rest of their day with a super-fun reception at the beautiful Hotel Washington in downtown Chehalis.   Thank you so much Clinton and Kari for having me as your photographer and Congratulations!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This whole wedding was just to much fun!  Tanner and Shannon’s biggest thing that they emphasized to me in our pre-wedding consult was that they wanted photos of them and their guests just enjoying their day…and well, that’s what we did!  Their whole day was laid back, fun, filled with laughs and just an all out celebration of who Tanner and Shannon are.   The wedding was held at the Edgefield McMenimens  in Troutdale Oregon and they couldn’t have picked a better venue.  Shannon looked  radiant and the day went beautifully.  Thank you again Nate for helping me (a number of the photos below are thanks to him!)

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok……so this wedding is a little bit EXTRA special to me.   The groom is actually my cousin…..well third cousin if you want to get all-technical, but until I was about 10 or so we all lived in the same town and so our families spent a lot of time together. My little brother and him were buddies.   They moved away when we were all still young, up to Lynden (a 4 hours drive) so family get-together’s were rare.   So when I found out that him and his long time girlfriend Marian were tying the knot and wanted me to be their photographer I was so excited!

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story coming soon…….

 

So starting with Sean and Shannon I’m trying a new thing on my blog!  As I explained to Shannon awhile back – every time I photograph a wedding I LOVE it!  I think the bride looks beautiful, the venue is (usually!) gorgeous, the day is amazing and the couple so in love.  After 4 years of this I’m running out of things to say!  LOL (as if that were really possible!!!) I feel like my generic writing doesn’t ever do a bride justice and considering that I’m talking about the best day of these couples lives I need to change that! So….starting with Sean and Shannon I ‘m going to try something new and (I think) more meaningful!  Their day as told by them (with my commentary thrown in for good measure!) So here goes…..

 

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!!!