One Love Photo

How could i forget.....

to include these gems in the earlier posts on whitney and dan's wedding?

just finished this wedding and have been enjoying watching their slideshow over and over again. i love the day that we finish a wedding and i get to call our sweet clients and let them know that all their photos are ready to enjoy! sometimes i wish we could spy on them with a web cam and watch their faces and reactions as they watch the slideshow for the first time. if you would like, take a little peek at whitney and dan's show over here. it makes me happy.

Sweet Thing #10 - candy bartender

it's been quite some time since i've posted a sweet thing (much too long). sweet things are kind of like a martha stewart "good things" but with a one love photo wedding spin. our featured sweet things are clever and creative things that our clients do to add a personal touch to their weddings. such as this colorful candy bar from mary and erik's christmas wedding!

what made their candy bar extra special was that a good friend dressed up in a cute apron and took on the role as their "candy bartender". she set it all up and kept it tidy. she explained which were mary and erik's favorite treats. and she helped all their guests dig in and not be shy! with her encouragement no one felt guilty about getting a sugar buzz on before dinner was served. candy bars are a really easy and great way to treat your guests. add cute bags to the table for them to fill up and you have a perfect gift.

oh how cute! mary is passing on her favorite (gummy sharks) and eating erik's candy of choice, orange slices! i have to vote for erik's favorite on this one. the other day at the zoo, my dad and nephews were having a weird conversation about meat. my dad was asking them what was their favorite type of meat to have for dinner. am thinking it seemed weird to me since i don't eat meat and we were at the zoo. i had to laugh out loud when my nephew reece quickly replied "gummy hamburgers from grandma sally's!" he is our junk food kid through and through. warning: don't let him anywhere near your candy bar.

love this....dinner roll in one hand and orange slice in the other!

we seem to attract very clever and creative couples and feel so privileged to work with them! the other day my mom asked me if all our clients were graphic designers and artists, i laughed and replied "it certainly seems that way, doesn't it?!" feel free to visit past "sweet things" and get inspired while reading about our client's awesome weddings here and here. 

Sweet Thing #9 - polaroids

was quite excited to be the first one to shoot a polaroid at nancy and dustin's wedding. of course i had to take a photo of the photo. because this is what goofy photos girls do.

the magic of watching a thick square image appear instantly. i always shake them for some reason, thinking it helps them develop. it must root back to my good old stinky darkroom days.

when i was a photo teacher at a high school, i would shoot a polaroid of each student. they would decorate them, write little facts about themselves on the back. i would study them, flipping through the piles, getting to know them. connecting a face with the name. everyday i would use them instead of the sheet provided by the office to take roll.

because there is no negative or digital file, polaroids are little one of a kind treasures. once i bought a collection of them from an artist in mexico. i couldn't believe she would part with her originals. but she had boxes and boxes. she traveled all over mexico with her polaroid camera, boxes of film and coins to manipulate the surface. i spent over an hour deciding on my collection of five. her little polaroids of statues and doorways inspired me. i referenced them as i attempted to paint for the first time. i still cherish them.

using polaroids at a wedding is a great way to capture your guests. the images are candid and playful. i love the special polaroid guest books. each page has on little square to slide the photos into and lots of blank space for sweet messages.

what's not so sweet is that polaroid announced on feb 8th 2008 that it will discontinue production of all instant film. check out save polaroid to get more info. you can still get a combo deal on amazon, guest book and a twin pack of film for $86.20 (not bad). get it while you can.

a few of my top picks:
upper left: photo of my toilet that i shot before going off to the plumbing store. i wanted to show the guy which type of toilet we needed parts for to fix. apparentely we have a rare old toilet. for some reason i can't throw this one away.
upper right: my favorite image that i bought from the woman in mexico. i attempted my first painting using this as my guide. i prefer the polaroid to my painting. but it was fun to try.
two bottom ones: shots from my messy colorful classroom. i let the kids paint the walls and their stools. the pink stool on the right says "photography is for suckers-booyah!" you have to love adolescent self expression.

one of my favorite places to admire pretty polaroid images is at nectar and light by jenifer altman. her four year old daughter adie has her own blog as well. i don't know what is cuter her funny photographs or her comments on them.

photos below by: jenifer altman.
right: adie with her camera named polly.

Sweet Thing #8 - wine glass gifts

A sweet vino inspired gift idea for your guests, a glass to toast at home!

Claire and Brian decided to give each of their guests a delicate gold rimmed wine glass as a gift to remember their wedding celebration. This was a clever way to give a nice gift since they applied the money that they would have spent on renting toward buying the glasses. The wine glasses were set at each place setting, with a hand written note tied to the bottom so everyone would know that the glass was a gift. They filled each one with a couple chocolate treats wrapped up in a pretty gold package. It was lovely!

At another wedding I photographed last summer, Holly and Jay also gave wine glasses as their gift. They approached it differently and had a variety of glasses in different shapes and sizes that each guest could choose from. The glasses had different quotes printed on vellum paper tied to the stems. Together they selected a variety of their favorite quotes about love and marriage (some were sweet and some were pretty funny). Holly said she started buying the glasses 6 months before the wedding. Whenever she would see a good deal at a store, she would buy a set. She kept her eyes peeled for small sets with interesting shapes and patterns. Since she wasn't going to have matching glasses she wanted each one to be a little different. Her guests loved the gift. Everyone was reading their quotes to each other and comparing glasses as they visited during the sunset cocktail hour.
 
To see more vino wedding inspiration check out Sweet Thing #6.

Sweet Thing #7 - guest paint project

Sweet Things are clever & creative little things that people do, to add a personal touch to their weddings. At a wedding this summer Shawn and Owen asked their guests to contribute to a painting instead of signing a traditional guest book. They wanted to have a piece of art for their home that would remind them of their wedding day and all the special people who came together to celebrate with them.

They asked their friend Kathleen to act as the "art director" for the project. Kathleen selected an image of sunflowers to sketch on the canvas. Once the sketch was complete she drew a grid on the canvas over the image. At the wedding each guest was asked to paint one square of the grid. On the cute art table, there was a variety of paints,brushes and directions that explained the art project in detail. While Shawn and Owen sneaked off for photos, they had a lovely cocktail hour planned in the side yard at their Aunt's house. Owen's brother played acoustic guitar while their guests nibbled on seafood and painted away. Kathleen kept an eye on the progress of the painting and encouraged guests who were shy about picking up a brush. After the wedding she filled in the blank spots and then delivered the colorful painting to the happy newlyweds.

I asked Shawn and Owen for their thoughts on the completed project. They love the painting and always see new details when they look at it. They said if they were going to do it again, they may limit the amount of paint color choices. I think their bright painting matches their cheerful spirits and home perfectly! I was excited about this project and decided to do it at my friend Cory's wedding. I asked our talented friend Janice to be the "art director". She did a great job taking on the project. We decided the painting should be the view of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound from Cory's Cabin. Janice went to the cabin and took photos of the view from different angles. She then worked her magic on the canvas, sketching the detailed mountain scene. We picked a limited palette of blue and green paints. There was a photo of the view available for people to reference while painting their square. After the wedding Janice smoothed out the squares and added her own artistic touch to the painting.

To see more "Sweet Things" for your wedding click HERE and scroll down.

Sweet Thing #6 - vino theme

I think a thoughtful little gift is always a Sweet Thing! At a wedding we photographed this summer Margot and Stephen gave a classy gift. Each guest received an engraved wine opener. The centerpiece on each table was a basket full of old corks and the wine openers. I love the photo above of one of their little guests with his hands full of goodies. I am sure this little guy wished the centerpiece was filled with chocolate or something sweet, but the adults loved the gift! I really appreciate the simplicity of this vino theme. Add a couple bottles of wine to the table and you have a simple yet elegant dual purpose centerpiece. While reading a post over on the Bridal Buzz titled Wine-O-Weddings I saw the perfect detail to complete this vino theme, wine cork place card holders. The photo below is from Plum Party where you can purchase them. Although I think these place card holders could easily be a DIY wedding project.

A couple bottles of wine, engraved wine openers, wine cork place card holders and old weathered corks sprinkled around. Voila! A perfect Wino-O-Table!

Sweet Thing #5 - custom designed dress

Seattle dress designer Chrissy Wai-Ching Leung creates beautiful indie silk dresses, using hand-dyed fabric and funky detailed embroidery. From color to style each wedding dress is custom designed to work with the theme of the wedding and to meet the bride's needs. My friend Kate discovered Wai-Ching while poking around on Offbeat Bride. Kate set up an appointment immediately to discuss her vision for her wedding dress with Chrissy. I was so excited when Kate asked Ember and I to join her for the final dress fitting up at Chrissy’s studio in Pioneer Square. Once we arrived at her cozy studio we waited eagerly as Kate slipped on the dress. Upon first sight there was a big "Awe" moment-It was so beautiful! Then the hyper brainstorming girl talk started immediately, "what shoes, red or gold? hair up or down? flower in hair? what kind? make-up, shimmer eyelids, what do you think? What time does the makeup counter close?" While we discussed the details, Chrissy worked on the dress a little more to perfect the fit and I snapped some photos of her in action. Then the three of us headed off with the lovely dress in hand to find the perfect shoes and shimmery eyeshadow. The day of the wedding the dress looked so awesome, Kate's bridal “glow” and sweet smile brought it all together!

Own it Kate! To see more photos from this fun wedding click here or here.

Sweet Thing #4 - DYI runner

Here is some Do It Yourself (DIY) inspiration from the awesome modern wedding of Kallie and Mike. I was pleasantly surprised when Mike rolled out this awesome graphic aisle runner created by Kallie's Mom to start the ceremony. It was stunning! The runner worked perfectly with the modern theme of their wedding. Their wedding colors were black and white with bursts of bright yellow, so the black runner tied everything together! Kallie had bought some white laser-cut paper screens to hang as decorations. Her clever Mom took the screens and made a stencil which she used to paint the runner. It was made from a black denim fabric, which was heavy enough not to blow around or to get wrinkled when Kallie walked on it.  Honestly at most weddings I have shot the fabric runners cause more problems than they are worth. They blow around, the get bunched up and look wrinkled in the photographs. The fabrics for the runners that are sold at wedding supply stores are too light and not designed for outdoor weddings. I would highly encourage creating your own runner for your wedding but would suggest using a heavy fabric like this one from a fabric store. In addition to having an awesome runner, Kallie had her two sweet flower girls pull little wooden ducks instead of carrying traditional flower baskets, it was adorable!

Sweet Thing #3 - succulent bouquet

One of my favorite parts of shooting weddings is the flowers! I think deep inside me there is a little florist wanting to be released. I enjoy arrangements that are unique and use unexpected textures and colors. This fall my client Sarah had a bouquet created by  VanLierop Garden Market that took my breath away! I could not stop taking photos of the bouquet. At the end of the day I really wanted to stuff it in my bag and take it home with me. The coolest part was an unexpected yet beautiful succulent right in the center!  I think more people should incorporate succulents into their bridal bouquets. The succulent in Sarah's arrangement was an echeveria which is a tropical species. As I did a little research on succulents and bouquets for this post I found some great stuff! One of my favorite discoveries was a bouquet created by Livia Cetti for Martha Stewart Weddings (delicious!) Also check out this Sea bed garden created with lava rock and succulents. Oh how I wish I lived in California so I could have a sea garden!

Floral design by VanLierop Garden Market in Sumner WA /  Photos by me... One Love Photo! 

Sweet Thing #2 - sand ceremony

At a lovely outdoor wedding ceremony this summer I witnessed my first sand ceremony. Chris and Tracy decided to have a sand ceremony instead of a unity candle. This is the perfect alternative to a unity candle for an outdoor ceremony. With the sand ceremony you don't have to worry about the wind blowing out your symbol of commitment! I loved the vows that were read during Chris and Tracy's ceremony. All you need for the ceremony is some sand and three vessels. The bride and groom have two separate vessels filled with sand, they pour their sand into one keepsake vase while the vows or explanation of the sand ceremony is being read out loud.  Here are some great examples of vows. More info here

Chris and Tracy were married at her Aunt & Uncle's home, which overlooks the beautiful Puget Sound in Gig Harbor Washington. There was a breeze up on the bluff so the sand ceremony was perfect!

To see more weddings......

Sweet Thing #1 - assorted cake collection

I will be posting "Sweet Things" from weddings that I photograph. If you are not a Martha Stewart fan then you may not be familiar with what a Good Thing is...but a "Sweet Thing" will be a similar to a Good Thing but with a One Love Photo style spin. My Sweet Things will be clever & creative little things that people do to add a personal touch to their weddings. These ideas could also save you a little money! For a wedding this fall Kate (the bride) decided to bypass the traditional wedding cake. She ordered an assortment of cakes from a local bakery in Tacoma called Corina's Bakery (Learn more).  She had the cakes arranged on a buffet table over looking the grounds at Lakewold Gardens. Kate and Brian selected a mutual favorite RED VELVET out of the bunch to display on a sweet little cake stand with a vintage wedding topper. During dinner I saw people coming by the table and checking out their options. Certain people looked like they were devising a plan, to insure they got a sample of their favorite flavor. I did witness a little girl finger swiping the coconut cake. At most weddings people wait patiently to have their piece of cake delivered, but not this time. After Kate and Brian cut the first slice, a crowd formed quickly around the table. I am pretty sure there were a couple of elbows thrown for the German chocolate. The cakes were a huge hit and a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding cake. I liked the homemade quality of the cakes and they looked adorable in the window.

After feeding Brian some cake, Kate was on a roll and starting feeding her friends samples. Open Wide...

Yum! Yum!