Disclosure: In the photography industry there’s been some recent controversy about photographers hiring models & staging weddings then posting them as actual weddings. So I feel like I have to explicitly say: These are real people, not models. I know you’ll look at them & think otherwise, but I assure you Tiana & Matt are an actual couple who are absolutely in love & hired me to shoot their wedding.

I’m thrilled to finally be able to post photos from this wedding that took place a mile down the road from my house in the backyard of Tiana’s mom’s Spokane Valley home. I spent an entire day being surrounded by some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. The day went off without a hitch &  everything about the day was amazing. Thank you Tiana & Matt for the opportunity to photograph your wedding.

In addition to being one of the most beautiful brides ever & a total sweetie, Tiana’s an amazing hairstylist. She just gave new back-to-school haircuts to all the female members of the family & they all LOVE them. You should call her if you need something new.

I’m thrilled to post photos from Andrea & Brice’s wedding that took place on Brice’s parents property in Spokane Valley, Washington. It was a beautiful day & there were only a few threats of unfriendly weather (which delayed the ceremony a few minutes). It was so much fun to photograph every part of the day. I’m still convinced Brice’s dad met with photographers while designing the house because it had so many interesting angles & features that were a blast for me to play with.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt the bride & I both share appreciation for the world’s greatest band, Radiohead.

Everyone was so pleasant. Not that I was surprised about that since we’ve known Brice’s family for a while now. Even still, it always amazes me when everybody involved with a wedding is so gracious even when their stress levels may be peaking, & they have every reason not to. Yet another reason why I love being a wedding photographer.

Thanks Andrea & Brice for letting me hang out with you guys on your wedding day & letting me take some great—hopefully—photos.

Amber & Alex got to participate in one of my favorite activities recently for their engagement photos. I call it the “jump in the car & drive in that direction” photo shoot. To be honest we knew we were heading in the direction of Liberty Lake, but beyond that, we didn’t know where we were going. I really love the excitement of looking for a spot to shoot when it’s somewhere I’ve never been before. Fortunately we found some incredible locations that I’m sure I’ll be going back to regularly.

First off, I have the best clients. I don’t know why I’m so lucky. I love hanging out with these couples & getting to know them. Amber & Alex were no exception. We were laughing the whole time & I can’t wait to shoot their wedding!

This photo shoot had it’s share of wildlife. First there were some deer running around us while I took the photo on the walking bridge. Then we got to watch the osprey hunt over the lake. Then a dragonfly landed on Amber’s shoulder. Then we made our way to the ‘forest’ & there were bats, owls, & mosquitoes. I didn’t do so well with the mosquitoes—not sure where the bats were on that one. Then while editing photos I saw an eyeball of something reflecting back at me. Not sure what it was, but it was some kind of animal watching us (you can see the orange dot in the last photo about 150 pixels to the right of Alex’s shoulder). Creepy.

For photographers: The forest shots were shot with 2 lights, an AB800 8′ up at camera right & a Nikon SB600 at 3′ about 25′ behind A & A pointing at the trees. Some adjustments made in LR. None in Photoshop. The best thing is that the final photos look exactly how they looked in my head.

A family session with 9 kids? How tough could that be?

As it turns out, not so tough at all. Especially when it’s the Fullmer family. We had a great session down by the Spokane River & everybody was about as well behaved as can be—except for maybe me. As a dad of 3 really (well, mostly) well behaved girls I don’t see any way to square that number & stay sane. But not only were they sane, they were a pleasure & it was very inspiring for me to see how they interacted with each other. Truly a happy family.

Thanks to my own Reagan for going along & helping to entertain the younger ones while I was taking pictures.

For photographers: The first photo is a composite of 5 different photos so I could get a wide shot with a shallow depth of field since we had to be closer to the tree line than I wanted to.

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This one was special because I’ve known the groom since he was just a little guy playing at my house with my youngest brother. So I was excited when he asked me to photograph his wedding because I hadn’t seen him for so long. It’s always great to see when someone grows up to be such a great person who’s loved by so many people—especially when one of those people is his sweet, sweet wife-to-be.

They were married at Heather’s uncle’s property in Kirkland, Washington overlooking a vast valley of green in a special ceremony that included Heather’s son. After which, the party started & went until it couldn’t go any more. I had a blast the whole day.

Thanks Heather & Michael for trusting me to capture your special day—I’m honored.

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The weather was beautiful. The bride was beautiful. The groom was beautiful handsome. The venue was perfect. What else could I ask for?

Not only was the bride gorgeous & terribly sweet, she basically designed most of the wedding. She has a future in wedding planning/designing. The table tops, hand made chandelier, candy, blue-dyed slip—all her doing. Also, what better place would there be to celebrate grandma’s birthday than a wedding with everybody in attendance.

I had an absolute blast (of which there’s evidence in these photos) & everybody else did too!

Big thanks to Ana Hopkins for lending me her photography skills for the day.

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Heather & Steven were married at the beautiful Bozarth Mansion in Spokane & I was lucky enough to get to come along and capture their day. I had a blast & could have stayed in each room for hours & not exhausted things to photograph (Although I would have just been exhausted since there’s no AC). It was a beautiful wedding and the bride & groom were as awesome as can be. They never stopped smiling & laughing the whole day, which makes my job pretty easy.

Congrats guys!

Thanks to Eric Strate for helping out for the day.

I’m going to make a confession.

Naomi & Sean are the first & only couple I’ve been intimidated by. Several reasons. We met at the January bridal show where Naomi booked me on the spot. I tried suggesting maybe we schedule a time for later. No go. She didn’t want me to forget about her & book her date (I was & still am incredibly flattered). Sean was the first/only person to read my contract with serious intent. I inquired. The answer, “He’s an attorney.” “Of course,” I thought. They’re both successful people & carry themselves as such. She let me know she had 2 boys that needed to be a huge part of their day & the photos would have to reflect that. Then when I asked Sean, on a scale of 1–10, what the odds were of Naomi turning in to a bridezilla, his answer was really close to 10 (he later contacted me to let me know the # was much, much lower after Naomi told him how bad a bridezilla could be).

I’m an idiot sometimes.

This is a reason why I make a huge deal out of engagement sessions. I played it cool for theirs, but inside I was pretty concerned. Instantly at their engagement session, I could tell Sean & Naomi were 2 of the sweetest people in the world and my trepidations were without merit. Like I said, I’m an idiot sometimes. I had an absolute blast at their engagement session & knew their wedding day would be no different. I was right. Sean is always looking to get a laugh. Naomi is always looking for a reason to laugh (Case in point, Sean bribed the DJ to start off the first dance with a certain Guns n Roses song, Naomi’s reaction is in the photos below). Perfect match.

Their wedding day was outstanding. I love being able to tell a story with my photos. It was all to easy with their wedding. I was able to capture so many natural, sweet moments & I think that’s what photographing weddings should be about. That, & getting some creative, butt-kickin’ photos that make it unique to them. The location, The Hayden Lake Country Club, helped with that as well. It was a gorgeous venue.

Thank you Naomi & Sean for trusting me with your day. Thanks also for being such great people.

Shout out to Eric Strate for helping out for the day.

They’ve actually been married a while but this was their big wedding since the one before was right before Jonathan went off to fight for our country. Their wedding took place at beautiful Beacon Hill in Spokane. I had a blast shooting there. So much to be creative with. Of course the water drew me near for photos—a little too near. You’ll notice the shot of my foot (as well as the shot of them laughing at my misfortune). Fortunately it was a hot day & my foot dried fast enough.

Big thanks again to Eric Strate for lending his shooting skills for the day.

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We hung out at Manito Park for a little while & had some fun walking around & getting some fun pictures. Frequent visitors might recognize Ana from having helped me photograph Betsy & Chad’s wedding recently. She does some pretty fine photography work on her own. It’s always a little more nerve-racking to photograph a photographer simply because they know all the tricks. Fortunately, I think these ones turned out ok.

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I always enjoy the relaxed nature of engagement sessions. This one was no exception. Sometimes I feel like we spend more time chatting than actually taking pictures. I kind of like it that way. It lets me get to know the couple which helps me take better photos & capture their personalities & how the interact with each other.

Thanks for hanging out with me Erica & Nathan!

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This wedding took place at Cliff Park in Spokane. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t allow events there (which is really odd because the venue is quite stunning. Fortunately, it was during Hoopfest weekend so we didn’t have to worry about city employees wandering around looking for trouble.

Josh treats Emily like a queen & she all but worships him. Let’s just say that as they read their vows to each other, I was fully convinced my cameras had a difficult time focusing (that’s the story I’m sticking to). Or as one of my daughters says, my eyes were sweating.

It also doesn’t hurt that both Emily & Josh love to laugh and have fun. Being a wedding photographer is hard work, but the truth is, with couples like this, it doesn’t really feel like work.

Also, big, big thanks to Eric Strate for lending his shooting skills for the day.

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After their private ceremony in the temple, we headed out to the grounds to take some pictures with everybody, then BriAnna & Chris headed over to a gorgeous field/forest BriAnna picked out for portraits. I could have stayed there forever playing around with the light, shadow, & textures that were there. We of course had lots of fun since these 2 are so playful & love to laugh so much.

We were blessed to get some outstanding weather too, since the weekend was bookended by some not so outstanding weather.

Big, big thanks to the awesome & incredible Kathryn Bradley for helping out & getting some great photos for the couple.

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The pictures don’t lie.

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Not only did they not stop laughing the whole time we were shooting, they were both very easy to photograph & patient while I set up some of the more creative photos.

I can’t wait to shoot their wedding at the Hayden Lake Country Club.

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As soon as the ceremony was over the rains came back around while we took some time taking some portraits in the truck on a country road. Thanks to little Matthew for his help with this part of the day. By then we were all wet & the rain didn’t much matter anymore. The night finished up with a p-a-r-t-y back at the house.

We had such a great time throughout the whole day. I love it when I’m not just the guy with the nice camera, but welcomed just like one of the family. This was one of those special occasions.

Thanks & congratulations Amber & Kris!

Also, big thanks to Eric Strate for his help shooting the day.

No thanks go out to the great horned owl that ran in to my car on the way home. It was huuuuuge. I’m ok with only seeing owls in the zoo from now on.

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So a nice little addition to the normal engagement session, I got to take a few photos their little boy, William. What are the chances he’d be that cute? Take a look at his parents, I’d say the number is approaching 100%. The great thing is, as natural as they were as photo subjects, I enjoyed just hanging out with them for a while even more.

Weather was the biggest concern since I had to drive through 3 different storms to get there, but fortunately the rains never showed up & we were left with a beautiful (but chilly) day. There’s not much I can say that won’t sound cheesy about how great these two & their families are (unless you know them). So just insert here all of the good things you can think about someone & double it.

I had a great time with them & appreciated Sara & Trevor’s willingness to trust me with their day (after Sara is a photographer herself). I was honored & I think I came out ahead in the deal.

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P.S. Their first kiss as man & wife was actually their first kiss—period. How sweet that it was captured for them to treasure & share.

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I really had a great time hanging out with these guys. The kids were so sweet & willing to try whatever I was asking—especially if it was jumping off a ledge while I had my camera on its “machine gun” setting which reminds me a ton of my own girls.  My favorite part of these photos is that  the impressions of the  personalities of everyone seems to shine through in the photos.

Then, after our session was over I saw my friend Ana wrapping up a bridal session so I hopped up on the ledge of the bridge (shhh, don’t tell my wife) & took the opportunity to shoot the shooter. That makes up the last photo in this set.

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