• It seems to be doing just fine without me. :( so much for making it jealous & begging me to come back.

Posts Tagged 'washington'

August 13, 2011

I’m so excited to post Aaron & Alicia’s wedding! I flew in to SeaTac from Spokane the morning of this wedding & couldn’t wait to get going. One reason is that it took place at the amazing Landmark Event Center in Des Moines, Washington, overlooking Puget Sound. Another reason is that I was able to work with the outstanding ladies from Bitsy Events. Not only were they great wedding coordinators, but they’re the team who also created the beautiful printed materials for the wedding.

Of course the biggest reason I was so excited for this wedding was that it was an opportunity to hang out with, & take photos Alicia & Aaron for an entire day. It was an incredible day. Hopefully you’ll see that the photos tell that story.

The gorgeous flowers were created by Marine View Florist & the reception doughnuts were handled by Top Pot Doughnuts. Mmmm, doughnuts.

Modern Washington wedding photographer matt shumate photography

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bride groom portraits walking talking natural photojournalism "landmark event center"

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modern creative wedding portrait "rolls royce" reflection bride groom "landmark event center"

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"landmark event center" wedding photos bouquet yellow gray lovebirds table guestbook

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"landmark event center" wedding photos bouquet yellow gray reception "table setting" detail signage head table bride groom

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July 22, 2011

It’s not very often you get to shoot the wedding of someone you babysat. But that’s the case with this one. I remember Spencer when he was a rambunctious little guy who wanted to talk about nothing other than baseball. I must be getting old because now that kid went & got married & I think we barely even discussed the current horrors of the Mariners. In other words, it was pretty cool to be able to photograph Spencer & Tara’s wedding. Not only that, Since Spencer & I share a few cousins I got to hang out with Emma & Deonna a little too.

I don’t think there’s much I can say that the photos don’t other than the wedding took place at one of my favorite places on earth, Tacoma’s Point Defiance (I think I’ve mentioned that a few times before)! I loved the uniqueness of the whole day. The orange & gray colors were perfect. I love Converse shoes & the fact that they matched Spencer’s tie & even the wallpaper in his room was a nice touch.

Then there’s the Donuts. Mmmm, donuts as Homer would say. Spencer & Tara met while she was in line buying donuts for her class so they’re a pretty important part of their relationship (I wish I had a reason, any reason, to like donuts like that). These donuts were brilliantly good & they were specially prepared for the bride & groom by Legendary Doughnuts.

Since this was the third of four weddings that weekend (& the only one west of the mountains) we didn’t have time to shoot the “day after session” the  day after their wedding. So we’ll call it a “week after” session since I had a Seattle wedding the next weekend. We decided to meet up in downtown Tacoma & hang around the Museum of Glass. I loved the challenge of trying to take unique portraits in a location that’s so loved by photographers. I’ll let you decide whether I succeeded or not. Regardless, we had a blast & these two super-photogenic subjects were a great inspiration.

Spokane Tacoma Seattle modern wedding photographer matt shumate photography "i shoot people"

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modern wedding photographer point defiance tacoma donuts cake bride groom

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groom unique orange gray tie wallpaper

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point defiance wedding ceremony father bride daughter aisle

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"tilt shift" "nikon 45mm pc-e" ceremony point defiance pt.

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after wedding ceremony recessional love romance happy bride groom hands

after wedding ceremony recessional love romance happy bride groom kiss

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wedding reception bride groom point defiance first dance kiss

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unique cut cake donuts doughnuts bite biting head orange gray

unique cut cake donuts doughnuts bite biting head orange gray

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Photos from the “Day (week) After Session” we had in downtown Tacoma.

day after photo session trash the dress tacoma union station courthouse strobist modern portrait downtown

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day after photo session trash the dress tacoma modern portrait downtown glass museum

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day after photo session trash the dress tacoma modern portrait downtown glass museum cone "tilt shift" "nikon 45mm pc-e"

day after photo session trash the dress tacoma modern portrait downtown kiss hand romantic romance

day after photo session trash the dress tacoma modern strobist portrait downtown glass museum bride groom wedding

August 29, 2010

**For the best viewing experience, open up the first photo & use the left & right arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.**

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.