I have dreamed of photographing a couple up at Hurricane Ridge for YEARS. Several weeks ago, I reached out to my friends Andrew and Mary who had just gotten married, and asked if they would be willing to put their wedding attire back on, and head on up to the mountains. And to my great joy, they said YES!

Sarah and Garrett’s wedding day was all about relationships. So many people/vendors who they asked to be a part of their day had personal relationships with the couple.

From the first time I sat down with Alex and Laura, it was clear that their wedding day was going to be a beautifully traditional wedding, with some fun, personal touches thrown in. For one, Alex made their wedding cake. And it was gluten and dairy free. And mostly sugar free too.

Tyler and Kylie are some seriously fun loving, outdoorsy people. For their engagement, we headed up to Mt. Rainier and ended up playing in the snow at sunset. They are a couple who clearly adores each other and it was a pleasure to get to be a part of their engagement and their wedding.

I don’t typically like to say this, as it is rarely true, but seriously, Joel and Leslie are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. Joel and Leslie were married at a 100 year old barn in Sequim, WA. Their day was full of touches of them, from their family and friends gathering around them to pray for them before the ceremony, to Joel and Leslie performing a song together during communion, to the delicious BBQ that was served for dinner (and totally demolished!). There was laughter ringing through out the entire day, and that feeling of joy followed me all the way home.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what photographing a family means. I used to dread the idea of family shoots because I felt restricted. I hated the idea of coming up with all these different poses and making sure that everyone looked at me, and that the scenery was just so. I just felt stuck.