The wedding location was DeLille Cellars, a winery north of Redmond. After Kirkland coffee stop, we arrived right on time, parked on the lawn with the rest of the guests, and joined the steady trickle of guests through the building and out to the ceremony site. I had worn my ballet flats and brought heels to wear, but I ended up just wearing the flats the whole time. Between the grass at the ceremony site and gravel on the patio for the reception, it was a good thing I didn't change into the heels.
The winery and its grounds were lovely. Walking out to the ceremony spot, we passed a pond and even some sheep.
Then, we reached a wooded area past the pond, where the chairs were set up. There was a trio of musicians playing off to the side, and there were a couple of flower arrangements to mark the "altar" area at the front.
We got some programs, found seats, and were joined by Katie's family not long after.
The ceremony started with the entrances of Kevin's parents, Chrissy's mom, Robin and Dane (officiating), and Kevin. And I quickly figured out that photographing the ceremony was going to be challenging. The trees made a nice shaded area where we were sitting, but the light was more uneven at the front. Most of my pictures had spots that were way too bright, usually on faces. Hopefully, their professional shots will be better.
I had fewer problems with my pictures of the entrances and exits. For some reason, I didn't take a picture of Julie and her corresponding groomsman coming in, but I got shots of Chrissy's sisters and their escorts. Debby was pretty much the cutest pregnant girl ever, and Adrienne looked fashionable as always on the arm of Kevin's older brother.
Then Chrissy entered with her father. Her dress was gorgeous—kind of similar to mine in cut, but still uniquely Chrissy. Her red sash and the red flowers that she and her sisters wore were a nice nod to their Chinese side, and her hair style looked beautifully vintagey.
The ceremony itself was pretty quick, but Kevin and Chrissy made it more personal by including a lot of their friends and family. Their friend Robin officiated, along with Debby's husband, Dane. And Adrienne's husband, Sam, and Chrissy's friend, Cindy, did readings.
Before long, Kevin and Chrissy were all married and walking back down the aisle, looking quite happy. (I got no good pictures of their kiss, because there were photographers in the way.)
And this time, I got a picture of Julie.
After the ceremony, I got to officially meet Libby, Katie and Todd's daughter. They live in Indiana, so this was the first time I had seen Libby, aside from pictures on Facebook. She had recently learned how to wave, so she provided me with a demonstration.
Meanwhile, everyone was grabbing their chairs from the ceremony and transferring them to the building for the reception.
We were seated at one of the tables under the tented patio.
Also at our table were Sara, Katie's family, Mikey (another friend from college), and one of Chrissy's co-workers. Oh, and Sophie the Giraffe. Libby is apparently a fan of Sophie, and Todd was keeper of the giraffe when Libby was done. Who needs a pocket square when you have a Sophie?
Sara filled Katie in on how her own kids were doing, complete with pictures.
While we waited for dinner, Mikey also took some pictures with his Polaroid. He was in charge of the photography for the guest book, taking a picture of each couple (or trio) for them to put in and decorate—stickers, colored pens, and all. Katie and I each got pictures with our husbands, but we posed with Sara as well, since her family was back in Michigan.
I eventually turned the camera(s) on Mikey too. He's obviously more comfortable photographing than being photographed, but I made sure there was a Polaroid of him to go in Chrissy's guest book.
Chrissy eventually came outside to say hi to our table and meet Libby herself. Living in Seattle, she hadn't seen Katie in a long time either.
When it was time for the toasts, I snuck inside and hugged a wall so I could hear and get some pictures. Adrienne gave a sweet toast about Chrissy's generous nature, and Kevin was charming and funny, talking about how Kevin changed for the better after meeting Chrissy.
Somewhere in there, we had a nice buffet dinner, and then it was time for the cake cutting.
After that, I finally managed to get a good picture of Chrissy and Kevin together.
For their first dance, I made use of the baby grand in the room and played "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. It wasn't my best work, between the lingering jitters from the caffeine and a slight buzz from the wine. Good thing everyone was paying more attention to Chrissy and Kevin than to me.
Steve took over my camera and tried to get some pictures of the dancing. A couple of them turned out fine.
The father-daughter & mother-son dance was to "Cheek to Cheek," which I also played.
The reception didn't go very late, but we had a good time. I joked about getting a picture of Sara grabbing Chrissy's butt, like I have from Sara's wedding, but Sara went a step further.
It was certainly surprising. But I don't think Chrissy enjoyed it very much...
My last picture of the night was one I sniped during some of the official photographer's final shots, at sunset.
It turned out to be a beautiful wedding, and I couldn't be happier for Kevin and Chrissy. Chrissy's one of my favorite people. She was my roommate and best friend in college, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She met Kevin in high school and got reacquainted with him years later at a cross country reunion. I liked Kevin from the moment she introduced him to me.
As usual, I felt like I was awkwardly walking the line between obsessively taking pictures and actually experiencing the wedding. I didn't go out of my way to hunt down Chrissy and Kevin to make them pose for me; I wanted to let their official photographer do his job and not be a nuisance myself. I could have taken more pictures, but I was happy with a lot of the ones I got.
1) HOLY CRAP, DEBBIE IS PREGNANT?!??
ReplyDelete2) How come you didn't mention how devastated you were that I was not there? Come on, I know y'all were moping the whole time. Oh wait, that was me.
3) "Steve took over my camera and tried to get some pictures of the dancing. A couple of them turned out fine." Hahaha! Damn Em, you sure know how to almost give a compliment.
4) Everybody looks so pretty and happy! Especially Chrissy! Yay!
1) Apparently not anymore :)
ReplyDelete2) I didn't want to depress my readers too much by going on and on about how heartbroken I was.
3) Sometimes a couple is all you need! He probably did better than the average person using my camera, especially since I don't recall setting things to auto for him.
4) I concur!