A few weeks ago I blogged about working in Phoenix for The Big Fake Wedding (BFW), now it’s time to show off the Seattle show. Unfortunately this was the event where I broke my ankle last fall… sigh. Before we get into all the pretty photos let’s recap so that ya’ll remember what BFW is and why it’s so awesome.
Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the team the organizes BFW series all over the US. I applied to photograph the Phoenix and Seattle shows and couldn’t be happier with my experience working at both events. The vendor teams totally brought their A-game and I’m crazy in love with the concept behind the BFW…
Complete with a cocktail-style dinner, an emotional vow renewal ceremony and a dance-party reception, The Big Fake Wedding has become a killer alternative to a bridal show. The hand-selected vendors perform their services as they would at a real wedding, and the “wedding guests” (brides-to-be!) get to hear the music, taste the cakes, and smell the flowers… while enjoying a night of great food, dancing and surprises.
I was worried that it would be strange or competitive working with other photographers that weren’t working for me, but the other photo teams were just as excited as I was to participate in an event that fosters community over competition. We helped each other when needed, made sure that each other got time with all the bridal details, and even took a couple photos of each other working. Overall I’m going with “Magical” for my description.
When Whitney went to visit her brother in San Diego, who knew that she would fall in love with his roommate?! The only problem was that she lived across the country in Orlando. Garrett asked if he could come out to visit her, and she said no, but he booked a flight anyway. He came out, spent a week with Whitney and her family, and then what happened next is a direct quote from Garrett (because it’s just too sweet not to share verbatim). “After the best week of my life, I was all in and knew I would marry her someday.” Aw, shucks. By the end of the trip, Garrett asked Whitney’s dad if he could move to Orlando to date her, and a year later he proposed on the dock where they sat that first week and fell in love.
What is the best date you have ever had? From her: My favorite date we’ve ever had was our first one. I was in San Diego for the weekend and he told me he was picking me up to watch the sunrise. He got me at 4:30 am, we got some coffee, and went to Torrey Pines and climbed a lifeguard stand while we waited for it. The conversation was great so the sun was pretty much up by the time we realized – the sun doesn’t “rise” on the west coast. It was definitely behind us. He still gets made fun of for that.
What is the most awesome thing about your marriage? From him: The most awesome thing about our marriage has been the constant growing of “in loveness” that we have felt for one another. It feels like through each season of life we have come to we become better friends and more united.
One of the things that completely sold me on working with the teams at The Big Fake Wedding is their commitment to promoting healthy, happy, and lasting marriages; not just inspiring people to live out their wedding day fantasies. It would be so easy for them to say “Great, thanks for coming, good luck with that whole being together forever thing.” I believe that as a professional who witnesses dozens of weddings each year and who works to build a relationship with each of my wedding couples, that it is so important for me (and my fellow creative vendors) to encourage those couples in their marriages. One of the ways that I believe I can do this professionally is to give their wedding photography my full attention, deepest care, as well as being a calm and confident fixture on what can be a very stressful day. My wedding day goal: Bride-chilla. …not Bride-zilla.
Now you might be asking, “Why would you want to photograph an event in Seattle? You’re an Oregon photographer!”
Well let’s just say that while I LOOOOOOVE OREGON and would never dream of living anywhere else; I also love working in new places, I love to travel, and I love Seattle – The Emerald City. While Seattle has the same general “wedding season” as the rest of the PNW it has some pretty fantastic urban scenery. I also serve Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Montana, and Colorado.
Enjoy!
[…] first met them last year at The Big Fake Wedding in Seattle; I learned at their reception that it was Kaira’s sister, Audra, who had encouraged them to […]