When Becky & Josh told me they were going to have an outdoor wedding at the beautiful Edgewater House in Olalla in May I was half excited half worried about the weather. May is one of those months that can either be warm beautiful or crappy wishing summer would finally get here. But they both felt confident that the weather would be in our favor so I didn’t stressed but I did start stocking my weather app as the 2 week mark hit before their wedding day. And sure enough right as they had predicted it didn’t rain and it was actually a beautiful sunny warmer day!  The Edgewater House is a private residence that they turned into a wedding venue right on the puget sound just south of Gig Harbor, Washington. And it’s one of those venues to give you a backyard feel for not having to do a wedding in your own backyard.

The couple decided on not seeing each other before the ceremony so when they also said we also want to do an “Unplugged Ceremony” I was so excited! I always tell my couples an unplugged ceremony will be best for everyone, that your guest are focused on why they are present for your wedding! After their “I Do’s” and first kiss that happen a little quicker then I had planned on they were announced as Mr. & Mrs! I have to say I had a little heart attack when their officant told them they could kiss after their vows… I wasn’t prepared and so I remember running like a crazy person to get back to the aisle so I could snap that all important “first kiss” which I did get! (I’m sure a few guest saw the panic in my face and my crazy run which I’m sure looked pretty funny.) Phew, thankfully they kissed a few other times during their ceremony so I did have backups just in case but thankfully it all worked out in the end.

After making it official we did their family & bridal party portraits then did a few couples portraits till it was time for dinner and speeches! The speeches where so fun and Becky’s sister and maid of honor’s speech make her cry which was so special. But I think out of all of them Becky’s own speech was the best.  She thanked all the people who helped her including her family and sister & her new husband Josh. She also did a special thank you to the inventors of Pinterest as her wedding wouldn’t have happened with out Pinterest help! It was so funny and I will always remember that part of her speech! Then it was time for cake cutting and first dances…  I love first dances during a reception they are always so much fun to capture! Becky’s father/daughter dance was also one I will always remember. Becky had told me when she was younger her dad and her went to a father/daughter dance and she had taught him the electric slide so of course he wanted to do the electric slide as part of their first dance at the wedding. Everyone was so surprised about it but it was such a fun moment.

When all the official dances were done Casey and I snuck Becky & Josh away to the beach for golden hour photos. The Edgewater House has a really cute driftwood “Honeymoon Shack” they make up each season so we did photos in front of the shack then headed down to the beach for some fun photos by the water. Those turned out so fun and I love them seriously so much, but the main photos I had been waiting to take on their day was the long exposure sparkler photos I had been practicing for. If you follow me on instagram you know weeks leading up to their wedding I had started learning and practicing with Casey on doing a long exposure sparkler photo. My goal was to do a long exposure sparkler photo at their wedding. I am planning on writing a blog post about this so I won’t go into to much details but for doing it for the first time for a client I am pretty happy with my end result. It only took me 3 sparklers to nail writing “love” with one and having everything else come out just right! After that it was time for the last songs and their sparkler send off!

Thank you so much Becky & Josh for trusting me to capture your special day, I love your photos and can’t wait for you to see them! Congratulations you two and thank you again! And I would love to shoot at Edgewater House again and I hope it’s again real soon!

Josh and Becky’s official first kiss!

Venue: Edgewater House
Catering: Edgewater House
Flowers:  Flowering Around
Bakery: Suzanne’s Bakery
Hair & Makeup: Salon Maison
Bridal Dress Shop: Mia Grace
Bridal Designer: Allure
Groom’s Attire: Jos A Bank
Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Dessy
Band: Highway 3
Second Photographer: Casey R.