Opportunity Knocking
I use a program called HoneyBook to help me manage my clients, one of the major benefits is the program connects you with other photographers and creatives. So when the opportunity for a destination wedding in my local area came available, I jumped at the chance to shoot with Sophia (Sophia Elizabeth Photography, San Diego, CA).
Fast forward to the day of the wedding, I was thrust into a “learn as you go” situation, we were up in no-man’s land, cell phone service was spotty at best and I had little ways of communicating with anyone. I’ll spare you the details but it involves me sweating through my blouse, giving a local coffee shop $25 to make a landline phone call and swearing under my breath cursing my dependency on modern technology.
Second Shooting
Once I managed to find Sophia and connect, she gave me a SD card for my camera, we synced up our cameras to the same time (down to the minute) and then she also had me set my camera settings the same as hers. I have a dual card reader, basically I can shoot and the data can be saved on two cards at the same time, which is super handy for situations like this. Syncing up the times allows the first shooter, when she goes to edit, keeps all the photos in order chronologically. Again, super handy little tip to apply for yourself if you're shooting a wedding or having an associate shooter. Lastly Sophia had me change my camera settings to what she shoots with; I'll admit I was pretty hesitant with this one because we shot with different bodies. But it was her call, so I went with it!
Once the camera settings were squared away we broke off and started getting some behind the scenes photos of the bride getting ready and then the groom waiting before doing first looks. The bride's goal was to use the beautiful trees and moss of the PNW to give an ethereal and fairy vibe during their first look. We went outdoors to capture that look, finding some amazing old growth trees, mossy rocks and fern covered grounds to shoot in.
Let's Get Married!
This sweet couple loves to travel together, in fact it was part of their love story- they bought an RV and spent their time exploring together. Obviously the vintage RV was going to be their get away vehicle and in this case was the mode of transportation used to get to the wedding! How adorable is their motorhome!?
Ceremony Time at Wandering Waters Farms in Maple Falls, WA
Location, location, location! This amazingly beautiful farm has a drop-dead gorgeous wedding venue nestled in the Cascade Foothills! You literally cannot beat the views of Slide Mountain in the Mt. Baker area. We had a positively perfect PNW September day with a bit of clouds laying in the valley and later, and the rain held off. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful wedding venue and location so close to Bellingham, WA. Wowza!
The ceremony was just sooo this couple and their family and friends. It was intimate and beautiful; including a blessing of the rings ceremony, wise words from the bride's mother and father. It was truly an honor to be part of the magic and a gift to be able to shoot alongside Sophia, who did a fabulous job as the primary shooter. After the ceremony I had to leave and drive back down the mountain to Lynden, otherwise it was a perfect day!
Many congratulations to the couple and their family!
Venders
Photographer: Sophia Elizabeth Photography
Wedding Venue: Wandering Waters Farm, Maple Falls, WA
Day of Coordinator: Lisa Vaughn, Sincere Event Planning, Bellingham, WA