I had the honor of photographing N&M’s wedding at Cabin Creek Lodge about 90 minutes outside of Seattle this past June. It was my first time photographing a wedding there, and I loved it!
Nestled in the woods outside of Enumclaw, at the end of a long dirt road off the I-5 is the quiet, and intimate lodge right alongside an idyllic river.
I’ve known N&M since they first met back in middle school and became high school sweethearts. I was incredibly honored to document their celebration. It was such a joy-filled weekend with friends and family! M&N have created such a beautiful, genuine community that showed up to support these two in continuing their journey through life together.
The weekend started out with a welcome taco party with a long table set up and margaritas prepared mostly by the groom himself. If you know N, you know that he’s a champ as a bartender and picking out the perfect drink for his friends. The margs were delicious.
Folks arrived throughout the evening with impromptu dance parties and lawn games taking off as people casually set up the last of the decorations. It was a beautiful kick-off to a fantastic weekend!
The next morning M&N got ready upstairs in the lodge- N after greeting all the folks arriving in the morning, and M surrounded by her friends upstairs.
Their first look was one of my absolutely favorites. It’s so clear to see how much these two absolutely adore one another, and was beautiful to document.
They went with a first look to give themselves a little bit of time together before the wedding to help calm nerves, breath a bit, and so that they could go straight into the party after the ceremony.
I generally recommend a first look, especially if folks might lean more towards the introverted side of things. I find that it gives the couple a moment to breath and just BE together without the pressure of being in front of everyone. Even if you are having a large wedding and are STOKED to celebrate with your people, there’s still an element of centering and finding presence with you and your partner to honor the commitment you two are celebrating together.
As you can see, it didn’t take away from the emotion and meaning of M walking up the aisle and saying their vows to one another in front of everyone either.
From the ceremony we took family photos (I generally don’t post a bunch of those) right after, since that’s usually the easiest time to gather everyone quickly, then went into the reception time.
Cabin Creek Lodge was such a beautiful summer wedding location, with the large lawn around for folks to gather, play games, and enjoy the company of their friends.
Overall, it was an incredible day. I’m so stoked for M&N and their future together!
Beautiful graphics, invitations, and shirts designed by San Juan Island local artist Alaina Scheffer
https://www.alainascheffer.com/
