If you are planning your wedding, take a deep breath and remember how exciting and special this season of your life is. You are marrying your person. I know you are most likely feeling overwhelmed with planning and that is so understandable. It’s hard to know where to start. I recently was a vendor at the Wisteria Gardens Wedding show in Anacortes and want to walk you through the experience virtually! Wedding shows are how I have met some of my very favorite local wedding vendors & I would love to introduce you to all of them in this blog post. If you are planning your wedding in Whatcom, Skagit, or Island County — this post is for you!

If you are planning your engagement or couples photos session, chances are you might be feeling a little nervous. That is such a normal way to feel!! I don’t expect you to have everything perfectly planned or know what to do. That’s my job! All I need from you is to show up and be yourself. Taking photos can feel awkward, especially when you aren’t sure what to expect, so I want to make sure you feel prepared to have the BEST time during our portrait session.

If we have already picked a location & date for your session, we are now in the in-between-anticipation time. You are probably feeling excited, thinking about what to wear, and might be feeling a little nervous.

In this blog post, I’ll share my best advice for how to prepare for your engagement or couples photos. Below is a photoshoot checklist of actions & items to bring that will help you feel prepared, comfortable, and hopefully as stress-free as possible. I also included my checklist of items that help me feel prepared & ready to take your photos!

Spring is my favorite season. I feel most myself frolicking through flower fields, so anywhere with flowers is my favorite place to take photos. I’m always looking for flower gardens to take photos at, and over the years I’ve found my top few favorites. I am sure there are so many gardens that deserve to be on this list that I haven’t discovered yet, but here are my top 6 favorite flower-filled locations near Seattle and Bellingham that make great locations for engagement or couples sessions.

As a wedding photographer, I photograph 1-2 (sometimes 3!) weddings a week from May through October. You are most likely planning a wedding for the first time & I don’t want you to feel like you have to figure it out alone. After photographing so many weddings, I’ve noticed what makes a day go by seamlessly & I’m here to make sure your day goes by seamlessly, too.

In this post, I’ll walk you through some of the big events of your day with tips to ensure your day is as perfect as possible & share an 8-hour photography timeline template with you.

Here are 7 cute ways to incorporate your pets in your wedding:

• Give your dog a special “job”

• Have your dogs walk down the aisle with wedding party members

• Ask your florist to make a special flower collar for your pet

• Have cake toppers that look like your pets

• Create napkins with a design of your pet’s face

• Name your signature drinks after them

• Order custom cufflinks with your pet’s face on them

Deciding what to wear is such a tough decision. Even when couples ask me, I get a little nervous — I don’t want to tell you advice that doesn’t feel like you. So, let’s work through a few questions that will lead us to the perfect outfits.

Family Photo Tips from a Photographer’s Perspective:

1. Have a list of ALL the combinations of people you want photos with. I include a template in this blog!

2. Make sure your special people know where & when to meet you for photos.

3. Keep the list of combinations as short as possible. The less we have, the more time you have to be in the moment & celebrating with your people!!

A few tips to ease awkwardness/nerves at your couples session:

The best advice I can give you is to keep moving and focus on your partner. Interact with your person as much as possible. Hold onto them, look at them, play with their hair, squeeze them tight — do whatever you normally do. I’ll prompt you with actions & keep you moving. I know that when I’m feeling nervous, I like to prepare and think about what the plan is & start imagining what I’ll do. Here are my top 3 favorite couples poses that I pinky promise we will do at your session:

• Hold hands and walk towards me

• Hug attack

• Snuggle in close and smile at me

6 Tips for the Best Engagement Photos:

Feeling stuck on where we should take photos? Here are 5 of my favorite locations near Bellingham, Washington!