Courtyard Marriott｜Christinna's Bridal ｜Tacoma, Washington
Every bride wants to feel like Cinderella on her wedding day. This wedding was as close to the perfect fairytale experience as you can get in real life. I started off the day by heading south of Seattle to the Courtyard Marriott hotel where Max and Zhanna were in their respective suites preparing in their own ways for their big day. First, I visited Max and his best friends where I got to witness firsthand the excitement surrounding this day from everyone involved. Max dawned on his chic grey suit and spent some time with his closest friends sharing stories from the years leading up to this momentous day.
Next, I headed over to the bridal suite to capture Zhanna and all her closest ladies. When I arrived, I had the privilege of capturing some stunning images of all these women sharing in the last moments of quiet and fun before the big day was fully underway.
The Courtyard Marriott hotel presented a perfectly Cinderella-esque running down the stairs moment, but in this version, Zhanna was running down the stair so her first look with her prince charming. These two embraced each other in their wedding attire for the first time. It was priceless to see all their loved ones gathered around as I captured so initial portraits in the hotel before we headed over to the next venue to capture some rustic pictures amid the campus at the University of Puget Sound.
During the ceremony, Max and Zhanna promised each other a life full of love and loyalty as they grow and root their new life together. Capturing those special moments is one of my favorite parts of my job, seeing two people extremely in love and dedicated to nurturing their connection day after day. Following the ceremony, I had a special sunset location in mind which the newlyweds were happy to drive to so they could get their first moments of alone time following their ceremony. We made our way to Chambers Bay Golf Course to get some expansive natural shots of this beautiful new couple. Once we arrived, we had a bit of an adventure to get to the location for the shots but I love when couples are all in on their wedding day because the photos that came out of it took my breath away.
From kissing photos to drone photography, I captured every angle and every action of this gorgeous scenery while I could. The sun setting provided the most beautiful golden light and the clouds stayed away for the new couple to enjoy each other’s company on a magnificent day. My favorite shots from the golf course is Max carrying Zhanna on his back which provided a beautiful end to this fairytale of a day. The next best thing to riding horseback is being carried into the sunset by your new forever best friend and life partner.
