Labor Day Weekend

So much to pack into one blog post! I have to admit, there was a blog-flu going around. Sort of a sickness that made me re-discover why I decided to blog in the first place. I guess blogging became a burden for the times when I wanted to sneak off and cause trouble. People would write and ask WHERE ARE THE BLOG POSTS? Big brother or rather, Big Bride was watching me.... and waiting for the latest scoop.

Without further ado... a peek into the rowdy lives of wedding photographers for the last week or so...here's the 2-day occasion for Marisa + Kanishka's wedding!

Saturday began with a runner. Literally. Marisa's mom has a knack for quilting. She MADE a runner for isle in about 60 minutes. Here are a few snaps of the ladies rolling out the canvas... we got a little distracted with Marisa's mom's wedding pictures...totally hilarious beehives and sideburns back in the day. I LOVE look at other people's photo albums. This is my next career venture indefinately.

In the same way Cherie was gifted with making the runner, she also put over 30 hours into Marisa's veil; it took on a personality all its own. I had to blink constantly through Cherie placing the veil on Marisa, my eyes were sweating. (wink*wink) It was just a beautiful moment. Marisa and Cherie feel like family to me. They reel me into thoughtful conversations, light-hearted fun, and I simply love their company. At the wedding, I truly had the inside ticket to capturing genuine emotions because we were like peas and carrots .

Just as the slippers had the perfect effect on Cinderalla, so did Marisa's veil have this 'ooh-ahh' effect and complete her at that moment. Kamisha & Marisa's portraits flowed like gravy- they're completely at peace with each other.

As Marisa's moment tick-tocked, even by-standers stopped their cars and got out to watch-

I watched Kanishka close his eyes for a second or two as Marisa made her way towards the isle. Later he told me he was praying and giving thanks for this marriage.

Beautiful lighting at their ceremony~

The party was an absolute hit at the Stimson-Green mansion. Its a hidden refuge in downtown Seattle, a wonderful spot with a funky old atmosphere.

As the wedding drew to a close, we cruised around in a Rolls and headed to the crowds at Bumbershoot downtown! For it being midnight, surprisingly the newlyweds drew a huge crowd where everyone applauded them and shouted "congratulations!!" over and over. I went home totally buzzing from such a great day of shooting.

Only it wasn't over! Sunday morning we were at it again....this time for a cultural experience. At the Hindu temple in Bothell, Kanishka's family conducted a traditional ceremony-

To my understanding, this is the traditional wedding ceremony on paper, followed by a close-up of sancrit. Some of my favorite shots here:

The most ironic part of the day was to recognize one of my friends from HIGH SCHOOL at this wedding. I went to school with Beth in 1997 ( i graduated in '98) and our school is located in Heidelberg, Germany, nearly 6,000 miles away from Seattle! How BIZARRE is it that she was the maid of honor for this wedding! Especially considering Ray and I didn't know a SOUL when we moved here, and I just met Cherie through a previous Indian couple from 2007, it makes me realize "its a small world after all!" Here's the sweetheart Beth with her little 1 yr. old cherub.