Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel Engagement Session
We have taken many photos in and around the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel for weddings and engagement sessions. It’s an extraordinary hotel with exquisite décor and views of the waterfront that are breath taking.
The Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel is walking distance to the Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park, Pier 91 and very near Pikes Place Market.
We highly recommend you have your wedding here and hire us to capture amazing images of your incredible event.

If you are considering getting married at University of Washington I highly recommend it! We’ve done engagement sessions there (see Mary and Joe’s session on our blog) as well as weddings and the architecture mixed with nature makes for stunning photos! The buildings of Odegaard and Suzallo are right across each other on Red Square with a large fountain and a gorgeous view in the distance are all right there together. It’s all so beautiful. See for yourself in our photos!

Yes, we flew to Hidden Valley Country Club in Salem, Virginia for Katie and Sam’s wedding and what an adventure it was!

The Blue Ridge Mountain were the stunning backdrop to this breath taking wedding.

Their ceremony was full of touching moments, so many I can’t name them all but here are a few highlights.

For their ceremony, there’s a series of photos here showing the ring blessing/warming portion of the ceremony where family members pass the bride and grooms rings from to each other but not before holding them in their cupped hands and saying a silent blessing. It was truly beautiful.

Sam and Katie are very caring people. They included their grandmas in the ceremony by giving them roses which were met with wide beaming smiles.

Sam’s first dance was with his two grandmas which would melt anyone’s heart.
Their grooms cake is of their alma mater, Virginia Tech where they met and went on countless adventures playing in the band together. Their blood is truly Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange (yes, those are the real names of the colors).

Katie’s dad dances the soft shoe like a champ, who knew! Everyone was gathered around the dance floor in a huge circle clapping and stomping to the music while he soft shoed around the floor then grabbed Katie (or did she grab him) anyway, they spun and clapped in a dancing, twirling, dress swirling celebration.

The surprise of the evening was after their big exit full of wild streamers, neon lights and cheering guests forming a tunnel leading to a vintage Rolls Royce ready to speed them away.

It was a glorious day full of celebration and love.
Big cheers to the happy couple, Katie and Sam!

Special thanks to all of the vendors involved for making this a flawless day!

Event Designer Wedding Planner
540-583-8121
[email protected]

Florist Kroger Co.

Cake Artist Casey’s Cakes
540-427-5538
[email protected]

Officiant Lynn Haven Baptist Church
540-342-6102
[email protected]

Gown Boutique David’s Bridal

Makeup Artist Salon Solutions
305-753-9396
[email protected]

Hair Stylist: Salon Solutions
305-753-9396
[email protected]

Musician/DJ Big Fun Events
[email protected]

Venue/Caterer: Hidden Valley Country Club
540-389-8146
[email protected]

This is Mallory and Chris’s beautiful travel themed Monte Cristo Ballroom wedding. Mallory studied abroad and Chris is a pilot so it was fitting that their wedding was a travel theme. Each dinner table was decorated perfectly to match each city it represented. They used a vintage style that was fun and creative.

Look at Chris’s face as they walk down the aisle together as husband and wife. He is the happiest guy in the world! I love it!
They played the Shoe-ley-wed Game. This is where the bride and groom sit back to back. They have one of each others shoes as well as one of their own shoes. The DJ asks questions like, “Which one of you would most likely be caught speeding?” They raise the shoe of the one they think will be caught and everyone bursts out laughing then they change their minds or peek at the other ones answers and start cracking up too. It’s a complete crack up and a great way for everyone to have fun.

The father/daughter dance was different than any I’d ever seen. Her dad pantomimed out the words to the song. It was sweet and touching and I couldn’t stop capturing image after image of him being playful and her beaming with joy.

Not to be outdone, the father/mother dance was fantastic with Chris spinning her all over the dance floor and her hair flying while grinning from ear to ear.

Chris and Mallory’s first dance was very sweet and even had a spin and dip thrown in here and there. First dances are one of my favorite parts of the wedding day. I get all choked up but still manage to be able to see through the lens and keep on clicking.
Three cheers to this fun, adventurous, happy couple, Mallory and Chris!

Thank you to all of the vendors involved for making their day so special.

Caterer
Monte Cristo Ballroom
1507 Wall Street Everett, WA 98201
425-740-5046
[email protected]
http://www.montecristoballroom.com/

Florist
Becky Van Dam
425-750-7930

Cake Artist
Bite Me Cupcakes
2811 Colby Ave Ste B Everett, WA 98201
(425) 903-4724

Officiant
Marissa Deku

Gown Boutique
Moments to Treasure Bridal
10137 Main Street Bothell, WA 98011
425-463-6021
http://www.momentstotreasurebridal.com/

Makeup Artist
Glynne Davis
206-595-8424
[email protected]

Hair Stylist
Glynne Davies

DJ/Musician
Monte Cristo Ballroom
http://www.montecristoballroom.com/

I am amazed at how creative all of these costumes are. What a “killer” party! There was dancing, friends & dancing friends ;), food and even TWO Marilyn Monroes! What could be better than that?!

Today in the life of a Seattle wedding photographer:

I live near Seattle and it’s Fall so today is grey, completely overcast and dumping rain then stopping then dumping all day long.
I’m bundled up in my ughs and flannel with a warm cup of Earl Grey tea.
I dropped the kids off at school. My dogs are usually pushing at the front door to go with us but not on this rainy day. We tried to synch up our steps, right-left-right-left so we could stay close enough to all fit under the umbrella.

Ok, straight to work. I choose to finish the blog I started yesterday. I hate leaving projects unfinished but it was getting too late last night to finish.
I love seeing all the pretty photos again and reliving the wedding day while creating blogs. With all of my favorite photos chosen (a few from each part of the day) I’m now ready to make the perfect collage to display them perfectly. I edit a few to black and white and a few crops then start collaging. The software is really great but the process is challenging. There’s so much to consider. Verticals must be in sets of 2. The topics of the pair must be the same and the lighting should match and of course, they must both be good photos.
You must think about the order of the day and how it actually unfolded because if you create these groupings out of order you’ll pay for it when you upload them to your blog and they land in a disorganized mess.
So, collaged, saved, uploaded to blog, words added, titles, keywords, props to vendors who were part of the wedding and preview then publish.
Blog done. Some mistakes in the final product. Must move on. Final product overall is beautiful and that’s what counts the most.

Lunch time. Left over stir-fry veggies and couscous with tea.
Consider watching t.v. for the rest of the day. Consider watching maybe just one show. Decide that’s a good idea. Wander back to desk to check on things, forget about t.v. and start working again.

Answer questions from Brandon about schedules.
Return emails to clients regarding scheduling. Scheduling takes up many small parts of each day. It’s a lot like juggling.

Submit photos taken yesterday to editing company, Evolve Edits. Yesterday I judged photos for a school contest, took real estate photos for a house going up for sale soon, drove to Issaquah to take photos of a charity event called Just As I Am- Supporting Down Syndrome Awareness.

It’s a girls high school soccer game where they sell all sorts of things like cupcakes, blankets & raffle tickets for gift baskets to collect money for Down Syndrome. During half time they recognize the star guests with Down Syndrome by having them run through a tunnel created by all of the players of both teams then stand on a stage box and have the announcer read nice things about them that their family members wrote. It’s quite touching. They turn out a nice crowd for this event. This is their 3rd year in a row now. My friend Melissa Wyman is the creator and director and I couldn’t be prouder of her for all the hard work she puts in. I will wear my t-shirt from her event proudly!

Check on our Wedding Wire account to make sure our photos are all high resolution and updated to the ones we took this year that might be better suited for marketing than others already posted.
Create album layout. Send to client.
Email print packages and pricing to client.
Check on PUG Group FB site. Post a comment to keep people interacting.
Reply to blog comments.
Reply to new client inquiry.

Brandon asks, “you’re getting the kids from school, right?”
me: no way is school out already.
Oi, today went quickly. Kids retrieved. Noise level in house escalated. Little more work done checking to see when next expo is, who is assisting us for it, what wedding albums should I create and order for it and which prints do we print. I should email some vendors and edit some album layouts but it’s been 8 hours so that’s it for today.

So, if you are considering becoming a photographer this is what it is like. Yes, playing with pretty photos is fun but that’s only a small part of what we do. All of the day-to-day desk work is a very high percentage of what we do. The trick is to do less of this and more shooting, of course. Create more of what you love.

Here are the vendors I used today:
ShootQ
Pictage
Album Exposure
Wordpress
Evolve Edits
Wedding Wire
Photoshop
Blogstomp
Facebook
Outlook
Apple (phone)
Samsung (fridge) 1f642

Where can you find football, a tortoise in a tuxedo, a beautiful bride in lace, a big red fire truck and lots and lots of trees all in one place? Missy and Michael’s Trinity Tree Farm Wedding in Issaquah, WA, that’s where!

Missy, the bride, was timeless and elegant in her lace dress, with a sparkly brooch belt and classy up-do, gorgeous.
Michael rocked the tux. He looked so handsome.

Yes, Nico, the tortoise was one of the ring bearers sporting a hand-knitted tux, cruising in his big red wagon chauffeured by another handsome ring bearer (whose name I won’t say here) but isn’t he just the cutest little boy?! And be sure to see the photo of the little flower girl with glasses in her mama’s arms at the reception. All of the kids at this wedding were amazingly well behaved, adorable and so sweet.

The photos where there’s a palm tree in a pot is the tree planning ceremony. It was very unique. They each poured their jar of dirt into the pot then watered it with the little personalized watering can, so sweet.

Full of elation they danced down the aisle! Michael holding Missy and spinning her in circles was something they did out of pure joy. We did not ask them to do this although, yes, it created amazing photos.

They had a bit of an M&M theme going on yes, because who doesn’t love M&M candies but the first initials of their names is the other reason. Just another sign that they are meant to be together.

Each table was assigned a song. When the DJ played their song they were dismissed to go through the buffet. Clever idea, yes?

Tree themed, M&M themed, football jersey signing, a warm evening with cigars, good friends and a happy couple. What a perfect wedding.

We had the best time, as did all of the guests, at this wedding. Missy and Michael are very playful, animated, and light hearted. They are a perfect match and we wish them all the best!
Xoxo you two!

Thank you to all of the vendors who made this wedding seamless!

Event Coordinator Trinity Tree Farm
253-310-5709
[email protected]

Caterer Pyramid Catering
[email protected]

Florist Sublime Stems
425-444-8481
[email protected]

Cake Artist Happy Cakes and Events
425-737-6167
[email protected]

Gown Boutique Cynderellies Closet
425-771-0653

Makeup & Hair Artist Gene Juarez
Bellevue
www.genejuarez.com

Musician/DJ Injoy Entertainment
760-473-9800
[email protected]

Venue Trinity Tree Farm
253-310-5709 (W)
[email protected]

Mens Warehouse Bellevue
www.tuxedo.menswearhouse.com/
(888) 466-9889

It’s that time of year again when we are so busy our head spin until January when it starts all over again. It’s the perfect chance for you to gain on the job training, the ins and outs of the biz.

Internship- Currently hiring (unpaid) for 2014-2015

Hildebrand Photography is looking for one or two awesome people to work with us in our wedding photography business! You will be working with us about 3-5 hours a week, either in Redmond or sometimes remotely. The internship is unpaid, but you will gain experience and training in return!

IDEALLY, YOU…

•Can commit to working 3-5 hours/week for the next six months.

•Are an aspiring photographer with serious interest in working as a photographer either part-time or full-time.

•Have some understanding of dSLR photography. We can provide you with a Nikon dSLR during work hours.

•Have not photographed more than two weddings as the primary photographer.

•Are computer-savvy and fluent with social media (twitter, facebook, blogging).

•Are reliable and professional. You are on time and never cancel on your commitments.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

•Meeting with us once a week in Redmond.

•Image Editing: learning how to cull down to the best work, learning some lightroom/photoshop skills, and learning to manage a workflow that works!

•Marketing & Advertising: assisting with marketing campaigns, creating and submissions for publication, and leveraging social media in the best way.

•Assisting at shoots when available– mainly assisting with lighting and gear. This is NOT a second shooter position, but you may be allowed to take photos for personal portfolio use when there is time.

•Special Projects: You’ll get to see what it takes to create styled shoots and other photography events.

WHAT YOU WILL GAIN:

•One-on-one workshops and consultations with us– we can cover anything from camera technique to business development

•Constant feedback on your images, website and portfolio

•Unlimited access to our training materials library

•Behind-the-scenes view of my business– emails, client contacts, shooting, post-processing, and more

•Possible access to our overflow photography inquiries

•The adventure of learning this rewarding industry!

TO APPLY

•Please email either of us at [email protected] or [email protected]

•Tell us your story, your photography/relevant experience, and why you want this internship.

We will conduct interviews with applicants in the next couple weeks and may have a trial run period before any confirmations are made. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. This is an incredible opportunity. The things we teach you will take you leaps and bounds ahead of your competition as you begin your photography career.

We look forward to meeting you.

What a glorious day full of love, laughter, music and graciousness.
Best wishes Chelsea and George! May all of your dreams come true.

Ashka of Pink Orchid Events really out did herself with Mary and Joe’s Immaculate Conception Church & Pan Pacific Hotel Wedding dream wedding. The entire day and night ran smoothly, perfectly and without flaw. All of the guests were dancing and laughing and kids were being silly and having fun.
Mary and Joe have the nicest, most thoughtful families and friends. Gifts, warm sentiments and hugs were exchanged in abundance. Mary and Joe are the sweetest couple who are lucky enough to have the cutest little boy and a lifetime of happiness to share with each other.
We are blessed to have been a part of their special moments and to capture images to last through the generations.

Event Coordinator Pink Orchid Events
425.998.8039
[email protected]

Caterer Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle
206-654-5012
[email protected]

Florist Love Blooms
[email protected]

Cake Artist Mikes Amazing Cakes
425-869-2992

Gown Boutique David’s Bridal

Venue Pan Pacific Hotel Seattle
206-654-5012
[email protected]

Videographer Design 4 Life
[email protected]

Webb Family Photos
This family was the greatest. They’re all so sweet and so beautiful! We started in-studio. The little guy loved the rocking chair. Lily and Kyle had a great time. Check out the photo of them cracking up!
The photos at the park are priceless. The oldest daughter is stunning in her white dress. I gave their youngest daughter a piggy back ride, she’s so sweet! The weather was amazing and the kids had fun playing in the water.
The family photo of the little guy’s back cracks me up.
Fun times, great weather and fabulous photos. What could be better?

We are loving our new 9-up layouts. Look at these little cuties. It’s such a fun way to capture many expressions and display them all together. Matted and framed this is perfect as a 18×20 display for your wall. Cute kids, fun times.