Claire and Greg get married at the Landing at Tyee in Seattle

Getting ready at Tyee

On September 30 Claire and Greg were married at the Landing at Tyee (also known as the Tyee Yacht Club), located on Lake Union just south of the University Bridge.  The day for me began when I arrived at Tyee at ~2PM so I could get some finishing up photos in the dressing room as Claire got ready to put on the dress.  The plan was for me to take Greg down the street to a small park along the ship canal, where Claire would then meet us so we could do their “first look” photos.  Then the entire wedding party and both families would make a short drive to Gas Works Park, where we would take photos of the wedding party and family, before returning to Tyee for the ceremony at 5PM.

But as often happens with weddings, things did not work out quite as we planned.  To start with, the weather was looking very questionable, with dark clouds all around us and even a brief rain shower while I was taking photos of Claire and the ladies in their dressing room.  Greg and the guys arrived and started to get into their tuxes, and then we hit the next problem.  All of the groomsmen had “clip-on” style bow ties, but Greg’s tie was the real thing and needed to be actually tied.  And no one (including me) had a clue how to tie a bow tie!  I felt quite bad about this, as I frequently help the groom or groomsmen when they have trouble tying a “regular” tie.  But in all of the hundreds of wedding I have photographed I can only think of a few times that the groom had a REAL bow tie, and as I have also never worn one myself I never learned how to tie one.  Fortunately there are tutorials on almost anything on YouTube, and one of the groomsmen was able to figure out the trick to tying the bow tie and Greg was finally able to finish getting dressed.  But due to the time involved, we were now at least 30 minutes behind on our planned schedule.

First Look at South Passage Point Park

After conferring with Claire we decided to head to South Passage Park as planned for the “first look”.  Greg and I walked the short distance to the park, with Claire trailing behind with most of the wedding party, and hiding behind an umbrella as she walked so Greg would not accidentally see her ahead of schedule.  Once we got both Greg and Claire into position we had a very nice first look session, as you’ll see in the photos below.

Now we had to make a big decision.  We were running somewhere between 30-45 minutes behind schedule, and the question was whether we should make the drive to Gas Works or just do the wedding party and family photos at South Passage Park and make things a bit easier for everyone.  As we talked over the options, I noticed that the sky to the SW was getting even darker, and that the chances of a rainshower looked pretty high.  The wedding party and both sets of parents were already with us at the park, so the decision was made to stay where we were, and as it worked out that was definitely the correct call.  We were still able to get a good selection of photos of the wedding party and family without the added stress of having to rush to Gas Works, and shortly after finishing our session at South Passage Park a fairly nasty rain squall moved in and made things rather wet; I would have hated to be caught out in the open at Gas Works then!

The Wedding Ceremony

Everyone made the short walk back to Tyee just before the rain hit, and the ladies retired to their dressing room.  I was busy taking photos of the guests as they arrived, and when I checked back in with Claire I found her and most of the wedding party having some pre-wedding drinks.  The guests were instructed to take their seats and the ceremony began.  The wedding party was –

Bridesmaids
Rebecca Fish
Katie Couture
Keli Smock
Desiree Patty
Heather Rylander
Alexis Greenwood

Groomsmen
Max Powell
Austin Collins
Robbie Payton
Aaron Christiansen
Mirza Memic
Andy Johnson

Claire was escorted down the aisle by her father Doug, where she was met by Greg and the officiant, Angelo Allard.  Angelo performed a very nice ceremony, and we soon had a brand-new married couple!

The Reception

Next came  what I like to call “Meet, Greet and Eat!” time.  Greg, Claire and the wedding party all headed for the deck for some shots, and then into the dressing room for a little quiet time with more drinks and munchies.  The guests all moved out of the main room so the staff could turn the room and get table set up for dinner.  There were lots of appetizers and an open bar, and though it was a little crowded everyone was clearly having a great time.  Greg and Claire reappeared and were greeted by many of the guests while the buffet was being set up.

Once all of the tables and chairs were arranged in the dining area the guests were seated and the buffet line was opened.  Talk about great food!  My own favorite was something I have never seen before at a wedding, a Garlic Mashed Potato Bar with all kinds of tasty goodies that could be added to or poured over your potatoes.  Yummy!  The weather had turned very nice, and quite a few of the guests made their way to the deck to enjoy the evening and to watch the sunset.

Once everyone had a chance to hit the buffet, the next thing up were toasts.  First up was Claire’s father Doug, followed by several members of the wedding party.  After the toasts were finished Claire and Greg spent some time greeting more of the guests while everyone either relaxed or finished their meals.

Next on the schedule was the cutting of the cake.  This was one of the best (and biggest!) wedding cakes I have ever seen – just check out the photos!  Though there were numerous shouts of “Smash it in his/her face!”, Greg and Claire showed remarkable restraint and did a nice job of cutting the cake and then feeding each other without getting messy about it; though it did look for a minute as though Greg was going to put the cake all over Claire’s face rather than into her mouth.

And now it was time for the first dance for the newlyweds, followed by the traditional father-daughter and mother-son dances.  Once those were finished the dance floor was opened up to the rest of the guests and the party got underway in earnest.

This was a fantastic wedding, lots of fun for all who attended and a complete blast to photograph.  I have blabbed on for long enough, now take a look at some photos from the day.  I hope you enjoy them!