Guada and Don Get Married at Ray’s Boathouse

Back in early November Don and Guada had a fantastic wedding and reception at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle. I’m going to give you a quick rundown of the day, as well as present a selection of photo highlights.  But if you get bored with my commentary you can just skip to the photos!

Pre-Ceremony at Golden Gardens

I met Guada and Don at Golden Gardens in the mid-afternoon to take some pre-ceremony photos.  Ray’s is only a couple of miles from Golden Gardens and this is one of my favorite locations for wedding day photos if the actual venue is limited in photo possibilities.  Ray’s actually has some pretty nice spots for photos, but we decided to go ahead with the photos at the park to give the couple some different looks for their photos.

While the day was sunny and bright, it was also quite cold.  Not a big deal for Don with his tuxedo with jacket, but a bit tougher on Guada in a wedding dress!  I had warned Guada to bring a separate jacket and fortunately she listened to me.

Even though it was breezy and rather cold there were a LOT of people at the park enjoying the sunny weather.  So dodging possible photo bombers was a priority!  We actually had quite a bit of fun with the photo session, and hit several different parts of the park for photos.  The beach area was particularly nice, with wonderful views across Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountain range.

Ceremony and Reception at Ray’s Boathouse

Once we had taken all the photos we wanted at Golden Gardens we headed down to Ray’s.  Most of the family was there and waiting for us, so we had another photo session.  At this time the sun was just starting to set behind the Olympics and we were able to get some nice sunset photos with family and friends.

Then it was time for the ceremony.  Ray’s is a bit unique in that it offers several outdoor ceremony options, as well as an indoor option.  Don and Guada had wisely opted for the indoor location.  I have photographed weddings at Ray’s in all four seasons and at all times of the day, and the indoor wedding option works really well.  There are drop down plastic windows that still allow a great view of Puget Sound, even on a rainly day.  Because it was dark by the time we started the ceremony the windows didn’t allow much of a view of anything except the dark, but it was still a beautiful location for a wedding.

At the end of the ceremony the guests enjoyed a very nice Happy Hour with appetizers and drinks while the staff prepared the buffet dinner.  I have to admit that in addition to havng great photo possibilities, another reason I love doing a wedding at Ray’s is because of their wonderful food!  And this wedding was no exception.

You can see other examples of weddings I have photographed at Ray’s and other Seattle locations by clicking on this link to visit my blog page.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy the photos!