Angie and David get married at Willows Lodge in Woodinville

A couple of weeks ago I was extremely fortunate to be the photographer at the wedding of Angelina and David, held at the Willows Lodge in Woodinville.  I had done an engagement session with David and Angie at Kerry Park and Seattle Center a few months ago and we had a lot of fun during the session, and I was really looking forward to the wedding.  I had been watching the weather forecast rather nervously all week, as it was at first predicting rain, then showers, and just a day before still was “cloudy with a chance of showers” with cool temperatures.  Since I knew that Angie and David had planned for an outdoor ceremony if possible, rain was NOT what we needed!  But as it turned out the weather gods smiled on us and the weather turned out to be sunny and warm!

Pre-ceremony photos

When I arrived at the Lodge the first thing I did was go to meet up with Angie to get a few “getting ready” photos.  She was already finished with her hair and make up, and was ready for me to get a few shots before she out on her wedding dress.  With Angie was her mom Janice and sister (and matron of honor) Lorraine, who were helping with the dressing process.  The room offered some very nice window light and we had fun getting a variety of photos of Angie, Janice, Lorraine and finally her dad Lytton when he came to tell us that groom David was ready.

The First Look

Next I met up with David and got him into position for the “first look” photos for him and Angie.  As I said earlier, the weather was quite sunny which makes outdoor photos a but tricky, since you really don’t want to have a “squinty” bride and groom!  But I found a location that I thought looked good and we got ready to go.  David was placed with his back to where Angie would appear, and she made her approach (with me getting photos of every step).  I loved David’s expression as he turned and saw Angie in her dress for the first time!

The best man Jorge and maid of honor Lorraine had been watching this session, and the five of us now did a bit of wandering around the grounds of the Lodge looking for fun places for photos.  The Lodge has quite a few places that are really nice for outdoor photos, and we tried to get at least a few shots in all of them.  I have done quite a few weddings at Willows and know the grounds pretty well, so I already knew the places that would probably work best with the lighting conditions.  There was another wedding taking place at another part of Willows at the same time as ours, and we ran into the other wedding party a few times as we all walked the grounds.  I found it a bit amusing that the other group never discovered the best place at the Lodge for outdoor photos, and patch of trees at the north end of the grounds.  But that was fine with me, as it meant we could spend as much time taking photos there as we wanted.  David’s parents (Carmen and David) and Angie’s parents joined us for some family photos, and then it was time for Angie to disappear before the ceremony while the guests arrived and took their seats.

The Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was held at the north end of the Willows grounds, at a gazebo on the lawn where I had photographed several other weddings.  The blue skies and warm temps made for pretty much perfect conditions for an outdoor wedding ceremony.  David Cooper of Forever Together weddings was the officiant; I have worked with both David and his wife Joanna at numerous other ceremonies and was happy to see him.  He is a really nice guy and always does a fantastic job with his couples; he is also very fluent in Spanish and can conduct ceremonies in both English and Spanish.  Music was provided by a duo from Puget Sound Strings, who were wonderful.

Once all of the guests had taken their seats the ceremony began.  Angie was walked in by her father, who handed her off to David (the groom, not the officiant) after they reached the altar area.  Now David Cooper showed one of the reasons that he was hired to officiate this ceremony.  Groom David is from Mexico, and his parents are more comfortable with Spanish than English.  David Cooper did a great job of blending English and Spanish for the ceremony.  I am no longer as fluent in Spanish as I once was, but I was still able to appreciate what great job officiant David did with the ceremony.  LOL!  Having three Davids as major participants makes keeping names straight rather interesting!

At the conclusion of the ceremony there was a cocktail and appetizer hour on the lawn near where the ceremony had taken place, and all of the family and guests were able to interact in the sunshine while having some wine or beer and some tasty munchies.

The Reception

At the conclusion of the outdoor cocktail hour we all made our way to the other side of the Lodge to reach the room where the reception was being held.  I loved the design of the cake, which was made by Mike’s Amazing Cakes and had Dragonball Z characters for the topper.  Very clever, you can see a photo below.

As at most receptions this was a great time for everyone to just relax and talk until dinner was served.  Angie and David made the rounds of the tables while everyone was waiting for their meals.

Once dinner was completed, we moved into the traditional toasts to the bride and groom, followed by the cutting of the wedding cake.  Both David and Angie were very well behaved as they fed cake to each other, and no one ended up with cake smashed into their face.  Though there were a few guests who were definitely encouraging both bride and groom to get a little more aggressive when they were exchanging the cake!

Finally the evening had to come to an end.  It was truly a wonderful wedding and reception, and everyone there seemed to have a great time!

Now you can look through an assortment of photos from the day.  This is only a small part of the total number of photos I gave to Angie and David, but if you want to see more they can give you a link to the photos from the entire day.

Other vendors –
Flowers by LaVassar Florists
Dress by David’s Bridal