Several weeks ago I photographed the wedding of Venita and Mike on the Waterways cruise boat Emerald Star.  The day began when I met bride Venita and her bridesmaids at the nearby hotel where they were getting dressed before the wedding.  This was quite an experience, as there were a LOT of people trying to get dressed in a rather small space, as you’ll see in some of the photos below.  This was actually a lot of fun to photograph, as pre-wedding chaos is almost always fun for all involved.

Once everyone was ready we moved to the lobby for some group photos, and then it was time to make a short drive to where the ship was moored where we would meet up with the men.  Venita was planning to not be seen by Mike until the wedding ceremony, so she was quickly hustled to the boat and placed in a small cabin where she would be out of sight until it was time for the ceremony.

Boat weddings always have their own special challenges, one of the biggest being once the ship leaves the dock, anyone who didn’t make it aboard on time is out of luck.  We waited a bit longer than usual for some stragglers but then finally left the dock and moved out onto Lake Union.

The weather was a very basic Seattle gray, with no sign of the sun anywhere.  But the temperature was quite nice, which was a good thing since the ceremony was to be held outdoors.  The boat made a circle of Lake Union while everyone was getting organized, and then moved into position more or less in the center of the lake for the ceremony to begin.

The guests all moved out onto the stern deck of the boat, where chairs had been set up.  Meanwhile the wedding party was trying to get organized inside the upper bar area.  Once everyone was seated the wedding party started out onto the rear deck and all the way to the stern, as you’ll see in the photos.  The groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen all took their positions and then it was time for Venita to finally make her appearance.

Venita looked simply stunning.  Her dress was amazing, and it’s just as well that it was NOT sunny because it would have made the dress almost too bright to photograph.  At this point I’m going to list the members of the wedding party, hopefully I get everyone!

1. Groom’s Party  – Billy Hawkins (in hat), Morgan Piland Sr (Son-in-law), Dennis Mack, Jeff Cole (Best Man), James  Livingston. These men are Mike’s best and oldest friends.

2. Bridal party – Juanita Chapman (Maid of Honor-Best friend), Yolanda Sullivan (Best friend), Tracey Motton (cousin, best friend), Tammie Conyer (sister), Ashanti Miranda (niece).

3. Maya Peart (Granddaughter- Flower Girl), Bride and Melissa Keown (Daughter in law)

4. Ring bearer Morgan Piland Jr and  Ring bearer Dorian Keown

5. Officiant – Naechel Harris

As the wedding ceremony took place the boat was slowly rotating, so when you look at the photos you’ll see that the background is continually changing.

At the conclusion of the ceremony the Emerald Star then left Lake Union and moved out onto Lake Washington, where we then cruised for several hours before returning to the dock in Lake Union.  I’m not going to take you through the entire cruise, but the photos below will show you the entire day.

If you’d like to see more of the weddings I have photographed please visit my web page at this link.