There are some moments that can never be forgotten. Your wedding, for instance, is one of those memories that should rank up there with a child being born, buying a first house, falling in love. (Did I get the order wrong there?)

What started out as a simple referral from a realtor turned into one of the best weddings I shot of 2009. Diana and Greg were looking for a potential west side property to rent for their wedding day. They wanted to keep things small and intimate. Just them, the witnesses, the minister, a photographer and a fabulous island view. They wanted creative wedding photography, and were prepared to take the time to obtain that goal.

So they visited Concepia and we talked about what the day might look like; what i could offer them. I am a portrait photographer, so this was less a wedding shoot, but more an elaborate location portraiture job. We looked at a Seattle wedding photographer who they admired and I was confident I could get what they wanted without compromising my own creativity. I have my own unique style. It can be edgy. It can be contemporary. But it's definitely mine.

Of course, a month later plans changed somewhat. The wedding isn't on the west-side, but on Orcas. And instead of being a party of six, we are now including family and friends into the story.

The Victorian Valley Chapel on Orcas is amazing. Nestled in a beautiful valley, with a gorgeous lake and quaint dock, it is a wedding photographers dream. It's small inside, but lots of wonderfully large windows with an array of colors streaming through the painted glass making it feel quite spacious. There would be little need for flash photography, as the ambient light was soft and plentiful.

I took the ferry over to Orcas the day before to scout out the location and draw up some ideas for creative shots. Not surprisingly there was the beginnings of a wedding party arriving, but I made acquaintances with the wedding photographer and we walked around together looked at all the angles on the property.

So with a playbook full of ideas I went home and got ready for the big day.

Now here's the interesting twist to the story, and really it made the day to have diversity such as this: we started at Roche Harbor Quarry Man's Hall at midday, took getting ready images, some traditional as well as photojournalistic wedding shots around the gardens and kilns of Roche Harbor, then drove to Friday Harbor and caught the ferry over to Orcas. Once there we prepared the Chapel (the previous wedding party hadn't changed the candles etc.), and before we knew it the family started to arrive for the seven o'clock wedding.

A good wedding photographer just doesn't take great images, they are an extra set of hands on this crazy day of days. We are not wrapped up in the emotions of your wedding, we are not family, we are not your best friend... which makes us the ideal person to have around. We still care, after all it's in our best interests to have you looking your best, but we keep a level head when things feel like they might be going otherwise. So if that means we assist you getting dressed, help press your shirt, organize flowers, buy extra water, lighting candles, etc., then so be it.

Diana and Greg were an awesome couple to photograph. This was an important day for them, and the love between them was obviously real. I spent close to twelve hours with them, and captured the essence of the day as they wanted. It was my pleasure to be their wedding photographer. I have selected some of the days images here for you to view.

The final package contained over one hundred and fifty images (with post-production in both color and black/white), and everything was organized into a Quicktime slideshow movie which they then used for a reception party at a later date. (This same slideshow was also published online for guests who couldn't attend the reception.) Guests then had the option of logging onto my proofing website and picking images from their gallery to purchase for themselves. I print and frame all my own images, so every aspect of the photograph is under my control.