Justin + Stasha | Engagement

I think engagement photos are quickly becoming my favorite. You only have two humans to worry about capturing and it makes it easy when those two humans happen to be madly in love with each other. It also makes it easy when the couple is hot, like seriously HOT. Enter Stasha and Justin!

We completed our weekend trip to Seattle with a rockin' engagement shoot with this awesome couple, whose wedding we are photographing at the end of August in Spokane. Stasha and Justin live in Seattle and it was Stasha's brilliant idea to do their engagement photos on a ferry to Bainbridge Island! It took me all of two seconds (and a little self-restraint not to scream with excitement) to reply, "Ummm...YES! We are so there!" I love it when our clients come up with great ideas that are fresh and out of the box. :)

Stasha and Justin have actually known each other since high school. Side note: We all actually went to the same high school where I'm pretty sure each and every one of my good guy friends had a huge crush on Stasha... had to throw that in there. ;) There is nothing better than photographing a couple who has a ton of fun together, is REAL, and whose relationship is visibly just rock solid. Stasha and Justin have all of these things and much more. We could go on and on about how much fun we had with them (and how yummy the French Toast we ate at Bainbridge Island was), but we'll cut to the chase and show you some of our favorite pictures! And let me tell you, we had a heck of a time narrowing it down...



We are so excited for Stasha and Justin's wedding in August!

Holly + Kyle | Engagement

Like I mentioned in this post, our Seattle trip a couple weekends ago originated because I scheduled two engagement shoots in Sea Town, the first of which was of Holly and Kyle! Holly and I both played volleyball at Whitworth, although we never got to play together. We actually became good friends when I was coaching her senior season at Whitworth! Holly is a total anomaly to me -- on one hand, she is one of the most naturally athletic, crazy competitive people I know; on the other hand, she is a total girly girl and LOVES pink! In all seriousness, Holly is one of the sweetest girls you will ever meet and is genuinely beautiful inside and out.

It was actually during Holly's senior volleyball season when she met Kyle, who played football for Whitworth. I remember numerous bus trips and late nights in hotel rooms during the season when Holly would gush about the new cute boy in her life. :) It was so much fun to be a small part of the beginning of Holly and Kyle's relationship and then be able to take their engagement photos! Kyle and Holly moved over to Bellevue a couple years ago because Kyle is coaching football over there. Because they wanted their engagement photos to reflect their daily lives, how they spend their time together, and who they are as a couple, we did the shoot in and around their neighborhood, which is a first for me! They have these lush, gorgeous trails near their home (which is where Kyle proposed to Holly) and a nearby park they frequent with their dog, Titan. This shoot was personal, simple, and very much a reflection of this couple, which I love!

Without further ado, here are some Flat 4 favorites of Holly and Kyle...



We are so excited to be able to attend and enjoy Holly and Kyle's wedding in July! :) And here's to hoping they'll be moving back to Spokane soon...

Sea Town

I think for the most part, I am a pretty simple person. The little things in life -- think Zac Brown Band's Chicken Fried -- leave me pretty darn content. But I have to admit, there is something completely alluring about a big city that seriously quenches my soul...
 I think it's the sensory overload that gets me. The frenetic sounds of organized chaos, the smell of the exhaust from buses and the subways, constantly being surrounded by the rush of hundreds of people you will never see again... Sometimes I think I was supposed to live smack dab in the middle of all of that in another life. It's not every day, but sometimes I ache for that energy and excitement of a big city.

At least a couple times a year, Jord and I make a road trip to Seattle to get our fix. Do not ask me how it happens, but we always seem to pick the perfect sunny weekend to end up in Sea Town (which, let's be honest, is not a common occurrence considering the city is cloudy 226 days a year!) I had scheduled two engagement shoots in Seattle for the same weekend, so we decided to each take a day off work and make a long weekend of it.
 I can pretty much sum up our whole trip in five words: shopping, friends, family, sun, and photography. We got to spend time with so many people we love and it was exactly what we needed. And yes, Urban Outfitters does fit in to my category of "people we love" even though it's not a person. Don't judge. ;)  Okay, so one of my goals (besides not getting kicked out of Anthropologie for asking to live there) was to take pictures of us and our friends. I think I got about a C- in that department. So if you're not pictured and we saw you over the weekend in Seattle, please don't take it personally. Just blame it on my lack of memory and effort to pull out my big camera and make you pose for a picture -- yes, I realize I'm a photographer and this should come naturally. I have no witty comment or explanation for why this doesn't happen.


One of my favorite things to do in Seattle is to walk around Pike's Place Market, even if I don't buy anything. I don't feel like my Seattle trips are complete unless I've walked through the Market from start to finish, usually with a Starbucks drink in hand. Only this time, we decided to stop at a little outdoor cafe overlooking the water after our market trip; just me, my love, cold beers, some appetizers, and the sunshine. Now that, my friends, is perfection.
 On our last day in Sea Town, we did a morning engagement shoot on a ferry to BainBridge Island -- how fun is that?! The weather was gorgeous, the couple was smokin' hot and super fun, and we got to explore Bainbridge Island, which is the cutest little marine town you've ever seen. Oh, and we ate the most scrumptious French Toast which was actually voted the Best French Toast in the Northwest by Rachel Ray. Try not to be jealous...  Thank you, Seattle, for completely fulfilling your role and big city void in my life. You were good to us and we will be back again soon.