art schmart

One of my past clients commissioned me to do some art pieces as a surprise for her husband's birthday. Apparently, he is a big fan of my fine art photography, (which is always nice to hear!)

I had such a blast working on this. Check out some of the shots...

Urban Unveiled tickets

Happy Wednesday!

I know you have heard me ramble on and on about Urban Unveiled, the fabu event happening next Thursday the 21st, but I am going to mention it once again.

As one of the owners of Urban Unveiled, I have a few tickets at my disposal and have decided to award them to some very lucky people.

If you are interested in attending the event and sampling some great food and drinks, seeing a Luly Yang fashion show, and mingling with some extremely talented Seattle wedding vendors, email me at:

clare@claremariephotography.com

I will award 5 people with tickets to the event.

Believe me, you won't be sorry! It's going to be a great night. :)

Erin and Nate

Despite that it was POURING rain on their wedding day, Erin and Nate kept the smiles on their faces and their spirits high!

This couple has my total respect and admiration for so many reasons. Two weeks before their wedding, Erin's mother suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. Even though Erin and her family were grieving this huge loss, it was decided that the wedding should continue as planned.

The wedding took place at University Christian Church, with the reception at The Seattle Tennis Club. Kippy, the bride's mother, was honored and celebrated in a hundred different ways throughout the evening- in the candle lighting at the ceremony, the emotional toast by the father of the bride, at the place setting at the head table, and in the father-daughter dance that ended up including both of the bride's siblings in one big embrace. I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole room during that dance. I got emotional just editing the photos.

I was so moved by this couple, their families, and the enormous amount of love and support that surrounded them on their wedding day. Erin was one of the most lovely, graceful, kind, and classy brides I have ever seen.
I am so honored to have been chosen by her and Nate to document this time.

Congratulations, you two.

Urban Unveiled

On the evening of February 21st, the Second Annual Urban Unveiled will take place at Benaroya Hall. As one of the owners, I am SO incredibly proud to be part of this extraordinary event.

If you are planning a wedding, then I highly encourage you to buy a ticket and come!
Urban Unveiled was such a huge success last year because it is the first event of its kind in the city. Unlike wedding trade shows, UU is a fantastic cocktail party with great food, drinks, music, a fashion show by Luly Yang, and a drawing for amazing give-aways throughout the night. Plus, the participating vendors have all been hand-selected by the owners, (myself, Sharlane Chase Photography and True Colors Events) so it is an incredible collection of talent. Our favorite florists, jewelry designers, caterers, dessert makers, invitation designers, stylists, and DJs will all be there, plus many others. Seriously....it is a really good time. :)

Last year, Urban Unveiled sold out so check out the website and get your tickets soon!
www.urbanunveiled.com

Lumiere and the rain

What could be better than shooting two totally cute, creative, and hilarious guys?!!
I had SO much fun today photographing the amazingly talented duo from Lumiere Bridal for the upcoming Urban Unveiled event.
Jonathan and Jaro were looking for something off-beat, fun, and different to showcase their business and I think we captured that. Of course, when you have two people willing to stand in the rain and get soaked...ON PURPOSE... and all in the name of a good photo...well, then, it's just hard to go wrong.

Samantha and Mackenzie

Remember Melyssa and Damian from the featured wedding section on my website? You know....that beautiful couple who had their fabulous wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? Well, they now have twin daughters who are just as cute as can be.

I first photographed the twins, Samantha and Mackenzie, when they were babies. Now they are one year old and getting even cuter by the second!!
Check out a few photos from their recent shoot...

Back from vacation

I have finally carved out some time to sit down and write about the last several weeks. It's snowing outside, I am listening to Band of Horses VERY loudly, and I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I am no longer on vacation. Not that it's a bad thing. It's good to be home. But it truly is so lovely to have days and days where I have no schedule, where I can indulge in many hours of daydreaming or catch up with my cousins in Vermont or watch my niece swing very high on her tree swing in New York. It is so wonderful to have time with my mom where we can just laugh and drink wine, where I get to hear my cousin's amazing 17 year old son share with me his passion for languages, where I can talk about art with my brother. I savored every moment of this trip- driving through New England and seeing the multi-colored leaves on the trees, seeing the Manhattan skyline at sunset, soaking up the 70 degree weather in Myrtle Beach, hearing the birth stories from 2 generations of women in my family, playing board games, and laughing harder than I have in a long time.
It was hard to leave it all. It's hard to live so far away from such a large and loving community. But I am home now and so grateful for the amazing community I have here.
I have a lot to be thankful for.

Thank you- to ALL the family I saw on this trip- I love you all.
Here are just a few of the photos I took of you...