The morning after Flo & Brad’s wedding, they met us in downtown Seattle for a “Day After” bridal session.  They really wanted some awesome portraits that were a reflection of the city and what could be more of an “Emerald City” icon than the world-famous Pike Place Market? Now I’m guessing that even if the name Pike Place doesn’t ring a bell to you immediately, you probably know it better than you think.  You know those “Fish! Philosophy” motivational videos? The ones where the employees at the fish market throw the fish around to keep up employee moral?  Well, Pike Place is the setting for that well known series that you’ve probably seen a million times.  (Hint, hint – you just might see a bit of fish throwing a little later in this post so keep on reading :-)

(Please sign the guestbook if you’d like to be notifed when the rest of their photos are online.)

For the start of our session, the newly minted Hettle’s met us at our hotel, the very cool and modern Hotel Max so Flo could get into her dress.  We just had to take advantage of the awesome decor in our room before heading out into the city.

We took a short cab ride down to the market and almost as soon as we got out of the car is started to rain.  And I’m not just talking about a light drizzle either, it was a full on downpour!  But of course, no amount of precipitation could keep these two lovebirds from taking advantage of the scenery.  After a very wet start (see the first image), it pretty much rained on and off for the entire session. We did attempt to stay dry whenever it was possible and lucky for us the market lent itself to a great variety of backdrops with it’s many overhangs and covered walk ways.

When we originally talked about locations for their session, Brad & Flo really wanted to get a great shot of them with the Space Needle.  With the weather complications and a limited amount of time to shoot, we decided to just stick to Pike Place . . . but we did improvise a little bit.  I actually kinda love how this one turned out :-)  What can I say?  We aim to please!

This was one of our favorite moments from their session.  We set them up in a pose and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a big gust of wind picked up Flo’s veil, getting it tangled all over the two of them!  They’re interactions were so cute! No amount of posing can create moments like these.  (By the way, we like to call this little series, “Attack of the Veil”. LOL!)

Love, love, LOVE the vintage feel of these shots by the water.  They look like stills straight out of an old black & white movie.  So romantic!

We also walked down by Post Alley for a few shots and I just love how they turned out!

This next shot is one of mine.  You’ll notice it has a slightly “hazy” quality to it because my lens was getting soaked as I was shooting.  I was literally holding my camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other.  Clearly, I’m not all that good at multitasking with my camera-in-hand, but I still love the results :-)

There’s a cool little tunnel that runs under the main part of the market.  The walls are covered with gum (yes, gross, I know) and the first day that we walked around to scout out the area it was packed with tourists.  The one good thing about the rain was that it kept a lot of the people away, but there were still a few stragglers with cameras.  In this next image, you can see someone towards the back of the tunnel taking a photo of Flo & Brad.  Why they would want photos of strangers in bridal attire?  I don’t know.  But this always happens when we shoot with brides & grooms in a really public setting.  It’s so wierd!  Love this image by the way :-)

Recreating the “dip” at the end of their first dance :-)  How fabulous are they?

And of course, the photos you’ve all been waiting for.  FISH!

Flo’s expression absolutely cracks me up in this series. What?  You don’t enjoy being sprayed with fish guts in your wedding dress?  LOL!  For the record, this was totally their idea!

Love in the fish market :-)

To Brad & Flo:  you guys were amazing!  Thanks for being such troopers in spite of the rain, cold and flying fish guts AND being totally dedicated to getting awesome shots no matter what.  You guys ROCKED it!  This session was an adventure none of us will soon forget.  We’re so glad to have had the chance to be a part of your day and help you capture such fun and unique memories.  Thank you for inviting us into your lives.  It was truly a pleasure.