My last wedding of 2009 was the perfect winter wedding, complete with red roses, white fur, diamonds and feathers.  I started off the morning with the boys at The Bellevue Club.  I arrived just in time to catch them eating breakfast, and the mood in the restaurant was surprisingly bubbly (they’d had quite the party the night before …)  After enjoying the tastiest looking eggs I’d seen in a long time, Max headed up to his room to change, and to open his gift from Elisa.  I wonder if you can guess what it is from his expression …

My next stop was the bridal suite at the Arctic Club where Elisa and her girls were finishing up getting ready.  It was fun watching my favorite MUA Erin Skipley working her magic again, and I went all kinds of gaga for Elisa’s gorgeous dress and stylish accessories.  The cascading roses on her gown were amazing.  I could have photographed them all day …

I left the girls to finish up and headed over to Blessed Sacrament in the U District to grab some details and get started on the formals.  It’s a gorgeous church and the light was on our side that day.  I especially love the shots of Max and the guys prepping before the service.  The service was traditional Catholic with a twist: the priest has known Elisa and her family for many, many years and his sermon was fantastic – funny, touching and completely personalized to her and Max.

The reception was back at the Arctic Club in the Dome Room.  It’s the most amazing space to look at, yet one of the hardest to photograph: there’s a crazy mix of light sources, and it’s very, very dark … so I had fun experimenting with external strobes and I love the end results.  Hey, all it takes is 5 strobes, 4 light stands and a handful of PocketWizards …  Yup.  Crazy!  The reception was unusual – Max and Elisa decided to forgo most of the traditional activities and instead had a group first dance and a wild party on the dancefloor (awesome DJ Brian Waltz sure knows how to keep a party grooving).  We also got some very fun shots of the guests in the photobooth (click here to see those).  Thank you all for a beautiful day, and I hope you like the teasers … oh, and be sure to check out the highlights slideshow with an additional 130 of my favorites (click here).

PS Max + Elisa met in an elevator – so you can imagine how delighted I was to discover that the Arctic Club has the prettiest elevators in Seattle.  🙂

Max + Elisa during their wedding at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle

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© 2009 Kate McElwee Phototgraphy