There’s a little raised area outside City Hall that’s a sweet place for the first look.  It’s high up, away from traffic and nosy passers-by, it’s green and lush, but still very much has that city feel.  My first pick ended up being too bright (the sun was harsh that day, not what you expect in Seattle) but a little lower on the structure was workable.  Tim was worried he’d disappoint me during the first look – he needn’t have worried.  It was both sweet and smiley:

We stayed up there for a little while for some relaxed couples portraits.  I like to mix up the posed-candid thing as I’m shooting the portraits:

I love laughter!  They decided to wear their wedding bands for the photos.  I love the shots of them playing with their new jewelry:

We were soon joined by family and the bridal party.  Jackie’s sister Heather (a Seattle wedding photographer herself!) was wearing the coolest shoes I’ve ever seen.  How cute are these sisters together?

We continued bridal party photos down in the Pioneer Square area.  Jackie and Heather’s dad helped make the wood pattern for the re-casting of the iron street posts you see all around town – and we had fun incorporating that into photos.  Jackie spotted some neat graffiti on the edge of Occidental Square:

There was a brand new market set up, Seattle Square.  We had a lot of fun being checked out by tourists, market photographers and vendors … and we couldn’t resist grabbing a root beer float from the Street Treats truck (the verdict: delicious!!)

Up soon: a few more portraits, and the lovely, funny, intimate ceremony back at the Arctic Club.