This is definitely something I'm not able to do every week (or month, or year - at that!): being flown out to the beautiful city of Seattle, WA by one of my closest friends, Mike Diep, to help second shoot a wedding! It's a crazy thing, not only because this was my first time being up in the Pacific Northwest, but also primarily because Mike & I have been friends for around 3-4 years now, first "meeting" through Facebook on a mutual photography-dedicated group that we were both members of. He came down to California in March of last year for a little photography trip that he had to make in Southern California, but stopped by San Francisco for a few days before his final destination. Needless to say, we got to meet up and hang out with other local photographers in the Bay Area and play tourist for a few days.. All of which were truly great times that I'll never forget. That said, the way things go, I share these same exact feelings about this past Seattle trip. Everyone was amazing, I was able to form bonds with new friends, strengthen ones with existing friends, and most of all, step out of my comfort zone. This was actually my first time flying solo, as well (I don't always get the opportunity to hop on a plane and fly somewhere cool!), so it was a big leap for myself in many different regards from the moment I stepped into SFO, with nothing but sheer eagerness to board onto my plane.

Laura and Brandon's wedding was nothing shy of spectacular, as it had pretty much everything I'd want in a wedding I was traveling to the Pacific Northwest to photograph -- big trees (a lot of them!), rustic-styled buildings, an amazing view, and a seemingly-infinite number of locations that we were able to steal Laura and Brandon away for to get some up-close & intimate images during the course of their special day. Thank you again, Laura and Brandon, for this wonderful opportunity, but also to Mike for being the true catalyst in making this whole entire thing happen.