Elopement & Wedding Photography & Videography

brooke & Karina

INTIMATE BACKYARD WEDDING WITH A MODERN EDGE

Where do I begin to express the love and gratitude I have for these two amazing humans and the dream team of ladies who put this together. I will note, this is a styled bridal editorial, so the girls have not yet celebrated celebrated their elopement/ wedding. This doesn’t hide the fact though of the real emotions and moments that happened as I literally teared up watching their REAL first look while listening to their favorite song “WHY I LOVE YOU” by MAJOR. (Scroll to play the song as you look through the photos to set the whole mood). As the girls shared their first look together they teared up and so did the rest of us. Even for taking the time out of their busy schedules to come model for us, they lived in every moment together and saw a glimpse into their future.

What I love the most about Karina and Brooke is their laughter the amount of fun they have together. Never have I laughed so hard smiled more than around these two. My cheeks hurt so bad after this day. You can especially see their humor in the gifs (moving images), there was an endless amount of dancing and twerking and laughing. I absolutely loved being around them.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE COUPLE:

Featured in magazine DANCING WITH HER, they asked a series of questions on Brooke in Karina’s love story together. They both have know each other since middle school but ended up reconnecting years later at an art festival in Tacoma, WA. Since that moment it was fate! They of course can share their story best in their own words:

HOW THEY MET:

KARINA: “I went to Art on the Ave on a whim and ended up at the right bar, standing out at the right time. Most people know me as “K” and I know that when someone yells my entire name in the streets… that means that this person KNOWS me, knows me. lol. When I looked up from my phone to see Brooke, my heart started beating so fast!”

BROOKE: “I had showed up with one of my college friends and ended up leaving with Karina, lol! Right off the bat we just vibed, and you could just tell that neither of us wanted to part ways just yet, so we got milkshakes and continued our evening walking the waterfront. We sat and talked for hours and we’ve been obsessed with each other ever since.”

FAVORITE MEMORY TOGETHER:

KARINA: “Our relationship has always been about traveling and experiencing new things. So it’s tough to pick from all our crazy adventures. But my absolute favorite memory together is our week long Paradise vacation to Cabo. To just lay out by the pool, drink endless amounts of Pina Coladas, jet ski, ride ATV’s, and get sand in between our toes with the love of my life is top tier.”

BROOKE: “It’s hard to pick just one. I think my favorite experiences with Karina are when we get to sneak away together for a weekend. One of our first trips together was down to Portland & out to Cannon Beach. We did a lot of shopping, eating, & drinking (too much drinking for Karina). Some of the best laughs I’ve ever had, getting to know her and falling even more in love. I love life with her.”

BIGGEST CHALLENGE THEY’VE OVERCOME TOGETHER:

KARINA: "I knew that Brooke was going to be a very special person to me the first night we hung out. Everything about us individually happened to mesh well TOGETHER. Being her first girlfriend led me to work on myself. Learning how to listen better, understand better, be patient, and empathize more. This challenge was more so a blessing because it helped us build a stronger relationship.”

BROOKE: “Karina is the first girl that I’ve dated. I felt a different connection with Karina and I knew that loving her wasn’t going to be easy because this was all so new to me while trying to understand my own sexuality. My family is very accepting, but it didn’t mean that those conversations were easy. Karina was very patient and understanding, which made me love her even more.”

FAVORITE THING ABOUT ONE ANOTHER:

KARINA: “Her love. It’s honestly RARE. She’s always been so selfless, caring, and her intentions are always pure. It’s really hard for me to put words together to describe her LOVE, but it’s so rich that I hope that everyone in this world finds something like this.”

BROOKE: “Her energy. She makes everything fun. I’ve never enjoyed life as much as I have now that she’s around. It’s like going through life with your actual best friend where you laugh all day & cuddle all night. She’s been such a light in my life & now I can’t imagine it any other way.”

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:

“We plan to buy a house, build a family together, continue to grow in love and fortune.”

EXTRA COMMENTS FROM THE GIRLS:

“Thank you to our photographer Brittney Couture, Devony Goodwin of Bushel and Bee Weddings, Lauren Erpelding for the amazing wedding dress and suit, Chanel Lewis for her makeup artistry, Haley Valentine for our hair.

It was an amazing experience to be a part of an all women styled bridal shoot. Cheers to GIRL POWER.”

I loved the mix of elegance and modern edges that drove the inspiration behind this shoot. A surprise element to this was when we were shooting out in the yard, a neighbor drove by in his vintage black Volkswagen bug, as he saw the girls, he stopped in his tracks to say hello and offered us to photograph the girls with his car. It was definitely a highlight of the day and a great way to end our shoot.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about this shoot and their love story. Hope you enjoy looking through these photos as we did, or give any Inspo to your wedding if your in the midst of planning.

Be sure to to click play on the music below and there is a link to shop the magazine for the feature of this shoot and more!

DETAILS:

LOCATION: FAMILY ESTATE IN WASHINGTON STATE
FLORALS & PLANNING: Bushel and Bee Weddings
DRESS: Essense of Australia
DRESS BOUTIQUE: Something Blue Bridal Boutique in Puyallup, WA

HAIR: Haley Valentine Hair

MAKE UP: @chanelxarielle
PANT SUIT: Express
INVITATION SUITE: A Wild Bloom Printables

PUBLISHED AND FEATURED IN: Dancing with her Magazine

Purchase the issue: here