Laura & Steve

It is always a pleasure to be a part of such an important event as a wedding.  Laura & Steve were married August 6, 2006 at Willows Lodge in Woodinville.  What a great couple!  Photographs by Cory Parris 

Steve and I met through a friend when I was visiting one weekend and she invited Steve to drop by. The three of us went to dinner and had a nice visit. At the end of the meal whilst our friend was using the ladies room I distinctly remember Steve helping me into my jacket. I was pleasantly surprised and filed the event away in the back of my mind.

A couple months went by and then one evening I received a call from Steve. We had a really nice conversation and I found myself enjoying his company. I was also surprised that he was still intrigued about me despite the time that had gone by. At the time, I was living east of the mountains, and we saw each other on the weekends. I knew before long that I would need to find employment in the Seattle area. It took awhile, but I eventually found a job and moved over.

To set the scene, one must realize Steve is from England and his family still lives there. He has been in the US for 20+ years, but travels home regularly to see friends and family. One weekend he suggested we visit Paris on our next trip to England. Well … what could I say to that . . . WOW, I can’t wait!

Paris in August is warm, sunny, and beautiful!! Of course, the first day we were there we had to visit the Eiffel Tower. I remember looking at the queue of people at the Tower and Steve said “well, we can do this now, or maybe later in the day, or maybe tomorrow, what do you think”? And before I could respond, he said “no, we’re doing it now”. That sounded great to me.

The queue moved pretty fast and before long we were climbing the 600 plus steps to the mid-level where we took an elevator to the top of the Tower. From the top you can see all of Paris and the beautiful white stone architecture. As we gazed over the city Steve says to me “hey, I’ve got a question for you”. He said it in a way that I thought he would ask any question. He turns me around, and mind you there are people all around us, gets down on one knee, and proposes. In an excited and shocked expression, I said “are you serious”? To which he responded, “just say yes”, and of course I happily did. He had carried the ring in his pocket and was petrified that he would accidentally pull it out and drop it, and was greatly relieved to place the ring on my finger.

Skip ahead one year to our wedding day at the Willows Lodge in Woodinville, on a beautiful and warm sunny August day. The setting was stunning with a fragrant herb garden and vibrant flowers all around. Queen Anne Metropolitan Market beautifully arranged the bouquets, and New Renaissance Cakes artfully decorated the cake, which was scrumptious. The Barking Frog prepared an elaborate and delicious buffet, and Cory Parris, our photographer, captured every wonderful moment. Each piece came together flawlessly and created the perfect day.

 

 

 

 
 

 

Kevin & Felomena

It is a great joy to photograph the weddings of couples that are obviously in love.  It was my pleasure to photograph Kevin and Felomena's wedding April 22, 2006 at St. Philomena Catholic Church with a reception at Shilshole Bay Beach Club.  Here is there story in Kevin's words.  Photography by Cory Parris.

 

One of my closest friends, Jason, had been dating this girl named Maybelle for about 6 years.  She was a nice girl, and pretty, but seemed to be very shy and quiet.  Over the years she was dating my friend, I got to meet each of her 4 sisters and I realized that Maybelle was definitely the quietest one. 

 

Her youngest sister, Felomena, always seemed to have this boyfriend lingering around, but she was the prettiest of the sisters by far.  She loved to laugh and a crowded room always seemed to center around her.  There were a number of times where family gatherings would begin at my friend's house, but things would be dead until Felomena arrived.  Even though I had met her a few times over the six years, I didn't really know her and had not talked to her much at all.

 

Finally, at one Halloween celebration at my friend's house, I met Felomena's adorable little 5 year old daughter, and had a great time hanging out with her.  I kept glancing at Felomena across the room, and I could not believe how beautiful she was, and I was told that she had finally rid herself of that annoying boyfriend.  After a great night of occasionally chatting with Felomena, and playing with her daughter, I told her sister I wanted to meet her. 

 

I convinced my friend, that I couldn't get this girl out of my head so he convinced his girlfriend that I should go out with her sister.  They gave Felomena my e-mail address, and from there she made the first move.  We e-mailed back and forth and made plans to meet on December 3rd at my friend's birthday party.  There was one problem, I was expected to get back from a business trip that night and would get to the party late.  I convinced another friend to keep her at the party until I got there.  This plan failed miserably. 

 

I planned to change from my business clothes into casual clothes at the airport, but forgot my casual outfit at my hotel.  After a long day of work, I had to drive back to the hotel, change, and race to the airport, where I missed my flight.  I caught the next flight home, but was 2 hours later than I had thought I would be.  I turned a 30 minute drive into 12 minutes only to arrive at the party and find I had missed her by 2 minutes.

 

She took pity on me and called me later willing to meet me later the next day.  We talked for a few hours on that first date and didn't completely hit it off, but we were interested enough in each other to go out the next day. 

 

The next day, I fell in love, and six months later asked the love of my life to marry me.  The proposal consisted of me dropping to one knee as we were on our way out to a movie.  It was perfectly mundane, but at the same time was so special.  On April 22nd the following year, we surrounded ourselves with all of our loved ones and exchanged vows in a church we had both attended while we were growing up.  Felomena got her reception by the ocean, and the day was truly spectacular.  It was one of the best days of my life.  We had so much fun and everyone we cared about was there.

We dealt with a place called Marine View Florist in Des Moines, that we have recommended to 3-4 other wedding parties and they have all gone with her and loved her prices and her work.  She was perfect as far as florists go.  We also had a pretty good photographer that we recommend to everyone...  I think you have his contact information (Cory Parris, of course).

Colin & Holly!

I had the honor of being the photographer for Colin and Holly's wedding on December 16, 2006.  They were married at St. Thomas Episcopal in Medina and had their reception at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle.  Photographs by Cory Parris.  Here is their story as told by Holly.

 

I believe Colin’s first words to me were something like, “umm…excuse me, is there anyone else here?”

 

I was doing my homework in my dorm room, when “Romeo” came looking to hang out with my roommates. Clearly he was not interested in hanging out with me, so I shook my head and silently thought, “What a jerk!” Though I know now he meant nothing by it, I fumed all night about how SPU guys were all the same—boring and rude. Luckily, soon after this incident, my opportunity to retaliate came.

 

Colin’s roommate Chris and I had been hanging out together, not exactly dating but not completely friends either. To be honest, I blame it on the fact that Chris is pathological flirt (as am I), and we spent many hours together talking and hanging out. At first I was able to ignore Colin altogether, as he had initially ignored me. But the more I spent time with Chris, the more I ending up spending time with Colin. Gradually the two of us became the three of us, and we all hung out together as friends. Chris and I had a “talk” and together reached the conclusion that nothing more than friendship would work between us.

 

The turning point for me happened on a Saturday morning that January of my sophomore year. I had stopped by Chris and Colin’s dorm room before I headed off to work. The boys were asleep on their bunk beds, and I woke them up when I opened the door. Both of them had awful bed head, and their room smelled like sweaty boys. I leaned over to hug Chris and I saw Colin on the bottom bunk, trying to stay awake long enough to say goodbye to me and looking too cute. The only thought in my head was, “I wish it were Colin I was hugging right now.” After that I attempted relentlessly to woo him, and to get him to hang out with me. Finally countless nights watching movies, IMing online, and eating meals at the cafeteria together paid off, and we became a happy couple!

 

Planning the wedding and finishing school at the same time took up a lot of energy. I consider myself incredibly blessed, though, because, for many of the details and arrangements, I had friends who helped. My flowers were arranged by my brother’s friend’s mother whom I’ve known my entire life. The invitations and all the stationary were done by a friend of the family. The church (St Thomas in Medina) was a no-brainer because Colin and I were members, and one of my good friends agreed to do my make-up for the day of the wedding.

 

I had plenty of help for all of the details from my mother as well. To be honest, if it wasn’t for her making sure all of the plans were sorted and taken care of, there probably would’ve been no wedding! Even the pre-marital counseling was provided by friends of Colin’s father, who arranged for us to take a weekend counseling session with Life-Trac ministries based out of Cashmere, WA. Colin's dad, Mr. MacGregor, had helped the ministry when it first started out, and the McPherson’s had since been long time friends with the MacGregor’s. Colin and I had a fantastic time, and we would recommend the “Pre-Pair” weekend session to all couples hoping to start out their marriage with thoughtful preparation and planning. Greg McPherson is a great speaker, and we both felt it was such an opportunity to reflect on marriage and life together.

 

The morning of the wedding was beautiful. The storms, which had knocked out power to most of the city just days before, had left and blown away the rain. The snow that fell the day all my relatives arrived had mostly melted, and the tree that had fallen on the road to the church had been cleared.

 

I drove across 520 to Gene Juarez and watched a gorgeous sunrise over the cascades that turned the water of Lake Washington into a deep pink. I don’t believe I even felt a bit nervous until I had arrived at the church and was getting my make-up done. When my bridesmaids left to go to the church, leaving me in the dressing room with only the flower girl I nearly had a panic attack. Luckily I didn’t, and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch! Once the ceremony was over, I finally felt like I could breathe. What a joy it was to see all the friends and family who had come out to celebrate our wedding; we both felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I wanted to stop and take it all in, really concentrate on saying, "Hi," to everyone and being in the moment. Everyone always says that weddings are over before the bride and groom realize it, and I for one wanted to remember my wedding!

Holly recommends:

• The Michael Benson Band
• The Edgewater Hotel
  
• Gene Juarez Salon
• Macy's Gift Registry
• Target Gift Registry
  
• La Belle Elaine's
• the Rolls Royce was excellent - British Motor Coaches
• Cory Parris....obviously!
  

David & Maureen!

I was honored to photograph David and Maureen's wedding on August 25, 2006 at The Hall at Fauntleroy.  Here is their story in David's words. 

 How we met!
I had tried online dating a couple of times with several websites, but kept getting tired of it.  I decided to cancel the subscriptions and forget about it as I was planning to go back to school, but I didn't cancel Match.com correctly.  It auto-renewed and I thought "oh well, let's see what happens." 

A few weeks later Maureen sent me a "wink."  Her profile intrigued me as I got a good sense of who she was, we enjoyed a lot of the same things, and she had attributes I was looking for (maturity, depth of personality, and a common faith).  After a few weeks of emails we met at Tully's in Ballard.  I had every intention of talking for about 30-45 minutes, then studying for the GRE, but two hours flew by and we had to go (her to a movie with a friend, me to move my car). 

 

We had been dating about two weeks when I asked her out to dinner and to walk a dog with me that I was watching for a coworker.  She said yes, and so I came to pick her up right after work.  Now for work I generally wore button-down or polo shirts and nice pants, and I didn't bother to go home and change - I had to go pick up flowers from the Flower Lady (just south of the University Bridge - they make the BEST flower arrangments!).  I show up at her door, thinking I'm quite the suave guy giving her flowers.  She opens the door and has a strange look on her face, and I thought "oh crap, too much too soon...."  The whole night was off, and I was sure I had screwed up and maybe damaged what was just starting to blossom between us.  Turns out that she thought that I had forgotten to tell her we were going somewhere really nice for dinner and she felt underdressed and self-conscious.  We straightened it out the next day, and referred to it as "the flower date" (which was renamed to "the dog-walking date" after we got engaged).  Goes to show you that good communication is essential, both regularly and after confusion!
 

Our engagement
I knew that given the unpredictable weather in Seattle in March, the best place to propose would beTully’s where we first met, preferably just after they closed so we didn’t have a bunch of onlookers. So given that, I had to figure out how to arrange our evening such that we would nonchalantly be walking by at the right time. I came up with a brilliant plan (actually several as I am the consummate planner, but I’ll give you the final version and the way it played out).

 

 

After attending a hockey game on a Friday night, I asked her to describe her ideal coffee experience – what kind of cup? What kind of drink? Who would it be with? After she answered (all the while with a puzzled look on her face).  I told her that the next day we were going to go to Glazed and Amazed to paint coffee mugs, which we did. They were ready on Thursday, but she was expecting that we would pick them up on Saturday March 4th (we have coffee on Saturday mornings). On Friday March 3rd, I went and picked them up and delivered them, a vase of tulips, a candle, and a camera to the Tully’s where we met (when I asked if I could do this, one female barista just melted and wished she could be working that night).  I then went and picked her up and we went to her favorite restaurant (Ray’s Boathouse Café).

 

The next step in the original plan called for going back to my place for a video or game or reading or talking, but she emailed me earlier in the day saying she was tired – I didn’t want her to fall asleep, so after quick consultation with a couple of women at work, I came up with Plan 2.2, also known as the Seattle/Bainbridge ferry run. Unfortunately, we got out of Ray’s a bit later than planned, so by the time we got to the waterfront there wasn’t enough time to park and catch the ferry. So it was on to Plan 2.3. We parked back at my place, then went to the top of the Space Needle (I was afraid I was wearing her out even more!). We got back to my place about 9:20, and we were back on track for Plan 2.1 – a visit to Ben and Jerry’s in Ballard, which is a few doors down from Tully’s. We had ice cream, then started walking back to the car. Much to my dismay, even though it was after 10 there were still people in Tully’s!

 

We walked up to order (very very slowly – I didn’t see the table set), and the girl told everyone that was milling around that they were closed. So we ordered drinks – decaf given the hour. She said they would be ready in a minute, so I suggested we go sit down. Maureen was a little confused (if they were closed, why were we going to sit?), but taking her by the hand I led her over toward the table they had with the tulips and candle, where the light quickly dawned (she was expecting it on Saturday apparently). They brought us hot chocolate in our mugs, and then left us alone for a bit. What I said is between Maureen and me, although I will tell you that I got down on one knee when I proposed (and they took pictures for us, though not like Cory's!).

 

Our wedding
They say you never remember your wedding day - the guests there, the pastor's message, what you ate.  I can tell you that despite my best efforts, that is all true (except Cory took great pictures of the food and guests, so I can remember that way). 

 

What I can remember is going out to the front of the Hall at Fauntleroy where we had decided we wanted to meet before the ceremony, and waiting with nervous anticipation.  Shortly I could hear voices and the rustling of her dress.  Then, there she was - my beautiful bride.  I knew Cory and Matt were taking pictures, but they weren't there - it was just Maureen and me, on the steps under the trees.  There was no one else on this earth except us two, at least for the next 10 minutes. 

 

What followed was many family photos and managing to make small talk with family and friends.  All the little details came together so well, and our vendors were so professional even if they experienced a glitch (thanks to our wedding coordinator too!).  The wedding started and Pastor Kelly and I went down the aisle.  It was such a joy to see family and friends there who had flown in, even cutting short other trips to be there and witness our marriage.  My groomsmen came down with the bridesmaids - these guys and their friendship had meant so much to me over the years.  And then, the song - Purcell's Trumpet Voluntary.  For a moment I thought I was going to cry with joy and excitement as I watched her walk down the aisle on the arm of her dad (I regained my composure, but never lost the smile or sense of wonder). 

 

The next few hours flew by, with dinner (Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes!), great music (Emcee Entertainment - I interviewed 5-6 DJ's and was most impressed with Gary both before and after), cake (Madeleine's European Cakes - the BEST tasting and looking wedding cake, hands down!), and dancing (and before I forget, Floressence did a great job with flower arranging and positioning - we didn't need to provide any direction as she knew what to do!).  Our first dance was to Pink Martini's "Amado Mio" - a special song because of the lyrics and because it was after a PM concert that I first told her I loved her.  Guys, you need to learn to dance (check out Washington Dance Club) - our first dance was a rumba, and it was a HUGE hit.  Besides, it is fun, romantic, and gets you exercise (and you can dance with your bride until you are at the end of your twilight years).  The next thing I know it was time to leave (a towncar from BMC Limo). 

 

It was a memorable day, and we received many complements on the ceremony, food, flowers, and music - and thanks to Cory and Matt we can now remember it!

 

Kim and Casey Hogle!

I had the great pleasure of photographing Kim and Casey's wedding at the Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue.  Here is their story in Kim's words!  Photographs by Cory Parris. 

Casey and I met and became best friends in High School. We grew up in Woodinville. Oddly enough, Casey's mom was my sixth grade PE Teacher at Bear Creek Elementary. After graduating High School, Casey and I started dating, but, unfortunately, we went our separate ways in college. The day before I left for college, Casey took me in a Hot Air Balloon ride on a beautiful sunny August day over Woodinville and Snohomish.

 

I went to Washington State University and he attended University of Washington. It was difficult dating long distance, but, after four years, we made it through college. After college, I moved home to Renton with my parents and he lived with his brother in Seattle. The year after college was difficult as well, because we thought once I came home from school we would get to see each other and commuting and work schedules made it tough to spend time together.

 

March 5, 2006 was a stormy Sunday. Casey was scheduled to work and then after work his old High School Teacher had asked for his help at the High School moving some furniture. Casey asked if I would come and meet him at the school to help and then we would head to his parent's house for a warm turkey dinner.

I met Casey at Woodinville High School around 5:00pm. We walked around the school in the opposite direction of the Teacher's office, which confused me, but Casey reassured me that we were meeting him in front by the office. Woodinville High School has two parking lots. One of them is higher and the other, larger parking lot sits below about 100 stairs. He was walking me towards the stairs, explaining to me that there was a memorial service going on for one of the High School Students who had passed away. I began thinking about my best friend in High School who had passed away at 17 to Liver Cancer. Candles were at the top of the 100 stairs. Camera flashes were going off in the distance. As we approached the top of the stairs, looking down on the lower parking lot, I could see the word KIM in big letters. I thought to myself..."Oh, the girl who passed away's name is Kim" As I read on...KIM WILL YOU MARRY ME? was spelled out in over four hundred candles. Each letter was about twenty feet long. It was spectacular...but because I was still thinking there was a funeral.  I was shocked. I turned around to look at Casey and he was on his knee, a my gorgeous ring in his hand, and asking me to marry him. I just stared at him speechless.

Finally, he said, "Ah, Kim...does that mean, 'Yes'?"

"Oh yes!" I replied.

So it was there that we had met in High School that he had proposed to spend the rest of his life with me.

 
I won't go into much detail on the engagement other than, it sucked! Too many decisions, details, family matters, stress, emotion, chaos, and disappointment for not having a stress free engagement. Besides the fact that we hated our engagement of nine grueling months....We would do our wedding day over in a heart beat, everyday if we could. All of the nine dreadful months leading up to our wedding day were well worth it!

 

Our wedding day was full of excitement, emotion, tears, laughter, and joy. We were married at 6:00 on December 29, 2006. The morning sunrise was spectacular. The day was fun and relaxing and although I was so happy...tears would not stop welling in my eyes. We had the most fun entertaining our family and friends and portraying how happy, how in love we were, and will always be. Every decision we made was carefully chosen to make sure that it showed our personality as a couple. I wrote and sang a song to Casey during the Ceremony, our vows were written from our hearts, our introduction was entertaining and meaningful to show how much our wedding party meant to us. Our music was specific to what we liked, we had videos that Casey made for our family and friends, we danced and had the time of our life. We will never forget our wedding day as it was Perfect!

Casey and I were pleased with all of our wedding vendors. Of course, we were very pleased with our photographer, Cory Parris, who did an exceptional job. Grand Event Rentals in Bellevue was awesome in providing us the necessary items to use for our wedding day. Karla Laird was our florist out of Issaquah who did a phenomenal job on our flowers. They looked absolutely beautiful and her prices were very reasonable....she works with whatever budget you give her. Our caterer is a close family friend, Karen Young, who worked previously with Martha Stewart...her specialty is desserts...but the dinner was fantastic. Our DJ was from the church, Chad....he provided all the equipment, music, speakers, lighting...we was so instrumental in making sure things ran smoothly and he did a great job. Meghan Anderson, our coordinator was so valuable...I could not have done any of this without her. She was apart of the church as well. Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos from Mercer Island Covenant is the most caring, loving, pastor who really took the time to get to know Casey and I. Jill Lewis from Bellevue is where we got our rings and we love Jill. She has the most beautiful jewelry I have ever seen. Kinkos did a great job printing our programs for us.

 

You can see more of Kim and Casey's wedding photographs and hear the song that she sang to Casey here!