Why did you decide to get married when and where you did?
We have been together for over 10 years, and it finally felt like the right time - Nina was taking the next big step in her career, we had a move planned, and we wanted our wedding to feel like a celebration of all these milestones while also giving us a chance to pause and reflect on the stuff that had been on "autopilot" for the past decade. We picked The Lodge because it encompassed so much of what we love about the Pacific Northwest - the beautiful outdoors, the water and the history. 

Was your actual wedding experience the same or different from your expectations leading up to it?
I am not sure we knew what to expect. We both heard that we would feel pushed along, not remember anything, not eat, not feel present. One friend told us "it's like getting into a river and at some point you just float down it". I think that while we definitely felt like we blinked and the day was over, we did get a chance to spend time with friends and family and each other in a way that felt really special - and we both ate most of our dinner! 

What was the most important element for you in terms of planning your day?
Having been together for so long, we had friends and family coming from all over the country and from every phase of our lives who were important to both of us, but who had never met each other. We both decided early on that we wanted everything to feel easy for everybody coming in so that we could just sort of stand in the middle of all this love from these people we've accumulated over the years and not feel stressed. It was a huge part of why we chose to get married when and where we did - we wanted to make the weekend into a sort of haven so that once people arrived, everything else was just taken care of. 

What was your biggest splurge or tough decision to make and was it worth it?
Our biggest splurge was probably the things that helped with the "vibe" of the day. The florals were a big budget item but we absolutely loved our florist and what she was able to do with plants - it felt dynamic and natural, like walking through a meadow. We added things like a little photo booth and a hot dog cart at the last minute that weren't critical but turned out to be fun kitschy elements for the day. 

How did photography factor into the overall wedding planning conversation and what was important to you about it?
Neither of us are very good at taking photos normally - so having someone following us around to take photos was a bit of a point of anxiety beforehand. When we started looking for a photographer, we wanted someone who could capture the scale of the day - the towering trees, the greenery - and who could make wedding photography seem more like a walk through the woods. We were also grappling with knowing that our families would have certain expectations for photography and weren't sure how to manage that. When we started meeting with photographers, Ty talked to us about the feeling of the day that we wanted, and his approach to balancing the "expected" wedding photography with what we actually wanted and were more comfortable with. Ultimately deciding on him was the best decision - on the day of he expertly made everybody feel important and valued while gently pushing the day toward being intentional, ensuring that me and Cal were present, and capturing what he knew was important for us. 

Is there anything that you would do differently if you had to do it all over again?
Honestly no - the day was a dream. 

What from this experience has stood with you and remained as your lasting memory from it all?
I think both of us just came away from the day feeling so lucky to be surrounded by people who were happy for us and with us, and people who were so thoughtful about everything. The key vendors who were part of the day - including Ty, our planner, our florist, and our DJ, all meshed so wonderfully with our friends and family. We felt incredibly lucky to have found this group of people to celebrate with. 

Any wedding planning or 'day of' tips for couples getting married soon?
Tune out the noise. While we had a really easy planning process overall, the last week became suddenly very stressful and we had a lot of anxiety about the amount of "spectacle" involved with throwing a big wedding. But when we grounded it in the fact that we were celebrating something truly important with people who were important to us, it helped us remember that we could either worry about the million details on the day of or relax and enjoy the ride - and we are very glad we managed to do the latter.

Following the delivery of their finsihed gallery Cal shared:
'Five stars isn't enough for Ty's work capturing our wedding day in Seattle. When we were meeting with potential photographers, we clicked with Ty very quickly and could easily tell he brought the right energy, style, and expertise that we were looking for. He was a great resource and perfectly communicative leading up to the wedding. On our wedding day he knocked it out of the park. He found great places to shoot throughout our venue, was with us all throughout the day, but not intrusive, and most importantly, he focused on capturing the emotion and the relationships of the people around us throughout the day, which was the most important thing to us at our wedding. The finished photos he shared with us (very quickly after the wedding, too!) are amazing, and we're having fun reliving the day through every bit that Ty captured. Each time I re-open the gallery I find some new photo or detail I hadn't noticed in the last visit. Highly recommend working with Ty!'