While waiting for the rest of wedding party to arrive, Daniil and Julia took shelter from the sun.

Daniil and Julia are so that couple… when you watch them look at each other, you just know they are meant to be. Further confirmed when you see the faces of their friends as they watch at them… they see it too. Such a radiant love.

They met at church — Daniil was a good friend of Julia’s brothers and in a short time, he became her best friend as well. When Daniil proposed, it was at a lake house surrounded by friends right after Valentine’s Day. Julia was so giddy when reliving how the proposal went down…

• “Daniil told me that guys want to make a surprise for their girlfriends as a gift for valentines day so they sent us for a walk while they were decorating and making food. When the girls came back, guys we’re waiting for us outside with little scarfs to cover our eyes. I saw how each guy covered his girlfriend’s eyes so I didn’t think anything strange and then the song ”all of me started to play” and Daniil walked me to the back of the house where everything was very beautifully decorated and asked me to take off my eye cover and then I saw him standing on his knee asking to marry him, that’s where it all started.”

Daniil and Julia were getting married at Maplehurst Farm, but opted to get ready and have their First Look at a friends newly built house in Burlington, which was about 10 minutes away from the venue and 30 minutes away from Anacortes where we planned the Wedding Party portraits. They knew once we got to the venue it would be a whirlwind of events, this was a grand Russian Wedding, so their focus was to get a ton of images with their wedding party while enjoying the time together preparing for the big day.

I arrived at the house in Burlington and everyone was so friendly and festive — which typically when I walk into a wedding, it’s kinda in chaos mode with everyone getting ready, lol. But Julia had this beautiful spread in the kitchen of food and light snacks for everyone to sit and enjoy. Hair and makeup had already been done when I arrived, so the gals got to just have some downtime in their robes and truly enjoy the morning together. I had to snag some pictures of them dancing in the kitchen, cuz… how could you not. And I could easily see why she choose all these gorgeous women to be with her, their kindness and compassion radiated. We had so much time to just enjoy the moment — all the dancing, the groom sang a song to his bride, then the groomsmen took over and all sang a song to Julia as well. We did some fun portraits out in the yard, after the First Look, cuz the grounds were just perfect and everyone was amp’d up!

Next, we headed over to Anacortes to get Wedding Party portraits taken at a spot overlooking the water that Daniil and Julia loved. We arrived and the views were breathtaking!! The sun came out in full force, making it rather hot and there were tons of bees that swirled around us as we moved over the cliff. But the group made the best of it for the celebration of it all, and we had the best time together. At the end, the groomsmen wanted to lift up Daniil like in the main scene from the Lion King… and it was kinda epic!

Maplehurst Farm is absolutely stunning. If you are not familiar, it is located north of Seattle in the beautiful Skagit Valley. The property has so many sweet little areas tucked here and there to make it feel intimate, yet it still feels vast with all the surrounding farm fields. The ceremony was set up in the yard surrounding the Mansion, with dinner and the reception immediately following in the nearby barn. At the entrance to the farm, there are these amazing old growth trees lining the road, and I was so thankful we were able to capture their sparkler send off under the canopy.

For those that are curious

On this wedding I was hired for a 10 hr day. The couple made photos a top priority and worked the timeline to accommodate as such, including extra time for travel to and from the off-venue locations that they wanted. I know we all have budgets to work within, but when photography is made a top priority us photographers (and videographers!) can really do our jobs justice. So often we are forced to work with exceedingly tight timelines that do not allow for much creativity, which is what we were originally hired for! PLEASE talk with your photographer prior to completing the timeline to outline what is important to capture on your day, as not only does this allow for enough time but it also allows for you to enjoy your wedding more!

And now… off to view this beautiful day!

• “I love Julia’s personality, how joyful and loving she is. She brought light into my life.” — Daniil
• “I love his serving heart. He is not only carrying and compassionate towards me but towards other people as well.” — Julia