details

location : new luck toy / west seattle, and the chinese international district / seattle
session : engagement
season : spring

Tucked along California Avenue in West Seattle, you will find the bar New Luck Toy. The space is wonderfully extra… tons of paper lanterns overhead, rows of golden waving lucky cats lining the walls, dim red lighting, and a jukebox setting the mood—all adding up to an atmosphere that feels like a fever dream in the best possible way. The kitchen turns out satisfying bites like honey walnut prawns, dumplings, and barbecued duck alongside creative cocktails and frozen drinks from the bar in the back. Throw in a karaoke room, and New Luck Toy becomes less of a bar and more of an amazing experience. One that you cannot wait to return.

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District is one of the city’s oldest and most storied neighborhoods. The ornate Chinatown Gate on South King Street stands as both landmark and threshold with it’s painted archway as a proud marker of everything the neighborhood has weathered and preserved. Just beyond Hing Hay Park opens up as a communal heartbeat, the pavilion and plaza hosting festivals, quiet afternoons, and decades of neighborhood life. Steps away is King Street Station and the grand clocktower, serving as a reminder that this has always been a place of arrival. Herbalist shops, noodle houses, tearooms, and dim sum parlors sit alongside grocers and bakeries, reflecting of the many communities that have called this corner of Seattle home. I love shooting here, it hits on the more creative side of things and the area is so full of life.

During our booking consult, K was mentioning what she would like their engagement session to look like… something a little different, moody, and along the lines of bar/city streets vibe. While talking she said her obsession with the movie “In the Mood for Love” was kinda her inspiration and wanted to portray a bit of that feeling thru the session. Intrigued, after our call I pulled up the movie and immediately fell in love. I ended up watching it 3 times within two weeks, what a beautifully moving and visually inspiring movie. We dove into planning, and then K+C found the bar they wanted to shoot in which fit the inspo perfectly. They contacted the owner to get permission, and the rest as they say, was history.