Amore Studios

Kelsey & Mike’s Wedding at St. Joseph’s Parish in Seattle and Harbor Club Seattle

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:06:28 +0000

I always love a winter wedding and the adorable Kelsey & Mike are no exception. They got married on a typical wintery day here in Seattle where there was rain . . but some gorgeous sun also came out for some beautiful portraits!
We started out the day by doing some getting ready shots with Kelsey. I LOVED her bird cage veil and Vera Wang dress – so beautiful. We got some fun portraits of her and her bridesmaids and one very sweet shot of Kelsey with her dad before heading to St. Joesph’s Parish for the ceremony. I loved the colors inside the church – it was so beautiful. And of course how can you not love the candle lighting towards the end of the ceremony? However I have to say one of my favorite shots of the entire ceremony is of Kelsey’s bridesmaids looking on and smiling as she said her vows. They then had a nice long break after the ceremony and we were able to go downtown to the classic Pike Place Market for fun shots. I love the first photo below of them kissing in front of the gum wall and of course the dramatic kiss in front of the sign at the end of this posting. We then moved onto the Harbor Club where they had very unique table numbers. Each table number for their guests was a number that meant something in their life. So as you see below, one was #8 – the number of high school dances Kelsey and Mike went as each other’s dates. I thought that was the coolest idea and such a great way for your guests to get to know you. Kelsey & Mike thank you so much for letting us be part of your day – we had fun! We worked with some wonderful vendors and they are listed below – enjoy!

Church: St. Joseph’s Parish
Reception Venue: Harbor Club Seattle
Dessert: Ice Cream Sundaes by Husky Deli
Florist: Ballard Blossom
Makeup: Off White
Dress: Vera Wang
Singer: Mycle Wastman

Melody

Babies Babies – Garren, Jenna & Stephen Family Shoot and Zoe & Lulu’s Spring Photo Shoot

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:46:41 +0000

Well I don’t know about you, but I have certainly been enjoying all of our fabulous weather! I have two lovely shoots to share with you. First up is a adorable baby shoot we did with Jenna & Stephen – one of our 2008 wedding couples who just had the cutest little boy named Garren. It was so much fun to capture Garren at less than a month old and he got the advantage of getting to use some of the props I never used with Lulu . . .the cute apple hat, the bee outfit and how cute is the Hula Girl setup? I think my favorite shot of the bunch is with Jenna and Stephen both kissing little Garren’s head. Second up is a photo shoot with my adorable girls – Miss Zoe and Miss Lulu. We captured Zoe being quite precocious at a party we attended and I LOVE the shot of her looking up to the right . Then we took the girls out one of these nice days to capture some cute spring photos and we had to duplicate the bunny shot we did with Zoe when she was Lulu’s age and how cute is that? I love the shot of Zoe being held by me with that beautiful teal headband and I think my favorite shot of Zoe is the one of her giving attitude. It’s such a good capture of Zoe’s personality at 4.

Lastly, we wanted to show you how even though we love to show color, we also can do beautiful B&W and Vintage looks. So we showed you several photos done two ways.

Enjoy!

Melody

Stephanie & Chris’s Wedding at the Space Needle in Seattle

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:45:52 +0000

Well on a overcast day in Seattle, the beautiful Stephanie & Chris got married at the Space Needle in Seattle. We started out the day by capturing Stephanie and her girls getting ready at one of my favorite hotels in Seattle – The Westin. We snuck off with the dress and got a killer shot – I think my favorite dress shot of all year . It was then onto the first look between Stephanie and Chris on the roof of their condo and then we had to capture a shot with them and their adorable pugs. It was then onto the waterfront and pike place for a lot of fun group shots. As you can see they had a big wedding party and some fun sunglasses for everyone to wear for the photos -what fun! It was then onto the space needle for their beautiful ceremony. I love the way the space needle space looks as it gets dark out – so pretty. They got the classic dessert of ice cream on dry ice always a fun treat to get if you are going there. We ended the night by taking some final shots of them up on the observation deck. Thank you Stephanie and Chris for letting us be part of your day!

Enjoy,

Melody

Amie & Mike’s Engagement Session in Seattle at the Sculpture Park, Pioneer Square and the Waterfront

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:16:31 +0000

Amie & Mike are one of our awesome 2012 couples and I’m so happy to share their cool, romantic and fun engagement session. They suggested some spots – Sculpture Park, Waterfront & Pike Place and then along the way found some fun and different spots to shoot at as well. I mean how can you not love a Star Wars themed vintage van . .so cool! I love the first photo below of them kissing on the train caboose, the last shot of them kissing in Pioneer Square is always a classic photo I adore and I love the ones of them in front of the changing color wall. Plus I LOVE all the night shots – that’s always a fun way to change up your engagement shoot. We are looking forward to your summer wedding at Golden Gardens!

Enjoy,
Melody

Amy & Travis’s Wedding and Photo Booth at ACT Theater in Seattle

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:14:21 +0000

I’m so happy to be able to share the very different and unique wedding that Amy & Travis had at the ACT Theater in Seattle on the Day of the Dead back in November. We knew when we met them that they were our kind of couple and wow did they have an amazing amount of cool details and themes at their wedding! As you can see from the first photo below, they had a very different and cool cake topper, the cutest place cards I’ve seen in a long time and how could you not love the strong red and black that was throughout their day including Amy’s gorgeous red dress. It was the second time we brought out our very cool Amore Photo Booth and as you can see the guests had a lot of fun with, I always love when they supply such cool and different props. We can’t wait to see Amy & Travis and their family again when we do her sister Rachel’s wedding in Ohio (they are the couple kissing in front of the photo booth). We worked with some great vendors and they are listed below.

Tuxedo & Tennis Catering
Mike’s Amazing Cakes
Ballard Blossom
Adam’s DJ Service

Enjoy,
Melody

Sunny & Andy’s Engagement session and Wedding at Olive 8 Seattle and Photo Booth

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:28:44 +0000

Well it’s been quite the eventful January here in Washington State . . I was all set to blog this almost 10 days ago and then we had all the lovely snow which I enjoyed and then the horrible ice storm that knocked out our power for 5 days – ugh! So I am so happy to finally be home in my warm house, have everything back to normal and blog the wonderful and beautiful engagement and wedding of Sunny & Andy. Let’s first start by sharing their awesome engagement session. As you can see they had wonderful weather and they hit a lot of fun and very different locations. They wanted to incorporate their adorable dogs for a few of the shots and I love the first shot below of them kissing at the waterfront while holding the doggies. Andy is a big football fan and thought it would be fun to do some action shots – isn’t the one of them jumping great! They also had one more outfit change with some nicer clothes and I love the photo of them laying in the sun kissed grace with the pink flowers, so beautiful.

They also lucked out with gorgeous weather for their wedding day and they got married at a wonderful downtown location – the Olive 8. We started out the day by photographing them getting ready (and had a fun time taking Sunny’s dress for a cool dress shot). We then had a nice amount of time to walk around downtown Seattle with them and their wedding party. We got so many cool shots – I always love it when we can incorporate animals and how well did the Rottweiler pose with them in front of the cool graffiti wall? It was then back to the Olive 8 for their beautiful ceremony. I love the touching shot of them hugging their parents, Andy’s mother had a stroke not long before the wedding and it was so special to them that she could attend (and amazing to me that she was able to attend at all). Their reception venue was beautifully lit by Green Light Even Design and Chris Graves by Your Song Entertainment was their awesome DJ – I recommend you check them both out if you are looking for a way to make your venue look even prettier and a great DJ. We also got to work with the very talented and laid back Moses Lee with Dvpixl Films for their Videography. And as you might see below, Sunny & Andy’s wedding was the debut of our brand new Photo Booth we now offer for weddings! As you can see the guests had a lot of fun in there and it was busy all night long. If you are interested in one for your wedding day – contact us!

Sunny & Andy – thank you so much for letting us be part of your day – we had fun!

Enjoy,
Melody

Welcome Miss Lulu Pearl Valiant, Zoe’s 4th Birthday and Christmas Family Portraits

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 06:42:04 +0000

Well it’s been awhile since we did a family post and it’s well over due. We have had so many fun and exciting things happen in the last few months. Most importantly, our family welcomed our second daughter – Miss Lulu Pearl Valiant in October. Her mommy (yes me!) waited way too long to go to the hospital, see I didn’t want my last experience (I got nauseous from pain medicine) . .so I wanted to wait . .and I waited so long that I went out to dinner with my family and almost had her in the car, I had her 9 minutes after getting to the hospital . .wow! My wonderful doctor who I saw through the entire pregnancy – Dr. James Mourizzi of Olympia Women’s Health didn’t even make it in time! He delivered our first daughter and I highly recommend him to anyone in the Olympia area. My cute little Lulu was more petite than her sister and arrived exactly on her due date – she didn’t want to be late I guess . The next day my brother and his wife Kathy visited her and brought some much needed treats from starbucks. Later in the day Zoe got to meet her little sister and I love the photo of them below and of her looking at her little foot – she picked out her Minnie Mouse shirt and pink tutu just special for the occasion! After we got home, we had to take the opportunity to take a photo of them both in Lulu’s crib – how cute are they both with all those monster dolls!

Then in November it was onto Zoe’s 4th Birthday party – wow how time flies! I love the adorable Tutu I got for her on Etsy and yes isn’t it funny that a girly girl would be playing with a toy gun – I love those photos. For her cake, she had to have a Disney Princess Ice Cream cake (two flavors have you – Cherry & Mint chocolate Chip) and Miss Lulu was doing her newborn thing just sleeping through the entire party. I love the shot of Zoe with her cousin Katie at the table – too cute.

This year my dad and his wife Shirley were here for Thanksgiving and so we decided to do our yearly portraits at my brother’s house a little earlier than normal. We like to do that every year as it’s a nice way to document the family and especially see how big the kids get from year to year. We are building quite a nice collection of santa hats and we even got our Christmas card with the girls out of the shoot! Thrown in there also is Zoe and Lulu’s official santa photo from Nordstrom – Zoe couldn’t look happier and Lulu had just woken up and is very chill, but hey that’s better than crying. Lastly, Cannon Beach had awesome weather earlier this month and we decided to take advantage of it and go for a few days. It was a ghost town, but I tell you it was better weather except for being colder than we had for our summer trip. Well that’s our family update for this year – hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Melody

Carolyn & Tim’s Wedding at Continental Place Seattle

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:43:00 +0000

Well Merry Christmas to all – I can’t believe it’s already here this year – wow! I have so much to do today, but before I begin my cookie making/baking adventures for the day, I had to share the beautiful wedding of Carolyn & Tim. They got married at their gorgeous apartment complex in Seattle – Continental Place. I love that they kept their wedding small and personal – Carolyn’s daughter and Tim’s son was their maid of honor and best man. Before the ceremony they had time to go to so many fun and different places for photos. I mean how many couples get to play Guitar Hero, get their photo with a super hero an a cute little dog on their wedding day? Their event was beautifully planned by Laura with Solomon Event Planning and I loved all the amazing details they had. They had the very cute favor of Starbucks Mocha Drinks with a personalized logo with their names and faces . . it’s the first wedding I’ve seen with Dim Sum as one of the menu items – yum! Later in the night, they brought out cute cookies and milk for everyone to enjoy. What a fun day!

Enjoy,
Melody

Ameila & Adam’s Wedding on Vashon Island

admin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:36:52 +0000

Well on a gorgeous day we set out to Vashon Island (a place I’ve never been and it’s gorgeous) for the small and intimate wedding of Ameila & Adam. Her very gracious friend allowed her to use her outside grounds for the wedding and it was so charming and beautiful! We started out the day by photographing Ameila and her bridesmaids and her simply adorable daughter River getting ready. I love the simple dress and shoes that Ameila picked out – they were perfect for her wedding and of course I’m always a fan of teal. Her daughter reminds me so much of Zoe, piercing blue eyes and beautiful blond hair – as you can see we loved taking pictures of her. It was then onto a first look and onto town to get some fun and different portraits with them. How cool is it that the theater was playing Crazy Stupid Love and of course you know we are going to love the Airstream for photos!

Their ceremony was on the grounds beautiful gardens and Mt. Rainier looked gorgeous in the background. Afterwards we took fun shots with their wedding party and I loved all their beautiful details for the reception. They had friends do the catering and cupcakes and I can say both were so yummy. We ended the day by taking some more portraits of them and how cool is the shot of them standing on the swings – I wish we could have had some fun swinging on them!

Enjoy,
Melody

RJ & Nikita’s Wedding at the Ruins in Seattle

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:56:24 +0000

Well I am so happy that the sun has decided to show up in this wintery December – how is Christmas only 21 days away . . whew! Well onto the beautiful RJ & Nikita’s gorgeous wedding at the Ruins in Seattle. Our first time shooting at this amazing venue and man does it not disappoint. Just simply gorgeous dramatic details inside! We started out the day by photographing them at the Hotel Monaco and isn’t the shoe shot with the complimentary gold fish they bring to your room simply adorable? I also think the first shot below of Nikita getting in her gown is gorgeous! It was then onto the Ruins where they did their first look and then we went around the venue to do portraits. I love the shot of the guys in the cool bar with the Elephant, the shot of them in front of the green doors is fun and the one of RJ kissing Nikita’s hand is so pretty. Even though the weather was iffy that day, we snuck outside to quickly take some shots and I love the one of them kissing with the space needle in the background.

It was then onto their personal and beautiful ceremony. I love it when I see a mom walking her daughter down the aisle. They also introduced me to a wonderful new song by Tom Petty – It’s Good to Be King – a regular on my itunes music playlist now! Their reception had so many beautiful details and they were blown away by the blue room setup for the reception. Their wedding was beautifully planned by the always great Aleah & Nick Valley of Valley & Company. It is always such a pleasure working with them as everything is gorgeous and the day flows flawlessly. In lieu of gifts they asked their guests to donate money to the Ronald McDonald house which has helped their families – I thought that was so touching and different! I also loved that they had a caricature artist as a fun favor for their guests!

Thank you so much for letting us be part of your day – we had fun.

Melody