Seattle, Washington Botanic Gardens Wedding - Jake and Carissa

"Just stay with my mom, she has room for 20 people," Carissa wasn't lying. The Airbnb, her mom, although modest, was a castle that could fit upwards of 20 people. Carissa's five-day wedding adventure began with about 20 mutual friends and family members getting to meet for the first time staying under the same rough. When my Uber driver dropped me off, I claimed dibs on a top bunk bed that hadn't been claimed by a cousin or another 20 something-year-old.

I consider Carissa and her mom, my second family. I spent countless sleepovers, swim meets, and even karate with her family. Most of my teen years were spent with Carissa, and I guess you could say any time I got in trouble, she was there too (just kidding mom, if you're reading this I never got in trouble). Still to this day, I call Carissa's mom, "Mrs. Tequila," because I thought that was her name when I was nine years old. Given this history, it was a great honor to get to photograph her wedding in the Fall of 2018 in Seattle, Washington.

Carissa is craftsy, so craftsy; she decided to take on making all her decorations and bouquets for her wedding. So the day before, we went to the famous Pike Place Market and purchased bucks and buckets of flowers ourselves. Except for me, I got away with just snagging pictures of everyone hard at work! We spent the rest of the day prepping before the rehearsal dinner.

Carissa conveniently worked at Ulta at the time, so we headed there first thing on the wedding day to get her makeup and hair done.

My favorite part of her wedding was their gorgeous first look at the botanic gardens. Jake, although not crier, definitely made some great facial expressions.

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