Sam & Lucas’ Spectacular Seattle Spring Wedding at Ray’s Boathouse

This was without a doubt the most fun I had at a wedding this Spring. The couple, Samantha (goes by Sam) and Lucas were wonderful to work with. The wedding party, family and guests were also a pleasure to work with. And the venue was one of my absolute favorites, Ray’s Boathouse in Shilshole Bay. Hard to go wrong with that kind of combination!

The day of the wedding I met Sam and Lucas at Ray’s several hours before the scheduled time for the ceremony. The plan was to start by driving to the nearby park at the Ballard Locks to take some bride and groom pre-ceremony photos. Fortunately the weather was cooperative, with clouds and occasional glimpses of the sun.

But before we went to the park, we had to take care of some First Look photos for Lucas and Sam. They arrived in separate cars, and I walked Lucas to a spot on the pier near the famous Ray’s neon sign to set up the photo. Then I had Sam join us, and we had a very nice First Look session; you’ll see a few of the photos below.

Then it was off to the park! This is not a small park, and fortunately we had plenty of time to explore while taking photos. Even so, our session ended way too soon and we headed back to Ray’s to meet up with the families for some more photos.

Once we finished with the family photos we still had some time to kill before the ceremony, and rather than just having Sam go into hiding while the guests arrived we decided to make a quick trip to a nearby patch of beach that I love to use for photos when I’m shooting at Ray’s. Nothing like getting some more cool backgrounds for photos!

Then we headed back to Ray’s, and Sam hid out for a few minutes until it was time for the ceremony to begin. Ray’s has a setup for weddings that is quite unique in the Seattle area. They have a year-round covered deck that can be used for weddings in any weather, with drop-down clear curtains and heaters that even make it perfect for winter weddings. Today’s weather was quite pleasant, so the curtains were removed and we had a great backdrop of Shilshole Bay with the Olympic Peninsula in the distance. Again, photos below.

San was walked down the aisle by her brother Cameron. Emily Bolick was the Maid of Honor, and Matthew Walters was Best Man. Emily’s son Daniel was the Ring Bearer. Parents of the Bride Ann and Dennis Mann, and Parents of the Groom Marie and Ray Walters.

The ceremony went perfectly, and a short time later we had some brand-new newlyweds!

I’m not going to describe the entire reception, but I did include a number of photos of the most important events. And now would be a great time to scroll down to see those photos.

You can see more wedding photos on my blog at this link.