Starr Photography

Tim and Meggan

2011-01-04T13:55:00.001-08:00

Tim and Meggan, dream clients. Not only were they ecstatically in love with eachother, but also in love with photography. Tim's brilliant idea, rent a limo and go around all of their favorite spots in seattle for portraits, that way those places could always be part of the wedding day memories. I couldn't show you them all, but here's some of the sweetest by far. After our little photo safari we headed back to Belltown and the condo building courtyard they had turned into and island themed oasis for their ceremony and reception. It was a super duper DIY set up, but you would never have known it, so complete was their vision and the effort put in by family and friends. Mom baked the wedding cake, auntie did the flowers, and everybody including the groom decorated. They had a serious dance party, lasting well past our expiration date, and as we packed up the car in the street down below, we could still hear the antics and hoots of the dance floor floating down the neon lit night.

Kevin and Rachelle at Tulalip Resort and Casino

2010-06-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Memorial day here in Washington was host to lots of rain and the wedding day shenanigans of a super fun couple from Alaska named Kevin and Rachelle Sund. The new Tulalip Resort Hotel and Casino was home to the wedding and reception, and since they are from our northernmost state, the wedding had a lot of Alaska flare. The favors were canned fish with their names and wedding date on them, pretty hurricanes with seashells were the table arrangements, their guest book was a fishing line hung on the wall, and of course their dinner was fresh halibut. Kevin's intended best man wasn't able to make it, but we took a gag picture with a sign for insertion later, and they had a seriously cute breakdancing ring bearer sporting a little top hat. Of course that hat seemed to make it onto many heads, including Kevin's. That portrait of him wearing it is one of my favorite of the day. We also had to do the "Swingers" guys walking shot in honor of the casino. Kevin's norwegian heritage also played a roll in the day. He had a special grooms cake from Larsen's bakery here in Ballard, and they cut their cake with a norwegian wedding porridge spoon. Check out the photo of them with the cake, the reflection of the spoon is actually giving him a heart shaped mustache! Since the day was super duper rainy, and they have a family vacation home on nearby Cameno Island, we finished up the bridal portraits the next day at their special spot on Cameno's western shore beach. I'll never forget Rachelle sporting her Alaska fishing boots and navigating that soggy beach so well. Thanks so much for the memories!

Rachel and Zac at Kasper's

2010-04-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

April, month of cherry blossoms and truly precocious weather. There is always an extra bit of drama with an April wedding, as those showers can play havoc with even the best laid plans. Rachel and Zac were having a charming small candle lit wedding at Kasper's on Queen Anne. The Plan, head out with them to take some frolic-in pictures at Seattle Center before the Ceremony. The Reality, a truly awesome bride with a severely twisted ankle willing to hobble around Kasper's parking lot in the hope of some low effort pretty portraits between rain showers. A funky alley wall and one perfect flowering tree made it all worthwhile, and then back inside to join their friends and family for a lovely ceremony and delicous formal sit down with Kasper's fantastic food. They had so many sweet details, but here were my faves. Little Love Birds on a real twig nest for the cake topper. Rachel's pretty gown and adorable vintage clutch, both found on Etsy.com. Zac for his can do attitude and total love and support for Rachel. The three piece flamenco band that played all night. Rachel's koala bear tattoo and wonderful family. Thanks for a great event.

Patrick and Natalie's Gig Harbour Fireworks

2010-02-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

Patrick and Natalie have a great history together, and when they decided to throw their wedding at Patrick's family home in Gig Harbour, they had lots of good ideas to make it personal. Patrick's favorite holiday is the 4th of July, so of course lots of fireworks. A recent trip to South Africa gave them the inspiration to use pin cushion protea as the starring flower, and instead of a gift table Natalie's family brought the family canoe to fill with presents. I of course couldn't resist using it to take pictures of Natalie and her sisters in! And of course the cutest flower kids are always family. Much romping was had on the beach for their portraits, and their wonderfully casual approach to everything else made for a fantastically creative and fun family wedding.

Tacoma Museum of Glass

2010-02-11T19:02:00.000-08:00

Something amazing has happened to the Northwest in recent years. We have become a Mecca for contemporary architecture. The Tacoma Museum of Glass is one of my favorite experiences of that sort of space. Arriving at the Museum means walking past an elaborate series of glass, water, and concrete installations. With lots of great shops, museums, and restaurants all within walking distance, it's a cool date day trip, and the Light Rail on Pacific Ave. is super fun too. Stacey and David had a super stylish wedding reception inside the Glass museum, and as the second photographer (to the great Carol Harrold) I snapped some images around the glass park that showcased the famous dome. Viva la Tacoma!

Matt and Jess at Pravda Studios

2010-01-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Jess and Matt are a great urban couple, and the perfect spot for their Jewish wedding was found in Pravda Studios on Capitol Hill. It's wide open space and modern feel gave them free reign to be super creative, which wasn't hard with her impeccable taste and his amazing skills as an architect. To aid them in this quest, they got involved with The adventure school. To say this group are party planners would be an understatement, and you should really check out their website as it is full of surprises.

A traditional bridal party just wasn't them, but Jess did have her girls with her the whole day. We had fun all walking to Pravda and taking some photos of them with Jess and Matt individually. These ladies have been in her life forever, and you can tell how much they love Matt too, it was all one big happy family.

To make is personal, The Huppa was built out of recycled materials from their new house. This wood was used everywhere, painted in bright weathered hues to make the isle, as a perfect staging for the homemade lollipops that served as favor and table locators, and even as table runners. Another really interesting ideas was an 50's era typewriter that served as the guest book armed with a large ream of paper. The programs had a cartoon illustration layed out like a technical drawing of all the major players, and they had hand painted cubes with meaningful words and iconic drawings hanging from the ceiling. Later in the night, as the party really got going, the adventure school ladies brought out a bicycle powered blender for making magarita's. We ended the night with a fun kiss shot that I love, street light lit and soooooooooooooooooo capitol hill. Matt and Jess, you guys are the Best!

Country Cool at Mountain Springs Lodge

2010-01-08T21:10:00.001-08:00

Plain, Washington is home to one of my favorite wedding sites around, Mountain Springs Lodge. This place is totally high plateau magic, full of natural beauty and wide open spaces. When two city slickers from New York named Dan and Caitlin hired me to picture their Summer Solstice wedding there, I knew we were all in for a good time. There were tons of personal touches, like a family heirloom curtain strung in the trees, and cookies in pretty natural paper boxes at every seat of the family style tables. Then there was the bride and groom themselves, shining through their personal style with J Crew wedding and bridesmaid dresses (they had pockets, soooooooo fun!) and slick grey suits with pink checkered ties for the guys. To top it all off, my dear friend Carol Harrold honored me by being my getaway buddy and second photographer for the weekend. Seattle Parties took great care of the tunes, too, and even threw down for the impromptu after party late into the night. A perfect summer celebration.

Fall Fun with Luke and Starr

2009-10-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

Luke, master of my universe, just loves adventure. These days he is crawling, making whole sentences of what can only be described as baby dino babble, and even coming on mommies photo safaries. Today took us to Pikes Market for some senior portraits, and for his reward he got to have some serious tummy time with his pals the fall leaves. When was the last time you got down with some autumnal fun? Hope he inspires you too!

Shara and Dennis at Salish Lodge

2009-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

The falls at Snoqualmie have always been one of my favorite northwest wonders. With a guest list of only nine family members, Shara and Dennis were married this past saterday at the beautiful Salish Lodge. The Lodge sits atop the cliffs above the falls, and is the perfect winter getaway. Shara had hired my favorite hair and makeup person, Tiara, and her cascading curls fit the terrain perfectly. The ceremony was short and personal, with each family member saying a special blessing over the rings. Then off for a photo adventure, where Shara proved herself a talented hiker and true northwest girl. Congrats!

Alissa and Seth at the W Hotel

2009-03-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Few stories have as long a history as Alissa and Seth. Seth says they first met at a summer camp in their elementary years, but Alissa first remembers him in their tweens, when they went to their first school dance together. Their lives took some turns both towards and away from eachother, but in the end this amazing couple with so many great memories tied the knot this summer in a swanky cocktail style wedding strewn with red rose petals, a stunning custom gown by Luly Yang, and tons of fun. With so much history between them, it was no wonder their wedding party was huge, as they both had people to represent them from all the different chapters in their lives. To honor all these friends, Seth and Alissa did a short personality piece on each friend as they ran game show style into the reception. It was the start of a rollicking party, which included a wine bar showcasing many of the washington vineyards they had traveled to on weekends away and an all out dance party with everyone hitting the floor. Best to you Both!

Rubylicious at Two

2009-02-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Time for birthday portraits. My favorite redhead only gets better with age.

Bump Bliss

2009-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sassy Sarah, a favorite bride of mine, recently brought her bump on by for some loving portraits with her husband Gabe. Can't wait to meet the little one!

Rob and Amy at the SAM scupture park

2009-01-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Rob and Amy had an amazing 8/8/08 wedding at the Olympic Sculpture Park. To read more about them, check out their story in the January Seattle Bride commitments section, and in the mean time please enjoy my photographic valentine to the sculpture park. An inspiring location for a great occasion.

And baby makes three

2009-01-25T12:18:00.000-08:00

So it's sadly obvios that it has been a long, long time since my last post. If any of you were wondering what has been taking up so much of my time, I'd like to introduce you to Luke Xander Rollert. He was born on December forth, a shining saggitarian, and we are totally in love with our little man. A small shout out to the incredible staff at Swedish too, thank you for making a difficult pregnancy as positive as possible.

Colorific

2008-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Katie and Brian
June 27th, 2008
Edgewater Hotel

When you have a floral designer as a client, it's always extra fun to see how she will treat her wedding day. With her vintage inspired dress, 40's era hair, and bright bold palette Katie Cunningham Goldman did a fantastic job of setting the stage for her fun, cocktail style wedding. We walked from the Edgewater to the SAM Sculpture Park to keep things fun and play with some funky backgrounds, then back to the hotel for the big event. Katie's touch was everywhere, from the Candy bar in honor of her famous sweet tooth, to the wonderful potted favors of five different herbs for guests to take back to their kitchen herb gardens. My favorite was the button and ribbon ties she put on every napkin. It was a classic and contempory way to celebrate. Katie's special gift to her guy was a surprise one day cooking course in Paris, where they headed off to right after the wedding for a very romantic honeymoon. Enjoy those french bubbles!

Steph and Greg

2008-05-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

The Hollywood schoolhouse is always a charming spot for a wedding, but for Stephanie and Greg it was the perfect place to begin their official story. Daylight floods the historic brick building in the late morning this time of year, and the couple was pronounced husband and wife just after a special number for them in time, 11:11, was honored during the ceremony. Pat Stimac of a Heavenly Ceremony incorporated their very personal vows around this request, and there was no shortage of magic in the room that day. Things stayed personal, with a huge lineup of great speaches, and tons of dancing for a daylight affair. The newlyweds made a great escape into a classic car, and headed for their after party in seattle to share more good times with all of their friends, as a wedding day is always too short. Thanks for the Magic!

Rubylicious

2008-05-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

Allison, Ruby, and I recently went on a photo adventure in search of good mothers day photos. We hit the jackpot in a little grotto at the locks park near my house. The greens looked so amazing with Ruby's red hair and cutie rain coat, truly Rubylicious.

Double Trouble

2008-05-02T11:17:00.000-07:00

When the stork visits twice in one day, and your lucky enough to get one of each, your family track is firmly established. Amy and Kenyon make it look easy as new parents, switching babies with grace and always staying sweet in the process. The little bundles are known as Saryn and Jenz, and destined to be great friends and just as stylish as their parents. Enjoy!

Out Of Line

2008-04-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Being a girl and visual artist, it's no wonder I love fashion. These days though, it seems I'm hitting photoshop far more than fashion shows, so when a chance to work with a favorite local designer appeared I jumped at it. Beki Wilson and her line Out of line can be found on Petaline.net. If you havn't heard of Petaline, it's the brain child of local Alison Brownrigg, and represents local designers and artists in a flurry of fashion and great gift items. We also got to work with two amazing George town shops as locations, so if you are into art as housewares, check out www.greatstuffseattle.com and www.revivalhomeandgarden.com. Get your shop on!

Lanai Love

2008-03-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

Under a sky hung with stars, just outside of Hana, Hawaii, Mark and Jen were taking an after dinner walk down the beach in Feb 2007. Mark pointed out a large rock on the ground to Jen, but she was far more interested in remembering her astronomy and pointing out constellations. It took Mark another pass by the out of place engraved river rock and a perfect beam of moonlight to show off the important question, "Jen, will you marry me?".
The answer of course was yes, and Mark's efforts at carrying the ten pound rock to and fro were rewarded when they found the perfect spot to have their wedding the following year. Lanai is a small island off the coast of Maui, famous for it's nature and pineapple plantation past. The wedding took place at the Four Seasons Manele Bay, where a pod of dolphins are your snorkel buddies and the natural beauty makes you pinch yourself to believe you are really there. Jen had the vision of a 1940's era old plantation feel for the wedding, and her Grace Kelly inspired hair and dress were perfect for the environment. It was an amazing event with incredible people. Mahalo!

The Terrific Two's

2008-02-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Meet Owen, a contender for cutest two year old this side of the Mississippi. Owen's parents Jennifer and Dan wanted a special portrait for his birthday, and we had fun running around Redmond and finding cool locations like the new City Hall building. The bear sculptures were at the Redmond Town Center, proving that great locations really can be right in your back yard.

Monique and Theron

2008-02-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

With a march wedding soon to celebrate, we all headed to the beach on a recent winter weekend to get some cozy snaps and show off Monique's penchant for flip flops. They have a great story, but I'll save that for their post wedding post. Enjoy!

2008-01-19T17:42:00.002-08:00

Back in the good old days, when a couple celebrated their wedding, they were gifted a months worth of mead. This is where the term honeymoon comes from, literally a time of honey. Well, my husband and I just celebrated our belated honeymoon , and although mead was a little scarce the local rum did us just fine. If you are interested in the perfect hiking and snorkeling vacation spot, let's talk, as the Virgin Islands may be the place for you too. Hope you enjoy a few of our vacation pictures, and maybe they will inspire your plans too.