This past wedding season, in addition to my own commissions, I had the privilege of shooting for a local studio here in Seattle.  Over the next few weeks I’m planning on sharing some of my favorite images from those weddings. But before I blog my 2010 season favorites, I wanted to call out one particular wedding that stands out so very vividly in my mind. So much so, that I felt it deserved its own special blog post.

From the moment I met Kristy and Andrew on their wedding day there was something different about them. Kristy was not at all concerned about tiny details or the looming rain clouds outside her hotel window. Across the hall, Andrew watched football and ate pizza with his best buddy, eager to see his bride for their “first look.”

The fact that they were not consumed with trying to perfect the day’s imperfections was so refreshing to see and experience. All these two cared about was the lifelong commitment they were about to make to one another. And apart from all of that goodness, they have the most incredible love story…

Kristy is a nurse and Andrew is a medic—both in the U.S. Army. They were both deployed and stationed at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. Kristy is an avid runner and desperately sought to relieve the daily stresses by running. However, the circumstances in Baghdad didn’t allow for women to run unaccompanied. Andrew, a true gentleman and an athlete in his own right, offered to run with Kristy. And so, in the countless laps around the barracks and under conditions that are hard to imagine, these two heroes found solace in each other’s company, quickly forming the type of relationship that they least expected.  And that is the end—or rather the beginning—to Kristy and Andrew’s beautiful story.

Here are a few of my favorite frames from their special day at the Newcastle Golf Club.

P.S. As if I’ve not raved about these two enough, they both did a triathlon on the morning of their wedding! Amazing!