Backyard Wedding in Seattle
Yilin and Sean invited me to document their intimate backyard wedding in Seattle after a single short call, where we talked through their plans, priorities, and questions. In the months that followed, they planned a number of thoughtful surprises for their guests. A week before the wedding, I visited their home to walk through the flow of the day.
Late one June afternoon, guests began to gather in the backyard: proud parents, curious children weaving between conversations, friends trading hugs and catching up. Several languages mingled in the garden, and musician friends played beneath the greenery while the house hummed with the familiar chaos of getting ready.
Like so many couples planning a wedding alongside the demands of everyday life, Yilin and Sean had plenty on their plates. Yet they moved through the day with remarkable tenderness — pausing for long hugs with friends, reading every card they were handed, giving each moment their full attention.
While guests transformed the ceremony space into a warm setting for dinner and dancing, the three of us slipped away for a few quiet portraits. Bees drifted lazily over the blooming lavender, and the newlyweds were so clearly in love that all I had to do was follow their glances toward one another.
Some of my favorite documentary photographs still come from this wedding. Looking through the images now, what I treasure most is knowing I was there for all of it: the anticipation, the joy, the surprises, and the countless small interactions that made the day uniquely theirs. By the end of the evening, the summer heat had left me completely drenched. But I knew I hadn't missed a thing.
