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I love coming back to the same venue over and over, and this summer I had the pleasure of shooting two weddings back-to-back at one of my favorite Kitsap venues, Kingston House. It’s a huge, gorgeous venue on a hill just minutes from the Kingston ferry terminal and was a great place to be the Kingston House wedding photographer for a weekend.
Wondering how two completely different couples used the same venue on consecutive days? Read on to see how Sam & Zac and Alyssa & Brandon utilized the exact same spaces in different ways to create their own unique Kingston House wedding experiences.
Friday: Sam & Zac
On a sunny August Friday, Sam and Zac (see their engagement session here) had the first Kingston House wedding of the weekend. Sam got ready in the bridal suite inside the venue’s mid-century stone-and-pine home, while Zac and his groomsmen set up in the loft overlooking the sprawling living space. Zac spent some special time getting ready with the couple’s French bulldog, Barry.
Sam and Zac chose to do a first look and couples’ portraits before the ceremony, followed by wedding party and family photos. They had their first glimpse of each other in Kingston House’s lavender field. Zac’s reaction to Sam’s gorgeous wedding look may be one of my favorite first look sequences of all time.
For their portraits, Sam absolutely worked her amazing, flowing gown. By the end of the portrait session, Zac was choked up with emotion.
Their ceremony was held under Kingston House’s Grand Maple, with officiant Amber Bartz performing a hand fasting. Afterward, they moved to the pond lawn for cocktail hour.
After cocktail hour, they moved through the trees to the reception area for dinner from Crescent Moon Catering, cake, toasts and dancing. DJ Protege lit up the tent with lights and music, and Sam & Zac and their guests absolutely brought it on the dance floor.
Finally, everyone lined up along the driveway with glow sticks (a great alternative to sparklers during a burn ban) for Sam & Zac’s gran exit.
Saturday: Alyssa & Brandon
My second Kingston House wedding of the weekend was Alyssa (pronounced Alicia) and Brandon. Their wedding posed a unique challenge: Brandon is deaf, as were many of the guests who attended. A number of sign-language interpreters worked the event, and the ceremony was conducted entirely in American Sign Language and translated to English for those guests not fluent in ASL.
Alyssa also got ready in the bridal suite, but Brandon and his groomsmen chose the lower living room area to prepare.
Instead of the maple grove, Alyssa & Brandon used the arbor by the pond for their Kingston House wedding ceremony. Brandon and Alyssa brought everyone to tears with their touching, romantic vows.
Because they chose to skip the first look, Alyssa & Brandon snuck away during their cocktail hour for portraits in the lavender field and the maple grove. I wanted to capture their unique connection and asked them to talk to each other in sign language for part of their session.
Alyssa & Brandon wrapped up their Kingston House wedding with dinner from Essence of the Thymes Catering, toasts translated into ASL by some amazing interpreters and a dance party led by one of my favorite DJs, Matt Love.
So there you have it! Two Kingston House weddings on back-to-back nights, using different options at this sprawling venue to create two very different events.
