It sounded like the beginning of a romance movie; a boy, all on his own in a new place, goes to a crowded event and looks around at the sea of foreign faces. He stops, captivated by the girl across the room. Just as he starts to move in her direction, she looks in his direction and moves as well – only she moves away from him and towards someone else she knows. Fortunately, it was the University of Waterloo that turned Karen away- having met 6 other UofW interns already that night she wasn’t particularly keen on meeting another.

Fast forward to the present and while Karen may not remember that first glimpse of her future husband, the American girl from San Francisco did Canadianize herself to cheer on her Canadian fiance’s hockey team at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Aside from sharing great taste in hockey teams, they’re both passionate about motorcycles and it was a fantastic to include Sam’s Daytona and Karen’s scooter in their e-session. Their love for each other comes through in every moment – from daytime scooter rides and strolls through the market for food and coffee to nighttime motorcycle rides before a romantic dinner. Even the west-coast rain couldn’t put a damper on how stunning these two are together.

When we found out that Karen loves playing video games and was the one who introduced Sam to World of War Craft we thought “this must be every guy’s dream – a girl who plays World of War-craft”. Then we found out Sam is in a band, plays the guitar and piano and sings and thought “what girl doesn’t dream of a marrying a musician?”

Karen & Sam – we were so excited to be invited to Seattle to shoot your engagement and wedding!  We hope you love these images as much as we loved crafting them. Thank you for the warm hospitality – when we left Seattle we felt like we’d just caught up with two friends we hadn’t seen in a while.

P.S. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that there won’t be any rain for your wedding!  Can’t wait to meet your family and friends 🙂

~AR