Colorful Queer Wedding in Union, WA
Last summer, I photographed Gabe and Annie's wedding at the Robin Hood Village Resort in Union, WA, less than two hours from Seattle. Their wedding day was delightfully quirky, full of unique details, vibrant colors, and love from their community, and it was perfect for this fun witchy couple. Every little detail reminded me of why I love being queer and working with other queer people so much. There was a tarot card reading station, a drag king performance, and a rainbow bouquet that managed to be pretty and not tacky, just to name a few.
One of my favorite parts of the wedding was the "sacred bro circle" (as it was called on my schedule from the coordinator). Gabe is non-binary and trans-masculine, and though he is happy with his gender, he missed having the automatic closeness that women get to have with each other, especially in getting-ready spaces. As someone who has seen the huge difference in vibes between the bride and groom rooms before cishet weddings, I completely understood what he meant. So he decided to do something about it - he took some time before the ceremony to gather all of his closest masculine friends, a combination of cis men, trans men, butches, and drag kings, and have them all talk about their relationships with masculinity, intimacy, and each other. They stood in a circle together and took turns sharing their feelings and their well-wishes for the couple. Though I mostly tried to give them space for this (didn't want to bring in too much feminine energy!), I'm glad I was able to document this sweet moment.
A Celebration of Queer Joy and Community
My other favorite parts of the wedding were how much color there was everywhere and how much Gabe and Annie's community really seemed to care for and love them. As a photographer who loves leaning into bright and bold colors (while still keeping them true-to-life!), it was a delight to be able to shoot. As I said before, there were tons of fun details, so I'll mostly let the photos speak for themselves.
