Project Red Dress was a huge success this past Friday night at the always fashionable Fairmont Olympic Hotel! Ten design students from area fashion schools competed to create the best red dress in a VERY limited amount of time. Monir Zandghoreishi created the Project Red Dress fashion contest in Seattle to team up with the American Heart Association’s cause to create awareness for heart disease.

Stylists from Gene Juarez were on site to do the amazing hair and makeup for the models from Seattle Models Guild. Courtney from Half Past Lavish produced a beautiful show with the help of her team. I also saw some of my friends there from Seattle Metropolitan magazine volunteering their time to make the show a success. The floral designs were created by Daniela of Bella Signature Design. Brook and Monti from Movin 92.5’s the Ladies Room Emceed the festivities and among the talented judges was Seattle Metropolitan’s Laura Cassidy, designer Nick Verreos of Project Runway and Nikolaki Design and Seattle dressmaker Victoria Glenn of V Custom Design.

My friends Barbie Hull, Danielle Bortone-Holt and Mike Adams were there photographing the event as well.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the runway followed by some of the behind the scenes moments. Click on the images to make them larger.

Update: Check out Laura Cassidy’s blog post — Black and White and Red All Over — featuring images from Barbie and I.

Project Red Dress

I am excited to be working with FGI International and Seattle Metropolitan Magazine again this year for the second annual Project Red Dress event coming up this February 13th at the exquisite Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle.

Last year I photographed the runway show and captured all of the unique dress creations. This year I’m venturing further behind the scenes to tell the story back stage as well. I can’t wait!

Here’s a few of my images from last year’s event to whet your curiosity. I hope to see you at this year’s show!

Erin and Casey had a beautiful ceremony at Salish Lodge on July 12th. The day was pristine with a vivid blue sky. Sara and I met up with the bride and groom at the Fairmont Olympic for photos and then headed off to Snoqualmie Falls where Salish Lodge is perched.

Now for the drama:
As we were leaving the Fairmont in the Silver Cloud classic limo Erin noticed she didn’t know where her veil was! In a flash, her chivalrous Casey dashed back inside the hotel to retrace our steps. Not seconds after he took off Sara went tearing after him to help in the search. Minutes passed as Erin and I waited outside in the limo, wondering if they were going to find it or not. Erin was so serene about it though. She wasn’t going to let a missing veil get her down on her wedding day!

Just as we were all getting a bit anxious, including the driver, Sara darts out of the Fairmont, brushes by me and blurts “It’s gone! I’ll be back.” She ran off towards Luly Yang’s boutique which is conveniently located on the corner at the base of the Fairmont. So, I had a hunch about what she was up to but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Sure enough, Sara busts into Luly Yang’s shop, stopping the staff and customers alike in their tracks when she utters “Someone stole the bride’s veil!”. Luly’s staff dropped everything and ran over to assist my wife. “This is an emergency”, someone shouted.

It was fantastic!

They quizzed her a bit on what it looked like and they all decided on a Jennifer Leigh elbow length veil with an ivory trim. It was gorgeous! Sara gave them my card and they agreed to have it returned in a couple days. They had in fact loaned us a veil to take care of Erin for the day! While Sara was explaining who she was with and all that another girl wrapped it all up beautifully in a Luly bag and tissue.

Casey was just returning to the limo, dejected and veil-less, when Sara ran back around the corner from the boutique with the beautiful blue and white Luly bag and tossed it into Erin’s waiting lap through the limo’s window. “There, no offense but you have to give it back. ”

My wife rocks! End of drama.

There was something strange happening at the lodge that day. Apparently some high powered political figure had bought out the entire lodge for the weekend and had the whole placed buttoned down. There were security guards with ear-pieces all over the grounds of the lodge and being the guy with the camera, I was getting a lot of strange and questioning looks. At one point, as Erin and Casey were signing their marriage certificates in the Library we were locked in while the dignitary or president or whatever he was came into the lodge and up to his room. Weird.

All that aside, the ceremony was beautiful. Erin and Casey said their vows outside overlooking the gorge where the falls plummet 270 feet to river bed below. Sean Patrick O’Reilly officiated and as always, was a pleasure to be around.

Congratulations Erin and Casey! We’ll see you both soon when you get back from Italy!

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Lodging: The Fairmont Olympic
Venue: Salish Lodge
Veil: Luly Yang Couture – Jennifer Leigh Veils
Transportation: British Motor Coach
Celebrant: Sean Patrick O’Reilly
Slideshow Music by: Carla Bruni

From the Fairmont we rode in style to St. Therese’s in a vintage Rolls Royce limo from British Motor Coach. Once we arrived at the church, Jeanne and Marc stood outside to greet their guests as they walked up to the church. I thought that was a nice touch.

Racing out of the church after saying their vows, they were swept away in the Silver Cloud Rolls and off to their home in the Mt. Baker area of Seattle for the reception. I followed in my MINI and got some great shots in transit.

As we arrived at their home we could hear the sweet sound of Jazz emanating from the back yard. Stephanie Porter and her band were taking care of the music for the night! If you haven’t heard her sing, you need to! Stephanie has a silky smooth voice and was a great addition to the evening’s festivities.

Jeanne and Marc spent months before the wedding remodeling their home. In fact, Marc told me that he just barely finished making everything just perfect for the wedding that morning. Their home is beautiful and made the perfect backdrop for their reception.

The interior of their home has a very French aesthetic which I really like. The blue walls and white moulding in the front room made for a wonderful setting to showcase their cake. Oh, that cake was amazing! Madeleine’s European Cakes created a beautiful cake that was stunning to look at and tasted great too! The meal was catered by Kaspars Special Events & Catering and I’d whole heartedly recommend them to anyone. The food was decadent and their wait staff was impeccable.

Thanks Jeanne and Marc! It was an amazing day and I am honored to have been a part of it.

Check out their slideshow as well as a few of my favorites from the day below. (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

To see all of their wedding images, visit their website on Pictage.