MV Skansonia Wedding | Haley & Alex | Seattle Wedding Photographer

Weddings

I’m consistently blown away at the resilience of all of my 2020 couples who had to postpone their wedding plans. Haley & Alex are one of those couples. These two lovebirds dreamed of having their wedding on the PNW waterfront, so the MV Skansonia was truly the perfect fit for their vision being on a beautifully restored ferry boat nestled in North Lake Union with a lovely view of the Seattle skyline. The MV Skansonia is such a quintessential PNW venue with it’s vintage nautical, yet romantic elegant charm. It’s a Seattle wedding photographer’s dream, let me tell you! So, about a year after their original plans were postponed, their day finally arrived and their vision came to life.

Haley & Alex’s wedding day began with Haley getting ready at the State Hotel in downtown Seattle and Alex right across the street in an apartment you could view from the hotel room. How cute is that? Haley’s lovely family and beautiful bridesmaids joined her at the hotel and helped her get ready for the day. We headed to the venue to capture their portraits separately, as they planned to have their first look down the aisle. In true Seattle fashion in the month of June, it was a gray, rainy morning, but the rain let up just before the ceremony time in order for these two to have their dream ceremony on the bow of the MV Skansonia with the cityscape behind them. It was an absolutely picturesque PNW wedding. Their was a ceremony was so full of love and togetherness, and not a dry eye was watching these two at the altar. Haley & Alex exchanged their vows, and after a year of waiting, finally said their “I do’s!” It was so surreal to hear them finally be announced as the newly Mr. and Mrs. Zayatz!

Following the ceremony, these two signed their marriage license and we took all their portraits on the boat. Their reception was so sweet and intimate. They had a live band and quite the dance party. It was so fun to watch them be surrounded by so much love and joy and to witness these two so excited to finally be married. Congratulations, Haley & Alex!

Haley & Alex’s Love Story

We first met in the Fall of 2012 while living in East Lansing, MI, and attending Michigan State University. Even though we were living in the same city, going to the same school, and even shared some mutual friends for a few years, it took until our Senior year for our paths to finally cross. Just prior to school starting, a last minute change in plans left Alex in desperate need of a room for the year. For those not familiar with East Lansings housing market right before the school year, options were limited to say the least. Alex’s last resort was an apartment complex on the edge of campus that he lived at a couple years earlier. On his way, Alex recognized another apartment complex that he used to visit, where his brother lived at when attending MSU. Thinking back on the good times had there, Alex figured it couldn’t hurt to stop in and see if any rooms were available, and when informed that they had just 1 left in the entire complex, Alex agreed to take it. For those thinking this is a very one sided “how we met” story, it turns out that this last room, potentially the last room in all of East Lansing that year. And it happened to be located in the apartment next door to the apartment Haley called home. It wasn’t long before we “bumped into each other” and began becoming more than neighbors.