Personal: Trip to Glacier

In the fall of 2021 I had the chance to photograph a wedding out near Glacier National Park (shout out to Zach and Abbie!). You may not know this about me, but while I absolutely love photographing weddings, and families, engagements, seniors and all that good stuff, I also love hiking, being outside, exercise, and being in God’s incredible creation. So a couple days before the wedding came about I left early to do some hiking with my parents and younger sister. Once school got out my incredible wife and two boys also joined me out there, and we had one day to explore the park before the wedding on Saturday. Here are some of my favorites from that (smokey) trip. Zach and Abbie’s wedding was smokeless though, thanks in part to the large amount of rain we got the day before (the day we were hiking).

Spokane Wedding Photographer: Viktor and Rachel's Mountain Engagement

Viktor and Rachel met - really met - at church. Rachel was there and wanted to sit with her sister (if I remember the story correctly) but there was "some random guys" coat on the chair she wanted to sit on. So she sat there anyway. Viktor told me he was initially upset about the situation (some random person taking his seat) but when he saw who the chair thief was, and her beautiful smile, he was much more ok with it. This is the first time either of them really stuck out in each other's minds - although technically they also were both in the same wedding at some point earlier. But that's it, they didn't talk much at church, or after, and Viktor did a great job of playing it cool.

CDA Resort Cruise Boat Wedding: Ron & Noon

Ron and Noon had such a beautiful wedding out on Lake Coeur d’Alene. I absolutely loved the short time I had with them, which was filled with emotional moments, from the first look to the beautiful ceremony, to the toasts at the end. These two are so genuine and kind, and it made their wedding flow so well. I’m excited that I can be the one to share these photos with you. Their wedding was truly beautiful.

Coeur d'Alene Engagement Photographer: Chris & DeAnna

They met online, as so many couples do these days. The thing is, there is a little bit of a disagreement as to which app they met on, so that isn't all that clear. But Chris insists that DeAnna sent her a message first, and they only talked for a little bit before deciding to get coffee. You see, for him, DeAnna seemed to have a lot of things he was looking for. From her profile, she seemed kind, professional, steady, and not looking for the next party down the road. She was someone he could see himself with for a long time. For DeAnna, she was a little less sure about Chris, he wasn't creepy and he looked like a "normal" dude, which is saying something in the online dating space. Both very important things.

North Idaho Photos: Chris & Jennifer

A couple years ago I had the huge privilege of taking Chris and Jennifer’s wedding photos. It was such a beautiful wedding, with some unique twists that i’ve never seen before (such as floating down the river in Tubes to their reception) and one that I fondly think of. So when Jennifer reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to come out to their town and take some pictures of them in their home-under-construction I was pumped. Not only because I enjoy talking with them, but because it’s a type of shoot i’ve never done before. We did some photos on their driveway and around the beautiful property, and then did some inside the house. What an amazing idea, and i’m so pumped I get to share these with you! I hope you love them.

Downtown Spokane Engagement: Taylor & Jenna

They met when Taylor connected with Jenna's roommate on a dating app. They were messaging back and forth, and eventually he was invited over - they lived close by after all. Well, it turns out that Jenna is a pretty colorful person, as that was Taylor's first impression of her. He said he remembered her coming into the room as they were all talking and the whole place lit up - "it went up about 30 octaves" is what Jenna said. This doesn't surprise me, as the time I've spent with her she has been so much fun to be with, talk with, and it doesn't surprise me that Taylor would describe it this way.

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Brent Looyenga is a Spokane wedding photographer based IN SPOKANE WASHINGTON and Coeur d’Alene Idaho area. He loves people and specializes in wedding, engagement, family and senior photography. You can like Looyenga Photography on Facebook or follow them on Instagram.