From Soccer Sidelines to Wedding Day: Photographing Niki & Shaun at Rusty Barn Estates
I've known Niki since I was a kid running around a soccer field. She was always there — on the sidelines, cheering, present. I even babysat her son JP when he was in diapers. So when she asked me to photograph her wedding, I said yes before she finished the sentence. What I did not fully prepare for was standing in a gorgeous rustic barn watching that same tiny baby — now a full-grown teenager — stand up front and officiate his mom's wedding. JP pulled it off with total composure and a confidence that made the whole room lean in. Then, because JP clearly has a flair for the dramatic and an excellent sense of timing, he changed into a Hawaiian shirt for the reception. Perfect. Iconic. Correct.
And then there was her older son — the one I went to prom with, by the way, which is a sentence I will never stop finding hilarious — who was designated ring bearer. Instead of a pillow and rings, he was working the aisle with a tray of Jell-O shots. The guests were delighted. The photos are incredible. This family does not do anything halfway, and I respect it enormously.
Rusty Barn Estates was the exact right venue for these two. Raw wood beams, string lights strung across the ceiling, big barn doors thrown open to the summer light — it felt warm and lived-in and completely unpretentious, which is exactly who Niki and Shaun are. They stood beneath a circular floral arch hung with fairy lights and said their vows while their people packed the benches on either side. Flower petals covered the aisle floor. The whole scene looked like something out of a dream — the kind of dream where everything is golden and loud and full of laughter.
Before the ceremony, Niki had a moment I will never stop thinking about. Someone on the team had a big industrial fan. We pointed it at her. She planted her feet, grabbed her white dress as it billowed up around her, threw her head back, and laughed — red lip, pearl necklace, full Marilyn Monroe energy. That photo might be one of my favorites I've ever taken. It is completely, unmistakably her.
The reception brought in Rockit Radio, a live band that turned that barn into a full concert. Sequins, electric guitars, a bass player in zebra print — they came to work, and the dance floor never stood a chance. Niki danced. Shaun grinned. The kids danced. The grandparents danced. That is how you know a band is doing their job.
I've photographed a lot of weddings. But there's something different about photographing someone you've known most of your life — someone whose family has been woven into yours for decades. Watching Niki walk out of that barn as Shaun's wife, confetti raining down, her bouquet of wildflowers in hand and her whole life ahead of them together — I felt it in my chest in a way I won't forget.
Niki, Shaun, JP, and the jello shot ring bearer: thank you for letting me be part of this day. It was, without question, one of the greatest honors of my career and my life.
Photographed at Rusty Barn Estates, Battleground, Washington. Live music by Rockit Radio.
