Featured in Seattle Bride: Kelsey and Arthur
It is an honor to be featured in this year’s Seattle Bride Magazine.
To see Arthur and Kelsey’s beautiful wedding lead the Real Weddings section took my breath away and reconfirmed what I already knew: Arthur and Kelsey’s wedding is truly unique and firmly rooted in the beauty and quirkiness of the Pacific Northwest.
Thank you Seattle Bride!
Jocelyn and Austin | Seattle, Washington
I’m proud to show these wedding photos from the Jocelyn and Austin’s elegant wedding at the Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle, WA.
Jocelyn and Austin are best friends, love each other deeply, and their wedding was both fun and classic. I love that we traveled to the Seattle Asian Art Museum to enjoy the small break of good weather for the day and get to walk the grounds and explore the art deco architecture of the museum. So much fun.
Thank you for having me as your photographer, it was a great pleasure.
Exquisite Handcrafted Wedding Albums by Cypress
You wouldn’t put a Picasso in a pile of loose canvases. You would frame it beautifully and hang it on your wall to enjoy every day. That is what a handcrafted album does for your wedding photos. We use only the best. Cypress Albums, individually handcrafted in Glendale, California by Dena Robertson and her team of expert bookbinders.
I love the new albums that just arrived at the studio and wanted to share how great they look:
Erik and Kristin | Seattle, Washington
Erik and Kristin dance to the beat of their own drum. Or, in this case, swing music. Their enthusiasm is infectious and the love they have for one another is deep.
Erik and Kristin came together through dancing. Swing dancing. Both Kristin and Erik brought authentic swing dancing clothes for the shoot. When I first met them in Georgetown, Erik opened up the back of his car and showed me, literally, an entire wardrobe of swing era clothing for both Kristin and himself. It was really fun picking out several outfits for different parts of the shoot. This kind of planning is what makes a good photography session FANTASTIC. And with that I present to you their wonderful photography session in Georgetown (an industrial and artsy neighborhood in south Seattle.)
Have a great weekend.
Despite the constant rain, Robin, Maeve, and I are enjoying our weekend. We hope you have a great weekend too!
More shoots on the way, stay tuned.
Valentine’s Day Story Contest: and the Winner is….
Congratulations Erik and Kristin!
Your story was incredible and full of love and beautiful imagery. I’m excited to create a unique photography session just for you to celebrate your love for one another.
Of course, we will have a photography giveaway next year at the same time and I may even have a ‘secret’ giveaway sometime before then if I have time.
Thanks to all who entered. Your stories are very inspiring.
Erik Johnson’s winning entry:
It’s hard to write a short paragraph about Kristin. She was the girl next door, we went to high school together, and we shared the same friends, the same mountains, and the same lakes for ten years. We used to backpack together, bantering like siblings, and then we learned to swing dance.
Kristin’s an incredible dancer. She’s agile, quick and light, and just a little mischievous, which is perfect for swing. When you spin her, she smiles, and if you lift her, she lands on the balls of her feet and never breaks form. It’s fun. For the first half of our twenties we’d spin each other around the dance floor on New Years, or on the beach by an Independence Day bonfire. We dance well together.
Then my old middle school called me and asked me to chaperon their Valentine’s Day dance. They knew I knew swing, and thought a simple lesson would encourage the boys to dance. I needed a partner, and I called Kristin–promised her dinner if she’d help me out. And it was odd day. I cut my hair, spent 20 minutes picking a tie, and arrived early with sweating hands to pick up a girl I’d known since I was 16. She didn’t tell me until later, but she was doing much the same thing–bought a new top, brought 3 changes of clothes in case she changed her mind. At the dance, I couldn’t banter with her anymore. I brought her punch instead–watched myself do it. And it was different dancing with her that night. I can’t quite explain it. Something had sparked, and we weren’t just friends from high school or former almost-neighbors–we were a team, we knew how to move together.
We got the middle school boys to dance with the middle school girls, and when their night was over, Kristin and I kept dancing, barefoot, beside my car under the moon. At my house we started talking about everything we never could when all we could do is banter, until she fell asleep on my shoulder.
That was last Valentine’s Day. By next Valentine’s Day, if everything goes well, we’ll be engaged. Over the last year, I’ve been able to meet her like she was someone new. I love her.
A Day at the Frye Museum | Seattle WA
Over the weekend, Robin and I took our one month old baby Maeve to the Frye Art Museum near downtown Seattle. We wanted to expose her to the arts at a young age (ha, ha.)
It was really nice to get out of the house and feel brave enough to bring our new baby to a public place. It seems that walking with Maeve in a baby carrier or pushing her in the stroller, makes her really really happy. And to top it off, it also makes her tired enough to sleep at night. A perfect combo.
This is the one time of the year that I’m not jetting about or shooting wedding photos in Seattle. I’m so happy that Maeve was born at THIS time of the year so that we can take her to places like the Frye Art Museum (with its amazing ‘Tete-a-Tete’ Frye personal painting collection as seen above) without feeling stressed by work yet to be finished at the studio.
Wedding photography season is just around the corner, but for now Robin and I are having a great time in our new life together as parents.
Shawn + Dyan’s Seattle Wedding
Last Sunday, I had the privilege of photographing the wedding of Shawn and Dyan. They’re an amazingly sweet couple whose first date was on Shawn’s birthday. Little did he know the true gift he was receiving.
The wedding, which began in Magnolia at the Magnolia United Church of Christ, was a refreshingly intimate affair. The couple did their absolute best to make the ceremony and events surrounding the wedding inclusive. It was clear this was the forming of a family and not just a marriage between two people. Declan, who is Shawn’s son, was included in all the special moments. He wore a Superman cape and charmed everyone. At the end of the ceremony, Shawn and Dyan called out to Declan as they walked down the aisle. Declan ran and jumped into their arms. It was so sweet.
Dyan got ready at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle. Dyan’s dress was a stunning champagne silk gown. She wore pearls and Ippolita earrings.
Arctic Club Hotel
700 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: 1-206-340-0340
The Arctic Club Hotel is famous for the unique architecture on the exterior of the building, which is adorned with gold paint and sculpted walruses. This theme is also carried throughout the new hotel.
From the Arctic Club, we drove to a small park in Magnolia, Magnolia Park, where we stopped for a few minutes to take photos. Even though it was a winter day, the sky was beautiful and the air was still. It was really a nice quiet moment before the beginning of the ceremony.
Dyan sitting on the back of the 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II reminded me of an angel– kind of like the winged angel on the Rolls Royce, known as the Spirit of Ecstasy or The Flying Lady.
I love how happy everyone was at the Magnolia Church of Christ before, during and after the ceremony.
Magnolia United Church of Christ
3555 West McGraw Street
Seattle, WA 98199-3213
Phone: (206) 283-1788
Fax: (206) 283-1534
Shawn and Dyan are lucky to have so many people that love them. It’s really one of my favorites parts of any wedding: seeing friends and family come together to support a newly wedded couple!
The details at the Arctic Club Hotel are really interesting. I felt like I was in the home of a world explorer.
The most stunning part of the hotel, however, is the Northern Lights Dome Room where the couple’s reception took place. The ceiling of the room is a spectacular dome, which gives off an ethereal quality and atmosphere. It’s probably one of the most picturesque venues in Seattle.
Seeing Shawn and Dyan dance together under the dome was really moving. They have a strong love and I am proud to have been chosen to document their special day.
Thanks,
Kirk
PHOTOGRAPHY: Arctic Club Hotel Wedding Photography by Kirk Mastin of Mastin Studio
WEDDING PLANNER: Wedding Planning by Stephanie Solomon, Solomon Events
DJ/MUSIC: DJ/Music by Chris Graves, Your Song Entertainment
Arctic Club Hotel | Shawn + Dyan | Sneak Peek
Sunday was amazing. Shawn and Dyan are amazing.
Whether we were up in a tree, running through the rain, cruising around town in a 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II (only 75 left in the world), or taking in the beauty of the Seattle’s Arctic Club Hotel ballroom - Shawn and Dyan’s wedding was an adventure!
I’m still working on the photos from their lovely wedding at the Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle but I can’t resist posting this sneak peek. More to come soon!
Arctic Club Hotel
700 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: 1-206-340-0340
Arctic Club Hotel Wedding Photography by Kirk Mastin of Mastin Studio
Featured in Brazilian Fashion Magazine GLOSS
I went to Brazil a long long time ago when I was in college at the University of Boulder in Colorado. It was summer break and my best friend Mark and I decided to explore as much of Brazil as possible over the span of three weeks.
We managed to hike through a beautiful jungle, explore Rio de Janeiro, nearly get mugged in Salvador da Bahia and ultimately take a 4 hour sea-taxi to a small island called Morro de Sao Paulo. Which was the best. place. ever.
I ate amazing food and met warm friendly Brazilian people everywhere I traveled. Unfortunately (or fortunately, it depends on how you look at it) I was NOT a photographer yet. Meaning that I experienced everything without a lens in front of my face. I captured a few great photos, but really, I captured a lifetime of fond memories.
Imagine my surprise when the Brazilian fashion magazine GLOSS contacted me to post some of my work…
Here is part of the article they published. You can see photos from these shoots here and here.
If anyone out there knows Brazilian Portuguese I would love a translation of this article!!
***(if you translate this please post it in the comments. I will send a surprise to first person who posts it.)***
Thank you GLOSS magazine!
-Kirk