Let's take it back a little bit with these two.

Remember their adorable fire station engagement session last spring? They tied the knot and threw a pretty cool party about it in September at The Edgewater House in Olalla, WA! If you've never been, you definitely need to check it out; convince some of your friends to get married there...or just throw your own party, so you can enjoy this gorgeous waterfront venue with alllllllll the relaxed beach vibes. ;)

Laura + Cody had a big party in mind, but wanted a more intimate ceremony -- it wasn't really their style to be on display in front of a huge crowd for their vows. Sooooo, they worked the timeline out to where they would have a super intimate ceremony with just their families/closest VIPs in the late afternoon, and then formal photos, and THEN the whole party would start. When it's your wedding day, you should do things the way YOU want, right?!?

I already knew Laura + Cody were super kind-hearted, down-to-earth people; but being around their families and friends really hit that fact home. They're the kind of crew that makes you feel like you belong, even if you've just met. I can't tell you how many hugs I got that night; which is totally one of my measures of success, rivalled only by the amount of dancing there is (TONS, in this case). They really did dance the night away, drinks in hand (with only one that spilled & broke, so that's a win!), to some really really good live music.

From their grand entrance as Mr. & Mrs. -- where Laura karate kicked her way out of the venue in her gorgeous dress (affirming her as the coolest bride ever) -- to sharing the dance floor with her parents for their first dance in the most impressive dancing I've witnessed to date. Laura's dad gave what was probably the most hilarious dad speech I've ever heard. Both Cody and his mom asked me to take a photo of the full moon that was rising over the water, which made my moon-lovin' heart happy.

There was no mistaking the joy in the air that night, and that's really what it's all about.