An Ethiopian Wedding in Seattle on Film | Candid Wedding Photography

An Ethiopian Wedding in Seattle on 35mm Film | Ruth + Leul

There are wedding days that feel less like a production and more like stepping into the middle of something already full of history, family, and tradition. Ruth and Leul’s Ethiopian wedding in Seattle was exactly that—the kind of celebration where the photographs I loved most weren’t necessarily the perfectly arranged ones, but the moments happening around them.

As a candid wedding photographer who works with both digital and 35mm film, I’m always looking for the pieces of a wedding day that tell you what it actually felt like to be there: family gathering around Ruth and Leul, hands preparing food, guests moving from one tradition to the next, and quiet exchanges happening across a crowded room. Photographing an Ethiopian wedding means paying attention not only to the couple, but to the people, traditions, and relationships surrounding them.

Having experience photographing Ethiopian wedding ceremonies and celebrations also means understanding that these days can unfold differently from a typical American wedding timeline. Rather than trying to force every part of the day into a standard photography formula, I want to understand what’s important, know when meaningful traditions are about to happen, and leave enough room for the unexpected moments in between.

Photographing an Ethiopian Wedding in Seattle

One of my favorite things about photographing Ruth and Leul’s wedding was how much of their story existed beyond the two of them. Their families and friends weren’t simply guests in the background—they were woven into the celebration itself. The food, clothing, traditions, movement, and interactions between generations all became part of the visual story of their day.

My approach to wedding photography is primarily documentary, which means I’m not constantly interrupting moments to manufacture photographs. I’m watching for them as they naturally unfold. I’ll step in with direction when it’s helpful, especially for portraits, but much of the day is spent allowing Ruth, Leul, and the people they love to be fully present while I preserve what’s happening around them.

For couples planning an Ethiopian wedding in Seattle, that approach can be especially meaningful because so much of the story exists in community, movement, and tradition rather than a checklist of posed photographs.

Why I Photographed Ruth + Leul’s Wedding on 35mm Film

Film has a way of making ordinary moments feel like memories almost immediately.

Throughout Ruth and Leul’s Seattle wedding, I photographed with 35mm film alongside my digital cameras—not only for portraits and beautiful details, but for the imperfect, fleeting pieces of the day too. A crowded room. Someone reaching across a table. Family preparing food. Guests gathering outside. Sunlight falling across a face for only a second.

Those are often the frames that become my favorites.

There’s an honesty and softness to film that pairs naturally with the way I photograph weddings: less concerned with perfection and more interested in presence. Ruth and Leul’s wedding was full of color, texture, family, movement, and little moments happening everywhere, which made 35mm film feel especially at home in their story.

Candid Wedding Photography That Leaves Room for the Day to Happen

You shouldn’t have to spend your wedding day performing for your photographs.

My goal is to give couples imagery that is beautiful and artful without sacrificing the reality of what happened. That means Ruth and Leul’s gallery can hold the editorial portrait you’d want framed on a wall right alongside a slightly imperfect film photograph of family laughing, people gathered around the food, someone watching quietly from across the room, or an interaction that lasted only a few seconds.

Those in-between photographs matter to me because they’re often the ones that become more valuable with time.

Years from now, a photograph doesn’t only need to show you what everything looked like.

It should help you remember how it felt to be there.

Looking for an photographer that’s familiar with Ethiopian Weddings?

If you’re planning an Ethiopian wedding in Seattle—or a multicultural wedding anywhere in the Pacific Northwest—and you’re looking for a photographer who understands the importance of documenting both your relationship and the traditions and people surrounding it, I’d love to hear about what you’re planning.

I photograph weddings with a blend of candid documentary photography, editorial portraiture, digital imagery, and 35mm film, with an emphasis on preserving the people, traditions, and fleeting moments that can’t be recreated.

Ruth and Leul’s wedding is exactly why I love this approach: not simply a collection of beautiful photographs, but a record of who was there, what happened, and what it felt like to be part of it.