It’s been almost a year since I shot Kailee and Joey’s engagement session but it was definitely worth the wait!  The day started downtown at Hotel Fifty, one of my favorite places in portland to shoot “getting ready” pictures.  I had been crossing my fingers for dry weather but Portland didn’t really cooperate. Luckily, the bride and grom were a pair of  troopers and with the aid of the hotel lobby, the parking garage and a big black golf umbrella we still managed to get some great ‘urban-esque’ shots. 

Kailee did an amazing job on all the wedding details, accomplishing a perfect blend simplicity and elegence. After shooting downtown we headed across the river to Sellwood for a perfect and intimate ceremony at the Oaks Pioneer Church a beautifully restored 160 year old church from Oregon’s pioneer days.

The reception was just down the road at the Oaks Park Dance Pavillion and was absolutely awesome. The ring bearer wins two awards for the night: 1) best dancer, and 2) worst cup-cake thief  (see below). Rex with 1st Choice DJ Entertainment did an amazing job (as he has every time I’ve worked with him) of keeping the dance floor hoppin. It didn’t take long for the ladies to ditch their shoes, which made for one of my favorite reception shots of the night, even though it was not an easy one to get crawling with my big ‘ol pregnant belly. 

It was a great day – so very full of love, laughter, and fun. Kailee and Joey, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the priviledge of being a part of such a beautiful milestone in your lives.

It was a  chilly January wedding day in Salem, but Erica and Mike didn’t flinch. We made our way from the Capitol building to Downtown and then off to Waterfront Park snapping great shots all along the way. Erica and the bridesmaids would bundle up between clicks and during posing but when it came time to get the shot, they shed the extra layers and looked like seasoned models.

The reception was held at the Grand Ballroom downtown, and was as gorgeous as I’ve seen it. They have one of my most favorite dance floors of any venue I’ve worked and it didn’t dissapoint. The paper laterns and twinkle lights created incredible lighting scheme and a great ambiance – I even brought one of my big studio strobes along for some extra dramatic lighting during the dancing. I love taking dance pictures with the strobe, it really gives a ‘spot-light’ type of feel to the pictures and it offers some extra creative flexibility.

Another one of my favorite parts of the night was when I got the chance to take Erica and Mike outside the Ballroom to get some low light stuff under Salem’s cool downtown street lighting. There’s something about shooting in the dark without a flash that makes for an extra romantic, movie-like quality to a picture. Ever since the low-light workshop with Art, I can’t get enough of it.

It was a great day and a blast of a wedding.  A couple months back I was a little worried about how my pregnant body was going to hold up during all my winter weddings but so far, apart from some extra sore feet, I think I’ve handled it like a champ!  :)   Thanks Erica and Mike, for trusting me with your big day – your pictures turned out amazingly and I can’t wait for you to see the rest.

As a Portland wedding photographer, there aren’t many times I get to shoot in the snow…but this was one of them.

Megan and Joe (and the entire wedding party for that matter) were great sports as I paraded them around the temple grounds for pictures in the middle of Portland’s first snow storm of the winter (a bit of a stretch to call it a storm I know).  It came down in big, soft, fluffy flakes that photographed wonderfully. What a treat to have snow filled wedding pictures! It’s definitely not  something many other Oregon brides can say.

Photos at the Temple went oh so smoothly and the reception down at the Green Villa Barn near Salem was equally perfect. They had wood stoves set up all along the walls (guess where I stood when I wasn’t shooting) making the barn an incredibly welcoming and cozy place to celebrate their new vows.

I also had a chance to meet Michael Jensen, a very talented videographer from Antelope, CA. He was easy to work with and put together an amazing “same-day” wedding video that was shown at the reception. There should be some video clips from the day up on his website soon.

Here’s a few of my favorites – I sure wish it would snow more often!

Corey and I shot our second to last wedding of 2009  just before Christmas out in Oregon City. Beth and Taylor were adorable and an absolute blast to spend the day with. We spent much of the day doing pictures downtown on Main Street near the old Courthouse (an amazing spot for photography btw) wandered through the nearby Oregon City Winter Farmer’s Market and got some great shots. We even ran into my inlaws (who are Oregon City residents) which was a fun coincidence. The rain held off just long enough to get some great wedding party shots on the courthouse steps – I absolutely adore the pink umbrellas.

There’s something extra special about cold wintery weddings, especially ones so close to Christmas. Somehow it makes them feel even more magical. It was also fun bonus that Beth and Taylor got married in the same church that I did (Oregon City Evangelical Church) it brought back all kinds of great memories!

The genuine love, happiness, and contentment that Beth and Taylor have is an amazing thing to witness and photograph. They were such a fun couple and I’m thrilled for them and the many happy years they have in store.

Here are a few from the day, Enjoy!

Here’s another of my recent favorites – Corey and I spent the day out at Cascade Locks shooting Courtney and Kevin’s wedding. It’s gotta be one of the most beautiful venues in Oregon! From the amazing view of the Bridge of the Gods, to the bright blue sparkling waters of the Columbia River everywhere I looked it seemed like I was taking in another breathtaking scene. The ceremony took place on Thunder Island in Marine Park overlooking the river, one of the most picturesque ceremonies I’ve ever worked.  My photos from the day were also featured on So This is Bliss - one of the NW’s best wedding blogs, so if you’d like to see Misty’s take on the day click on over and say hello.

Well, one of the fringe benefits of being so busy that I barely had time to breathe for the last 6 months is that I now have a mountain of amazing, unseen blog material just waiting in the wings.

Today I’d like you to meet Cat and Marshall, an adorable couple who met out in Missouri at College and came back to Oregon (Cat’s original home) for their wedding out at Brittonridge B&B. The weatherman said that it was probably going to rain, but the day turned out perfectly with the lite overcast clouds acting as my own personal softbox.

Of all the weddings I shot this year, I think I’ve got to give Cat the award for most creative and detail oriented bride I worked with – whether it was embroidering everyone custom hankies, sewing bridesmaid purses from scratch, making her own garter, hand making her escort cards, personalized and color coordinated baby bibs and hats, she even made her own wedding logo out of an olive branch – and that’s just the condensed list.

The wedding party was an absolute blast to work with! There’s something about a bunch of Missourian groomsmen that makes everything extra funny. We took a quick drive from the B&B to an apple orchard for wedding party pictures which ended up being a perfect setting especially with the parasols.

The ceremony was gorgeous, complete with a guitarist and banjo player providing the soundtrack. One of the most touching moments of the day was when Cat’s dad (who was in a cast up to his knee and not even supposed to be standing) threw caution to the wind and walked her down the aisle in spite of doctors warnings.

Cat and Marshall’s photography package included their digital negatives and Cat did a great job of putting together a blog devoted entirely to her wedding day. There’s a ton more pictures there and some great commentary if you’re interested.