cassie + john (engagement)

while living in new york this past year, i got to know an amazing couple- cassie and john. from the first time we met for coffee to their engagement shoot in the spring, family shoot with her immediate family, and then their wedding in late june it was evident to me that their relationship is made of some beautiful things.



when watching the two of them through my lens, the words that came to my mind were the following:

passion
mutual respect
enjoyment
excitement
friendship
romance
fun







isn't that what we all want when it comes to love?











so much laughter... their joy is contagious. :)





over a matter of months i found myself having such a great time with this amazing couple. they're just the kinds of people that are a pleasure to know. full post detailing their beautiful wedding coming soon!

hot hot HOT

today in portland, temps have been over 100 degrees. HOLY SMOKES. :) this is ridiculously rare in the temperate pacific northwest, and all day i've been editing wedding photos with a big box fan pointed right at me. phew! toasty warm. :) soon i'm going to cool off in a nice refreshing pool, but before i get ready to go i just wanted to pop in and say hello. the settling process is still happening here for me, and although i think of blogging quite often, the whole transition of moving and figuring out all the ins and outs of running my own business have kept me super busy. but- know that i appreciate the fact that you check in here, and i haven't forgotten. i think i just haven't yet found a good blogging routine... i'm working on it. :)

have a nice tall glass of ice water and think of me. :)
n

andrew + lilly (wedding)

well, i'm (very happily) on the other side of the country.

thanks for your patience and sorry for the blog silence as i was a) prepping to move, b) moving, and c) settling in! believe it or not i shot my first wedding on the west coast 4 days after i arrived and had a blast. it's really great to be jumping in with work right away... although unpacking and organizing definitely does take a back seat. :)

down to business! i have a LOT of blogging to catch up on- a lot of photos to share. to start, i wanted to show you photos from andrew and lilly's wedding in upstate new york about a month ago. i first shot this couple when we did their engagement photos (bravely) in the middle of ridiculous cold which is characteristic of a new york winter! we took them on the college campus where they met, and thankfully there were places indoors where we could spend most of our time. after i got the photos back from this session, i KNEW they'd be a fantastic looking couple on their wedding day!

one of the things i loved the most about andrew and lilly's wedding was the way they incorporated aspects of their heritage throughout. they are a very modern, trendy couple... but they both very much appreciate the traditions of their past. i could tell that these traditions were meaningful to the two of them and also to their families.



i arrived at the church VERY early to shoot the girls as they got ready for the 10am wedding. by the time i'd arrived i think they'd had plenty of coffee- everyone was alive :) and excited about the day!



in the "sneak peek" blog, i'd mentioned that the father of the bride made the groom's wedding band- this is the amateur jeweler himself! the nicest, kindest man. i heard a rumor that his wife has multiple wedding sets (also made by her husband) that she can wear, depending on what she feels like that day. :) very fun.



















the cake was absolutely breathtaking and matched the color of the bridesmaids' dresses exactly!







these guys know how to party! :) serenading the bride with a little kc & jojo.



the entire group at the reception! my favorite: the guy in back who couldn't help but wave. hello there! :)



all in all: a wonderful, beautiful day. thanks lilly and andrew, for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing event. i wish you the best as you start your life together!

m-to-the-oving

so.

i've kind of dropped off the face of the earth. :)

i know, i know. but don't give up on reading this blog yet, because it's about to pick up again very shortly.

see, right now i am not only in the middle of starting this amazing business, but also preparing to move across the country in one week. yikes! :) it's been crazy but wonderful getting all of this off the ground.

in the next week i'll be focusing on sorting, packing, shipping, and saying goodbyes.

soon afterwards, i hit the ground running with four weddings in oregon/washington within my first month back in the pacific northwest. can't wait!

look for upcoming blogs featuring families, couples, and weddings. maybe a post or two about my transition back to oregon as well. :) thanks for keeping an eye on what's happening with my photography and i look forward to sharing everything i've been doing very soon!

rad dads

to all of you dads out there...









... happy father's day. the time you spend investing in your kids is worth SO much.

to my own dad:



you are the best. through my whole life you haven't been perfect, but you've done your best to provide for me, love me, encourage and support me even in the times when you would've done things differently. i am the luckiest girl to have a father like you who is funny, thoughtful, kind, loving, smart, and an amazing example of the kind of person i'd like to be. happy father's day.

sneak peek! (lilly + andrew)

happy sunday afternoon to you!

today is pretty busy... i've got a few family shoots very shortly, but as i was sitting here eating some chocolate chip cookie dough soy ice cream (i need my strength! ha :)) and checking my email, i thought i'd also post a picture from yesterday's wedding.

lilly and andrew got married yesterday (congratulations!) and what i loved about their celebration was how many traditions and emphasis on heritage there was throughout the wedding. this photo is the groom's wedding band- the one he was expecting (the darker titanium one to the left) and the actual band, which was a total surprise to him from his bride. it incorporates both traditional and black diamonds throughout the design and was made BY THE BRIDE'S FATHER. he makes jewelry as a hobby. how cool is that?!



you should've seen the look on the groom's face during the ceremony as he saw the surprise ring, and then looked straight at his new father-in-law to thank him. what a beautiful moment.

and one more, a bonus shot. here's the bride's boquet-posted for no reason other than it's b-e-a-utiful. :)



hope you're having a great weekend! :) until next time...

lindsay + jeff (wedding)

on may 30th, i had the privilege of shooting the wedding of a college friend named lindsay and her fiance jeff. i knew from the start it was going to be a small, intimate ceremony on the beautiful grounds of tanglewood in lenox, massachusetts. i loved how these guys thought outside the box and made the day fully theirs- from the location to the colors to size of the crowd. i think the final head count was 19, including myself as photographer and the pastor who married the two of them. i think every single person attending could say that an amazing time was had.

the night before, jeff and lindsay's families hosted a fun cookout at the house they were renting for the weekend. tons of food and an opportunity to get to know everyone who'd be at the wedding on saturday.





the next morning, everyone began getting ready to head over to tanglewood. the flowers were done by the bride, and she did an amazing job!











jeff and lindsay both looked amazing... and they seemed pretty happy to be getting married. :)







after a slight scare when a perfect weather forecast turned to 30% chance of rain, the day of the wedding they were ridiculously blessed with an absolutely stunning day.





LOVE this moment right after they were pronounced husband and wife:



something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. :)

















the scenery was incredible! we spent so much time after the ceremony wandering around to different corners of tanglewood taking photos. kind of a dream for a photo junkie like me. :) later, we went over to a restaurant in town for some great food and conversation. the bride and groom added many personal touches to the reception site, such as the beautiful centerpieces they put together themselves, and the personalized placecards made from a photo of the person who'd be sitting in each spot.













lindsay and jeff- it was so awesome to be a part of your wedding. incredibly fun with gorgeous surroundings, and it was so moving to see the love and deep friendship between the two of you. congratulations! :)