I would be remiss in not starting out by thanking our mutual friend + fellow photographer Brian Lee for his matchmaking skills.  Julie + John immediately felt like my kind of people when we agreed a drink at Clyde Common would be a good place to meet for the first time.  And then the six degrees of Portland separation thing sealed the deal as far as I was concerned.  I’m not ashamed to say, it was almost one of those “Pick me!  Pick me!” moments.

And their wedding day did not disappoint.  It was quintessential Portland, and involved everything you would expect and want from locals.  Julie + John, both teachers at Metropolitan Learning Center, a unique alternative school in NW Portland, struck the perfect chord in the balance of their own adorableness, fabulous community of friends + family {and might I add a good looking bunch}, and a most delicious celebration of local food + drink.

The ceremony was in the wooded + secluded Wedding Meadow up at Hoyt Arboretum, which involves a short hike {or bike} for arriving guests.  An acoustic guitar accompaniment was provided by another MLC teacher.  A fellow cyclist led the ceremony.  And then a reception hosted at Grochau Cellars {get thee post haste to the nearest wine shop if you haven’t had John’s Commuter Cuvee Pinot Noir} with an infusion of great toons spun throughout the night.  All capped off by a spectacular warm weather evening that can have you convinced it will never rain again in Portland and what were you so upset about in March anyway?

I was on a plane headed for the sweatbox known as DC for vacation less than six hours later, and I can’t imagine a better sendoff.

Congratulations Julie + John!   I wish you a lifetime of sweetness, and an abundance of friends + family, food + wine to share in it.

It was a dark + stormy…afternoon.  But in true Oregon style, Kristen + Will shared their vows + love + celebration as planned in their own backyard.  As they exchanged rings with one another, they also gave rings to each of their kids, a very touching and all encompassing embrace of their new family unit.  And extended family + friends had a hand in providing everything from food to flowers to music to chicken chasers.  It was a true “barn raising” of a wedding…and it was an incredible honor to be a part of their day.

I wish you both a lifetime of love through the rain.

My cheeks hurt at the end of the day.  Because you can’t help but smile when you’re taking pictures of two of the sweetest, most sincere people who could not be more in love and more excited to be married to one another.  The ear-to-ear grins they both had all day were proof of that.

Thank you so much JR + Sasha for sharing with me your day, your friends + family, and your honest to goodness love.  You are two very unique and wonderful people and I wish you a lifetime of very unique and wonderful things.

Happy one week anniversary…

Who needs a studio, when you have this.  I don’t want to be giving away my sweet locations, because then everyone photographer in town will want to shoot there.  Let’s just say it rhymes with ‘trailer park’.

JR had spent the previous 10+ hours scanning country music stations on his drive up from the Bay Area.  And still they were game for any number of antics.  I’m so much looking forward to their May wedding.

Once upon a time on a Friday in April when the sun was so beautiful + bright + dearly missed that it brings a tear to your eye, Melissa + Lon flew in from Colorado to scope out Timberline Lodge and go over details for their September wedding.   In fact, the sun was so bright and the snow so, well, white, it was difficult to spend much time in the actual out of doors without serious eye protection.  {tho said eye protection does provide for some fun reflective images}.

Thank you so much to the both of you, and your most endearing and wonderful chauffers, for sharing some of your time with me.  I can’t wait for September.

It was truly a magical morning.  The incessant northwest rain stopped, the clouds parted, and someone flipped the switch on the sun as if we were on the set of a movie in a make believe Portland.  Seriously.  It could not have been any more perfect and Amy + Eric could not have been any sweeter.  It is not easy to suddenly “turn it on” for the camera, in front of complete strangers jogging along the Eastbank Esplanade, and especially if you don’t get paid a bajillion bucks an hour.  But these two were absolute troopers and you wouldn’t know they don’t do this sort of thing for a living.

Thank you both so very much.  I can’t wait for your Edgefield wedding in September!!

Under a blazing late September sun, five years to the day I did the same, Ben and Emily said ‘I do’ under a canopy of trees on the family farm.  It was a uniquely beautiful wedding that drew on the many talents of family + friends.  Emily’s mom designed the flowers.  Her sister Amanda put together an incredible collection of mini bundt cakes, all displayed on a fabulous desert candelabra built by Ben’s brother.  Ben’s sister Kathryn cooked up a host of fabulous appetizers. And friends pitched in with their music talents, roasting skills, as well as some tasty home brew dedicated to the bride + groom.

What a wonderful way to begin the rest of your life.  What an honor to share an anniversary with two incredible people.

Catering: Cook With What You Have + Loustic Catering Cakes: Robots Love Cupcakes