Take one part bubbles + two parts cupcakes {preferably pink} + Princess Belle, party dresses and nail polish included + one part princess pinata…and you get one very happy-to-be-turning-4 little girl.
Last weekend was upside down crazy busy. And as much as I *loved each and every job, I’ve been upside down crazy busy with edits ever since. The upside to edits, however, being that I get to share the results with all two of you…two being the optimists guess at the number of people reading this blog {every bloggers fear}.
My Saturday started with one of my favorite events of the year, the Oregon Humane Society Doggie Dash. Last year they had over 4,000 participants of the two-legged kind…making it at least 8,000 total if I’m doing my dog-math correctly…and this year I believe they surpassed it, raising over $300,000 to benefit Oregon animals in need.
My next event of the day was a princess party, followed by an auction to benefit Ethiopian Orphan Relief. The thread of course being that despite the insanity of the day and corresponding mountain of edits, I was surrounded by people making other people {and pets} very happy.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
this next guy reminded me of Sgt. Floyd Pepper from Electric Mayhem…
and how can you NOT smile back….
There was lots of love in the room last Thursday at the Oregon Humane Society celebration of pet and people heroes, hosted at the historic Governor Hotel. With 350 attendees, they raised over $125,000 in less than an hour. And amongst the five Diamond Collar honorees, all of whom make amazing contributions on behalf of fuzzy faced friends, was one who really touched me. Maty, a three legged Australian shepherd, who once “worked” as a blood donor dog, but now [amongst other things] is a nanny dog to ferral kittens.
Hmm. I wonder if she can come help nanny my 3 year old and 7 year old kittens of the two legged variety.
Check out this link to read more about the event and the pets + people who were honored. And note that with the exception of Maty and Midnight, who were both recognized, all of the animals shown below are currently up for adoption at OHS! Speaking from personal experience, pets can make life-changing companions…and occasionally, nannies.
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
We just spent the last two weeks traveling to the Greater Metropolitan of Minneapolis, a most fabulous city…in August. And in addition to the family farm in Earlham, Iowa, just west of Des Moines. My husband’s grandparents were celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary with a weekend of weenie roasts and ice cream socials with 250+ of their closest family + friends. For the entirety of their 70 years together, they’ve lived on and worked the same farm his grandfather grew up on. Pretty remarkable feat considering I’ve changed addresses 9 TIMES since my move to Portland in 1996.
I can’t imagine 70 years of my own company, let alone alongside the company of another. When Grandma Avis was asked what it takes to keep a love and marriage going, I overheard her response ”Well, sometimes one person has to give more than 50% and sometimes the other one has to give more. And that’s just how it goes.”
I hope I don’t have to wait another 65 years to get all the people I love into one room. I also hope I have the fortune of finding my own answers to life + love in one simple sentiment.
Thank you so much Grandma Avis + Grandpa Beryl for showing us how it’s done.
And now for my very first slideshow featuring a few of my favorites. Apologies for the load time.
According to Wikipedia, the word Polterabend comes from the German verb “poltern” (to make a racket) + German noun “abend” (evening). Now having witnessed it, I probably could have told you that without looking it up, and I don’t speak German.
The racket involves a lot of porcelain getting chucked onto the bride’s driveway, meant to bring good luck to the newly married couple. *And if you’re any good at math, you’ll know that the more broken porcelain there is, the more luck you’ll have. So there’s also a lot of sweeping for the couple while their friends and family stand around chucking even more plates, and cups, and vases.
The cleanup symbolizes the effort they must make together when facing adversity in their marriage. This message was really driven home upon the third round.
So if Saturday night was any indication, there will be much luck + love + unity in their future.
Congratulations Livia + Don. You passed the test.
The evening started civil enough….
Where porcelain comes from. A porcelain garden of course.
The first pitch.
As a documentary photographer, not only do I have the fabulous job of, amongst other things, photographing weddings, but occasionally I also have the *luxury* of being a 2nd shooter for some other incredibly talented, local wedding photographers Brian Lee, Bob Libby, and Heaven McArthur of Green Chair Studio. Second shooting goes a little like this… Them: Hey Andrea, would you like to come shoot a wedding with me next month? I need you to spend the day taking pictures of the groom while I’m with the bride, get detail shots while I’m shooting formals, and otherwise take general rockstar candids throughout the night. And don’t worry about the edits, I’ll handle them. Me: Why yes, I would love to help you!
But more important than the fact I get to skip out of post-production, I truly enjoy the opportunity to work with such stellar photographers.
A few weeks back, Bob asked me to join him at Portland’s own World Trade Center for the wedding of Michelle + Neil. Despite MONTHS of rain, the evening was glorious, the bride was glowing, she and the groom were moved to tears on more than one occasion, and the dancing was downright fantastic.
Thanks so much to Bob for allowing me to be a part of the celebration and share a few of candids from their joyous beginning.
