Tis the season for love.

Kerisha + Dustin were given an engagement photoshoot from another client…an incredible gift for both them and me.  After a YEAR of telecommuting their love, Dustin popped the question at Pittock Mansion, so it was a beautiful given we would head up there for photos over the Thanksgiving weekend.

As much fun as I was having during the course of the first half of our shoot, when Kerisha and Dustin emerged from their wardrobe change for the second half, I was transported back in time to an era of lawn parties and croquet games.  The only thing missing was Faulkner casually dropping into a few photos, mint julep in hand.

During the course of a seemingly ceaseless streak of grey November days, there was a break in the rain and for a brief moment, a groom spied his bride, and all was right with the world.  So the two of them shared an amazing fall day with one another, their families, and close friends, perched on the side of the Columbia River Gorge…and promised to love each other to the end of time.

Morgan and Jeff needed little more than three weeks time, the mad planning skills of Debbie from Hitched In The Hood and a setting that truly showcases the beauty of the Gorge, the Columbia Gorge Hotel.  Because everything else, including the brief sun, was gravy.

Thank you both so very much for the absolute honor.

Size {of your wedding} doesn’t matter. No, really, it doesn’t.

Because at the end of the day, whether there were 50 people at your wedding celebration, or 250, you’re still married either way.  And you’re still just as much in love.

Katie + Chris used to live in Portland, and now call Tennessee home.  But when they decided to come through town over the holidays and make official their commitment to one another on the Oregon Coast on New Year’s Day, they went looking for someone to capture the before + after of their intimate gathering, and I gladly jumped at the chance.

The morning was spent in a most leisurely fashion, chatting, sipping coffee, reading the paper, and oh yeah, getting ready to get married.  We sent them on their way with a small entourage, then regrouped that evening for a wonderful and most delicious celebration at Il Piatto, complete with cakes {!!} from Pix Patisserie.  And in keeping alive Portland’s “Dream of the 90’s”, place settings that put a bird on it.

I am so grateful to have shared this day with them, and could not have imagined a better gift to start my New Year.  Thank you Katie + Chris!  Wishing you both a lifetime of New Years together.

I had the most incredible good fortune, thanks to Krista and her wizardry of networking + branding {see Made For Good}, of paying Santa Barbara a visit back in January for a commercial shoot {show + tell to come at a later date}, and in the course of this trip, was able to reconnect with my friend and her most amazing guy.

Krista + Ben are not so into schmoopy, but I just have to say, at the risk of not being invited back…my heart positively melts watching the two of them together.  They are so deserving of one another and I am over the moon the universe delivered them into each other’s lives.

Thank you both for allowing me to be a witness.

I first met with Amy + Eric in the darkness of winter and it was almost too much to envision a day in late September when the sun would shine again + these two would be married.

But shine it did.  And get married they did under beautiful blue skies at McMenamins Edgefield.

They met in high school and in the 10+ years since, have created a true partnership in every sense of the word.  They complement each other beautifully in a way that I’m sure will serve them well.  And they have folded their friends and family into that dynamic, which was clearly on display the day of their wedding.  “Team A+ E” was evident from the all hands on deck for the setup of the reception…to a collection of family friends officiating + lending their beautiful voices to the ceremony…to another friend serving as emcee + DJ.  And as well organized as that team was in all their preparations, they sure knew how to throw down at the end of the night and revel in their togetherness.

Amy + Eric, thank you so much for the honor of bearing witness to the beginning of the rest of your lives together.  I wish you much happiness together!