A Winter Wedding: Chad and Teressa {Portland Wedding Photographer}

We woke up to snow falling this morning. "Snow day!" I thought to myself, and enjoyed the slow of a normally-crazed morning. Being from sunny Cal, I've never known days like this until moving to Oregon, and even then, its not too often that we are treated to beautiful snow.

Speaking of winter...I'll share another love-post for the month of February.

Chad and Teressa had longed for a winter wedding. And a beautiful December wedding it was. Their day was reminiscent of all things winter--the colors, the decorations, and the joyous thought of Christmas just around the corner.

It was a high of about 40 degrees that day, with expected 35 mph winds. Talk about cold for a native Californian. These guys were troopers, braving the winds and dodging passing trains for pictures. I was fortunate to have the talent of Jason shooting alongside me, as we captured a celebration of an incredible love.

We were welcomed indoors to a ceremony that was cozy and warm, marked by a new stage in their love and fond memories of their past. Both friends and family danced away the evening, while the winds whirled outside. It didn't matter that the temps had dropped to freezing by that point, all that mattered was inside that building.

A love rooted in friendship. Two people made one.

Now that's something to celebrate.

Vanessa and Phanith {Portland Engagement Photographer}

My husband says I am too wordy. "I am a chick," I tell him, rolling my eyes. "What else would you expect?" I don't take challenges lightly, so to prove him wrong, I set out to find a single word to describe Vanessa and Phanith.

I could easily say a thousand words about any of the couples that I get to photograph. But to choose ONE? A single one? Lucky for me though, this one was a no-brainer.

Adored.

There you have it. Adored. And it doesn't take a heavy camera to figure that one out.

You could see it on his face the entire time we were together. You could see it in his touch, hear it in his voice, and notice it as they kissed. There was an unmistakable feeling that you got around them, knowing that it was a love meant to be. Its a privilege to be able to capture that on camera...and know the depth of their love behind it.

I am so honored to be able to photograph their traditional Cambodian-American wedding ceremony this summer. It'll be an incredible day...tying together two lives, two families, and two cultures. And in a beautiful way.

Adored.

So there, honey.

Chris and Shannon {Portland Engagement Photographer}

I am behind on blogging, I know. You should see my laundry pile. And if we have tacos one more night this month, I think I may have to start looking for another husband, as well.

This cool, rainy weather has given me a chance to get caught up on things. I had realized some time ago that in the busyness of Fall, I had never had a chance to blog about how I spent my days. There wasn't much I could do about it back then, after all, with as beautiful as Oregon gets in those autumn months, you don't waste a minute when you could be outside!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to introduce the couples that have the most exciting few months ahead of them. This Valentine's Day will mark their last one before they are husband and wife!

The first couple that I will introduce to you is one of the very first to ring in this summer with a wedding. And in a big way.

It'll be the largest wedding that I have shot, and maybe will ever shoot. They don't mess around with these things in Pendleton. It may be a small town, but its full of people with big hearts.

And Chris and Shannon are no exception.

The moment I met them, I knew that this gorgeous couple was meant for each other. Something about the way that their personalities complemented each other, and shared the same hearty values was the perfect foundation for what would be an amazing love.

An amazing love.

I'm looking forward to heading out to Pendleton for a few days this June. Its an honor to photograph their wedding, and just as joyous, will be meeting their parents, siblings, and scores of family and friends that will fill that small town.

Because if they are anything like these two, its going to be a simply glorious day.

Reflecting on 2010

I recently returned home from spending Christmas in California with our family. Over the course of the week that we were there, so many of them asked, "How's the photography?"

Poor family. They likely hadn't bargained for the earful I'd soon give them.

There's just no easy way to describe this year, its been amazing to say the least. I look back at the files on my computer with fond memories of everything that we've celebrated this year. Beautiful couples joining together in marriage, new parents welcoming longed-for babies, talented high school seniors ready to enter the world, and families cherishing the children that seem to grow up all too quickly.

You see, these people aren't clients, they are friends. Some of these friends I have known for the past two years, some I met just last week but feel like I've known them forever.

When I tried my hand at photography as a weekend hobby two years ago, I knew exactly what I would set out to do. I would take and edit pictures. What I didn't know, nor could ever imagine, was the amazing relationships that would come from doing just that.

I came in the door a few days ago, and took off my cowboy boots, bought after two trips to a small town 4 hours east of Portland to shoot two weddings there this summer. "I have to fit in," I reasoned to my husband, "if I ever get to go back." I slid them off with a boot jack, graciously given to me by a family I photographed days before Christmas, after commenting how handy theirs was in getting my winter-wet boots off without hopping all over the place. I turned to put the boots away, and saw Christmas cards on my entry door, smiling as I recall circumstances of the days that we took those pictures. I then read an email that night, and yet another one of these friends had inquired about my husband's job situation after he was laid off this past summer.

Talk about blessed.

I couldn't even begin to give justice to what I've been privileged to do this year. Those poor relatives would get just a speckling of what I do, but will never know how much fun it was to dodge pouring rain, sweat away the afternoon with new parents in a steamy hot house while trying to get a stubborn newborn to sleep, and the lengths that we'd all go in trying to get a kiddo to give me a real smile. They might not know that I get goosebumps the moment wedding guests stand in unison, welcoming a bride down the aisle. Or that so many of these parents are role models for me, in how I strive to raise my own children. Or that just as they are, they stand some of the most incredible people I know.

I am forever thankful that you've allowed me to share in these moments with you. I often wonder what I've done to deserve the honors of being with you throughout this year. You've treated me like family and welcomed me into your homes, all of which I cherish more than you'll know.

Thank you for making this year so special...I wish you all a glorious, blessed 2011!

Ya'll know I can't wait to see you.

Take a look at the year here