As the sun started to dry off the dripping leaves and warming the tops of the roofs I dove into the church to find Jennifer. It was so quiet and cold inside it froze me to the bone. Luckily I found Jennifer in the small nursery, heater blasting and looking stunning. Jennifer Walker of Face & Body Beauty was working away on making Jennifer's make up look just perfect. The day seemed so calm and peaceful. Most weddings seem so intense or at least active...yah, I think that is a good word.
Jennifer and Chuck have that quiet calm kind of love. The kind that seems as though it is a special secret between just the two of them. You can catch it when they look at each other in the eye or in the way that he gently touches her elbow as she introduces herself. Their love is just perfect and I was so thrilled to be able to capture it.



This photo is so simple, but I just love her eyes. Jennifer looked so beautiful that day and it all started with her peepers.









I won't claim to be a shoe person, but I did love her bright red heels. They were adorable...and yes I took loads of pictures of them.







I told you I love the heels.











During every ceremony I look to see what is going on behind me. Are there tears, laughter...or a child bored out of there mind? Oh yes, there he is.








Jennifer looking so hot.







St Edwards Episcopal Church
211 W Center St.
Silverton, OR 97381
503.873.6188
www.stedwardssilverton.org

Willamette Valley Event Center
210 Monroe St.
Mt. Angel, OR 97362
503.873.9979 ext.22
www.woodennickel.com

DJ-Bandito
TonyCandelaria@Gmail.com
805-680-4271

Jennifer Walker of Face & Body Beauty
503.708.9318
Jennifer@FaceBodyBeauty.com
www.FaceBodyBeauty.com

Suzette Cakes
503.873.9614

Okay, I am going to go ahead and throw this out there. That's right I am going to sacrifice myself for the greater good. It seems like every photo shoot we go on it comes up. The fact that I am not photogenic at all. Seriously, it really is a problem of mine and no one really believes me. I think there is an idea out there that ONE...photographers photograph only super models who know how to display themselves are super sexy like and TWO....that they themselves are amazing to photograph. It's not true. I can definitely relate to that, "do I look like a dork when I do THIS?" look. I pose couple after couple and as soon as I get in front of a camera I loose it.
Eddie has this fun game of trying to capture my worst picture of the day. He got bored with trying to capture the best....they don't come that often. So he started the new game. So, every wedding, engagement or portrait session there is a plethora of beautiful images of me.

Here is the first one I found. This isn't even the worst of the worst. I think it is more of a challenge to find a picture with both of my eyes open than it is to find a great shot like this.



See you are not the only one!!!!

Here are a few images that Eddie took from this weekend. He takes so many pics that it seems as though I have hired a camera crew to capture my adventures. That's why there is always so many shots of me and Lucy.
Check out Lucy's lip in this pic...it always get's stuck and it just melts my heart.





Just me and my dog.



I am a little obsessed. I know.



I wasn't sure if I should put this one in, but I love seeing her face so tweeked.



She is a jumping fool.



So cheese.





The sand was so amazing! I wanted to take millions of pictures, but they just weren't that interesting. I guess you had to be there.





The weather was so incredible and no one was there. LOVED it!



My favorite.

I think it's kind of like drinking and driving. I shouldn't blog tired. I'm sure my grammar is all gizabbled and my spelling all wack, but it's the perfect activity right before bed. Tonight we shot an amazing wedding at First Baptist Church for Christina and Reuben. They are two amazing people who seriously know how to throw a party. I think this is the first time that we have seen the entire room get up and dance and I mean everyone. My feet were aching like crazy, but I was having so much fun watching everyone that I hardly noticed. Christina is Puerto Rican...I think....I can't believe I don't know because I feel like I know everything else about her. Anyway, she has that spicy, sexy thing about her where she rolls her R's and dances like a vixen. She was so fun to photograph. I can't wait to finish their pictures so we can share them with all of you. All, I know is that the party ended, Christina and Reuben left and everyone was still hanging out in the reception hall. So sweet.

Here's a shots from their engagement session to refresh your memory.

We get asked all the time, "Is it really worth doing?" Because we feel so strongly about the topic, I decided that I would address the issue of the first look.
Eddie and I opted to see each other prior to the ceremony. This moment was super important to us, so we decided to do something special. First, we told everyone to get lost so that we could see each other for the first time all by ourselves. There we sat next to the lake for almost 10 minutes just looking at each other, praying and absorbing what was about to happen. We didn't know that we were doing something that photographers call the "first look." It's brilliant. Instead of experiencing this special moment in front of all your guests where you can't hug or share words you can do it in a totally private way.
From a photographers point of view, we love that we can capture your emotions with out a ton of people in the way and most of all it helps with time. If you opt to see each other prior to the ceremony you can do all your pictures before too. That means that you have a lot of time, no stress and you get all the pictures that you want. One hour after the ceremony is no enough time. It can be done, but it's very rushed and you tend to miss out on photos.
If you have questions, feel free to ask us? WE love talking about it....we are pretty passionate about these kind of things!

"Ooh, your hair smells so....so....guavafantastic." Wait a minute. Did I really just say that. I took a split second to think about what I just said. Should I make a joke about it or just roll with it all cool like. I chose to roll with it. Everyone laughed and made comments about how that statement was sooo me. I know that I am a pretty big nerd, but I didn't think that everyone else knew it to. I guess I liked thinking that everyone thought I was super cool. I guess it's time to admit that I am a big enough nerd that I create words that don't mean anything, but are just sooo me. Oh, well...that's how I roll.

And since I just have to have a photo here is another shot of Cheryll & Josh's wedding. Coming Soon!

This picture really is special to me for a few reasons. One, I absolutely love Jackie and the new found friendship we have. Two, this was one of the first weddings that Eddie and I did where we were allowed full freedom to shoot as we pleased. What do I mean by that? Well, Jackie and Scott basically looked at us with those gorgeous and excited eyes and said..."okay it's all yours." They gave us over an hour to photograph just the two of them and was willing to go to the end of the world to give us full creative freedom. We were traveling down the small streets of Forest Grove stopping here and there when Jackie yanked me inside of a small ice cream shop. It was totally unique and so perfect! We shot several images as I reflected on the many paintings of Norman Rockwell. This image was my favorite and a fond memory of the day where we were finally free to shine. Thanks guys!!

Every inch of my legs ache as if I am a 60 year woman who just ran a marathon. Two days ago a bunch of our friends put on our cleats and headed out to a muddy field to play flag football. People ended up in bushes, got poked in the eye and and all of us were covered in mud. It was so much fun, but the next day...Super Bowl Sunday...we were all moaning in pain. At least we were all together instead of displaying our embarrassing misery with other people.

I don't have any pics from the glorious event, but I do have a sneak peek from Cheryll and Josh's wedding.

I kissed Eddie good bye, grab my camera and set off for the mall. I was looking for a swanky new salon called Gene Juarez somewhere inside. I missed the salon and continued to walk towards the smell of warm pretzels and novelty shops, because I was daydreaming about the wedding that was about to start. We hadn't met Cassie + Brian before so I was doing my usual "what's she gonna be like" thought process. I saw a gal enter the salon with a smile too big to have anything to do with a fresh trim and I knew it was her. Vibrant red hair and the most flawless skin I have ever seen. I was so jealous. Cassie turned out to be thee most chill bride I have ever witnessed and I still think back to that day and laugh at just how calm she was.

Cassie & Brian met on a dating site a few years earlier as so many people are doing these days. Simple conversations turned into exciting hints of new love. After months of picking each others brains Cassie picked up the phone not once, but twice trying to finally hear the voice of this Brian guy. She was way too nervous and hung up. Who hasn't been there, right? Eventually they connected and their conversations quickly grew from yes and no answers to lengthy talks about life and everything else. They eventually had to go their separate ways as life came in between them and he moved to what seemed like the other side of the world.
Cassie had feared that Brian was coming back into town to say one final good bye. She knew it was the end. Then right there, just like in the movies, Brian looked Cassie in the eyes and apologized for all the pain he had put her through. "Cassie, I never want to hurt you again I love you so much and I have finally decided on what I want. I want you! Will you marry me."









I love to hear the perspectives of the bride & grooms that we work with. We have our own view of the day, but it's so neat to hear about their experience. When we asked Cassie & Brian about their favorite moments they both responded that they loved seeing each other for the first time. She remembered how his chin was quivering as he started to tear up. Being the chill bride that she is she stuck her tongue out at him.



Okay, so the leaves are gorgeous...but, I LOVE her red hair against the fall colors. So gorgeous!



Like I said Cassie looked so beautiful.









At every wedding there is a child who wants to check us out. For some reason I just love these extreme close ups.





Cassie & Brian got married at the Renton Senior Center in Renton, Washington.
Renton Senior Center
-The center was surprising big and had some nice place along the river to take pictures.
211 Burnett Ave. North
Renton, WA 98057
425.430.6633
www.rentonwa.gov

She got all done up at Gene Juarez salon in South Center Mall
-This salon was amazing! It's a very large place, but you can tell that all of their stylists are the best of the best. They did an amazing job on Cassie's hair and really pushed to make sure that she got exactly what she wanted.
280 Southcenter Mall
Tukwila, WA 98188
206.431.8888
www.genejuarez.com