9.15.007 Naomi & Aaron "Can't Help Falling In Love!"

It's taken me far longer to get to this blog entry than I intended- I apologize to everyone I told to check it "in a few days!" As excited as I've been to share these photos with the world, I needed to collect my thoughts after spending such a wonderful weekend away. I'm not sure I've ever had more fun in a more beautiful place with so many warm, loving and genuinely happy people! Naomi may have been the quintessential glowing bride but I truly felt I was glowing with happiness right alongside her! She has found such a perfect mate in Aaron that I can not help but be elated for her : )

Having called Naomi "friend" since we were five years old, it was absolutely thrilling for me to document the entire weekend for Aaron and her. Their wedding is and will remain among the greatest highlights of my life, not to mention of my career as a photographer! Any photographer will tell you that the more comfortable your subjects are in your presence, the better the resulting images will be. (Of course it goes without saying that it definitely helps when the people you're shooting actually LOVE working the camera, which is the case with Naomi and all of her sisters!) While looking through their pictures I've been worried that shooting weddings in the future might be a bit anticlimactic for me. I've decided the best thing I can do is learn from the experience and find ways to better get to know future brides and grooms so I can create images as beautiful as these for them too.

To Naomi and Aaron... I love you both dearly! You are both such awesome people and I am so happy you found each other. Yours was such a beautiful ceremony I really could not help but shed tears! The presence of love for the two of you on the lawn of the Rosemary Inn was so inspiring and I am so very thankful I was there to be touched by it. I wish you a lifetime filled with such love. Now... bring on the babies! I can't wait to do your maternity shoot! : )

Cheers to Nancy & Anthony! 9.8.2007

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Nancy & Anthony at their lovely home in Bellingham.

In the past I have been a bit concerned about how to make each couple's wedding photos unique, but after shooting a few of them this season, I've quickly learned there is no reason for concern on my part. The setting, the carefully chosen details and the character of the individuals participating in the event will always make each one unique. All I have to be concerned with is documenting the scene and encouraging everyone to feel comfortable being themselves with me!

Nancy & Anthony's wedding provided many distinctinve details to set it apart from any other... the bag piper, family members dressed in kilts, the ceremonial tying of the knot and the cutest baby in a tux EVER, all set against the lush green forest in their back yard made theirs a most memorable event!

What you do for yourself, you do for others. What you do for others, you do for yourself.

Just when I thought I couldn't be happier about my work, along comes someone who reminds me that the very best thing about it is not the happiness it brings me, but the happiness it brings to others. This afternoon I received this beautiful message from Tee, the mother Alana, my most recent bride:

Thanks so much, you are the best! We have all been talking about the wedding since Sunday, and not only are your pictures beautiful and totally capture the moment, but having you there was like having a long time close friend around who just happened to take good pictures. I have been at weddings where the photographer was bossy and rude, and had to be in the middle and on top of everything. You blended in and were so awesome and easy-going, and your pictures are still outstanding. Your finger clicking is right on, not a second too late or too early, that is a great talent. You capture the emotion and the love a body and face generate, I am beside myself to see the rest of the photos and to have some hanging on my wall and to show off to my family and friends and people who probably don't want to see them (oh well, they can admire them anyway, even if they are some stranger I passed on the sidewalk!) I am a bit prejudiced, but I think Shaun, Alana, Kara and Tyson are the best in whole world. I am a very proud mom! Thanks for being there, and transferring the true beauty of my kids onto a piece of photo paper. From my heart, you are the best ever. Tee

Now, I have received some very glowing words of thanks from clients before but I must say, this message takes the cake! After sending off my humble words of gratitude to Tee, I went out to the garden and resumed my digging project with an unreasonably huge smile on my face. Within a minute I had collapsed into the patio chair, sobbing! My son Asher overheard me and came to see if I was alright. I nodded through my tears and he said "You're just happy, aren't you?" I nodded again and grabbed his hand and said "This is what it looks like to love your work, Ash..." I can only hope someday he'll be as happy with his as I am with mine.

Later I shared the message from Tee with my lifelong friend Naomi whose wedding I will have the honor of shooting on September 15. Her response says it all: "Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place if everyone got compliments like that for their work?" Indeed.

Thank you, Tee. You have no idea how powerful your words are to this girl who is finally living her dream : )

Congratulations Alana & Ben and oh how I love my "job"!

Do you ever have those days at work when suddenly you are completely overcome by your love for your job? I experienced this phenomenon once again last evening after a full day of shooting Alana & Ben's wedding. It happened during the reception and went sort of like this... "OhmygoshI'mhavingsomuchfunIcan'tbelieveI'mWORKING!" If you're not familiar with this experience, it's time to find a new job! Speaking as a girl who's had her share of loathsome jobs, I truly wish everyone's work brought them as much happiness as mine now brings me!

I met Ben a few months ago when he was the oh-so-helpful manager of the Photo-Electronics department at the Fred Meyer store where I have prints made. Apparently he had seen enough of my work to approach me and ask if I ever did weddings. From there we were off and running!

I didn't meet Alana until we did their engagement shoot at Boulevard Park in July. The poor girl was so stressed by the wedding planning process that I asked her point blank why they weren't simply eloping! When Ben answered that it was so important to him to stand up in front of everyone he knew and loved to say "I choose this woman" I understood immediately why Alana was marrying him : )

It's so important to me that my clients feel comfortable with me that, after our first meeting, I admit I was a bit concerned about how Alana would respond to the stress of the wedding day but when I arrived at her apartment to begin the day of shooting, I found a comfortably relaxed bride - quite the opposite of me, I must say! My wedding day jitters begin the moment I wake up and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to overcome them. Apparently having the bride push a glass of wine in my hand as soon as I arrive is effective! (Thanks Lana!!)

I was quite nervous about this wedding because it was the biggest, most formal wedding I've done and the first I've ever shot inside a church. Despite being physically and mentally exhausted after seven whirlwind hours, I was so wired I could not sleep last night and I simply could not relax about the photos until I took my first peek earlier this afternoon. I had to call Ben and Alana straight away to tell them how ridiculously good the photos turned out! Looking back I'm sure I was feeling an extra bit of pressure after Ben confided to me that he'd turned down offers from several photographers wanting to shoot his wedding because he liked my work so much- how cool is that?! Good thing I shine under pressure!

I've pulled out a handful of my favorite shots to share with everyone... I can only hope that the images I captured somehow reflect for Alana and Ben the truly beautiful day they worked so hard to create.

To Alana & Ben... a simple "thank you" is not capable of expressing my gratitude for the opportunity to share your wedding day with you. Working my butt off has never been so much fun (and I really mean that!) Your friends and family were a joy to work with and the love surrounding the two of you was so completely obvious that it must have been infectious because now someone else loves you too : ) I sincerely wish you a life filled with good health and true happiness and I hope that when your "little Bennies and Lannies" join the family you'll allow me the honor of being their photographer too- I happen to love Portland! All my best to you!

PS: Thank you to Shaun & Kara for repeatedly telling me "You're doing great!"- your words of encouragement were so appreciated and really helped keep me going! Thanks also to Devon (with an "O"!) for having my back when the caterer backed his truck into my car- of all the things a photographer prepares for when shooting a wedding, having a bridesmaid approach you and say "I hate to tell you this, BUT...!" is not one of them! Thanks, girl : )