I expected the holiday season to slow down for me as a photographer. I couldn't have been more wrong! So far this month I have been ridiculously busy with real estate photography and I am very thankful for that! However, the really fun stuff is portraits! I ran my very first "Holiday Special" and did a couple of mini sessions that day. I had so much fun working with these families!

The Hatton family was an absolute joy.

These three boys were busy, but cooperative and very well behaved.

The next mini session consisted of my Aunt and Uncle and their clan of kids and grandkids. What fun! It's always a treat to see the Garners and this day was no exception.

These girls LOVE their Grandma and Granddad!

Savannah is very skilled at pulling Granddad's hair.

Yesterday I got to take photos of some more super adorable kids! Meet Emory and Brodie Goodpastor!

It started out with the challenge of getting them both to look at the camera AND smile at the same time.

But once they warmed up a little, things got really fun!

Near the end of the shoot, Emory was pretty tired of me telling her what to do and started "calling the shots" herself. Here are a few of her chosen poses....

I want to thank all of these families for trusting me to preserve your precious memories. I had so much fun and I hope we can do it again soon!

When I was asked to shoot 2 weddings in one weekend, for the same family, I thought it had to be a typo!

As it turned out, there really were two weddings taking place, a son - Ren, on Saturday and a daughter - Ashli, on Sunday. Both weddings were to take place at the Portland Airport Shilo Inn. I accepted the job, (after some pep talks, a whirlwind of events and some soul searching) and began my preparations. Preparing for these weddings meant purchasing and learning an entirely new camera system...in one week. I feel pretty fortunate that I did NOT die of a heart attack!

Both weddings were picture perfect. (No pun intended...)

The setting was absolutely stunning. Who would think that a hotel could dress up this romantically?

Wedding #1:

Cassie- wore a beautiful lace gown with cowboy boots.

The wedding party was so much fun to work with! Everyone was so friendly and good natured about being followed around by the photographer.

We did some traditional portraits...

And some not-so-traditional portraits...

It's an understatement to say that the ceremony was lovely...

Wedding #2:

Ashli was positively glowing!

Both the bride and groom were excited to have their 3 children with them during the ceremony.

           The reception room was gorgeous!

We did a few traditional portraits, and lots of candid shots during the partying! This little guy pretty much stole the show during the first dance...

It was such a fun wedding! It was a thoroughly exhausting weekend, but I was honored to have been asked to preserve such precious memories. I learned so much from the experience, and was able to re-connect with a cherished childhood friend and meet her family, which was a special highlight for me.

Thank you Ren, Cassie, Ashli, and Derrick for letting me share in your lives. May your marriages be blessed with love, laughter, health and happiness!

Sarah and Gary tied the knot on the grounds of the Newell House Museum at the beautiful Champoeg Park. They were a joy to work with and seemed completely comfortable in front of the camera. The ceremony was beautiful and the company was fun! This was my first wedding to shoot, and I was anxious to get it right, but it went smoother than I expected. What I didn't expect was being completely exhausted for THREE days following the wedding!

Here are a few highlights from the day:

The bride wore orange bloomers and cowboy boots under her beautiful, vintage-style dress.

Such a beautiful wedding, in a beautiful setting, with so many fun photo opportunities.

It was an honor to shoot this wedding.

Here's wishing Sarah and Gary Smith many years of happiness and delight!