This is my dear friend Rachel, and her husband Zane.  They got married just one month after my hubby and I did (back in 2008), and it was so fun sharing in all the wedding planning and excitement with my best friend!  They came to visit us this summer and I decided a photoshoot was in order to document their 2 1/2 years of wedded bliss :).  We got to spend the weekend together up at my in-law's amazing home on the Pend O'rielle River, so we just played around on the property for a bit to grab these fun photos.  

This wedding meant so much to me, because the beautiful bride is my cousin!  I was so excited to be asked to photograph her wedding.  It was such a beautiful day, and even more meaningful than normal because I was surrounded by so many family members.  Sarah was the most relaxed and chill bride I have ever been around.  Nothing rattled her, and she had a permasmile on all day.  :)  It was so great!  In fact, the week leading up to her wedding she found out that she got a teaching job, and I guess she was more nervous about that than she was the wedding!  

Bridal & Bridesmaids dresses: David's Bridal

Makeup: The MakeUp Studio

(more sources coming soon)

This was my first wedding at Arbor Gate, and I have to say I am a big fan of this venue!  The grounds and facilities are absolutely beautiful.  The owner, Candy, does an amazing job with the gardens and flowers and foliage everywhere.  Both the ceremony and reception areas were absolutely beautiful.  Janie and Chris, I had such a great time shooting your wedding!   They both totally went for the cake smash, so awesome! Coolest grandpa ever.

VENDORS:

Hair:Ultimate Hair and Nail Salon

Make Up: The Make-Up Studio

Cake: Happy Cake Co.

DJ: Big Show Mobile Entertainment

Florist: Allen and Green Floral

Catering: Charley's Catering

Tuxes: The Tux Center

Wedding Favors: Big Bear Chocolates

What a beautiful wedding this was.  Amidst the few hectic moments of the day, the thing that was always apparent was Jilliann and Scott's deep and caring love for each other.  I love working with couples who have such a true connection to each other.  I don't really have to direct or insturct that much because they are constantly stealing glances, whispering sweet nothings, and kissing softly.  It was a beautiful June day, and after the cold and rainy spring we had, they couldn't have asked for better weather!  

I love this story: Jilliann had the hardest time ever finding the perfect shoe for her size 11 narrow foot, especially since she only had a 3 month engagement to work on the search. Finally, 6 days before the wedding, she was shoe shopping once again, and came across these camo flats. It is an understatement to say that her beloved, Scott, is a bit obsessed with all things camo. He chose to get all his groomsmen (and himself) camo socks for the big day. Anyways, when Jilliann came across these shoes, she realized she had found the perfect fit, if not the most traditional look for a bridal shoe :). She kept the shoes a surprise from Scott, and this is his reaction when she first showed them to him: I also loved this detail - Scott is in law enforcement, and Jilliann found the most perfect cake topper ever: It's kind of hard to tell in this photo because it's black and white, but you can kind of see how Scott's truck has camo accents around the wheel wells. I told you he loves camo stuff!

Venue: Spokane Country Club

Make Up: The Make-Up Studio

Dress: Marcella's Bridal

Florist: Evergreen Floral

I don't know if I've ever been so excited to shoot and engagement session.  Part of it is that Amy is so freaking gorgeous that I just knew their session would be incredible.  And the other part is she is just so sweet and fun, I was really looking forward to getting to know her and Joey even better!  We were able to plan the shoot for the day that she got her wedding make-up trial run done by the alway amazing Julie, at the Make Up Studio.  Seriously, if you need make up done, Julie is the best of the best!

I had so much fun with you two, and seriously cannot wait for your wedding in August! xoxo 

Finally catching up on some long overdue blogging.  This session is from one of those bitter cold weeks in November...brrr!  They were great sports though, especially little Jackson.  I swear, the little guy has a smile on his face 24/7!  I really love this family and their session, so I wanted to be sure and get it on my blog; even if it's about 5 months late!  Just look at it this way: now you'll only have to wait 6 more weeks to see his one year photos! :)

I am excited to have my St. Thomas wedding featured on Apple Brides today! Rachel has done an amaaazing job with Apple Brides.  She does lots of venue tours and reviews, and she also has a forum for all you local brides to share tips and information you've learned along the way - there is nothing like it for the Inland Northwest!

The lovely Dana, of Spokane Bride Blog, just featured my Priest Lake wedding with Ame + Jason.  Even if you've seen their photos here on my blog, it's worth hopping over to SBB to read Ame's sweet description of their special day.  Also, if you're not familiiar with Spokane Bride Blog, you need to be!  It is such a valuable resource for Spokane area bride.  They also just recently released a complete Spokane Area Vendor Directory - it's absolutely fabulous and so complete!

Last weekend I had the chance to participate in the 2nd annual Custom Weddings Northwest. It was a great show and I really enjoyed getting to meet so many of Spokane's finest vendors, and of course all the lovely brides that showed up.  Here are a few photos of my booth, which I had so much fun putting together!  I also wanted to share a few photos of other vendor's set-ups that I thought were pretty great.

Love love love this table set up from The Davenport.  I would never think to pair these colors together, but I think this is absolutely gorgeous:Lindsey of Lindsey Rose Make Up had an absolutely gorgeous booth, and three live models that were showcasing her work!  It was great to meet Lindsey and I hope to collaborate on a project with her soon:Design by Occasion was right across from me and it was fun getting to know Lauren and Beth a little bit.  I think they would be so fun to work with on a wedding!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this show a success!  And to all the brides out there that I got to meet: I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you might have about wedding photography.

When Meghan first contacted me about photographing her wedding in St. Thomas, one of the first things she asked about was if I could do a 'trash the dress' session the day after.  I was so excited!  I've never done one before, so it was pretty fun to just mess around and see what we could come up with.  Meghan was adamant about wanting to really go for it - swimming in the dress, going all the way under water - she gave me the green light for everything!  This was so fun, thank you for the opportunity, Meghan!

I am VERY excited to announce that I have been asked to join the Custom Weddings Northwest team!  Their boutique-style bridal show will be held at the Lincoln Center (in Spokane) on February 26, 2011.  The vendors represented at the show are on an invite-only basis, so it's a huge honor for me to have been asked to participate!  Please check out their website to learn more about this can't miss event.  You can also read more about it here:

"The Spokane/Coeur d’Alene market is bursting for a new and innovative approach to wedding style, and You could be the frontrunner.  We have put together a group of wedding entrepreneurs and professionals who share a vision of the highest standards in wedding design and service and would like to spread that vision to prospective brides in the region who are seeking only the BEST.

Custom Weddings is a boutique event, similar to those hosted in larger Metropolitan areas – which is where many of our local brides are currently running, in preparation for their big day. Our purpose is to show Inland Northwest Brides that everything they need is right here at home!

This year’s Custom Weddings event will take place Saturday February 26, 2011.  Custom Weddings is not only a trade show, it is a bridal gallery featuring the top wedding vendors our area has to offer, as well as seminar rooms where our “experts” will share the secrets of how to plan a sophisticated, custom event.  Our target is the couple seeking the most exclusive vendors in our area to create the perfect day.

Our Team is growing and we encourage you all to check out the growing vendor list on the website www.customweddingnw.com."

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Let me just say, I LOVE destination weddings.  Especially when it means I get to go spend eight days on the lovely island of St. Thomas.  And especially when I get to bring my sweet baby and my mom along with me (hubby couldn't get the time off work).  And especially when the bride and the scenery and the weather is so beautiful.  It was a fabulous trip and I was so honored to be a part of this event.  Oh, and did I mention the rehearsal dinner was a sunset dinner cruise on a sailboat?  Yep. 

Josh is very tall, so is his brother:Three sistersLike I said, these brothers are really tall. I would never call Jason short (on the right), but next to these two, his height is a little deceiving.FAVORITEI have to include a photo of my little Sweet Pea

Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa

Hair & Makeup: JeT'aime, via Sugar and Spice Artistry

I just love fall photo shoots - the leaves, the apple trees, the colors.  Janie and Chris decided they really wanted a fall backdrop for their engagement session - I couldn't have been happier about that decision!  So excited for their wedding this next summer.    

{at The Davenport}

I am pretty excited about this one.  I had a few firsts at this wedding.  My first Catholic ceremony - as a guest or photographer for that matter.  First time driving around the bride and groom (and mother of the bride) to our portrait session location.  First time shooting at the Davenport - I'm in love.  This wedding was quite the event and I am so proud to have been a part of it.  Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day!

The Grand Pennington Ballroom For sure my favorite Father Daughter dance photo I've ever taken:

I don't really need a lot of words to explain how ridiculously good looking this family is - the photos speak for themselves.  This was probably the easiest family session I've ever done.  They all just naturally looked amazing, the kiddos were super easy and ridiculously adorable, and the images needed minimal editing.  The hard part has been narrowing it down to the 'keepers' - they're all keepers!  Seriously, these kids are too cute and every photo would have me shaking my head and thinking 'ok wait, this is the cutest one.'  I just wanted to take Landon and Griffin home with me and play with them all day!