{Wedding!} Amber & Ben: A garden wedding and an elegant downtown reception, in Portland OR. PART 1 :)

Amber & Ben FINALLY tie the knot!!!

This wedding was SUPER SPECIAL to us simply because we are BFFs with them... and they are amazing people who have been in our lives for years and will be for ever. I'm tearing up writing this blog, actually... ;)

Josh, who always shoots weddings with me, was actually IN this wedding, as one of Ben's groomsmen. It was nice seeing him be able to fulfill his role as a part of the bridal party, and as one of Ben's great friends. And I was honored to have had the opportunity to see my friends get married after all of the planning!

Friend and fellow photographer Wayne Toshikazu second shot this wedding for me as well (he also helped me on a wedding the day before!). Thank you Wayne for capturing the guys getting ready and helping me out with the ceremony! It was awesome and reassuring having you help out!

Amber and Ben got engaged last year (2009) at the top of the Empire State Building in NY, when they went there for a week on vacation. We knew he was going to propose to her and it was super difficult to not show the excitement to Amber, since she had NO idea!

They, of course, hired us on the spot to be a part of their wedding day and to capture it as professional photographers AND as friends of their and everyone else in the wedding and attending. It was the most personal and close-to-the-heart wedding to date, for us. Josh and I both immediately started photographing their planning and all of their wedding-related events.

•  - 1st Unofficial Engagement Session: Camping trip we took together by Mt Adams, WA. 
•  - Engagement Session #1: September 2009, David Hill Winery and corn fields.
•  - Dress Fitting: no photos to show you here... these are private :)
•  - Engagement Session #2: January 2010, Pacific Beach OR with Luke-dog
•  - Engagement Party at Amber's mom's: no photos to show here... these are private also :)
•  - Engagement Session #3: July 2010, urban shoot, downtown Portland with two dress changes
•  - Bridal Shower: no photos to show you here... these are private also :)

And now... THE WEDDING! 

Everyone started getting ready in a room at Hotel Deluxe, in downtown Portland. I got there at 10am to shoot, while Josh was already hanging with the boys about to get ready himself. We did a first look around 2pm in the gorgeous lobby of the hotel. Then we all hopped on a party bus and headed to the beautiful Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens. We did group portraits and then relaxed till the ceremony. After the ceremony, we gave enough time for everyone to gather at the entrance of the gardens, then made our way to them for Amber & Ben's fun walk out through everyone waving little congratulations flags. The three of us hopped in a classy Rolls Royce and headed to Hotel Deluxe for the posh and romantic and beautifully decorated reception dinner and party.

This is PART 1 of the two part Sneak Peek of Amber & Ben's wedding day! I photographed for 12 hours straight, so there are PLENTY more photos to show from the second half of the night :) 

Amber and Ben: We love you and wish you everything that is beautiful, and fruitful, and inspiring, and passionate... for your new life together as husband and wife. Have fun in Brazil and we can't wait to see you again when you get back!! <3 <3 <3

~ Alice & Josh

More vendors will be listed as soon as I get all the names from Amber! :)

• Wedding date: September 4th, 2010
• Wedding location: Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens, Portland OR
• Reception location: Gracie's Dining, within Hotel deLuxe, Portland OR
• Wedding Day-of Coordination: Champagne NW (Mandy Downs), Portland OR
• Officiant: Lisa Kristen-Scott, Portland OR
• Rolls Royce: Best Car In Town, Portland OR
• Florist: Jordan of Blum Floral Design, Portland OR
• Videographer: Hybrid Moon, Portland OR
• Photobooth: PDX Photolounge, Portland OR

PART 1 has ended :) Part 2 coming up tomorrow so check back! THANK YOU!! :)

{Wedding!} Katie & Mark wed at the Edgefield in Portland.

I love photographing family members of old couples of ours!

Katie is the little sister of one of our favorite grooms (Matthew) from our 2009 season. Matthew and Kristina were awesome! They and Josh rode on a roller coaster right after their wedding... AWESOME!

Katie and Mark were at that wedding and we totally bonded! They eventually became engaged and hired us to be their photographers! Its always SO fun seeing a group of people as fun as this group was, a year later, for another family wedding! We're honored to be the ones to capture one family's celebrations! (LOVE what we do! :)

I have to give a huge shout-out to my friend and fellow photographer Wayne Toshikazu for being available and willing to accompany me as my second shooter! YOU ROCK! :)

Wedding Details...

Date: Friday September 3rd 2010
Location: McMenamin's Edgefield, Portland OR
Cake: Beaverton Bakery
Dress: David's Bridal
Tuxes: Men's Warehouse
DJ: AWOL (friends of the groom who DJ on the side)

{Wedding!} Beach, Friends, Love and a Beautiful Couple!

We have been waiting and longing to blog this wedding!
We are finally able to and are SO excited to share this glorious day with this gorgeous couple, with you!

Hillary and Nick were close friends of a wedding couple who we fell in love with last season (2009) who had a very intimate wedding on the beach in Moclips, WA. Dale and Chris introduced us to Hillary and Nick that day a year ago, we we immediately hit it off!

It turns out that this past January 2010, Hillary & Nick contacted us about shooting their wedding too, and we were thrilled! Not only would we get to see and hang out with old friends again, we would be able to witness two beautiful souls getting married!

We were HONORED to be asked when WE were available in August for her to have her wedding when WE were available! 

Now THAT is humbling!! :)

This wedding was all about the details. Hillary spent time and put in so much effort in order to make the day the way it was. Everything you see in these images is hand made, by her! All DIY. From  the hand written invitations, to the table and sand decorations, to the gorgeous bouquets! It all came out of Hillary's brilliant mind.

The day was gorgeous to start. Warm and rain free. The ceremony happened without a hitch. Her father married them, which was oh so sweet! Then they had all of the kids grab bracelets with long strands of fabric and RUN down the isle in celebration to the sounds of vibrant and happy music. Fantastic!

The reception was to happen immediately after, but the wind picked up too much and the decision was made to move the reception indoors. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, helped pack everything up from the beach, load it onto vehicles and drive it a couple of miles down the road to downtown Manzanita. Unbelievable! Everyone worked seamlessly and in a matter on 45 minutes to an hour, everything was repositioned and ready to go at the new location. Like a perfectly well oiled machine, Hillary and Nick's family and friends, helped make the wedding go on without a glitch!

Here are a few images from that glorious day. It was difficult picking just a few... :)

We want to thank you, Hillary and Nick, for having us be a part of your day. For being so kind and loving and fun to be around. 

We will NEVER forget your wedding day, and not only because we were there to capture it on camera LOL :)

HUGS!

~ Alice & Joshy























Detail of the bouquets. Hillary's on the right and one of her bridesmaid's on the left. They are air plants. Alive and well. What an awesome idea! They look fabulous AND they make the perfect bridal gift, too!


Baby blue paper lanterns (with little lights!) were arranged all over the beach. If the reception hadn't been moved indoors, the beach would have come alive with twinkly lights... how lovely!


Hillary had so many favors and mementos for her friends and family to take home. Here are personalized canvas bags in which guests could put their gifts in and take home. 


One of the favors were a thank you note attached to metal expandable Smores fork for camping, together with a packed of Graham crackers and marshmallows... YUM!
























THANK YOU Dale for volunteering to use our camera to take this photo of us with Hillary and Nick!! :) LOVE YOU!

{Engagement!} Andrea & Omar, Eastbank Esplanade & Downtown Portland.

Loved working with them!
Andrea and Omar are funny, in love, fun to talk to and be around... we totally bonded on our 2 and a half hour trek around Portland's prime locations!

We were scheduled to photograph their engagement session at the Eastbank Esplanade and then Downtown Portland, around noon. The day turned out to be rainy and gloomy, we almost had to cancel and re-schedule! Good thing we simply postponed it to 6pm! The sky cleared up, the sun began to shine AND we met at the perfect time of day... at the end of our Portland walkabout, the silhouette of the city skyline was GORGEOUS all lit up with lights and up against the dark blue of the beginning of night. Perfect! :)

They are one of our 2011 couples and we can't wait for their wedding day to come!

Wedding Date: July 9th 2011
Wedding Location: Private Residence in Corvallis, OR

Here is a Sneak Peek of the day! :)