In November the Snow Starts to Fly…

Well, not in Seattle it doesn’t but in my old stomping grounds back in Boston it sure did!  I have to say, I was a little jealous of all my friends back east when I saw all their pictures on Facebook last weekend.  Though not so envious of the power outages–I’m very thankful for the blessing of electricity.

I was supposed to post some of Brent & Michelle’s wedding pictures a couple weeks ago, but life suddenly got ridiculously crazy.  Between work (I put in more than 60 hours at the office last week), the upcoming Paris trip (17 days for those who are counting with me), photos to develop, and holiday planning, life just seems to be a whirlwind right now!

I do have my priorities straight, however, and took time last Saturday evening to get out my Christmas tree and ornaments.  It was up and decorated on October 30th!

I know there are many people out there who believe that Christmas needs to wait until after Thanksgiving, but I’m of the persuasion that the season should be enjoyed for as long as possible, so my tree goes up very early, and I start buying eggnog as soon as it hits the shelves at the grocery store.

This does not mean that I ignore the other holidays, though (okay, that’s a lie, aside from dancing to the Purple People Eater song a couple times, I completely ignored Halloween).  Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays for a myriad of reasons–family, friends, great food, and a chance to reflect on all the many, many blessings I have in my life.  And while my observation of Thanksgiving this year will be slightly untraditional, I still feel it’s important to remember to give thanks for the people and opportunities that enrich my life.

And speaking of enriched lives, I think it’s high time I shared some of those wedding pictures!  Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Brent Gunnell!!!

 

It may have been a blustery day, but the wind sure did pretty things to Michelle's veil!

 

Just Married!

 

Michelle gets a hug from her new mother-in-law.

 

The Wedding Party: Our variation on the "So Long, Farewell" pose.

Autumn Romance

I can’t believe October is already half-over!  How is that possible?  The past few weeks have been so busy and have flown by.  In some ways it’s good and in others not so good.  I have so many exciting things that I’m looking forward to, but at the same time I hate to see the season go so quickly.  I’ll be off to Paris before I know it!

My big event this week is Brent & Michelle’s wedding!  I had a fantastic photo shoot with them  yesterday, and I can’t wait for you to see how beautiful they are!  (Feel free to skip down to the pictures, I won’t be offended).  Their wedding is on Saturday, but in order to take just a little bit of stress off the big day, we did the bulk of the portraits ahead of time.  I highly recommend this to all wedding photographers and brides & grooms.  It’s so nice to be able to take time with the pictures and not worry about trying to fit it all in with everything else on the actual wedding day.  Plus, it gives the couple the option of having “wedding” photos displayed at the reception!

These were taken at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, WA.  We had a gorgeous autumn afternoon.  There was even sun (those of you who have ever lived in the Pacific Northwest know what a rarity that is this time of year)!  We were able to shoot during the magic hour–the hour just before sunset when the light is all warm and soft and glowy, so that made me very happy.  Hopefully the weather will be just as cooperative on Saturday!

 

 

To quote one of my favorite movies: "Is this a kissing book?!?"

 

Yes. Yes it is. 🙂

Even the roses seem to change color in the autumn! I love the orange-red. It's so perfect for October!

I really loved this tree. They didn't seem to mind it either!

I love it when I can capture sun rays in photos. So soft and romantic.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I’ll see you next week, hopefully with some pictures from the wedding!  Provided I don’t collapse from exhaustion first. 😉

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord…

And while I totally agree with Templeton, turns out it’s also a pretty good place for a fun, romantic photo shoot too!

Last weekend I had the chance to go home to Montana for a few days.  Not only did I have a great time visiting with my family and meeting my new nephew (I’ll post bragging pictures later, because he is the CUTEST first great-grandson ever to be born into our family), I also got to do engagement photos for my beautiful niece, Erin, and her wonderful fiancé, Trevor.

Erin and I started planning and talking about wedding ideas a couple months ago (even before she was formally engaged!) and in discussing engagement photos, I  realized that the most likely weekend I’d be home to take them would also be the weekend of the Ravalli County Fair…well, it was just too good to pass up!  Erin loved the idea, and Trevor loves Erin, so on Saturday evening the three of us spent several hours at the fairgrounds taking pictures.

I am so pleased with how they turned out!  Lots of color, lots of atmosphere, and I even got them on a camel together!  Now Erin can say with the upmost of authority, how difficult it is to kiss while riding a camel. 🙂  In editing and developing the photos I chose to do some of them with a more aged/distressed finish, as Erin has chosen a vintage theme for her wedding.  Check out a few of the samples below.

A summer evening, a ferris wheel, a candy apple, & a kiss. Does life get much sweeter?

"Wow, it's really hard to kiss while riding a camel!" -Erin Recht

It might not be a magic carpet, but a ferris wheel is still a classic!

And of course, who can resist a smooch on a carousel?