Here are the people behind all the great work in making Scott and Danielle’s wedding day so great:

• Getting ready venues:  The Governor Hotel and the 12W
• Wedding venue:  St. Mary’s Cathedral
• Reception venue:  Portland Golf Club
• Wedding gown:  Anna’s Bridal
• Music:  All Wright Music
• Photography:  Perhaps your Portland wedding photographer too!

You can see their wine tasting engagement photos too.

Matt & Erin’s wedding started with some heavy showers.  Okay, they were absolute downpours!  Check out the photos of guests huddled under their umbrellas, that is if their umbrella hadn’t blown inside out.    Partway through their ceremony, the clouds broke and we had some amazing light and scenery for photos.

I think my absolute favorite photo is the vertical one of the bridal party in black and white.  What a sky!

Are you looking for a venue with a view? If so, aYoungberg Hill Vineyards wedding will definitely deliver.

As a wedding photographer, one thing I really appreciate about the venue is that there is a scenic backdrop in every direction. So what does that mean? No squints in your portraits because the sun can always be put at your back and you’ll still have an amazing background! You’ll notice that in the portraits of Nick & Jen between the vine rows and in the photo of Jen with her bridesmaids.

I hope you enjoy these photos!

If you’re recently engaged and starting that crazy planning process, those links will certainly be a great place to start!

Robin and Brian were married at Brian’s parents beach home on Alamitos Bay in Naples, CA. I had great help from a friend of mine, Regis Chen, who was kind enough to entertain me for the week prior. We burned through a few tanks of gas visiting friends all over the Los Angeles area. Great friends both at the wedding and around the city, great weather, great food…what a blast!

Some of these photos were taken in front of Ben and Anna’s new home. I loved the way the classic Rolls Royce fit into the scene.

Finally, one of the best parts of a wedding is running into people you know. I grew up in Klamath Falls, a small town in Southern Oregon, where that sort of thing happens regularly. Considering Portland’s size, I figured those days were a thing of the past. But sure enough, as I walked into St. Mary’s Cathedral, I ran into my buddy Boone, the same photographer that helped at the last wedding I posted. Then at the reception, I saw the brother of a high school friend of mine.

Thursday consisted of an early evening BBQ followed by a late night bonfire near the water on Westcott Bay. Friday started with a basketball tournament and some tennis. After the rehearsal, Mandy’s sister, Katie, kicked things up a notch for everyone with an all out Field Day. Now I know where they get the expression! Teams wearing costumes left it all on the fields before replenishing themselves with the world’s best BBQ chicken fired up by Evan’s Dad (seriously the world’s best…I went out and bought the spices as soon as I got home).

Then Saturday came. The apple orchard was transformed with bright summery colors and details put together by Mandy and her Mom with inspiration from the Style Me Pretty blog. The day went without a hitch! (I’ll spare you the puns one could make with that last statement) It was a blast as you can see…this was a fun group!

Special thanks to Boone Rodriguez for providing some fun help and great photos!

Click to enlarge…

Dave & Sarah approached me at another wedding and asked what I would think of shooting their wedding in Vienna. They had both spent a while there studying abroad and that’s where their relationship started. They figured why not go back to where it all began and share it all with their closest friends and family. What an awesome thing to do!

Dave & Sarah had planned a walking tour to show everyone what daily life was like for them as they studied there and got to know each other. That night we all headed to one of the bars they spent time in. After the bar, one of the absolutely necessary experiences was stopping at the Wiener Wurstelstand for a Kasekrainer. Did you get that? ….think “food cart” and “bread roll hollowed out and filled with a cheesy hot dog”…only better!

The next evening, we all headed to the outskirts of the city in a chartered bus for dinner and drinks at a garden style vineyard. The name escapes me at the moment, but it’s stamped on the glass stein that Dave & Sarah gave everyone as gifts, myself included. That was mighty handy in consuming the bottle of Vienna wine we were also given as a gift.

At this point, I’d already had such a great experience and the wedding still hadn’t happened yet. Saturday rolled around and the ladies started out with mimosas while getting ready in the Style Hotel which was very aptly named. The wedding ceremony was held in the Palais Daun-Kinsky and was very classy thanks to the work of Palais-Events and Elegant Events. If you’re looking for a job well done for your Vienna wedding, your first stop should be those two websites.

After the ceremony we drove around Vienna to a few locations for portrait shots. Sometimes it takes a while to get a feel for a certain area to know what would be best for photos, but this was more like…well…imagine playing “Slug Bug” in Germany at the height of VW Beetle production. Photo opportunities were everywhere!

Once back in the States, Dave & Sarah had a reception in wine country outside of Oakland for all those who weren’t able to witness the wedding. Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery was a great choice in location! It was a lot of fun to catch up with those I’d met in Vienna as well as those I’d seen at the other wedding where I was originally asked to shoot all of this for Dave & Sarah.

One of my friends, Ray Santana, has coined the phrase ‘good times’ and this definitely qualifies. Dave & Sarah…thanks for having me along. Good times!!

Thanks also to Mark Galligan for shooting with me! Couldn’t have done it otherwise.

As I thought about the DR and did some research online, I quickly discovered that my standard black dress shirt, charcoal wool dress pants and heavy black dress shoes would NOT work! I wasn’t too disappointed as I knew that meant another trip to Nordstrom was in my near future. I went to the guys at the men’s furnishings desk and said…I’m off to a beach wedding…set me up. I love walking in, getting fitted for dress slacks, finding a white dress shirt, a couple pairs of beachy footwear, and a tie to match. Ahh…I was all set and yes, my passport was current (and still is for any of you shopping for a wedding photographer abroad…hint hint).

The first day there, I roamed around a bit, checked the place out, got caught off guard as I realized the beaches were more…shall we say “liberated” than those in the States? And then it happened! I stumbled upon my former clients and got to finally meet Ben & Kristi over a beer on the deck. We then headed to a great dinner. They had invited about 20 of their closest friends and family, so to be one of a small number to take part in their trip was really a special thing for me.

The second day there, the guys headed out on the ocean for some fishing. All we caught were fumes from the boat though…and let’s just say “DEQ” is not in their vocabulary. hah Nonetheless, there’s nothing like heading out to sea on a nice sunny day and enjoying a few cold El Presidentes. That is, untill the sea sickness kicks in (fortunately, not for me).

That night we headed into the bay for nice evening cruise where we witnessed an incredible sunset! At one point I was talking to another friend of Ben and Kristi’s about wedding photography. They had Jessica Claire shoot their wedding, but didn’t mention her name figuring there’s no way I would know her. Far from the truth as it turns out! We had met each other at one of the first workshops I attended in LA. We had a good laugh over how small this world is.

That brings us to the wedding day…a very laid back day for sure. I still can’t get over how relaxed the whole group was. It’s experiences like this one, that when I think back on, I realize how lucky I am to get to see glimpes of who other people are and what their friends mean to them. Relationships are a powerful thing! You might think…”duh!”…but you have to remember I’m self employed and single, so although I still get out a fair amount, I fly solo quite a bit.

Okay, enough chatter for now…on to some photos!