One Love Photo

A Literary Wedding - linda & cameron

"there's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money either."

-robert graves

(one of linda's favorite quotes)...because it has sass.

"reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind, it forces you to stretch your own"

-lionel trilling

(one of cameron's favorites)....because it's the truth.

when these two english teachers tied the knot in chicago it was all about great quotes, classic jazz, piles of beautiful books and some unexpected fireworks.

 








 
  

 

 

 


i love teachers. my mom is a retired first grade teacher. i also taught high school photography for a few years before my "early retirement". i never understood the energy, dedication and love it took to be an influential teacher, until i tried it. it made me love teachers that much more. i realized i couldn't follow my own photography dreams and teach at the same time (at least not the way i wanted to teach). linda and cameron are two tremendous english teachers. they help open minds daily and push their students to achieve their goals. they are lucky enough to teach at the same high school and to have each other to lean on. i can't imagine how many young people will learn from these two in the future. they will set a positive example way beyond proper spelling and punctuation.

it suited linda and cameron perfectly to be married at one of the oldest churches in chicago, the beautiful old st. pat's church. in between the ceremony and reception we made a stop at "old printers row" to take a few shots in a very charming shop called "chicago rare books". The owner was so nice, he actually stayed  late so we could shoot. he even handed out mugs and bookmarks to the whole wedding party while they waited for us in the limo. we fell into a photo trance with miles davis playing overhead and antiques hiding around each bookshelf. after the book store we headed over to the library and shot some fun photographs up on the "L" platform and then it was time to go inside and celebrate.

their reception was at the harold library up on the top floor in the winter garden atrium. the space was surrounded in books, their details matched perfectly with a card catalog for seating assignments, bookmarks as gifts, piles of antique books as centerpieces and sweet little pots of ivy scattered about. during their first dance fireworks started to explode outside the large windows. a perfect coincidence, it happened to also be venetian night. crowds of people were lined up along lake michigan to take in this lighted boat parade and firework show. the sparks started to fly just as linda and cameron embraced for their first dance. i am convinced that these two have some amazing karma ( it was pretty magical). to see more from this wedding, please check out their jazzy little slideshow.

Sunny Delight - cara & james

on this icky rainy dark day, i took a tiny break and watched the slideshow from james and cara's wedding and it made me feel happy and sad all at once. mostly really happy, as i remembered all the sweet details and happy moments from this cheerful wedding (and a little sad because i really miss the sun).

if you need a dose of yellow, then check out their little slideshow or read all about it over on this post.

April & Thomas

 

for sweet, sweet april and thomas, who are clearly meant to be! their wedding was a celebration of friendship, a fantastic reunion of friends and family. april has been a long time blog follower and often writes the most sweet and supportive messages to us. she always makes me feel really special. after commenting on so many other people's weddings it was finally her big day. i was so excited to give back and create some beautiful images on her wedding day! we enjoyed getting to know these two better and capturing all the love that thomas and april share. these are a few of my favorite film frames from their big day, many more to come (of course). xoxoxo.

(ceremony and reception were at hyatt mission spa in san diego.)

Happy Halloween

How could i forget.....

to include these gems in the earlier posts on whitney and dan's wedding?

just finished this wedding and have been enjoying watching their slideshow over and over again. i love the day that we finish a wedding and i get to call our sweet clients and let them know that all their photos are ready to enjoy! sometimes i wish we could spy on them with a web cam and watch their faces and reactions as they watch the slideshow for the first time. if you would like, take a little peek at whitney and dan's show over here. it makes me happy.

One Sweet Love Song - from meg

this is a bit delayed, but a little late is better than never. we just wanted to thank meg for her amazingly sweet post that she wrote about us over on a practical wedding. we woke up at the crack of dawn to photograph meg and david's wedding this august up in the beautiful hills of berkeley california. it was a wonderful day full of quiet tender moments and a few loud boisterous ones too. never in a million years did we ever expect meg to write such a thoughtful, kind and just plain awesome ballad to us. i've read it so many times, it just makes me feel so darn good. we are so thrilled with the post and moved beyond words. you can read the whole sweet thing yourself over here.

meg is a wonderful and witty writer and i enjoy reading her perspective on things. you can read more about her sunny brunchy wedding over on her blog  "a practical wedding". if you are a bride in the middle of planning, i highly recommend frequent visits to meg's blog, for your daily dose of sass and sanity.

Snoqualmie Ridge - Whitney & Dan (the second half)

let the fun and love continue with the lovely wedding of whitney and dan. congratulations you two!

 

Snoqualmie Ridge - Whitney & Dan (the first half)

i am overwhelmed with all the beauty from this wedding at snoqualmie ridge golf course. between whitney's glam, dan's smile and the cascade mountain behind, well, you can't really go wrong. these two are just stunning and their chemistry is contagious. whitney is an art student and photographer and took the task of finding the right photographer for her, very seriously. i am so happy that she picked us!!! we had her complete confidence. she wanted us to play with our homemade lenses and shoot a ton of film. (which we happily did).







one of my favorite surprises was the full grown flowergirls.

and ringbearer

but whitney and her dad stole the show (of course).

although the view was a close second.

oh how i love this part, the joyful "we are finally married" walk! after all those lovely prayers and sweet tears, everyone was ready to celebrate. this wedding had wonderful surprises, elegant details, an amazing sunset, dance moves galore and some sparkle (but that's all coming up next).

Advice to Myself

below is my favorite poem at the moment written by the talented louise erdrich. i discovered it this summer and it feels as if it was written just for me. between re-reading this poem and spending time with betsy (the mother of the adorable elias below) i am beginning to believe that even a messy person like me could be a pretty good mom someday. that maybe being clean and tidy isn't as important as i sometimes think it is. betsy's farmhouse has the perfect balance of open white space with scattered piles of art and science projects, colorful clothes, classic books and treasures found at the beach. her eclectic and easy going parenting style is inspiring to me. it reassures me that being a little messy is ok and that kids probably don't need as much order as we think they do. i often think that a mess is much more photogenic than a perfect scene, and that our piles and unmade beds can tell quite an interesting story. (all on their own)

 

Leave the dishes.
Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw the cracked bowl out and don't patch the cup.
Don't patch anything. Don't mend. Buy safety pins.
Don't even sew on a button.

 

Let the wind have its way, then the earth
that invades as dust and then the dead
foaming up in gray rolls underneath the couch.
Talk to them. Tell them they are welcome.
Don't keep all the pieces of the puzzles
or the doll's tiny shoes in pairs, don't worry
who uses whose toothbrush or if anything
matches, at all.

Except one word to another. Or a thought.
Pursue the authentic-decide first
what is authentic,
then go after it with all your heart.
Your heart, that place
you don't even think of cleaning out.
That closet stuffed with savage mementos.

Don't sort the paper clips from screws from saved baby teeth
or worry if we're all eating cereal for dinner
again. Don't answer the telephone, ever,
or weep over anything at all that breaks.
Pink molds will grow within those sealed cartons
in the refrigerator. Accept new forms of life
and talk to the dead
who drift in though the screened windows, who collect
patiently on the tops of food jars and books.

Recycle the mail, don't read it, don't read anything
except what destroys
the insulation between yourself and your experience
or what pulls down or what strikes at or what shatters
this ruse you call necessity.

-louise erdrich

Rancho del Cielo - judy and fabian

i am skipping ahead to october for a moment and letting this wedding cut in on our blog line. we are neck deep finishing up our summer weddings and enjoying reminiscing together...so many special tearful promises, sweet little details, silly characters, funky dancers and funny moments. stay tuned for some awesome weddings to come.

judy and fabian had several things go wrong at their wedding from wind to a terrible tumble. i've never seen anything like it before and my heart was breaking for them. but these two had such amazing attitudes and nothing could stand in their way of having a wonderful day. while watching their breathtaking ceremony on the cliffside, i decided that i would call their wedding 'the little wedding that could". despite a few bad things, this wedding had soooooo much more good going on; a tiny little guests list, two stunning locations, delicious food, flowers arranged by a dear friend, the bride in boots, my shoes full of sand, and a surprise puppet show (including the cutest miniature camera i have ever seen)! i don't think we could have asked for more in the end. i'll let the photos tell the rest of the story and end this with a perfect quote from one of my favorite gals......

"the way i see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain"

-dolly parton

 





 

 

 




 

judy and fabian were wed at rancho del cielo (ranch in the sky) in malibu callifornia and celebrated afterward with a lovely dinner at the sunset restaurant.

Malibu - judy & fabian

after this beautiful "little wedding that could" in malibu last weekend. we are are ready for more blue tomorrow.... the long awaited wedding of april and thomas in san diego! it's been a good week, with lots of sleep, some treasure hunting, people and dog watching and a little sand between our toes. 

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood"

in between our recent trips to portland and malibu we enjoyed ten whole days at home with a lovely wedding right in the middle, less than one mile from our house! after a summer full of flying here and there, we were quite grateful and gitty to spend such a beautiful day right here in our neighborhood!

   

much more to come from this one, this is just the trailer.

congratulations jessica and ryan!