One Love Photo

Oahu Wedding - celebrate!

 the beauty and tropical bliss continues with amanda and anthony's reception.
the main challenge that these two faced while planning their wedding was finding a place for the reception. they knew they wanted a big lawn near the water with tents that they could decorate. they wanted to have friends play lovely live music. and most importantly they wanted a good family friend to be their caterer. but finding a place that would allow for all this was harder than they imagined. in the beginning stages of planning it seemed that being a local girl wasn't really helping amanda out. all the weddings venues she looked at on oahu were ridiculously expensive and most wouldn't let her bring in her own crew of wedding elves. knowing she didn't fit into the typical hawaii barefoot bride box.          
she had to start thinking outside of it.

she started searching for a large rental house for the reception site but most houses she found wouldn't allow weddings or charged double to have a wedding on site. amanda was at a loss. then it all started to fall into place. another wedding elf popped in on the scene. her dad's friend who owns a rental house on the island offered it to them for their reception site. it was perfect, it had the lawn, a water view,          and the beach of course!

once the reception was set, amanda and anthony could relax a bit and start thinking about other details like colors and decor. at one point, amanda found a photo on a bridal website of a tent arrangement that she just loved! the photo included lots of flowing fabric, orchids and sparkly crystals. she gave the photo to her dad to show him what she was dreaming of for their reception.

the day we arrived on the island we headed over to the house to check it out. amanda was planning on spending the day there, cleaning, setting up tents, hanging fabric and arranging palms. she knew she had lots of work ahead and wanted to get an early start on it. on our way she called to let us know that she would not be at the house. amanda's mom did not want her to come help with the setup. she really wanted her daughter to walk in on her wedding day and be completely surprised and blown away.
(i just think that is so sweet)!

inspired by that photo that she had given him, amanda's dad was a man on a mission when we arrived. he was all smiles as he loaded a truck with dead palm leaves from the yard clean up. he was very excited about all the tikki torches he had managed to round up and said he was going to light up every foot of the property with them! looking back now, it was clear that there was no way amanda and anthony weren't going to see that image when they walked into their reception. this was one determined family!

love this photo of amanda and anthony headed toward their grand entrance into the reception site.      you can almost feel their excitement!

and this is what they saw......!

here's the best dad in the world.

it was a picture perfect evening. and then there was the sudden yet luckily brief torrential downpour. 

with wet hair and puddles on the dance floor, the party continued on like nothing had happened.

 

the night ended with a big group out on the dance floor cutting a rug as the band played their last song. once the music stopped all the zealous dancers turned into busy bees cleaning up the tents. the happy newlyweds sneaked a sweet kiss on their love bench, then sat back and took it all in.

Oahu Wedding - amanda & anthony

thought we could all use a tropical vacation. the last few days have been filled with beautiful big brown eyes, palm trees, sand, sunshine, cute toes, gorgeous orchids, and never ending happy smiling faces. the best part is that i am home in tacoma. my computer is my travel/time machine. and i like that.  welcome to the sweet island wedding of amanda and anthony.

in true island girl fashion, amanda slipped into her wedding dress on the side of the road next to a very special and beautiful beach in lanikai. this was the spot of the big question that changed everything.       so they returned here for their first sight. 

we love these two. they are warm, sweet, kind and a total joy to work with! their families are just as wonderful. we were showered with love and appreciation our entire stay. amanda and anthony live in seattle but amanda is from oahu and her family lives on the island. it just made the most sense to come home and use her network of friends and family to pull off such a special event. i remember one of the first times i was talking with amanda about her wedding and she said, "i want the ceremony in a pretty church and i just want a big lawn next to the beach with tents for the reception, oh and enough pavement so I can wear heels."  i had to giggle. i guess the romantic notion of a hawaiian barefoot beach wedding isn't quite the same if you are raised in the islands passing your days barefoot. the church part fell into place but that perfect lawn was a much harder find. that's where the local connections came into play. more on the reception later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we've still got the party to come, until then you can see more photos of these cuties here and here.

Painted- susan adam

what delight! to see my photos interpreted in oil by the sweet and super talented susan adam.

  

some things are just meant to be. susan and i becoming friends and fans of one another could have happened no other way. am so glad that her little gallery caught my attention my first day in castine, maine. am even more happy that i left a business card behind. am super excited that susan called me after looking at my work on my website. am completely thrilled that she asked me to shoot a few portraits for some commissioned paintings she was working on.

last week these paintings arrived in my email box. i was stunned, could not believe my eyes. i knew she was good, but my oh my, these are gorgeous! i prefer the paintings over the photographs. i've always adored colorful lively paintings. i'm a messy girl and am often a little jealous of the mess that painters get to make daily. wearing loose shirts covered in a rainbow of smudges, adding color where they think it should be, making straight lines just a little crooked. playing with reality. such fun!

 

 

am looking forward to next june, visiting in this lovely space again. seeing these new paintings right in front of me. smelling oil and varnish fumes. noticing textures and details, i could never see on a computer screen. chatting about our lives and our creative paths. we may use different mediums but we both appreciate the same sweet details of life. our hearts sing a similar song.

 

 

susan works on commission creating original paintings inspired from photographs. i haven't decided which photograph i will pick for my own painting. (after all i do have a lot to choose from). but i am so excited to have one on my wall. am thinking that everyone needs a painting by susan in their home of a child, grandparent or from their wedding day.

find out more on the process here.

Dizzy Delight

this photo makes me want to go roll down a big grassy hill. reminds me of rotating faster than i thought was possible. the world turning upside down and uncontrollable laughter. with no line and no admission price, it was simple pleasure. remember the dizzy delight when you reached the bottom!?!

Dirty Harry - jamie & dustin

 

South African Love Poem - mitra & reinhard

it was pure bliss. after worry and the unknown. the visa was approved. the citizenship on track. he left south africa. without hesitation and with little time to plan they were married. with papers signed and vows promised, they no longer worry about borders between them.

 .

In Love

.....................................

i am

none them they others

for i am

.....................................

i know

feel when i feel

yours

.....................................

i love

hearts hugging

mine yours mine

.....................................

we live

each for each.

.....................................

-Sipho Sepamala

 Poem from: In the Country of the Heart: Love Poems from South Africa.

Fox Island Wedding - melissa & mike

 the first thing that tickled me about melissa was her enthusiasm. she is positive, upbeat and made me feel like a very special person from the first time i met her. she has been a loyal blog reader and always writes me kind encouraging words right when I need them most. she even switched her wedding date so i could photograph it, since i was booked for her original date. (talk about making someone feel special).

and then there is mike. i fell in love with mike's style and talent before i ever knew him. at my old job as a photographer for a newspaper i would often photograph high end homes for the real estate section. it was a perfect fit since i love home decor, decorating and "before and after" projects. there were several  homes in the area i photographed that had a unique and special flair to them. after photographing them i would find myself driving by, keeping a watchful eye to see when they would sell and who the lucky new owner would be. one day when i showed up to photograph one of these special renovations, mike answered the door. and that is when the connection was made that mike was the one behind these beautiful remodels. he was the man with the impeccable taste and gorgeous vision.

 

melissa shares a similar love for the restoration of old homes. she sees potential where others may not. a perfect saturday for her is going from one open house to another, these two were always meant to be together. they make a perfect little house remodeling pair. beyond their mutual love for houses these two love each other even more! their chemistry is energizing, sparks were flying on their wedding day.

their wedding was at a beautiful private home on fox island. but their eyes kept wandering next door, to an empty neglected home with an amazing view. mike and melissa admitted to sneaking over to the old house after wedding planning one evening a few weeks prior. they shared a bottle of wine while brainstorming about what they would do to the old place to make it sparkle again. on their wedding day it seemed quite appropriate for us to leave the perfect house and visit the imperfect one full of potential. i know these two already have a strong foundation and together they are going to transform a lot of ugly into pretty. maybe someday, we'll be the lucky ones moving into a melissa and mike house. one can only dream!

 

 

  

 

 

 

my favorite detail of the day were these historic house information cards. each table setting featured a different home located in the surrounding area. i kept spotting people picking the cards up and reading away. becoming a little more wise while sipping delicious wine and enjoying the sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 i will end with this beautiful and simple poem about marriage and habitation.

Habitation

Marriage is not
a house or even a tent

it is before that, and colder:

the edge of the forest, the edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn

the edge of the receding glacier

where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far

we are learning to make fire

-margaret atwood

Catch Up - august portraits

sitting here with a rainbow scarf and fuzzy slippers, wondering where the time went between summer and winter? this august and fall was a bit of a whirlwind. but this is how i like it. shoot like crazy when the weather is nice. when the rain comes, stay inside and edit like a maniac. 

loved this idea of playing ketchup from the ever inspiring photographer dustin todd. completely forgot about this joke from pulp fiction. thanks to dustin i was reminded again, it goes " so there's a mommy tomato, a daddy tomato, and a little baby tomato. and they all decide to go out for a walk...the baby tomato starts falling behind and so the daddy tomato gets all upset and storms back to his son and smashes him to the ground and yells KETCHUP!

with the hustle and bustle of august, my portrait clients didn't get proper blog love. this evening i am playing "ketchup" with my august portraits. it's quite nice remembering the sun and knowing that the day will come again when you can start a portrait session at 7:00pm in order to get the best light. now i'm sounding nostalgic. so with no further ado, it's time to revisit august.

sara and baby kaylin met me for a lovely summer evening session.

next, the large family group shot that proved to be more difficult than any of us planned on. but you only need one, right?

here are the little rascals that were just a little too excited for cousin time and not so excited for photo time. managed to join them, play their game and grab some fun shots (without making anyone cry).

the last group shot seems small when compared to the evalt family photo below. went out to my friend janice's cabin to photograph all three of her brothers and their families. janice was my first friend when i was the "new kid" in fifth grade. we have been through so much together and i have known her family forever. it was such a treat to see the whole crew again at their reunion. unfortunately, it ended up being a very wet rainy day. we had visions of boats, docks, swimming and playing for the photographs. all our big ideas got rained out. still managed to take advantage of a large tent and some pretty adorable kids.

and this post wouldn't be complete without these beautiful shots of heidi, peter and their baby belly. these two were so laid back and trusting, it was a joy to work with them! heidi came up with the merry-go-round idea. i could not believe how many times she spun around and around. i get dizzy just looking at the photos.

  

this little guy has already made his grand entrance. am eager to meet him and to get some teenie tiny photographs.

Beatles Fan

am certain my little friend leo outgrew his favorite abbey road t-shirt awhile ago. at two he could name john, paul, george and ringo crossing the road right over his belly button. can't believe how fast they change. his blond curls now just a sweet memory. am thinking he may need a new beatles shirt for his fourth birthday. oh, how i love the clever questions of four year olds! the way they hear every little thing. am thinking the study of beatles songs would be a perfect preschool lesson. actually a good life lesson for all of us. if you are a fan and you haven't already, go rent across the universe. you will either love or hate it. but it's worth the risk.

It's a nice day for a white wedding

 

 

jon and ember were my halloween rockstars. still wonder....why we didn't have a halloween wedding?!?