When Dana & Matt contacted me about photographing their wedding at Mount Hood, I was SO excited. Since I moved to Portland I’ve been hoping to have the opportunity to shoot a wedding there. It’s just so… magical. Eerie & beautiful at the same time. The weather is so unpredictable, and the Timberline lodge is almost always buried under a pile of snow. Apart from my obsession with the landscape up there, it also helped that Dana and Matt were incredibly laid back and easygoing. They even asked me how I was doing periodically throughout the day. How sweet is that?! I felt like they truly enjoyed their wedding and really lived in the moment. I’m so lucky to have been a part of their wedding. Congratulations, Dana & Matt!

Thanks to my boyfriend, Chris, for second-shooting this one with me. :) He’s also a wedding DJ so if you are getting married you should contact him!

There is a video on the way as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

There are a few polaroids, Holga photos and double exposures at the bottom of the post if you can make it all the way through ;)

It’s funny how photo shoots always turn out differently than you expect. Olive just moved to New York City (yay, Olive!) so I knew I had to squeeze in a shoot before she left. Our original plan was sort of creepy and doll-inspired, but I recently watched the Grey Gardens documentary and I think it somehow entered in to my shoot! These images give me more of a lonely, crazed housewife vibe who likes to dress up, but I’m totally cool with that :) We also got to play with chickens, so that was fun too!

I’m so excited for Olive and Annie (view my shoot with Annie here!). They have made such a mark here in Portland and I constantly run across photos of them. They are always creating and expressing themselves in such beautiful ways. It is so inspiring to be around people who crave art. So, I guess my point is… I’m truly glad to have encountered Olive and Annie before they left. New York won’t know what hit it :)

About two weeks ago I flew home to Virginia to photograph my cousin’s wedding. Susie and Brian haven’t known each other very long but they knew right away that they wanted to be together.  I’m so excited that she found someone to make her happy! The wedding took place on Potato Hill at my grandparent’s house. It is LITERALLY on top of a mountain and you can see all of Lynchburg. It’s crazy!

It was such a fun wedding and I loved having an excuse to come home and spend time with my family. You might spot me in a few of the photos below :)

Thanks to my little sister, Natalie, for second shooting this one with me! I keep telling her that when she graduates from UVA she can move to Portland and be a wedding photographer with me!

There’s a wedding video on the way as well, so be on the lookout for that. Thanks for reading!

So these cupcakes are DELISH. I was in a pickle the other night because I needed a treat to bring to a party and I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store. I LOVE s’mores and I’ve always wanted to try to make s’mores cupcakes. I was in luck because my boyfriend and I had recently gone on a trip so I was able to pull together all of the ingredients! It was meant to be.

Chocolate-filled Graham Cracker Cupcakes 

recipe makes 12 cupcakes
(derived from Baked Perfection)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers ground in processor)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
4 hershey’s milk chocolate bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in vanilla. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture. Fill cupcake liner’s 1/3 full, place two hershey squares in the middle of each cupcake, then cover with remaining batter.  Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 15 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

 Marshmallow Fluff Icing 

(derived from Please Pass the Pie)

1 jar of marshmallow fluff
3/4 cup softened butter
Add powdered sugar (3/4 cup to 1 cup) and vanilla extract (1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla), to taste
Add small amounts of flour to thicken if desired

A few weekends ago I met up with photographer/model Amanda Hatheway for a fun photo shoot at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge (if you haven’t been there you neeeed to go!). Check out some of her images of me from that day here!

She gave me some modeling tips (which I think actually helped because usually I look sooo awkward and dorky in photos) and we tried out a few new photo techniques. & The weather actually cooperated with us! Yay, Portland!

All holga images created with a Holga GCFN. All polaroids created with a Polaroid Impulse using PX 600 Silver Shade Impossible Project Film.

Okay so where do i begin? Cait & Justine are both GORGEOUS and AWESOME and I’m in love with these photos! When I found out I was shooting their engagement photos I was so excited because I knew they were up for doing something a little unconventional. We went to the Lone Fir Cemetery and the weather was perfect and the trees were in bloom. The theme of the shoot was “Til Death Do Us Part” and the Lone Fir Cemetery was the perfect combination of creepy and beauty. Then we set up some crazy colored lighting at their apartment and I would have taken photos all night if they hadn’t stopped me! SO MUCH FUNNNN.

& Of course I had to do some double exposures (taken with a Holga GCFN) and polaroids (Impossible Project Film – PX 600 Silver Shade) and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. Eeeeee!!!!

Hair & Make-up – Jessica Belknap

Stephanie and Tommy are adorable together. They are both so easygoing and I felt like they genuinely cared about every single person at their wedding. I definitely got teary-eyed a few times! Luckily the rain held out for us a few times so we could get a few shots outside of the beautiful church, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

The reception was held at the University of Portland, where Stephanie & Tommy met.

Also, Tommy is a police officer and has recently been on an episode of Cops! Pretty crazy stuff. & I just found this article about Tommy’s transition into the police force too! Anyway… I’ll stop embarrassing him now!

Congratulations to Stephanie & Tommy!!!!!

Amanda & Jason are absolutely adorable. They live a little bit outside of Portland in Sheridan, Oregon. It is SO GORGEOUS out there. Chris and I had to stop a few times on the way out there because we saw so many amazing places to take photos. There are tons of vineyards and farms and it’s crazy to think it’s just an hour drive outside of Portland. I love that this city has so many things outside of it to discover.

I had such a great time on this shoot simply because Amanda & Jason were so laid back and sweet. & Their daughter, Harper, is precious! We just hopped in their car and drove around looking for some great photo spots. We even shared some delicious chinese food after. I loveeee these photos. I’m so happy they were open to some film photos as well, and I think we got some awesome double exposures! There are a few polaroids in there too.

I can’t wait until their Sunflower Wedding in August!!! :) 

Super excited that my Holga photograph, “Welcoming Depth”, was accepted in the PDX Photo Month Exhibit at Lightbox Photographic Gallery. It will be up until May 4th, so if you happen to be on the coast you should swing by and check it out! There are lots of other awesome photographers in the show and I’m honored to be a part of it! You can check out the full collection of photos in the show here!

A few weeks ago I did a super fun engagement shoot with Oana & Mario. We got to explore the Historic Columbia River Highway. I had no idea how many beautiful waterfalls there were, other than Multnomah Falls! The one at Shepperd’s Dell is incredible, you can practically walk on top of it. & It was great because they weren’t swarming with people either. Oana & Mario are two of the sweetest people I’ve met so far in Portland. They even invited us over to their house for dinner! They are awesome. Just plain awesome. & I’m so glad I’m the one to shoot their wedding in August too. Yay!

Here’s a look at some of my favorite shots from the day, including some Holga images and Polaroids if you scroll down to the bottom. :) I know I always post too many photos, but I can’t help it soo……