Mike & Taylor

I met Mike in 2008, freshman year of college. With his gentleman demeanor, quirky humor, and contagious smile, it was hard not to become immediate friends with him. We had a very large group of friends that remained throughout all 4 years of college, but Mike was the one guy that everyone always wanted to be around. I got to witness many of his crushes and flings, and I always wondered what lucky girl he would end up with. She's have to be incredibly special! 

Taylor... is PERFECT for Mike. They compliment each other in so many ways, and are so good together. They are both quirky, loving, friendly, and fun! Once meeting Taylor, I truly couldn't imagine a more perfect girl for Mike. Their love story is sweet in the way that Mike was in heavy but nonchalant pursuit of Taylor once he laid eyes on her, and once their mutual friend, Chelsea, slowly started lining up ways for Mike and Taylor to casually be together in the same room/car, Taylor quickly and unexpectedly fell for Mike as well.

Their wedding day was not only beautiful, but so fun! Every one of their friends and family members are so genuine, loving, and so supportive of Mike and Taylor, and they all know how to have a good time. The Union Station in Tacoma fell nothing short of a stunning venue for them to say "I do." Although, this may have been the only wedding I have ever had random street walkers threaten the groomsmen and try to fight!!!! An interested memory of the day, to say the least ;) Good 'ole Tacoma, Washington.

A couple of my favorite moments of the day were how relaxed the entire morning of getting ready was (best bridesmaid tribe ever - they were on top of everything!), Mike and Taylor's first look, how composed and awesome the whole bridal  party was when we had those unexpected intruders, Taylor's dad seeing her for the first time, Mike and Taylor immediately updating their facebook status maybe 30 seconds after leaving their ceremony (ha! I love them!), their first dance in the middle of the room with everyone surrounding them, and just the entire reception being a complete blast! I didn't want to leave, myself!

Mike and Taylor, it truly means the world to me that you chose me to capture your wedding day. I was completely honored to not only be there, but to also have gotten to create lasting memories for you guys to always remember this day with! I know this next chapter of your lives together will be the best adventure yet. I love you both!

Makeup Artist: Jena Bizeau & Sarah Rashoff

Hair Stylist: Susan Purkett and Heather Shea

Florals: Dawn Newkirk

DJ: Jeremy Hamel

Bartending/Catering: Galluci’s

Cake: Legendary Donuts

Wedding Dress: The Wedding Bell

Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie 

Groomsmen Attire: The Black Tux & Men’s Warehouse

Hotel: Courtyard By Marriott 

Kate & Yadder

I've known Kate for over 5 years now, since she was a little baby freshman in high school. I got to help coach her cheer, mentor her in photography, be her boss, be her friend, and overall get to watch her develop into a wonderful young lady. Through all of the years knowing her, and the 40+ hour road trips and work vacations we've been on together, I feel like I've gotten to know her heart and know her personality pretty darn well. This is why, meeting Yadder, just completely made me smile. They just make sense. Yadder is the male version of Kate. They are goofy, fun, love the Lord, love their friends, appreciate art, have stellar style, and have more swag than Jay-Z and Beyonce. They bring out the best in each other, are their complete selves around each other, and truly exude so much joy together.

I loved getting to capture these two! And what better day to share all of my favorites from their shoot than this girls' 20th birthday?! I can't believe you're 20 Katelyn... Welcome to the twenties, I am so excited to continue to watch you grow and see all of the joy and adventure that life brings you this year and years to come. Happy birthday, love you!

Honduras // November 2017

This was my third time in 9 months visiting the remote villages of Remolino and La Coroza in Honduras. Obviously they have touched my heart in so many ways, that I can't get enough and keep going back for more! I mean... look at these sweet faces. 
What was different about this trip was that the team that I go with, Humanity and Hope, is starting to help a new village from ground up, so we got to meet and start building relationships with the wonderful people in the village of La Cuchilla.
They have no clean water, no electricity, many of them don't have a real roof over their head, no jobs, and no education. Yet they still smile, and still welcome us with open arms.
Visiting La Cuchilla was all around eye-opening, heart-breaking, and inspiring at the same time. The whole village only has this one tiny well that the woman manually pull water up from, which is not even filtered or truly clean drinking water. Imagine what a safe and clean water tower would do for them? Also, what really struck was me that this one young man, who has started working in the first job project in the fields, was so passionate and excited about having a job and helping his tiny village. It was pouring down rain when we arrived, he was out working in the field, and he was shocked that we showed up to visit, with the heavy rain fall. He was out there working so hard in it, and he couldn't believe we showed up in a bus, with umbrellas and amenities, to visit him! 
His words to us were of so much gratitude and grace, and he introduced us to the rest of the men working, and then prayed over all of us. It was one of my favorite moments of this trip.

Welcome to La Cuchilla:

In Remolino, we re-visited the projects and the H&H board members on our trip had their annual meeting with the leaders in the village to see how things are going and prioritize future needs. One of my favorite moments in Remolino was seeing Owen. I met Owen in February, but learned that a few months prior- a fellow H&H friend, Kahlila (an occupational therapist), had met Owen and assessed his situation. He was born with a disability that didn't allow him to develop fine motor skills; he was unable to even hold his head up or crawl at 6 months old. Living in a remote village, and being the youngest of 7 or 8 children, him nor his mom had access or opportunity to the necessary tools that could help him develop properly, despite his condition. When I first met him in February, other members of my group who had met him prior were brought to tears at the site of him walking with his mom helping him. A true miracle. Kahlila had spent many hours drawing out a plan of exercises for his mom to do with him back in December 2016... and what do you know, less than a year later - I got to meet the infamous Kahlila, I witnessed a miracle once again, and little Owen is walking on his own. He is the shyest, but sweetest little boy. He is my absolute favorite to capture, his smile is infectious, and he truly is a miracle. Here is a photo of him from back in February and a few photos from him this November trip:

We began our day in Remolino by praying over one of the men in the village who is really ill. We then checked out some of the projects, and the boys got their regular haircuts from Ronnie, also a fan favorite - he's so full of life and always smiling. And he really loves giving those "fresh fades."  We also taught some of the women in the village how to make a bracelet, that you can read the story behind and purchase here. 
We also all wore our Gen-Us shirts all day, which you can purchase here. Both of these are part of the "Purchase with Purpose" campaign going on right now, and I encourage you all to make a simple purchase - where all of the proceeds go into helping the people you see pictured in this blog post.

Remolino:

Isn't there an evident visual difference between La Cuchilla, the village we are starting out in, and this village of La Coroza? However, the one thing that is the same between the two villages currently is the smiles on their faces and hope in their eyes. The connection between these two villages is pretty neat too, because Emerita, the female leader of this village - is the one that connected us (Humanity and Hope) to the other village in need, La Cuchilla. True example of this radical change having a domino effect... we are helping and changing the lives of those who have the hearts to go out and want to do the same. It's a pretty exciting time for La Coroza, as they are about to get electricity in their village, too! That is what all of the wood piles are that the children are playing on in these photos. So exciting! And so awesome to witness the process.

La Coroza:

I'll leave you with this: If these photos alone don't inspire you to want to be a part of this story, talk to me. I can only fit so much into a blog post, so I'd love to share more with you in person! Come on a trip with us, donate, purchase with a purpose for gifts this Christmas.
Be generous, live a generous lifestyle, and help make the world just a little brighter :)

Chris & Courtney

Chris and Courtney got married in the beautiful lands of Napa Valley, CA on a not-so-sunny, but still lovely Fall day. They said their vows in the cutest little Catholic Chapel, Holy Family Mission, and celebrated the night away afterwards at Vintner’s Golf Club with their friends and family.

There were so many special details and people included in their day. Courtney wore the same wedding dress that both her mother and grandmother wore for their weddings. Courtney's dad passed away a few years ago, and Courtney's mother gave her meaningful gifts, including her dad's handkerchief. Her two grandmothers were SO excited about the special hanger they made for Courtney, with special lace. Courtney's own brother did her makeup, which was so awesome and fun to watch all morning! They also did something a little un-traditional with their wedding day, and did not have a bridal party. I love how much that made their day even more just about them, though. It was fitting.

Despite the rain, unexpected crazy traffic, and a few other hiccups, it was still the most perfect day for these two! Their family and friends sure know how to party. The celebration through the night was definitely my favorite part of their whole wedding day! These people know how to get down and have good time.

Chris and Courtney, thank you so much for choosing me to capture one of the best days of your lives. It was truly an honor to capture so many dear moments for you guys and your family. Much love!

Ashley

Ashley is such a beauty inside and out, I loved the time I got to spend with her capturing her senior portraits! It was extra special because I got to know her as a little freshman when I coached her high school cheer squad, and it was surreal now taking her SENIOR photos! What.. where does time go? I had to reminisce on some of the cheer photos I have gotten to take of her over the last 4 years... Sorry Ash ;)

This girl is spunky, stylish, sweet, hilarious, and genuine. I just adore her! Can you tell by the amount of photos I published on this blog post?! I especially love that she was down to adventure out to the WA side of the gorge on a sunny fall day we had in October.

Does it get any better than fall colors, fur coats, and sunsets? I think not.

Ashley ~ you are the best, thanks for being such a blast and also for inspiring me to be more stylish ;)

Clark Family

Ashton and Aysha have a special place in my heart because their backyard wedding 2 years ago was one of my favorite weddings of all time. It truly was a very special and very fun day!
I loved getting to capture their wedding in both photos and video, their maternity photos shortly after, and now we have little Amiyah, who I got to capture when she was 8 months old, and now at 13 months old. I love this little family and it truly makes my heart happy to get to be a part of and capture so many precious moments in their lives.

And how cute is little Amiyah? She is stylin', she is sassy, she is independent, funny, and so sweet. All at only 13 months! I can't wait to watch her grow over the years and capture more of her little personality! But don't grow up too fast, sweet girl. Ashton and Aysha - LOVE YOU GUYS!

Scott & Kyla - Chelan, WA

It's not often you get to be good friends with the competition. However, in this particular industry, it's not totally out of the ordinary. Thankfully I have a very dear photographer friend in Eastern, Washington who is always down to bounce ideas off of each other, compare techniques, ask questions, and in this case - share weddings.
She is with child and due very soon, so she asked if I could take over one of her weddings for her in beautiful Chelan, WA. I am SO thankful for this opportunity, because Scott and Kyla turned out to be some of the most awesome people ever and I now consider them friends.

Scott and Kyla are from Tacoma, WA but opted for a "semi-destination" Chelan wedding for their friends and family to get to on vacation for and get away. They got married at Karma Vineyards, overlooking the valley during the ceremony, and tucked inside a romantic "wine cave" for the reception. It was so lovely!

It was a special family affair, their 2 sons were a huge part of the day, both walking down the aisle with them in the bridal party and even giving toasts! I especially loved how their dinner was a classy rendition of family-style, with the long beautiful dining tables and fine, delicious food being passed around the table. The food, the wine, the toasting, the dessert table, the dancing - I would say the reception was one of my personal favorite parts of the day. It was truly a celebration of love.

Although a close second favorite part of the day was definitely the parting of the skies and the rainbow that appeared as Kyla walked down the aisle towards her new husband. It had been sprinkling throughout the day, but everyone was hopeful it would stop by ceremony time. God even blessed us with a rainbow during the 15 minutes of the day that Scott and Kyla said their actual vows! Right as the guests made their way down to the wine cave, it started raining again, and the rest of the evening was spent all together in the wine cave anyways!

Scott and Kyla, although my friend Hillary would have done such a beautiful job capturing your wedding photos too, I am so, SO thankful that I got to meet you guys and capture this day for you. It was an honor, and I completely adore you two and your boys! Congratulations! 

Mike & Sharon

I've known Mike and Sharon for about 5 years now and they are truly two of my favorite people, very dear friends... and are two people destined to be together.
I have gotten to know them, their kids, and their friends and family very well over the last couple of years, and I feel so fortunate to have them in my life, so you can imagine my excitement to get to capture this day (long-in-the-making) for them!

The blending of two families can be a very beautiful thing, but what do you call it then when the two families have already been beautifully blended? I think this is what made the day so incredibly special. To get to see how loved Mike is by Sharon's kids, Mick and Melissa. To see how cherished Sharon is by Mike's son Trav, and his wife Tonicha. To witness the love Sharon's mother-in-law has for Mike. Both having gone through so much life and many hardships individually, it is pretty wonderful to see God finally bring these two together. And the support and love that they have surrounding them, amongst both their friends and family, is so evident in their lives, and it was so perfectly reflected throughout this entire day.

They couldn't have chosen a more perfect venue to embark on this new chapter of their lives together at! The Rogue River Lodge in Trail, OR is a hidden gem. Located right on the Rogue River, it is so peaceful and beautiful, you can't help but feel the Lord's presence there.

Reflecting back on this day, there were so many special moments. Everyone important to them poured so much love into preparing for this day... the florals, decor, hair and makeup, BBQing and camping the whole weekend, etc, etc. It was truly a labor of love. 

Some fun pics from rehearsal day:

Some of my favorite moments from their wedding day include: Their first look (so intimate and sweet!), Sharon's mom walking down the aisle waving to everyone with tears in her eyes during the ceremony, the ceremony itself (it was perfectly them), Mike and Sharon dancing with all of their kids (it was a beautiful family moment!), Mike and Sharon personally handing out champagne to all of their guests before toasts, Sharon's parents sharing a very special anniversary dance, the boats going down the river hooting and hollering celebrating with us throughout the day, and so much more.

Mike and Sharon, I hope you guys know how much you mean to me and how truly special it was for me to capture this day for you. I admire you both as individuals, and adore the love you two share. It is raw, it is tender, enduring, special, and so beautiful.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Farrell, I love you guys!

Sweet Little Higgi Fam

I've spent the last 4 days in Warsaw, Indiana and couldn't have wrapped up the trip any better than with a little morning family photoshoot with this sweet family before church.

Ben has become a good friend of mine in the last year, and his parents are just the sweetest! They have a beautiful lake house on Winona Lake and after spending some time there over the weekend, I witnessed all of the cute little details that give their home so much character, the relaxing lakeside vibes, and all of the love in that household... but I noticed not many family photos in the house. Knowing just how family-orientated they are, I took it upon myself to make sure we got some family photos before I left. I also rarely ever get to do family portrait sessions anymore, so it was so much fun!

Even Ben's brother, Diamond, made it into some shots ;) ...Naturally.

Also-- Indiana is so beautiful in the fall! What a treat it was to get to spend an early October weekend there.

Denver Girls Trip

Road Trip to Banff, Alberta

I am so fortunate to have such awesome, talented assistants who also share the same passion for outdoor exploring and epic adventures that I do. So that when we book a wedding in the middle of nowhere Idaho (Bonners Ferry), we make a little road trip adventure out of it for good measure... throw a little camping, hiking, and boating in there - WORTH IT.
I'll never turn down a road trip, especially if it involves driving through the gorge.

Ellie is my full-time assistant this year and I absolutely adore her. She has a sweet, quiet, kinder spirit but is such a badass undercover. She shows up with all of the camping gear and all of the outdoor skills. Katelyn has been with me for a couple of years working part time, and she is always full of joy and can rap any song you ask her to. I can always count on her to show up with good vibes all around, every time.

We drove a straight 12 hours from Portland, OR to Banff National Park in Alberta, BC with  stopping only a handful of times for potty breaks and snacks. Go us! Our jaws literally dropped as we turned around the first corner and witnessed the majestic mountains, as we approached Banff National Park on the last home stretch. But the sun was setting, and we were trying to avoid setting up camp in the pitch black, so we only stopped for a few photo opportunities and opted for just a few photos out the window as we trekked on.

We spent 2.5 days hiking around and exploring the National Park, making sure to see all of the good spots. Peyto Lake, Two Jack Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, The Historic Cave and Basin, and the Upper Hot Springs were some of our classic favorites, just to name a few. We also had a lovely rooftop dinner, enjoyed some beers in a downtown dive on a rainy afternoon, and enjoyed making coffee and eggs in the morning once we finally got our mini camping stove working back at our Two Jack Lake camp site.

Our 3rd day, we packed up and drove another 5 hours to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. We filmed a lovely backyard wedding all day the following day and stayed in the cutest, little, small town, family owned lodge (Log Inn at Bonners Ferry) for 2 nights. Seriously the cutest. I would go back to middle of no where, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, again just so I could stay there again. So, so darling. Shout out Katelyn, too, for keeping us fit on our trip and giving us personal workouts in our little lodge room.

Since neither of my girls had ever spent time in one of my favorite places on Earth, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, I saved a day to pit-stop and explore the town on our way back home. We made friends with some kind gentleman with a boat, and gave Ellie her first time (ever in her life) experience on a boat. There were a lot of firsts on this trip :) We shopped downtown that evening, had a fabulous dinner, and went back to what we thought was going to be another lodge hotel, but found out we were basically back to camping in our "glorified camping" 2 bunk hut situation. It was actually so cute that I didn't care. It even had an adorable little porch swing. No complaints.

We saw so many beautiful places and had so many different experiences in a matter of only 5 days. After spending 120 hours straight with you girls, and at least 30 hours of those being in a car with you, I can honestly say I still love you both dearly ;) 
Katelyn and Ellie, Thank you for always doing stellar work for me, but more importantly, for always be willing and excited to enjoy life with me.

Until next time Banff... we love you.

Nick & Christina

Can everyone just get married at Tsillan Cellars and have epic dance parties like this?!

Christina and Nick's STUNNING Chelan, WA wedding was one of my favorites to date. The details were flawless, dainty but not over-done, the venue was magical, the planning was perfect, and this couple is the definition of couple goals. The way they love is so genuine, and intentional. And can we talk about how gorgeous they are? Please have so many beautiful children you two....

I love how they made a weekend getaway out of their wedding, and got to enjoy time on their lake front property rentals with their family and closest friends all weekend long. It made for a relaxed, laid-back, and incredibly enjoyable setting. What a wonderful way to get married!

Nick and Christina, I cannot thank you enough for choosing me to capture this day for you. It was truly the best day ever, thank you for making me feel so included and truly like a friend, not just the videographer ;) I loved every minute of your day and was completely honored to get to document it all for you. Congratulations, I just love you two!

And because I can never contain myself from snapping a few photos, even while filming a wedding day, here are just a couple stills from their day:
(Nick cracks me up in the group bridal party shots, I had to include those, ha!)

Venue: Tsillan Cellars  // https://tsillancellars.com/
Wedding Coordinator: Ellie Haisch  // http://www.elliehaischevents.com/ 
Florals: Fleur de Lis - Owner Lynn Tuttle  // http://lakechelanflowers.com/ 
Photography: Jenn Tai // https://weddingsbyjenn.com/
Videography: RP Imagery // www.rpimagery.com
Catering: Sorrento's  // https://tsillancellars.com/dining/ 
Makeup: Linda Crase  // https://www.facebook.com/lindacrasemakeup.1/ 
Hair: Sarah at Londons Hair Salon , Tacoma WA
Dress: Dolce Bleu - Pronovias  // http://www.dolcebleu.com/
Men's Suits: Men's Warehouse  // https://www.menswearhouse.com/
Welcome Sign/bar signs: Hey Halle, Portland Oregon, Paige Thammavong  // http://www.heyhalle.com/
DJ: Cam Smith

Freels Family

It was so much fun adventuring up in the mountains with these three. I captured Jeni and Griff's wedding last summer, so it was especially fun to get to catch up with them on our mini road-trip up the mountain, with their new tiny addition, Vaughn having stare downs with me in the backseat.. He means business, he is a very serious baby... but literally the cutest ever! I just love him. For 35 degree weather, he was a little trooper. And even smiled for me a couple of times!

I truly treasure being able to capture not just one, but many milestones in so many wonderful people's lives. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. Honestly, the best part of this job - when clients become friends, and I get to be included in all the most precious moments of their lives :)

Baylee and Tyler

 I met Baylee in 2009 when our moms set us up for a senior session, me being a new photographer and Baylee being a senior in high school. Our moms both worked together at the time... so, thanks moms! Fast forward a couple years later and Baylee is starting a photography business of her own and we get to collaborate on a few things and learn from each other, which it's always good to have friends in the industry. Collaboration, not competition! Fast forward another couple years later, and I am transitioning into wedding videography as Baylee is really starting to kill the wedding photography game. We've gotten to capture a few weddings together now, and it is so fun! Her as the photographer, me as the videographer. Brides.... we work really well together, FYI ;)

When she first told me that she met this Canadian guy on Tinder, he came down to meet her, and they really hit it off, I thought "that's sweet, but it'll never work." Living in two different countries right off the bat and trying to start a long distance relationship? No way. When they got engaged, I was happy for them, but still hesitant. It's not until I finally got to meet Tyler that it all finally made sense. They are truly the perfect combination of similarities and contrasts. They are so alike in that they are genuine, driven, intentional, energetic, hard working, and love to be around their friends. Yet, they are different in smaller ways that balance each other out perfectly. Baylee is whimsical minded while Tyler is a little more logical, haha. I actually love this about them! I feel like Tyler brings Baylee back to Earth sometimes but Baylee gets Tyler thinking more spontaneously. Besides all of this, how hot of a couple are they?! I mean, come on. They make THEE most beautiful couple.

Their wedding day was absolutely perfect. Baylee got ready at her mom's house with some of her closest friends, and then we drove out to the gorge where her and Tyler shared their first look. They wanted their wedding day to be intimate and magical. Well, they certainly got that. On a March afternoon in Oregon, they were absolutely blessed with a beautiful, sunny day. That, in itself, is magic. The said their vows on the most stunning cliffside with their immediate family and closest friends. It was very intimate.
Baylee and Tyler, your wedding day was perfect. Laid back, intimate, fun, romantic, spontaneous, filled with so much laughter and love... I already know your wedding day is just a hint of what the rest of your guys' lives together will be like. I'm excited to see what the future holds for you two.

Thank you for having me capture your day, it was truly an honor. I love you guys!

Also, it's always a treat to get to work with the fabulous Jessica Heron, who photographed the day. Check out her photos from their wedding day, below:

Generous Coffee // A Quest for the Best Cup of Coffee

Back in February, I joined a team in Honduras with the non-profit organization that is now family to me, Humanity and Hope United. While on this trip, Ben briefly mentioned this idea he had for a company, "Generous Coffee." Back then, it sounded like a nice idea -- but exactly that, just an idea. I wouldn't have imagined back then that a couple short months and a few unexpected connections later, I'd be a on road trip across the central american country with him and 2 others on a quest for a grower, a story, and the best cup of coffee.

First of all, who are these guys who mysteriously whisked me away right in the middle of wedding season? Ben Higgins: board member of H&H, one of the three founders of "Generous Coffee," lives in Denver, Colorado, funny, friendly, compassionate, heart of gold. Riley Fuller: president/founder of H&H, Ben's best friend, one of the three founders of "Generous Coffee," lives in Austin, Texas, caring, intentional, driven, heart of gold. Darwin Suazo: works for H&H, lives in El Progresso Honduras, absolutely hilarious, sweet, spontaneous, heart of gold. Truly, these guys are gems; I adore all three!

When invited on this trip, my mind was blown that they wanted me to capture it all. When I returned from this trip, my mind was even more blown by what I experienced on this trip, and most of all - the crazy ways in which God works if you truly surrender your heart to Him, and faithfully trust in His plan.

We were in such preliminary stages of Generous Coffee, that I had no idea what to expect, especially because it sounded like Ben and Riley didn't know either. Truthfully, I wasn't sure how much we would actually accomplish, but I was still excited for the experience! I myself am a planner and always have an itinerary of some sort while traveling. I knew I was in for a wild ride with these guys when into the first 40 minutes of the road trip, Riley (driving) looked back in the rearview mirror at Darwin and asked, "Hey, we are going the correct way... right man?" Darwin, dumbfounded, responded, "Um? I have no idea. Where are we even going?" Ben chimed in, "Do we even have GPS?" None of us had an international plan on our phones, no GPS, no maps, and apparently nobody knew where we were going. Jesus, take the wheel. 

I had a feeling that was a sign for how the whole trip was going to go, but honestly I trust these guys with my life and have so much fun with them, that I wasn't completely worried. But, in that moment, I may have been slightly concerned. Jesus really did take the wheel though for the whole trip! The order of events, the people we met, the views we witnessed, the amount of things we learned, it was all God, guiding us and completely present with us for the entire journey. 

Day One: Doing Business on a Mountain Top

We drove for a good three hours in order to meet up with coffee grower and producer, Cristian. He led us to one of his areas of production, literally on top of a mountain, Taulabe Mountain, with outrageous views, to show us where his coffee beans are dried with the natural air. This is when we just started finding out exactly how little we all actually knew about the coffee industry, haha. Cristian was very informative and educated us quite a bit, while also telling us a little about his story, his family business, and background in the coffee industry. He was also showing business developer and coffee expert, Habib, of Project Origin in Australia, around his farms... so even just listening to their conversations, we got so much insight into the coffee world! Right place, right time. We also got to meet Cristian's longest employee, who was the exact epitome of what we had in mind for a Generous Coffee story. Cow-skin cowboy hat and all, we even kind-of-kiddingly said that he should just be our company logo.

Day 2: Coffee Education from Cristian

After leaving the mountain, we checked into our cute hotel, and walked around the quiet town of Siguatepeque, Comayagua before ending the night at the only restaurant left open that late.

The next morning, we met up with Cristian again at his little coffee shop where his coffee is actually sold in town, Cafe Tio Juan, where I enjoyed the most delicious iced coffee I think I've ever had. Cafe Tio Juan is named after Cristian's younger brother, who tragically passed away trying to protect their family coffee from thieves in their fields in the middle of the night, a few years back.

It was a lovely little morning sipping Cristian's coffee, and the waitress serving us was so sweet! Before trekking onto our next adventure, we soaked in a few minutes standing in the geographical center of the Americas and of course had to take a squad photo. Kind of neat!

From there, we visited Cristian's farms and learned what a coffee plant actually looks like, haha. It was kind of wild how much we learned in that one day though. Between listening to him and coffee expert, Habib, and asking several questions, we definitely soaked in a tremendous amount of coffee knowledge in one day. As Ben said, "I think I learned more about coffee in one day than I have in my entire life." 

Day 2...Continued: Gracias Bound

The rest of this Day 2 was spent traveling into Gracias, one of the cutest little towns that I've truly ever seen. The architecture and stone streets were so beautiful, yet it still had a very small town feel. We had all afternoon and evening to kill so we checked into our adorable hotel, had a nice lunch talking about coffee since we felt like experts at this point, and then roamed around the town, cigars in hand, singing with locals and taking pics.

Just when I thought the day couldn't have gotten any better, we finally got to meet Carlos Javier, newly hired agronomist for the Hacienda Montecristo Coffee company, one of the largest coffee producers in Honduras. He gave us a warm welcome by treating us to one of the most delicious dinners in by far the LOVELIEST setting I've ever dined in. Strung lights, streaming river, delicately designed details everywhere, fresh mountain air, elegant wine, and divine food. Seriously, the evening was perfect. I remember sitting at the table sipping my wine, looking around me and just feeling all around blessed. It was a beautiful evening that I will remember forever.

Day 3: The Best Cup of Coffee, complete with a story.

Okay... just when I thought the entire trip couldn't get better at this point, the third day ended up being the absolute best. Cristian had educated us so much in the last few days, and we had been lucky to taste his delicious coffee and get to know him, but we were still in search of story.

We awoke the next morning to Carlos Javier taking us on a "2.5 hour drive" to meet a small coffee-growing family that his larger company outsources to. We drove about 10 minutes before turning onto a quite treacherous bumpy, rocky road and that's when I realized we were in for a 2.5 hour adventure, not just a drive, in order to get to this family.

Driving up the mountain with my hand out the window, I literally felt tears coming on because the views were just so magnificent, and quite literally, breathtaking. I, unable to control my photographer brain, may have politely asked Javier a couple times too many to please pull over for the several photo-ops ;)

About halfway up the mountain, after seeing these crazy views, small little homes built on side of the cliffs, and naturally a little boy randomly in a tree in the middle of nowhere, we stopped to let these 2 ladies and a small newborn into the back of the truck so they didn't have to continue walking. We were probably driving at least 30 minutes straight up hill before we approached their destination. I couldn't believe these people living on this mountain walk up and down that terrain on the daily, or weekly, as they have no other form of transportation. 

After a few other hiccups that included Riley falling out of the back of the truck and waters too high for our vehicles to pass, we hiked up the remainder of the mountain to the family's farm.

I'll never forget approaching their home. There are 4 main brothers that run this family coffee farm that has been in their family for over 100 years. Each brother has a rather large family of their own, a wife and several kids, that each live in their individual, very small, manmade homes. Coffee is their life. The men farm the coffee beans, the children pick them, the women process them into coffee. It is my understanding that the children have not ever seen the real world, much less have ever left the mountain that they live on. When we approached, the children scattered so fast and hid behind doors, their parents, anything that would hide them! They were so, so shy. After all, they had never really seen people outside of their family members.

We got to chat with the brothers, and I finally got the kiddos to warm up to me by snapping photos of their sweet faces and then showing them the back of the camera. They were the sweetest little children. The one particular little boy in the majority of my photos, in the red shirt (then later in the maroon/white striped shirt), holds a special little place in heart, as he followed me around all day, at a safe distance from me of course, so secretly, and so bashful. At one point, I noticed he had gone and changed his dirty shirt into a clean shirt and then he snuck over to their outdoor sink to rinse off his dirty face and arms. He seemed so intrigued by us, but I think I was more intrigued by his curious and sweet spirit. I caught sight of him at the wash basin, and every time I glanced over he would take turns hiding behind the pillar than doing more rinsing. I finally convinced him to give me a hug by the end of the day, and it melted my heart how he held onto me for a few lasting seconds.

After wandering around their farm a bit, my favorite part of the day came when we all sat in the eldest brother's dining area of his home, overlooking the view from the top of mountain, and sharing a cup of coffee together. His very own coffee. It was truly charming how his wife so eagerly prepared and served the coffee to us. It was even more touching to have the brother repeatedly telling us how much he couldn't believe we were interested in their coffee and interested in their story. He seemed radically humbled and I'll never forget the tiny tear I saw in his eye as he was smiling at Ben and Riley, thanking them over and over again.

In my mind, in that moment, the quest for the best cup of coffee had been accomplished. This family has a story. And it needs to be shared.

Day 3...Continued:  A treat from Ramon

Leaving the mountain that afternoon, my heart was completely exploding with love and adoration for this family. The endless labor and sacrifices that they make for their family coffee business is completely astounding. It sounds like Hacienda Montecristo has really helped this family out by giving them more demand for their supply, by outsourcing to them.

This is how perfectly God's plans work... None of that would have happened that day if Riley wouldn't have randomly met Ramon, family heir of Hacienda Montecristo, on an airplane to Honduras a few months prior. Like, what?!!! Talk about perfect place, perfect timing.

Although Ramon was out of the country at the time we were there, he still graciously invited us to his family property in Copan, where he had his employees and wait staff completely TREAT us to another fine meal and great tour of his family's gorgeous plantation. As soon as we arrived with Javier, these sweet little waiters (they had to be like 14 years old!) came out and offered us cocktails as our jaws dropped in awe of their beautiful home. So much history and so much beauty, their home is seriously unreal. Someone overheard Riley and Ben talking about how they should have saved their Honduran cigars from earlier to enjoy on this fancy porch we were now standing on, and sure enough - 5 minutes later - this little boy comes out with a platter of cigars for them. It was so sweet! We definitely felt completely treated. After another lovely meal and a DELICIOUS coffee cake desert, we started our personal tour of the plantation, learning all about their growing process, how many families work on the plantation, the history behind it, and we even got to experience the task of "cupping" coffee by these two sweet ladies who are in charge of that particular process.

Another educational experience for sure. It was also very interesting to literally go from one extreme to the other, having experienced the way that the small 4 brother families live to the fairytale sights of Hacienda Montecristo, in only a matter of hours. However, it did make my very happy that wealthy, successful people like this also have huge enough hearts to want to help smaller families in the same industry. Thanks, Ramon, for the special treat of a wonderful day!

We ended our 3 day adventure driving back to San Pedro Sula area in the pitch black of night in a dangerously heavy rain storm. Thank you, Riley, for keeping us alive on that scary drive.

We chatted life, reminisced about the people we met in those short few days, and talked about our excitement for the future. Personally, I believe Generous Coffee is going to change the world.

They brought me along to capture a small documentary / promo-type film for the new company... which will be coming soon. However, I didn't expect to take so many photos and I certainly didn't expect to blog about the trip either. 

I ended up wanting to document every moment especially so I could remember it for myself. Like I mentioned in the beginning of this extremely long blog post, God works in such crazy ways. The order of events, the people we met, the experiences we shared, I don't know that it would have A) been as effective or successful if it was any different, and B) deepened my faith and touched my heart the way it did.

Riley and Ben, thank you so much for including me on this wildly awesome adventure. I'm so proud of you guys and blessed to call you guys friends.

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Corey & Melissa

Corey and Melissa got married at the beautiful Holy Names and then celebrated at the Seattle Tennis Club on a gorgeous late August day. I have done several of Melissa's friends' weddings so at this point I feel like a friend of hers, myself, and was SO excited to capture everything for her!

All of the little details of the day were SO Melissa, and so lovely. Corey and his groomsmen were probably the funniest group of guys I've ever met, my tummy was literally hurting from laughing uncontrollably all day. Melissa gave sweet, personalized gifts to her bridesmaids that had them all in tears. We did an intimate first look out on the dock in the afternoon, and Corey's reaction was so cute. Their entire bridal party was so awesome and made photos so much fun, too! (... And I do not say that about every bridal party, haha)

They had their ceremony in a stunning church, Holy Names, followed by an exquisite cocktail hour out on the Seattle Tennis Club lawn, overlooking the water and the mountain. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when Corey's brother gave a heartfelt toast and even had Corey, the jokester who never shows any emotion, in some tears. "Eat, drink, and be merry" was exactly how I would describe the rest of their evening... delicious dinner with donuts for dessert, delightful drinks, so much dancing, laughter, tears, with a little bit of PBC-fight-watching mid reception.

Melissa and Corey, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your beautiful wedding day. It means a lot to me that you guys continue to recommend me to all of your friends, so it was even MORE of an honor to finally get to capture this day for YOU! Love you guys.

Venue- Seattle Tennis Club

Day of Coordinator- Julie Gauntt

Photographer/Videographer- RP Imagery

Makeup Artist- Clock Work Beauty (Holly Bowen and Brianna Dean)

Hairstylist- Ashley Ridley Smith

Officiant- Fr. William Heric

Florist- Juniper Flowers

Catering- Seattle Tennis Club

Bartenders and Services- Seattle Tennis Club

DJ- B.B. Santiful

Ceremony Music- Seattle String Trio

Dessert- Top Pot Doughnuts

Bridal Dress: La Belle Elaine's Bridal

Bridesmaid dresses- J. Crew Weddings

Men's attire- Wall Street Custom Tailoring

Transportation/Get Away Car: British Motor Coach

Scholl Family

Talk about a photogenic family...

I have been so excited to meet Drew, who is the 3rd partner with Riley and Ben for Generous Coffee. I finally got to meet not only him this weekend, but his sweet family as well. As the fellas had a Generous meeting Saturday, us ladies sat on their porch all afternoon drinking coffee, talking about life, and cuddling kitties. Literally, for hours. I adore his wife, Bobbi! She has to be thee sweetest person I've ever met. Their story is incredible, too.

When the youngest was just a baby, they moved their family to Papua New Guinea to be missionaries for a few years. The work they did there and their stories are incredible.

They now live in Warsaw, Indiana in one of the prettiest and coziest homes I've ever seen, on a large piece of land for their active kids to play all kinds of sports and run around with Gus, their pup, and chase their chickens around. So cute! Spending Saturday afternoon with them, I realized this family is true family GOALS... when I think of the kind of marriage and family I want someday, the type of place I want to live, the quiet afternoons I want to spend, the important things I want to focus on in life... it's all reflected perfectly in Drew and Bobbi's family. I adore each of them, so I casually asked Bobbi if they had plans the next morning before church and basically invited myself over to take family portraits of them ;)

SO GLAD she agreed! Is this not the most beautiful family...

Dustin & Anne

I knew when Anne first contacted me, her wedding would be the most intricate, detailed, and organized wedding. Being a wedding planner herself, she knew far ahead of time every detail and I loved it!

Their day started off with the girls drinking champagne in the cozy cottage on site, well the guys cracked some beers and played some pool.

I've never seen such amazing work on florals. They had a team of 10+ people hanging florals on every tree, branch, bike, you name it, allllll day before go-time. It was crazy to see it all come together and witness their craft.
Their wedding was unique because it was considered a "vow renewal," as they have already been married for a year. How fun, though, that they finally got a glorious wedding day to celebrate with all of their loved ones! And an extremely beautiful one, at that.
Every detail of the day was amazing, from the florals to the blown-up handwritten vows on canvas hanging from a tree, to the choreographed dance routine that Anne and her bridesmaids did at the reception (must watch in the video!). Their film was quite fun to put together as their dance party all evening was a riot, as well. These people know how to dance!
See for yourself at the end of their wedding film ;)

I also couldn't help but snap just a few (random) photos throughout the day, so here a couple still glimpses into their day, as well, below.

Anne and Dustin, thank you so much for choosing me to capture the essence of your vow renewal wedding day. It was beautiful, fun, and SO you guys! I adore you two, congratulations!

Florals: Designs by Courtney

Photographer: Kimberly Lind Photography

Videography: RP Imagery

DJ: Dylan with Otto-matic Mobile Music

Food Trucks: The Peach and the Pig, The Fishbasket and Lula Salads

Bartending Service: Bartenders Extraordinaire

Cake: The Cakewalk Shop

Venue: Woodland Meadow Farms

Dress: LaineeMeg Snohomish

Bridesmaids Dresses: Shop Revelry 

Chairs/Rentals/lighting: Cort Party Rentals

Planning: It’s all in the Details

Hair: Elisah Canfield

Makeup: Madelyn Henning

Honduras // July 2017

It was such a blessing for me to last minute be asked to come down to Honduras and film a promo film for a new company, Generous Coffee. The three awesome guys behind this company are Riley, Ben, and Drew, whom also happen to be founders and board members of the non-profit, Humanity and Hope United.

Currently we are in very pre-limary stages of Generous, so I knew that the 5 days I was going to be down there with the guys were going to be filled with new adventures for all of us, as we had no idea which coffee farms we were visiting, who we'd be meeting, where we'd be staying, etc.

I'm creating a whole separate blog post about our Generous road-trip and research that I'll share soon, but for now I wanted to share the days that I was in Honduras outside of the Generous trip. I didn't know that I was going to get to meet and spend time with a 26 person crew from Humanity and Hope that was down there at the same time, a group being led by Ben and his mom the previous week. IT WAS SUCH A PLEASANT SURPRISE! It was so wonderful getting to know the people on the team, whom were (for the most part) all new to H&H. I could already tell that they had built some very strong friendships amongst each other, and I was happy to get to be a part of it for the last 48 hours of their trip.

With that, I also got to spend time with them in the village of La Caroza and reunite with the cute kiddos that I met in February when I was there earlier this year. Loving on these sweet faces and seeing their smiles never gets old! It was fun to see how well the 26 person H&H team not only connected so well with each other, but also connected with and had already made such an impact with the families and children in the villages. 

One of my favorite stories from their week was how one little girl was unable to attend school one day because she didn't have any shoes to wear. An H&H team member, Sarah (whom I was so blessed to get to know, she has the biggest heart!), was the only one made aware of the situation at the time, by the girl's concerned friend, and immediately said, "Well, let's go get her shoes!" With Darwin's help, they went and bought some shoes, and the girl was able to attend school that day. I love so many things about this story. One, that the girl's friend was so concerned about her friend not being able to go to school. Two, that Sarah is such a humble soul that nobody on the team even knew about what happened until the end of the week. Three, that there was a moment shared at the end of the week that Sarah spoke with the two girls and told them how inspired she was by the strength of their friendship, and let them know that if they can be there for each other through something like that, then that kind of friendship will be a solid rock for them throughout their entire lives, in any kind of situation. Sarah's words and tears also brought tears to the girl without the shoes, and it was such a special moment that I'm so glad I got to capture. I included a series of a few photos of that moment, just because it was so touching to not only see how much the girls' friendship inspired Sarah, but how powerful Sarah's words of encouragement were to the two young girls.

We also spent a day in Remolino with the new "health squad" for H&H finding out health concerns and needs of the village in order to bring a health program/clinic/care system to them in the near future. Along with visiting household to household and doing some data analysis, we hung out more with the children, and witnessed again just how labor-intensive both the women's jobs are with the sheep and pigs and the men's jobs are in the fields. It is insanely inspiring to see how hard these people work for $7.50 US/day. Which to them, is a lot. 
I also loved getting to spend more time with Catherine and Androlla, two of the translators that live in Honduras, that also have huge hearts! They are such a blessing to H&H and the villagers absolutely adore them.

After the Generous trip, we also came back to spend a few hours in a new village, La Cuchilla, that H&H intends on working with in the future, who currently has zero electricity and no access to clean water. The village of 27 families lives in 20 small homes, and shares ONE well to manually get their water, and still must boil the water before it's even okay to drink. Can you imagine living in that heat and having to pull up your own water from a well and boil it before you can even drink a glass of water to quench your thirst? It was heart-breaking to witness first-hand and I'm thankful H&H has connected with these wonderful people to help their community prosper! I truly look forward to seeing these families again in the very near feature and can't wait to be a part of bringing hope and prosperous change into their lives. Just look at how joyful they are right now with so little... imagine the smiles on their faces once they can drink water without getting sick and find out there is opportunity for them to experience jobs and education.

Once again, I left Honduras completely humbled with a heart full joy, hope, and gratitude. A kind of joy that literally hurts my face from smiling so much, a kind of hope that inspires me to share their story and get more people involved, and a kind of gratitude that encourages me to invest all that I have into these people - their communities, their hearts, and their new opportunities.

Find out more about the vision of Humanity and Hope by clicking here.

Find out more about how you can get involved here:

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