West Coast First-Timers

God works in crazy ways and I love it! Getting the opportunity to go to Honduras with H&H was a total God moment that completely fell in my lap, but even more things came out of it than I originally expected. The people I met on that trip will forever hold a place in my heart, two of them being Dana and Ally - whom I like to call my soul sisters. They are literally two of my new best friends that I feel like I have known my whole life. 

Ally is from Missouri and Dana is from Wisconsin. When I heard they had never really been to the West Coast, I was shocked. I shared so many PNW pictures with them and convinced them they needed to visit me sometime. One thing I love about these two is that they stick to their word. We left our Honduras trip end of February and they said they would come visit me in Oregon some day, and about 40 days later they really came!

I was so excited to show them all of my favorite things about where I live. The first day we explored the Columbia gorge. We stopped at Vista House, then on the way to the hike I wanted to do, we stopped at the first waterfall off of the Historic Scenic Byway (Latourell Falls) and their minds were blown. I didn't realize they had never even seen a waterfall! They were seriously obsessed... I was like "goodness, you girls haven't even seen anything yet!" Then we went to Moultnomah Falls and their minds were really blown. From there, we hiked Angels Rest and then stopped at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River for appetizers and beers. We ended the gorge adventure frolicking around Rowena Crest. We headed home on the WA side so I could take them over the Historic Bridge of the Gods and then ended at my parents house just in time for them to treat us to a yummy dinner and wine.  It was an epic adventure day and I was actually incredibly impressed that we fit so much into one day.

The next morning we headed out to the Oregon Coast. Huge thank you to my friend Judy who let us use her beautiful Rockaway Beach cabin for our stay. We stopped at Cannon Beach first on the trek to our cabin, and briefly took some pics at Hug Point, too. We cozied into our cabin the first night, made some tacos, and attempted to build a fire on the beach. It was so windy that it wasn't necessarily a success, but a memory for sure haha! The next day we celebrated Dana's birthday. We started off with a birthday frosted breakfast roll for her and went on our merry way to check out some other beaches. We stopped for a bathroom break at Blue Heron wine and cheese company, part of Tillamook Cheese Factory, and ended up staying for a wine tasting (Dana's first wine tasting!). We spent the rest of the day exploring Pacific City and of course getting lunch at Pelican Brewery. Our last night at the beach, we went out to a local dive bar, Rick's, the only one in Rockaway and met a rowdy fun group of people, which led to meeting another fun group of guys, who invited us over to their beach front cabin for a fire and s'mores, which us girls ended up building AND buying s'more supplies for, but at least we got our fire on the beach. Another first- for Ally!

The next day we headed back to Portland so I could show them the actual city. We were blessed with another gorgeous sunny day to wander around the Sunday market and walk around the city, then I took them over to another favorite, 23rd street, for some shopping. Mid afternoon we drove out to Mt. Hood because I wanted to show them my favorite Hike of all time, Bald Mountain - which opens up to the most glorious view of Hood. However, we drove all the way there to find out that the road to the trail was unaccessible due to snow... my bad. Always do your research, oops! Fortunately I remembered another road near the trailhead that opens up to another pretty view of Hood, so we were still able to get that "photo op" with Hood. We ended the evening introducing them to my friend Kelsey at another one of my favorite places, McMenamins Edgefield. Another day that I couldn't believe we fit so much into! So blessed.

It was a truly joyful experience for me getting to show Dana and Ally all of my favorite places, a little piece of where I grew up, and a big part of my heart - my home, the PNW. It made me smile seeing their jaws drop at the sight of a waterfall, of a mountain, and of all of the beautiful green trees we have here. So many more wonderful memories were made having these girls visit me and I'm writing this still thinking about how in awe I am of how God works. At the beginning of 2017, I never would have imagined doing all the things I've done before the month of May, and the new and dear friends that I've made along the way. I am SO incredibly thankful. Thank you, Jesus. And thank you Dana and Ally for coming to visit me, for being extreme troopers with all of the driving and the constant go-go-go, for having as adventurous hearts as myself, for being genuine forever friends, and for posing for all the photos I wanted to take of you guys even when you were over it haha. I love you girls!

Butcher Jones

I just got back from spending 2 weeks in Arizona when I thought I was going for 6 days, and had the absolute time of my life. It was a much needed couple weeks in some sunshine. In my extra week, I got last minute Eric Church tickets with my friend Jon, went to a few more spring training games, got to see one of my college besties Nichole and her family, and had the opportunity to meet a new friend, Annabelle.

I have a dear friend, Tenielle, whom I've known since grade school. She text me while in Arizona and mentioned that she reached out to her college friend, Annabelle, who lives in AZ and told her I'd be in town. Annabelle is also a photographer, as well as a very sweet girl - and I'm thankful that our mutual friend Tenielle thought to even randomly connect us from 3 states away! 

Meeting Annabelle was a complete treat. She is incredibly kind and endearing, with such a wonderful story and testimony for the Lord. We spent an hour driving out to explore the Butcher Jones area in the Tonto National Forest and got to share several stories. Unfortunately, our goal of capturing sunset was diminished by the cloud coverage, but we still explored beautiful areas and took some awesome photos, and of course photographers on an adventure always have to take a few portraits of each other ;)

Detours // Joshua Tree National Park

Some people wonder how I travel so often... and the answer is no, I am not made of money. I am a small business owner, and I'm extremely lucky to do what I love to make a living, but no I am not ,by any means, made of money. I am however, lucky enough to have a mother who has worked for Delta airlines for 20 years and the benefits are wonderful :)
 

The benefits are wonderful budget-wise, but flying stand-by has gotten more and more difficult over the years. Often times, I'll be stranded in a city for several hours, sometimes several days, just trying to get to another city. Often times, I'll be stranded in an airport for 24 hours or more. And often times, I'll get fed up with the hours in the airport and just fly somewhere other than my original destination. I'm thankful my schedule allows me the flexibility for this type of travel.

I'm spending the week in Arizona this week, maybe next week also. Yesterday, I got up at 4am to get on the Salt Lake City flight out of Portland to make sure I got there in order to try to make at least one Phoenix flight that day out of SLC. Chances were looking slim to none come 3pm, so I hopped on a Palm Springs flight instead. 

Arriving into Palm Springs and having to rent a car to drive the 4.5 hours to Phoenix, most would be frustrated. I, too, would normally be frustrated. However, I've come to realize in the last few years that frustration does not result in anything good. It results in more frustration, tiredness, stress, bad attitudes, and that, in turn, effects the people around you. The term "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" has really come into play for me lately. Everything happens for a reason, God gave me a little "me" time before hitting AZ with friends and visiting family, and I couldn't have been more thankful.

I rented the cutest car that I've never even heard of (I'm not a car person)... I was urged by a friend to rent a convertible and let my hair down, but I'm cheap so rented the latter and just rolled my windows down instead... felt just as happy ;) Anyways, what came of the Palm Springs-Joshua Tree detour was nothing short of fantastic. I met the sweetest old man on the plane, whom showed me around Palm Springs a bit when we landed, I took my time on the road to AZ, discovered some wonderful new music, stopped in Joshua Tree and got a little lost wandering around taking photos of plants and the beauty that surrounded me, and caught a sunset in the middle of no where all by myself. I didn't have any cell service most of the time, and truly didn't have any worry in the world of timeline, schedule, itinerary, anything. It was all a true breath of fresh air, and then I made it to my final destination of Phoenix by 11pm. Between 4am and 11pm, I had a damn good day. Come to find out, it was the first day of spring, and I'm so glad I got to spend it the way I did!
 

The first day of spring 2017 I learned that some of life's greatest adventures are actually detours. I actually didn't think I would blog about this (thought I was taking photos for myself), but I woke up today feeling truly blessed for my unexpected detour yesterday and had to share. Here's to detours. And here are my photos from Joshua Tree National Park... it is so beautiful, I can't wait to go back and explore for more than an hour!

Brandon, Nicole, & Baby Addison

Although wedding videography has become my main passion, I am SO thrilled to still be able to photograph when I can... especially when it involves meeting wonderful people like Brandon and Nicole! Who are about to welcome their first child, baby Addison, into the world.
It was such an honor to capture this special time in their lives. Brandon and Nicole have been together for 12 years! High school sweethearts. They are seriously so adorable and sweet, and are going to make such wonderful parents. Although we just met for the first time at their shoot, I already feel like they are dear friends, and I am so excited to watch their little family grow!!
By the way... isn't Nicole just glowing?! She's a stunning mama-to-be!

Bahamas

I've never been on a cruise, never really had any desire to go on a cruise... but this Bahamas cruise was one for the books, and one of my 2017 highlights so far; even though it was supposed to be a cruise elsewhere....

In my Uncle Cory's prime 30's, he was full of spontaneity, loved to travel, loved to ski, loved going out with his friends, loved enjoying so many things in life. Then, he was in a terrible car accident in 2001, was in a coma for 15 days, miraculously came back to us, but was left legally blind in addition to several other impairments for the rest of his life. As you can imagine, after that kind of trauma, things were never the same. Because of his impairments, he was unable to keep his job, in which he also took great pride in. For years, the only thing he has really been able to do and takes joy in now is rescuing rottweilers. Because he always has had 1 or 2 rottweilers in his home over the last 15 years, he really hasn't left his house and is always unavailable to go on any family vacations with us. However, sadly his last rottweiler passed away in the fall, but I took it as an opportunity to get Uncle Cory traveling again!

I said "Uncle Cory, let's go somewhere. I'll take you anywhere you want." He said Belize. I said, "we're going to Belize!" So, him and I, being the only ones with a flexible schedule and the rest of our family with normal jobs, we sought out options for a Belize vacation for the two of us. When it came down to it, it seemed to be that a cruise might be a good option, stopping in Belize, Cozumel Mexico, Roatan Islands, and Grand Cayman. We booked it and were excited for months leading up to it!

Out of 15 years that my uncle hasn't traveled, the one cruise that he books would of course get canceled. 2 Days before we were set to sail, we got an email from Carnival Cruiseline saying there were some ship maintenance issues, and our anticipated itinerary would be no more; since our ship was unable to go maximum speed. What they could do for us - A) Give us our money back and cover flight costs or B) Give us 50% off and still take us on a cruise, but only to the Bahamas to get the ship fixed, and give us 50% off of a future cruise as well.

I was so peeved, I couldn't believe the ONE cruise we perfectly planned because of the destinations, fluked on us 2 days before travel! I was already on my way to Denver to fly out with Uncle Cory when we received the news, so we sat in Denver for a day contemplating the options.. both of us irritated with the situation, and really leaning towards not going at all. Then, we ultimately decided to make lemonade out of lemons and just go for it. After all, neither of us had been to the Bahamas before, so that would be another check off the ole list... and being on a cruise, unlimited drinks, in the sun, surrounded by sea, we really couldn't complain... Plus I thought, we would be surrounded by such positive people, because the only people going on the cruise would be people doing the exact same thing we were: making lemonade out of lemons.

My first cruise experience was very unique. We pretty much sat at port in the Bahamas getting fixed for the majority of the time... but it was still SO wonderful! Warm sea breeze, lots of sun, lots of drinks, new friends, fun evenings, great shows, amazing food, Uncle Cory and I had a blast. Most people had to ask us two or three times, "Wait, he's your uncle? she's your niece? you guys are traveling together, just the two of you?" Hey - I highly recommend an Uncle-niece trip if you have an awesome uncle :)

Anyways, I took this week to really spend time with my Uncle and make sure he had a great time and I really didn't bring out my camera all that much. It was more about the relaxation and living in the moment. But, of course I took just a few pics, so enjoy the little bit of Bahamas that I did capture:

Honduras // Part 2 (La Coroza)

Welcome to La Coroza, Yoro, Honduras. A small village with little to nothing in tangible form, but the biggest hearts around. Humanity and Hope has brought in clean water for them, jobs, an education opportunity, and are currently working on providing bathrooms to every household too. I included a photo in this post of what they currently have, which is a little make-shift shack with a concrete hole in the ground. Click here to donate, as many of the donations are currently going towards this bathroom project.

La Coroza truly stole my heart and I cannot wait to go back to hug and laugh with all of them. I want to share my two favorite moments from this village though... which are the moment we arrived and the moment we left.

Our arrival: Our truck pulled up into the village early morning, so the kids were in school. It was the cutest thing to see all of their faces piled up at the door of their classroom peaking out as our truck pulled up, and it literally looked like ants in their pants, they were jumping up and down and couldn't contain their excitement (granted, many of us they hadn't even met before). When we got out of the truck, and made our physical appearance known to them, it was all they could do to not run over each other while sprinting full force and jumping all over us. The joy that these kids had just merely seeing us, I will never forget. One of my favorite images from the whole trip is one I got of the kids piling all over Riley (founder and President of H&H) and squeezing him like they were never going to let go. It was so sweet. Our arrival was definitely a moment to behold and the pure joy in their hearts truly made my own heart overflow.

Our departure: My other favorite moment was the last morning before we headed to the airport. Just Jaclyn, Ally, and I rode into La Coroza one last time with Darwin to bring donuts and orange juice to the men working in the fields. With the beautiful sunrise, and the gratitude that the men had for us bringing them some breakfast, it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip.

The eye clinic was also a huge success in La Coroza. They managed to get everyone in the villages' eyes checked the first day, so opened up the clinic to surrounding villages on the 2nd day. I'm pretty sure a whole village piled into the back of 1 truck... you'll see in the photos. They were all smiles though and you could tell they were so thankful to have this opportunity to literally, SEE. 

Other than the eye clinic, we also spent our time digging a trench in the plantain field, well... helping at least ;) The village men found it very entertaining how NOT labor-intensive our American men are, as they did more singing than digging. We also helped dig the holes in the ground for the new bathrooms. I came around the corner one time to see how they were doing with the digging of the hole at one particular home, to find a 5 year old with a machete chopping up coconuts for his friends to eat. I took plenty of pictures of that... because it's not every day you see a 5 year old so coordinated and comfortable with a machete!

We also ended our last evening in La Coroza with a church service. It's really neat that a local pastor and worship team come out every Thursday to this small village, donate their time, and bring the word of God straight to their little village. A few of us climbed the water tower during the worship service, and it was really a wonderful moment to have that aerial view of the village, and see that the whole village was empty and quiet except for at the worship service... all were worshiping. 

All of these moments I will hold in my heart forever. However, I am excited to go back again and again and bring more hope, inspire more faith, witness more miracles, and grow in the H&H Family. I am starting off the photos with a photo of our H&H team. It's crazy to see God works in small ways of simply just bringing a solid group together. Each one of us truly had our own unique skill-set to bring to the table, and we couldn't stop talking all week about how much of a dream team we were.... not to brag haha... it's just really cool to see God's hand in placing each one us on this particular trip at this specific time. I love each and every one of you and thank you for laying out your hearts and giving up your time to not only inspire the villages we serve, but to inspire me. Until next trip! ;)

Also, I encourage all of you who are reading this to do something. Come on a trip, donate, share our story.  As Riley recently said, "Everyone was created on purpose, and for a purpose. No one is an accident." So why invest any less than our best? Find out more by clicking here.
And give them a follow on instagram to keep up with what we are doing down there!

Honduras // Part 1 (Remolino)

I am incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to serve and love on the people of Honduras with Humanity and Hope. Specifically, the people of the small villages of Remolino and La Coroza. Because I took over 3500 photos in one week, I decided to split the blog post into 2 parts -- by villages. This post will be filled with images from REMOLINO.

We began the trip with just us girls -- Ally, Dana, and myself -- flying into San Pedro, and having 2 days to spend some time with Bessy (works for H&H and lives in Honduras) and go into the villages as well. It was a privilege to spend some one-on-one time with the people of Remolino the first day, learn about the projects, and play the kids. I am currently working on a film for Humanity and Hope, so we got to interview some of the adults in Remolino... and it was so touching to hear about how Humanity and Hope has changed their lives, restored their faith, and given them hope. On the way back to our hotel that day, we got a flat tire... which luckily happened right at the coconut stand and not only did we have some men there willing to help us out with the spare tire, but we also scored some fresh coconut. 

The following day, the rest of the group joined us and we held the first day of the eye clinic in Remolino. Humanity and Hope visits these villages about 5-6 times a year, and although each trip has a specific focus usually, the overall agenda is to inspire hope, generate  opportunities, and create better living conditions, in order to empower the Honduran communities we serve. This specific February trip was designed around an eye clinic, whom one of the H&H board directors, Mitch, put together. As an eye doctor himself, Mitch was also able to get another doctor on board, equipment ready, and glasses donated, so that these people of Remolino and La Coroza could get their eyes checked for the first time in their lives, and we could help them to see.

The eye clinic was a huge success! Since it had not been done before, there was some concern with the organization and flow of things since we only had 2 days in each village to check a combined total of over 300 eyes. It turned out wonderful! In the mean-time, the rest of us were learning about the projects around the village... the jobs that Humanity and Hope brought to the villages in order to give them jobs, and in turn, give their kids opportunity for education.
 

In Remolino, the main projects are the sheep, pig, and chicken project for the women as well as the pineapple fields that the men work in.

Visit Humanity and Hope's Projects page to learn more about these opportunities we provide!

Some of the other things you will see in the photos:

The women teaching us how to make tortillas - a day in the life of them - it's harder than it looks!

The kids loving the disposable sunglasses we gave them after dilating their eyes.

Climbing the water tower that H&H put in recently so that they could have clean water.

Jumping into the river at lunch break.

The kiddos in school receiving letters from "pen-pals" in the U.S that are currently taking spanish class. We also had them write responses back and took back to the U.S. with us!

I saw God's hand at work in so many ways in our short time in Remolino. Unlike any other non-profit organization that I know of, Humanity and Hope doesn't just go in and give to give. Yes, we love and serve these people... but the vision is to give in a way that creates sustainable change (give them jobs and provide a door to education) so that in the future they are capable of doing for others what we have done for them. This trip was an incredible experience and I will follow up with more about the Hope and Humanity organization in Part 2 of this blog post.

I could go on and on about our time in Remolino, but I think I'm going to wrap it up here and let the photos speak for themselves... the evident joy on all of the kiddos faces just melts my heart. Enjoy!

New York

"What are you doing next week? Do you want to go to NYC with me?" - Bryan
"Hmm.. I don't think I have any plans. Oh wait, it's my birthday, yeah no plans though" -Me

"Perfect so you're coming to NYC with me for your birthday?" -Bryan

Haha, YOLO. After all, I'd never been to the East Coast so figured I should probably experience it. Bryan's been my travel pal for the last few years and I'm thankful he invites me on the majority of his adventures with him and his friends (shout out Bryan, you da best)! Last year I was in Norway with him on my birthday, and this year - New York City with him, haha.

I've never considered myself a city girl, and that could not have been more validated on my first experience in New York. Don't get me wrong - I had SO much fun and it was a blast to experience NYC with good friends, but the whole lifestyle there... nope, just couldn't do it. I'm a country girl who believes that west coast is best coast whole-heartedly :)

However, NYC did treat me extremely well though. I got to frolick around the city and do touristy things with my dear friend Mark who came and met up with me from Jersey, celebrated my birthday with Bryan, Jon, and even my college bestie Christina who I haven't seen in years! We experienced 3 seasons in 3 days.. it was raining when I got there, 60 and sunny the next day, and then a winter blizzard the last day. Emily joined us for the last couple of days, and us 4 saw so many different things in a matter of a few days, and walked so many steps that I thought my feet were going to fall off. We got rad photos, took a ferry at sunset, ate marvelous food, and just had a wonderful spur-of-the-moment trip to NYC! Bryan, Jon, and Emily - too much fun with you guys, thanks for having me tag along, and can't wait for the next adventure ;)

Enjoy my photos from the big apple! Shout out and photo cred to Bryan and Jon for the couple photos of myself, as well. 

Secret Supper in BEND, OR

If I lived anywhere besides the Portland area, it would definitely be Bend, OR. The landscapes, the community, the breweries, the seasons, the people, the all around vibes... I love it all!
Huge shoutout to my friend, Max, for inviting me to a "Secret Supper" in Bend this last weekend. It was a beautiful weekend, and just what my body needed in this travel season of my current life.

We stayed at Suttle Lake Lodge, which is EPIC. It is the perfect combination of rustic and modern, with a cozy common area, a warm fire, a trendy bar, an arrangement of popular games, and a record player complete with an impressive collection of legendary records. The rooms are also the perfect mix of spacious and cozy, in a way that you literally look out the window and feel like you are in your own private cabin on the lake. I took a few photos so you know what I mean!

Okay... I had no idea what I was in for going into this "Secret Supper" thing... I had never even heard of it, but apparently it's a thing. A wonderful thing! Truly one of the coolest experiences of my life. The amazing team behind it began doing these secret suppers about a year ago, with the vision of inspiring people through feast, community, and the natural surroundings... and just something out of the ordinary. Mona and Jaret, from Tournant Catering in Portland, are the incredible chefs behind this masterpiece concept (and also the cutest couple ever, I obviously HAD to take a few portraits of them)! They teamed up with a talented team of creatives, Christiann, Danielle, and Eva, to really bring their vision to life. I believe this was their 4th one, and this one was alpine themed. They cooked everything over an open outdoor fire, the candle-lit table setting was to die for, and the people we dined with were genuine, fun, down-to-earth folk that I seriously feel so lucky to have met and spent all weekend with! Sorry for the picture overload, everything was too beautiful - I could not stop taking photos, even though I was there to just enjoy it, oops. Not pictured - Max rounding up 12 of us after dinner to join in the lodge and play a rowdy game of Cards Against Humanity - complete with home-made cookies, more booze, and more laughter.

Buy tickets to their next Secret Supper because you seriously have to experience this yourself to truly know how wonderful it is. We laughed, we feasted, we drank, we shared stories, we cozied up with blankets, it was 30 degrees and we didn't even know it! Anyways, thank you to the Secret Supper crew for blowing my mind... you guys are amazing.

With the obvious highlight of the weekend being the Secret Supper, we also made sure to spare a little bit of time for some hiking and adventure on the way home. We met up with my friend Megan and her cute pup Dally for a hike at Tumalo Falls. We couldn't stop talking about how glorious the weather was that day... the falls and surrounding areas were completely covered in snow but the sun made it feel like t-shirt weather. We worked up a 10 Barrel appetite and enjoyed more of the sunny day at the cute Bend brewery before ending our day at Smith Rock.

All in all, it was an epic weekend. I love to travel, and I love to explore and try new things, this included. However, this was semi-different in a sense that it was a weekend prioritized with NO priorities, NO plans, and I thoroughly enjoyed NOT having a worry in the world, breathing in fresh air, relaxing, and enjoying the people that I was surrounded with. Martha and Thadius - the cutest young couple with old souls... They recently got married, and we loved getting to know them.. they sat across the table from us if you couldn't tell, I took so many candids of them! :) Also, Tim and Deb - I loved getting to know this couple and hearing their stories... Tim fell in love with Deb when she walked into his elementary class, and now they are married with kids my age. It's stories like theirs that you appreciate and really admire. I just adore them! Tim reminded me of MY dad Tim, and had me constantly laughing at the table, as well as in our Cards Against Humanity round-up. Anyways, here's to my new friends, Max for inviting me, the Secret Supper crew, the wonderful staff at Suttle Lodge, and the beauty that surrounded us all weekend! Oh and here's to BEND, OR too :)

Styled Elopement in the Gorge

If I'm being honest, traveling is my absolute favorite past time in my "off-season" of November-May. However, every once in awhile, us PNW creatives have to get our "wedding fix" in come mid-off-season time ;) Baylee, Jessica, and I had been discussing the idea of a styled shoot for awhile... This has definitely been in the works, folks! Huge props to Baylee for honing in on all of her connections and really coordinating the whole thing in order to make this dream a reality!

In truth, we had tossed so many ideas around over the course of about 6 months, and everything came together beautifully as if it was meant to be, just in the last week or two of the shoot. Our models - STUNNING, and so much fun to work with! They were a perfect fit, a real life couple, sweet and funny, and so passionate about it each other, that it made for a very romantic outcome in the imagery. Baylee and Jess photographed the entire day, whom made for a killer photographer duo. I filmed obviously, and was so stoked to put together this film, I hope you liked it! We are so thankful to all of our vendors who participated, please check them out in the links below! And enjoy this combination of imagery from both Baylee and Jess:

Coordination and Photography: Baylee Dennis 
Photography: Jessica Heron Images
Models: Bailey O'bar and Kevin Bacewich
Hair & MUA: Mallory Savery
Wedding Gown: Cocoon Silk in Portland, OR
Florals: Your Flower Friends
Jewelry: Rageda's Jewelers
Venue: The Gorge... No better place than the PNW ;)

Here are just a few "behind-the-scenes" shots that I took while filming:

All in all, it was such a fabulous day! Despite cutting my finger open, getting a flat tire, Bailey rolling her ankle, all of us pushing our car stuck in snow, and painful frozen fingers and toes later... we were completely blessed with beautiful weather and just the right amount of wind, and all of us had so much fun together. It honestly couldn't have been more perfect. Thanks again to all of our talented and amazing vendors!

San Francisco

My fellow photographer and dear friend, Baylee Dennis, and I finally get to work together this summer! One of the cutest couples I've ever met, Austin and Katie, hired Baylee as their wedding PHOTOGRAPHER and me as their wedding VIDEOGRAPHER coming up this year. We are SO excited! They took us down to San Fran to capture this special time in their lives, engagement bliss. I tell ya, traveling with your wedding photographer and videographer for a long weekend is definitely a good way to get to know them! We had such a blast frolicking around being San Fran tourists, road-tripping to Santa Cruz and Mavericks, CA and taking rad photos and video of our beautiful couple (and now dear friends) Austin and Katie. A sneak peek of their engagement film is featured at the end of this post... A separate blog post with their engagement photos and full love story film coming soon :) For now, enjoy some behind-the-scenes photos from our trip...

Here is a little one minute preview of what's in store for Katie and Austin's Love Story Film coming soon...

Travis & Tonicha

Where do I start with Tonicha and Travis? I was lucky enough to become Tonicha's "first friend" when she moved to WA (thank you Sharon for knowing that we would become instant besties) and we immediately connected on a lot of different levels. Similar to what Sharon said at the rehearsal dinner, I, as well, have only known them both TOGETHER... As long as I've known Tonicha, I've known Travis, and I cannot imagine Tonicha without Travis. They compliment each other extremely well and it's obvious that God designed them for each other.

Their wedding took place at Reinstein Ranch in Livermore, CA. This was the first wedding that I handed the majority of the reins over to my two lovely assistants, who flew down to CA to capture their day, and I was able to just enjoy the wedding day as one of their guests, it was fabulous, and a "first" for me in awhile! - to be able to sit back and soak up a wedding day without having to capture it all...although I obviously love to capture weddings, too! ;)

Anyways, HUGE shoutout to Katelyn and Ellie for absolutely killin' it! The couple of times throughout the day that I tried to micro-manage a little bit, they both shoved me away saying "Rachel! We got this. You go have fun!" This is why I love them. And shout-out to Seth, who drove down from WA and arrived just in time to capture epic aerial footage. To my friend, Gerry, who was my +1 to their wedding after our long week of hiking and camping in Yosemite. To my new sweet little friend, Annika, who danced the night away with me.

Thank you to Shelby Payne who photographed their wedding, beautiful work as always. Last enormous thank you to "Auntie" Melissa who did all of the floral work, which turned out perfect. 

Although I wasn't the photographer, I still took some random photos at their rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and just a few at the wedding that I wanted to share in this blog post along with their wedding film. It was such an amazing weekend! 

Travis and Tonicha - I love you guys immensely. Thank you for having me be a big part of one of the the most beautiful days of your lives! It was very special to me, and I'm even more thankful to be a part of your lives. 

And a few fun photos from Shelby as well...

I was actually Tonicha and Travis' roommate for awhile last year so I had access to their home luckily, therefore I secretly threw together a little "preview wedding film" for them to come home to from their honeymoon a week after their wedding. I got Travis' dad, Mike, to bring his projector over, I framed some of Shelby's photos that I had her send over early, and I decorated the front room, and let's just say there was the usual amount of tears from Tonicha when they walked in :) Check out their reaction:

2016 [Behind-The-Scenes] Recap

2016 was one of my best years yet! It brought a ton of new adventures and meeting new friends, with many of those new friends being my brides/grooms/clients. I've never done a "behind-the-scenes" blog post but thought it would be fun this year since my assistants and I truly had the best time at every wedding this year and had so much fun with all of my couples.

Check out all the behind-the-scenes fun, at the end of this post... 

But first, I want to give a shout-out to my extremely talented and awesome assistants that I also get to call some of my best friends. Stephanie and Katelyn worked with me at the majority of my 2016 weddings, but I had a couple of fun opportunities to get to bring 2 other gals along, Lacy and Lauren, to a few weddings, too. Not only that, but I also brought Ellie on board at the end of the year, whom will be shooting all of my 2017 weddings with me as well, and I seriously am so excited! Thank you girls for being a part of my year, a part of my life, and huge assets to the success of my business. I love you girls and hope you know how thankful I am for you.

STEPH

Stephanie is my go-to for wedding dress shots, pose ideas, attention to detail, and encouraging me when I'm stressed. You can always find her with the cute kids at the weddings. She is a delight to have with me at all times, we have way too much fun traveling and on road-trips to weddings together, and my clients absolutely adore her. She is sweet, caring, hilarious, and has a gentle heart. Stephanie- I couldn't be more blessed for the direction that my life has taken me, because your friendship has been a huge part of it and means the world to me. Thank you for also killin' it with me in the wedding photography industry and especially for making me laugh so much.

KATELYN

This was Katelyn's 2nd year filming and photographing weddings with me, and she is so much fun. As a cheer coach at Camas, I've enjoyed getting to watch her grow into a beautiful, talented young lady since freshman year and now I get to have her as my assistant, side-kick, dance buddy, and dear friend. Seriously though, she's the only one who can ever pull me out to the dance floor. You'll see in the photos and videos... She easily makes friends because she is so loveable and you can always catch her on the dance floor. Oh, and she's a really great rapper!

LACY

Lacy was one of my 2014 brides and I am so lucky to have her in my life, I absolutely adore her. She is one of the most kind-hearted people I know and am so blessed with her friendship. She is also a blogger (Positively, Lacy) and I love her style. I had been keeping up with the recent photos she takes for her blog and opted to invite her on one of my June weddings. Despite her being 6 months pregnant, and it being a double header (2 wedding) weekend all across the state, she was so enthusiastic about going and she ended up killin' it. I was so proud of her and it was such a joy to have her along for my first 2 weddings of 2016. Lacy- you are a life savor! Love you!

LAUREN

I met Lauren in 2014 when she interned with me for her senior project. It was such a fun year, and I was so excited to get to have her along for a few weddings this year as well. It's always a joy to get to work with Lauren. She is sweet, thoughtful, talented, and witty once you get to know her ;) Oh and I learned this year how much she loves cows. Love and appreciate you Lauren!

Meet ELLIE

When I posted for a job opening for 2017 weddings, I was blown away with the amount of responses I got. As flattered as I was, I was bummed that the majority of them were 40+ year old males. Not that I have anything against you men, but with the amount of traveling that comes along with my weddings, I was really hoping for a female close to my age that I could really click with. When I was just about to give up hope, I got the sweetest email from "Elizabeth Parker" who was just asking for a chance. When I looked through her portfolio, I was like "a chance to work with me?! Girl you're more than talented!!" I was so excited... then when I got to asking her more questions like if she'd be interested in video too, she nonchalantly mentioned that she had her degree in video production and was almost done with her photography degree as well. OKAY?! Dream come true... I feel like I hit the jackpot with Ellie, especially once she started working with me, and I found her to be just as sweet and fun as she is talented. I am so excited to have her on board for 2017 weddings! I know you guys will love her as much as I do :)

I truly feel the meaning of "dream team" capturing weddings with these gals. I am so thankful for them and my 2016 weddings would not have been the same without their talent, composure, humor, spontaneity, friendship, style and class. Here's some more behind-the-scenes of 2016:

Shout-out to Seth, too, my "drone guy"
...Who slays at aerial footage and steals all of the flower girls' hearts :)

Cheers to 2016 being one of the best ones yet!

Small little moments captured behind-the-scenes of some of our 2016 weddings. Love my girls! You'll notice Stephanie is always working or with children, and Katelyn is always dancing and/or rapping.

Sydney & Chad

I couldn't have asked for a better day with Sydney and Chad. They are very laid-back and so much fun, plus we got blessed with the most GORGEOUS day at Mt. Hood. We happened to find out when we got up there that it is was one of the busiest skiing days of the whole year (the day after Christmas). Luckily, we weren't there to ski so there were no lines and we managed to create our own parking space, so we frolicked around Mt. Hood like we were the only ones up there.

I had a blast with them and I cannot wait until their July 2017 wedding! It's going to be epic!

Jackson Hole Road-Trip

I'm lucky to have such rad and talented friends who get to travel and take photos for a living! Bryan did a campaign for Avis car rental (see his work at the end of this post) and invited Jake, Andrew, and myself to tag along to Jackson Hole, WY in pursuit of "winter adventure." I've been wanting to see the Grand Tetons for awhile now, so I was beyond excited for this road-trip! I originally just wanted to make a BTS video of the trip, but these guys always inspire me to try to get better at my landscape photography, so I put the filming on hold half way through the trip to focus on my photos... But I still got a couple fun pieces of footage to make this little 1 minute vid of our trip:

(NOTE: Andrew and Jake's videos are also randomly included throughout this blog post)

WY Road-Trip with @bdorts, @jakechams, @andrewtkearns SO.MUCH.FUN

We drove for 13 hours straight from Portland to Jackson Hole, with just a few stops for pics. Luckily we got into Jackson when we did; we were blessed with a stunning sunrise, sunset and an epic view of the Tetons for our first full day in the area. Our cabin was the cutest, coziest place to stay, too. If you go to Jackson Hole, WY, I highly recommend staying at Spring Creek Ranch

Vlog 126 - Tetons suckas. Excited for the next few days. Iceland Blogs: Day 1: http://www.andrewtkearns.com/blog/2016/10/23/iceland-day-1 Day 2: http://www.andrewtkearns.com/blog/2016/10/23/iceland-day-2 Day 3: http://www.andrewtkearns.com/blog/2016/10/23/iceland-day-3 People In This Vlog ----- Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakechams/ Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/r_petey/ Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/bdorts/ IG/Snap/Tmbl/Twtr: @andrewtkearns

Like I said, we were fortunate to get into Jackson when we did because the following day was Jackson's first big snowfall of the season and the Tetons were not even visible with all of the snow. Although bummed the Tetons were not visible and all of the national park roads were closed, we still spent the day exploring around Jackson and found some wildlife as well as awesome historic houses on Old Morman Row. I finally got my pic under the Jackson antlers too, thank youuuuu Jake!

Winter Wonderland in Jackson Hole, Wyoming Little recap video of my time in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We experienced the first snow of the season and some crazy conditions.

Vlog 127 - Talk starts about 7 or 8mins in - Casey is the man, thank you for everything. People in This Vlog: ------- Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakechams/ Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/bdorts/ Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/r_petey/ IG/Snap/Vine/Tmbl/Twtr: @andrewtkearns

Since the snow was supposed to continue in Jackson for the next few days, we decided to leave and find other places to explore for the rest of the week. We attempted to drive the 4ish hours to Salt Lake City, but with the winter storm we got caught in, it took us the entire day (10 hours) to get to our SLC airbnb, only to find out that the exit off of the pass, to our airbnb cabin, was covered in 3 feet of snow and totally inaccessible. So we went into town, met up with the great @samuelelkins (i tried hard not to be a fan girl), and planned our next day's adventure. Check out Andrew's vlog of our 10 hour drive in the winter storm, the funniest guy helped us with our car mid-way through our drive and he was quite the character!

Vlog 128 - Beep Beep Skrrt Skrrt now I'm Driving. People in This Vlog: -------- Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakechams/ Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/bdorts/ Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/r_petey/ Sam: https://www.instagram.com/samuelelkins/ IG/Snap/Tmbl/Twtr: @andrewtkearns

You have to check out the Alvord Hot Springs in the Alvord Desert (Southern Oregon) if you haven't already. It is literally in the middle of no where but so beautiful! Andrew spent hours in the hot springs while the rest of us drove out to the middle of the desert and were definitely the only ones for a 100 mile radius. We got out there just in time for sunset too, made a fire, took some pics, then joined Andrew back in the hot springs before heading to Bend for the evening.

Recap video from my time in the Alvord Desert with some great friends. This place was something to remember.

Vlog 129 - Loooong drive day, but Hal provided some entertainment, as well as enjoying some stellar Hot Springs. People in this Vlog: Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakechams/ Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/bdorts/ Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/r_petey/ IG/Snap/Tmbl/Twtr: @andrewtkearns

Our last day, datboychad met up with us in Bend, OR and we went to check out a secret cave. Unfortunately, it was bat hibernation season and we didn't want to disrupt them (or kill them by invading their space), so we just frolicked around in the snowy forest outside of the cave. Such a fun day! These guys keep me entertained 24/7... watch Andrew's "don't fall in" video and you'll know why.

Vlog 130 - Started off with Breakfast in Bend with a few new friends then headed to the caves which didn't work out, then back home in time for friends giving People in This Vlog: -------- Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakechams/ Bryan: https://www.instagram.com/bdorts/ Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/r_petey/ Ryan: https://www.instagram.com/ryan_field_/ Chad: https://www.instagram.com/datboychadnay/ IG/Snap/Tmbl/Twtr: @andrewtkearns

It was such an epic trip! Thankful for the beautiful places we explored and the priceless memories that we made. Check out some of Bryan's work he did for the Avis campaign below:

Jennie Lou Art

I had the great pleasure of meeting Jennie recently, who not only struck a chord in my heart strings friendship-wise, but who truly blew me away with her talent. She picks up a paintbrush, has no idea what she is about to paint, and the magic just comes to her. When I asked her how she does it, she said there's only one answer... "Jesus." Truly! This girl is amazing.

Her main passion is "live paintings" which if you are getting married soon... you should definitely have her "live paint" your wedding. Seriously, check out her website, it's amazing! And a truly unique way to capture your wedding day. 

Check out more here

Emily

I met Emily when she was a freshman, and I coached her in JV Cheer at Camas. She is one that exudes joy wherever she goes and whoever she interacts with. She has a wise, wise head on her shoulders, too and I'm always blown away with her maturity for her age. Emily is a sweet, caring, genuine girl with a joyful heart and I couldn't help but post so many photos from her senior session! It was such a fun day shooting around one of the best parts of the PNW - the gorge.

Cassie & Drew [and Milo too]

I met Cassie my freshman year of college... actually the first day of orientation... actually we were chatting online even before we knew each other discussing possibly being roomies.  We have so, so many memories - it's crazy to think back to our college years and where we are now! Anyways, when she met Drew a few years ago - I had heard many great things and seen so many cute pictures of them together.... and without meeting him yet, I had a hunch :) They are so good together and balance each other so well, I loved getting to capture a little bit of their love last month when I was up in Seattle :) Hope you enjoy how cute they are!!

Chase // Red Rocks

While I was in the Denver area this month visiting family, I also got to spend a gorgeous Friday afternoon with Chase (you may recognize him from The Bachelorette) at one of my favorite places in Colorado - Red Rocks Amphitheater. This place has breath-taking views and serves many purposes. Not only is it an iconic music venue, but there is great hiking trails to explore and many people utilize the staircases for their workouts, sitting at 6,000 feet high - the altitude alone is a great way to push your limits as an athlete. 

It was a fun day getting to shoot Chase and getting to know him a little bit. We took in all of the viewpoints, hikes, and beauty of Red Rocks for most of the afternoon but ended the day with a short workout on the famous staircase. 

Also, check out Chase and his buddy's unique apparel company, Lucid Blvd .... their movement is to "aspire to bring a BOLD lifestyle, a DARING free spirit, and an UNFILTERED sense of humor back into society. We know that life is short, so we encourage you to push your comfort zone. Try something new. Test your limits, but most of all, don't forget to laugh!"

Gray/Black Jacket: Point Zero

Yosemite

Usually I do all of my traveling during off-season but I had the opportunity this September to do a 5-day hiking/camping trip with a friend that I just couldn't pass up. Although it was 30 degrees and absolutely freezing at night, we had the most beautiful weather during the days for exploring! It was an epic adventure and truly a trip of a lifetime. I'll share a few favorite memories of the trip briefly here, but will then let the photos do most of the talking.

One of my favorite memories included waking up every morning and having coffee at Glacier Point. It quickly became our daily tradition, especially because the sunrise was so beautiful at that spot and there was hardly anybody ever there. ALL of the exploring and hiking we did was incredible. Although we didn't end up getting the lottery permit to do Half Dome this time, we found adventure in several other places. Some of my favorite spots include Taft Point, Ostrander Lake, Merced Grove, Vernal Falls, Glacier Point, and Cloud's Rest.

Cloud's Rest was by far the most difficult hike that I've ever done in my entire life. It was a 14.5 mile, strenuous hike and I never thought I was terrified of heights until I got to the top of Cloud's Rest. It sits at 9,926 feet (1k feet higher than Half Dome), and has phenomenal panoramic views.

Besides the breathtaking scenery, some other favorite memories also include bagging our day plans one day and helping a family that was stranded on the side of the road, randomly taking photos of a proposal at Taft Point and making good friends with them, and capturing an elopement another night also at Taft Point. We had such a great week in Yosemite and I feel so blessed with the people that we got to meet!

Between the people I met, getting to explore with my friend Gerry for a week straight, the personal records that I broke, the things that I learned, the laughs that made my tummy hurt, I think it's pretty safe to say that Yosemite is one of my happy places. Obsessed.

If you haven't seen the cool photo opportunities I randomly stumbled upon during my time in Yosemite, check them out there:
 

Alex and Kris' Proposal Story

Charley and Elle's Taft Point Elopement