Suzie is the owner at Namaspa Yoga and Massage, which is where we first met.  We were told that Wayne wasn’t a ‘picture guy’ – but that’s what an engagement session will do, it’s a warm up for the wedding day in that respect!  We all had a lot of fun and Wayne’s theatricality came out as the day was full of smiles, funny faces (see below) and an awesome hat!

Suzie + Wayne, congratulations!  Thanks for choosing us to capture some candids of the two of you; we wish you all the peace, health and happiness that life can offer you two.

B + W

The famous cave where Wayne’s proposal took place – love this angle!

On our way to the falls, this glorious tree just couldn’t be passed.

Byron is under the falls here, without a shirt – oh the things we do for a picture

After they changed into their dressy wears, we nabbed several before the mosquitoes got the best of us.

One of our favorites of the day – so cute.

There it is!

Dramatic light suited these two perfectly and the sunset was too good to pass up.

One of the favorites of the day, Suzie in all her glory

So there we were…

A lot has happened since I first saw you at the dining facility during our first deployment over four years ago (While making fun of me for eating rice with toothpicks, thanks =P). We went from focused sergeants wanting to retire as ornery old soldiers to an “us” planning a family and dreaming of mysteriously losing toddlers in a snowbank (I TOLD you it was deeper than you thought! =P). Things changed so suddenly since we met. Granted, it did take three years for you to talk to me, and it went horribly wrong, and I felt incredibly stupid, and I made you feel stupid, but baby steps, yeah?

I’ve been trying to make up those cool points ever since (You have to admit, my clumsy attempt at the damsel-in-distress bit eventually achieved the desired outcome. I never claimed to be an actress), but I’m starting to think that is just the effect you have on me.

Even if I tried, I couldn’t imagine not having you in my life. And, even then, just being around you isn’t enough; I always want you by my side. Always. When I’m out shopping for socks, I want you there to make sure they have enough cushioning. Yeah, that serious. You got me good, Sergeant.

That being said, I am formally handing over that 2062. Please print, sign, and date in column “A”. But like everything in the Army, you will have to “hurry up and wait” a bit for your government issue Baby Koh. It’ll come soon enough though and then we can fix that “not-being-with-you” stuff. I promise, today and every day after, I will love the hell out of you (Sorry, had to tone it down, but it’s the same level of affection, I swear).

Always,

your Baby Koh

Jessica + Dwayne,

Flat out, you two make a great team.  It was obvious from the first moments we both met you and how many laughs and smiles were tossed around in such a short period of time!  Thank you for planning your vacation to Bend, Oregon around us and your engagement session – what a treat!  For our blog readers out there, Jessica + Dwayne both serve in the Army, stationed at different bases, have both been deployed several times to Iraq and have both never spent too much time in the snow (like second time ever).  We had the pleasure of shooting with them around Seventh Mountain Resort and the bridge at Tetherow.  Fearless as they both are, they went ice skating and snowboarding on their trip and even jumped on a sleigh (okay, that was just for us but you get our drift!).

All the best,

B + W

One of our favs from the first part of the session – smiles all around!

Jessica, you are STUNNING!  Love the light and each of your expressions here.

Jessica has a beautiful ambigram on her arm that says “Faith” and when you turn it over “Hope.”

The Seventh Mtn. Resort had beautiful decorations up!

We didn’t last long (it was 20 degrees!) but we snuck over to Tetherow to snap a few at sunset!

Back at Seventh Mountain Resort, we played around on the sleigh…the reindeer were on a break now that the holidays were over

Intimate, simple, beautiful….

Trying to warm up by the outside fire…it produced a beautiful glow!

Jessica, you’re beautiful!  (I’m sure Dwayne says that all the time!)

Every parent’s dream is for their children to grow up to be responsible, happy, loving adults. The two of you as individuals have achieved that and so much more. You are both blessed with families who love and support you and close friends with whom you have shared experiences of laughter and joy. As a couple you have something very special.

We were honored that you chose Bend for your wedding. Based on the many family members and friends that made the long journey to celebrate with you at the events leading up to and including your beautiful wedding day, it is clear that you cherish the importance of family and wonderful friendships that will last a lifetime.

We see the respect and trust you have for each other and know that it will provide the foundation for the unconditional love you share. As you start the next chapter of your adventure together as life partners, enjoy the journey every day and never hesitate to say how much you love each other.

Live well, Laugh often and Love much.

Mom & Dad Michel

Katie + Brian,

What started out as rain turned into the most shooting spectacular weather for your special day.  It was like the universe knew it was time and parted rain, clouds and let the sun shine for you.  It was a such a pleasure to work with you, capture the amazing details of the day and meet your closest friends and family.  We had a blast!

All the best,

B + W

Special thanks to all the vendors:
Venue/Catering/Bar: Broken Top Club
Cake: The Cake Lady
Florist:  Donner Flower Shop
DJ: Killer Whale Audio
Hair/Makeup: Anjou Spa

The sun blasted through the windows on the other side of this glass ‘Broken Top’ – a perfect location for a dress.

I love this pensive moment; let the sewing ensue

With your proposal on the Eiffel Tower, we thought this shot was fitting

Your program director and helper was on the ball here!  Ha ha, this was the most adorable photo op.

Oh, the socks…we LOVED the socks!

A moment before the ceremony, everyone lined up…Katie waiting for her dad…this is special.

The peek and smile of Brian at the end of the aisle here makes this one a keeper.

Parents of the groom, wrought with emotion – super special.

Again, fantastic light…Katie, you look like a MODEL here!  You’re beautiful!

The movement and drama of this shot is fantastic.

Your getaway car…a golf cart   Okay, not really but this is a fun one!

The first dance dip – well done, my friends.

End of the evening sparklers to the real getaway car…your future awaits you!

Monica and Todd come walking up a few moments after my revelation and began to tell me that it was under this cool new arbor, I thought only I knew about, they got engaged.  So begins the perfect place to start an engagement shoot on a wild and windy day in Bend, Oregon.  As some of you know, when two people are in love, their eyes are a complete give away.  Wendy calls it the, “look” and as a photographer, a persons eyes are EVERYTHING to an image.  Looking at how Monica and Todd gazed at each other was more than enough to convince me that they not only have a deep caring for each other but a mutual respect that will bond them forever.

So, here’s to  Monica and Todd, may your eye’s always reflect the love in your hearts!

It was great to be part of something like this.  The event was basically on the site where the facility will be built, with the tents set up at the end of a road and security super tight.  Most of the people attending, (including myself) didn’t know what business was coming until today.  I’m really amazed this secret was able to last this long…especially with how powerful Facebook is!  Excavation only began on the 130+ acre site about two weeks ago but when the GM overseeing construction drove me around to get some images, it was evident that by the beginning of 2011 they would be up and running-think, TIGHT schedule.

At around noon, Prineville Mayor Mike Wendel announced to everyone the big news and after several speeches, the official ground breaking ceremony occurred, lunch was served and within 1.5 hours everyone had moved on to their next appointment.  I love challenges, and today I got to hammer out one of my quickest photo edits to date, since one of the stipulations for my shooting the event was that the PR firm in charge of the events media distribution needed the images literally after I was done shooting.  Pressures a good thing….especially when things go right!  So here’s to Facebook for putting Central Oregon in front of the world’s eyes.  Oh, did I say again how much I love my job?!!

Big shout out to all my friends who did an outstanding day today.  This includes Heidi Berkman with H. Berkman & Associates Inc., the Marketing & Special Events Consultant-541.480.8700 who made everything go silky smooth, Pinnacle Media’s Matt and JoAnn Hand for handling the video content, and Joolz Restaurant from downtown Bend for providing the amazing food.

Cheers-

Getting ready for the fun…

Mayor of Prineville, Mike Wendel showing some of the excitement we all are feeling!

Facebook’s Director of Site Operations, Tom Furlong (brown jacket) celebrating with others that got the job done!

Three of the finance wizards from Facebook–you can thank them for making it happen.

We’ve had our two dogs Miles and Dizzy for 12 of their 13 years now and XC skied, mtn biked, ran and played literally 7 days a week with them.  So yea, I was stressed I’d loose my terror of a lab that has done everything from destroy a new 4 month old couch, to eating 2 full boxes of chocolate fudge Cliff Bars (remember Ben?), to endless counter robberies of steaks, Costco apple pies and anything else that resembled food.

Between dropping Miles off and picking him up, the one redeeming event that allowed me to have a semi-productive day and not let worrying about my dog fill all thoughts was volunteering to shoot some images for the Volunteer Connect projects happening around Bend, Oregon during Martin Luther King Day.  Helping out the community, seeing old friends and laughing with others took my mind off my furry friend. Cheers to all those hard working volunteers!

In the end, both my dogs lay next to me while I write this and I can’t help but wonder when they’ll be ready for the next adventure….Miles, get your head out of the trash dude…..yea, things really never change.

This is our Miles. He definitely has attitude and this shows it!

Paw’s R US

Not trying to play favorites, I needed to include Dizzy as well.

Friends With Flowers volunteers creating love for terminally ill patients in Central Oregon

Over at the Bethlehem Inn, volunteers fixing bikes for a good cause!

At the Bend Community Center volunteers work to create blankets for the homeless.

This young dude was a rock star, putting air into all the bike tires and doing bike maintenance!

Since everyone else is doing their “best of….” for 09, I thought we needed the best bride & groom images of 2009 as well!  So here are the coolest images, (in our opinion) from the weddings we shot though out the year.  I did the preliminary choosing without Wendy but I knew that it would be better to have lots of choices to pick from since they were destined to be debated once she looked at them!  One of the great things, (among many others) about wedding photography is that they’re always unique and never dull.  So sit back, relax and enjoy these images that were so inspiring for us to create.

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So at 9:00am in the morning it’s not super warm out and I’m having Mac sit on a blisteringly cold metal bench while I shoot photos of him for the inside shot.  Mac’s not too into the whole thing and can only think about his freezing bottom so the brick wall ends up being a better choice as he gave more than a painful expression!  The cover shot was just as fun and after experimenting with having the “bigs” do rabbit ears to Mac with the lollipops I wanted to create this look where the two adults were the ones with the candy (looking more like kids) than Mac.  I’m happy with the results as it creates a fun subtle air for an important cause.

In addition, I donated a really cool framed print of the Painted Hills to be auctioned off.  So come on and put your money to a good cause!  You can access it online at www.tsweekly.com/

Jamie wanted to have a surprise meeting where Brendan could see her for the first time so there I was in a very small bathroom at the Mcmenamins St. Francis School where they were staying, helping Jamie with her dress.  Being a guy you’d think I’d be more interested in waiting outside rather than get all mushy with details but I have to admit I’m always filled with pride to be part of such an important event and hey, its a good chance for me to tell the bride to, “keep breathing and enjoy the day!”

What a fun day it was as we took a limo over to Pioneer Park where they had the intimate ceremony (just the three of us plus officiant!) and all I can say is wow, Brendan, that was one of the most passionate kisses I’ve ever seen at a wedding!  Afterward, I directed Mr. Limo driver up to a secret spot overlooking part of the city and the clouds and light turned out to be amazing.  Finishing up the day we went back to Mcmenamins to shoot some images in the bathhouse.  This bathhouse is so cool-it’s wall to wall mosaics, open ceiling, and big fountain in the middle make you think you’ve been transported to some exotic European haunt.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and what a way to end the time with Jamie and Brendan.  Cheers to you both and I look forward to hanging with you guys in the future!

- Byron