We have to say that Meredith and Joe have been one our forefront supporters from day one of hiring us and we are SO grateful.  They even had a separate table, with name tags, for us at the wedding and a full course meal – a special touch which was over the top.  Thank you, thank you for letting us share this experience with you both and jumping on suggestions for fun places to shoot!  The night topper was when Meredith jumped on the backlit bar.

You two are amazing and we are so happy as you start your new journey together.  CHEERS!

Best,

B + W

Soon after their ‘first look’ at 10 Below at The Oxford Hotel

Mere, has anyone told you that you have the most FANTASTIC legs!  So, jealous – Wendy

A unique angle getting ready to head down for the ‘first look.’

Oh, how Wendy loves detail shots   They had these super cool matches…

Mere and Joe surrounded by MoH and Best Man and brother, Nick.

The ceremony…

As their closest friends and family look on set through the reflection of the wine glasses, Mere and Joe say their vows.

With only a few drops of sweat and tears, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Davis!

As a special treat, their steaks were ‘flambeed.’  Did I spell that right?  Oh, that’s hot!

Joyous toasts with story after story of these two…so fun.

A little fun after the ceremony, grawrrr.

Mere’s Cinderella moment, as her prince charming puts on her blue slipper.

To: Mere and Joe; From: The Blacksmith Staff!  Congrats!  Disclaimer:  This is only meant as a joke and the staff are NOT actually drinking their liquor

High class ambiance.

Forever more their anniversary will be shared with Joe’s birthday – double the celebration!  The whole gang sang for Joe and the staff entertained him with a GIANT cookie.

On a whim, the bride decides to chill out on top of the beautifully lit bar.  Mere is one of those fearless types we love.

Everything from the getting ready toasts, the ‘first sighting’ under the arbor, the umbrella shots to the ceremonial flowers and kiss had a sparkle to them.  Even when the rain was a damper, it helped the colors become more vibrant – isn’t it good luck anyway?

The absolute highlight came at the very end of the evening right as we were ready to go.  We said briefly, gosh it’d be great to get some shots in the soaking pool area and Emily replied, ‘Yeah!  Let’s do it’ – grabbed David and that was it.  She casually dipped her feet in for relief when we briefly mentioned that we’d always wanted to shoot a bride in her dress in the pool.  Inch by inch, she said “what about this?”  Then…she went for it   She looked like a goddess and I can’t imagine how that must have felt after the energy of the day.  We weren’t expecting such fearlessness (it was a like a trash the dress session on the wedding day!) but were like, yeah GO FOR IT!

Thank you, Emily + David for such a FUN day and choosing to share your shining moment with us.

All the best,

B + W

First frame of the day out the camera and it’s a keeper.

Here are the bridesmaids picking out wedding jewelry and completely oblivious to how adorable they all look in their rollers.

The ladies toast with cosmos…

…the men toast with PBRs

<teary> The father-in-law hugs the bride in a moment of bliss at first sighting of her in her dress.</teary>

Love the macro for ring shots!

Bride and Matron of Honor right before the ‘first sighting.’

Groomsmen crash the ‘first sighting’ moment

5 minutes before the rain but man does it make for great exposure!

…and rain cometh.  Sadly it decided to gush right at the family photos, which put a temporary damper on things.

When the rain past, the smiles came again!

Bride and Father of the Bride headed toward the aisle…

With a ceremonial offering, friends and family placed flowers around the Bride + Groom.

The ring exchange.

75% frosting, 25% cake…and all of it DELICIOUS!

…he thought it was delicious too!  Too bad we didn’t get frosting on the nose – that would have been cute

Mini-cake and cupcakes by Kellie’s Cakes

For details, they had custom printed matches, dated M & Ms and custom wine classes for guest gifts – beautiful.

Love this casual, classic shot.  Camera unaware, playing with the dress.

The first dance out back at O’Kanes.  DJ by Star Productions

Father, daughter dance under the light globes

As one of the highlights of the evening and one of our all-time favorite shots, Emily decided to take a dip in the soaking pool with her dress

Byron and I were fortunate to travel to this adorable little island on the Gulf coast in Florida and were greeted by sun, warmth and piña coladas!  The sunset that evening provided the most powerful detail – all their prayers for good weather were answered!  The ceremony was simple, sweet and casual – just what these two were looking for in a joining of their two families.

The reception (follow up post coming soon) was held in Bend, Oregon at The Oxford Hotel a few weeks later and included a catered party and slide show of their wedding for friends and family at this new, hip hot spot downtown.

Karen, Greg – we wish you the both so much joy and fun on this next chapter.

B + W

The Golden Sandal

What a great smile Greg!  Isn’t Karen beautiful?

A-MAZING sunset.

Our favorite   The sun shines on both of you Karen + Greg.

Adorable

Oh yeah, Charlie’s Angels or is Bond Girls?

Thank you, Monica and Todd.  We had a lot of fun (and even ran into a few friends!).  We wish you and your family  the best and look forward to sharing more of life’s experiences (Monica is a life coach and Toastmaster friend) in and around Bend!  A toast to you as you embark together on the next chapter…

Best,

Byron and Wendy

A stunning bride…just look at those eyes!

Aren’t those the best group of men you’ve seen?

The transformed Awbrey Glen Golf Club…

The first kiss and new wedding band to seal the ceremony.

The maid of honor and their daughter waits patiently in the receiving line.

They seriously picked the one 60 degree day in March in Bend – a serendipitous treat!

Blowing kisses to the bride and groom

Oh, I think she enjoyed the cake – don’t you?!

The first dance…

A tribute to Todd’s mother, there in spirit and remembered…

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.

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

-Byron

- Wendy and Byron