Portland Wedding Photographer: Andrea and Marshall are Married!

I don’t even know where to start with this blog post.  Andrea and I have been friends for about 10 years now.  We worked together in the Alumni Relations office at the University of Redlands and had offices across the hall from each other.  There were good times, there were really rough times and there were a lot of silly times.  I can’t tell you how priceless it is to have someone who works with you who knows exactly what you’re thinking in a single glance.  Or will do silly dances with you during office meetings (dancing around the question… dancing around the question!).  By the time we moved on from our posts, we had become friends.  Andrea moved up to Portland and we kept in touch through FaceBook.  Anyone who knew Andrea all wanted the same thing: for her to be happy.  Moving to Portland was a huge step, since she had lived in Southern California her whole life.

While Andrea was happy up in Portland, I really saw her blossom after she met Marshall.  Andrea is a fast talking, quick witted, politically minded person and that’s what makes us all love her.  Marshall embraced these qualities and amplified them even more, making Andrea is more Andrea with Marshall.  When I first met Marshall I thought, “DING DING DING THIS IS IT!”.  It’s an amazing feeling to see a friend so happy.

When Andy and Marshall asked me to photograph their wedding, I was booking the plane ticket the next day.  I couldn’t WAIT to be a witness to their union.  Their wedding was held at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland.  I had been there years ago but forgot just how cool and weird and quirky it is.  It’s an old elementary school turned hotel and event space.  The hotel rooms were once classrooms and still have chalkboards in them!  The reception was held in the past gymnasium and the basketball hoops are still there.

Now, all my brides and grooms are happy.  I tend to find the happiest couples on the block and I LOVE capturing that.  But Andy and Marshall just emitted this excited but calm happiness.  The feeling was like, “We always knew this was going to happen, now let’s make it official and have an awesome party in the process”.  And an awesome party it was!  From the girls wearing Chuck Taylors and the guys wearing suspenders, everything was perfectly Andy and Marshall.  The readings made us all cry, the vows made us laugh and the karaoke made everyone sing! YES! They had karaoke at their reception.  Talk about a party! You’ll see the “First Look” below as well.  Talk about emotional!  I may have shed a few tears myself.  There were personal touches everywhere like the bride’s bouquet and groom’s boutonniere both made by the maid of honor (so were the centerpieces at the reception!).  They were made with pages of Pride and Prejudice, perfect for their love of literature!

Andrea and Marshall, thank you SO much for having me be your photographer.  I was absolutely honored to be there and wish you all the happiness in the world.

And yes… I sang a song during the reception.  I COULDN’T HELP IT.