An Oregon engagement to an Oregon wedding…
I met Shelley and Logan when I didn’t even live in Portland yet. Nope. I was replanning and remapping my life. I knew I was going to move. I was even IN Portland bringing Kai to school (Kai moved to Portland right after the fire in 2023 to start high school and live with my sister for a while because things were very hard on Maui). I was in this “I hope this works and I don’t know what to expect but I’m diving in feet first into this new life” mode.
I wasn’t even sure if I was going to start the photography part of my business up in Oregon. It was very much a “wait and see” time. I remember I was sitting in a coffee shop while Kai was at school and I decided I was going to run a contest and give away a few photo shoots. I was bursting with creativity in this new space and thought, “fuck it – let’s see what happens!”.
Shelley was one of the winners of said photo shoots. We met at Cannon Beach for their engagement session not long after she won. I drove from Portland, Shelley and Logan drove all the way from Bend.
I walked away from this session feeling like I had made two new friends. And to witness the love between them felt like such a gift. New air. New home. New light.
Their Oregon wedding day
It wasn’t long after the engagement session that plans were in full force for our move to Portland from Maui. And Shelley reached out to ask if I’d be available to photograph their wedding day. I tell you – there’s nothing like that kind of compliment. To be entrusted with someone’s sacred day – it’s a top-tier feeling.
Their wedding day took place at McMenamins Edgefield, unfolding in the hush between seasons. September light poured gently through the gardens, a last chorus of summer before autumn’s arrival.
As I edited their wedding images, I felt the shift outside – the air cooling, leaves whispering of their upcoming change. But their day remains untouched – suspended where warmth lingers and love holds time still.
My Last Oregon Wedding
Shelley and Logan’s wedding was my last big wedding. I have tears in my eyes writing it. But after 25 years, well 26 now that I think of it, my body takes much longer to recover after events longer than 5 hours. I know in my heart that my body can’t do it several times a month. So I am so honored that this full-circle wedding is how I gracefully take my final bow to photographing long wedding days.
Shelley and Logan – thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Venue: Edgefield by McMenamins
Hair & Makeup Artist: Goddess Glamour PDX
DJ: Stumptown DJ’s
Baker: Britts Sweet Treats
Florals: LV Floral Design
Wedding Planner: S.A.S. Event Planning
