It seems I’m photographing an entourage of ‘friend weddings’ in 2011. Not just clients who become friends, but friends who have watched my photography business grow, who have supported and encouraged me, who dreamed-up a business name with me and were sounding boards for each logo design. Friends who put up with the endless point-and-shoot pictures I took back in college with only minimal complaining (Oh my…the shutter on that camera was so slow they’d have to hold the pose for 5 seconds before the camera would actually take a picture! See…good friends!) Anneke was one of those friends. She was a FFA state officer with my sister (who will be a bridesmaid at Anneke’s wedding-YAY!)and later my roommate in college.

Anneke met Russel in high school and they dated all through college. They found ways to be together even when life took them in different directions. When Anneke did a study abroad in Spain, Russel met her in Greece for a long weekend. Then they did a  term together at Texas A&M. Anneke joined him on his fire crew for a year & now when he’s off on fires all summer, someone usually drives the long miles one way or the other so that they can see each other on the few days he gets off in the summer. And when their opinions were in vastly different directions over a certain tattoo…well…they made it together through that too

In anticipation of their wedding, I’ve asked Anneke to blog about her ‘bride’ experience periodically over the next year. Anneke blogged this on November 5th.

323 days until I become Mrs. Griffith—according to The Knot. I am so excited to be marrying the love of my life, after nearly 4 ½ years of dating. To say that I was anxious to be engaged would be a dire understatement. I think a more accurate description of my pre-engagement summer behavior might be more like ‘chomping at the bit’, ‘feverish’ or ‘overbearing’. At first, I felt an enormous amount of guilt right after the engagement, because in knowing my future husband I should have expected no less than perfect timing, perfect ring, and perfect moment… Which is exactly what happened, thus my feelings of guilt. But as I talked to other newly engaged/married, or soon-to-be, I realized that I am not the only of my species that is solely focused on marriage and sparkly left hand accessories after an appropriate amount of dating. And comparatively, I was NOT as bad as the gal who matter-of-factly told her boyfriend, “MY ring better be bigger than HERS”. You know what? I was downright tame.

So now, it’s on to planning, visiting, tasting, trying and investigating. I found my dress the first day we looked, the third dress I tried on. And guess what? The people on Say Yes to the Dress aren’t faking it, because I cried, my mom cried, and 1/8 of my bridesmaids cried. It’s a beautiful dress: cathedral train, gathered beading on the bodice, complemented by a sweetheart back and neckline. I’m telling you girls—check out the bridal shows before you go into expensive boutiques to find your dress. Dress of my dreams? 70% off. SALE. Not kidding. I’m all for playing the I’m-your-only-daughter-ever card, but there isn’t any money growing in the dead flowerpots on my front porch, and the dress is absolutely beautiful—for me.

As the next 3.22 x 10² days drift slowly by, I’m looking forward to following up on suggestions to friends for vendors, wine, registries, cakes and DJs. Everyone has an opinion, but I’ve figured out that the day is about me—and, oh yeah, the man that I’m going to marry. So even though I may love (and he may hate) the idea of peacock feathers spewing out from every angle of our cake, that doesn’t exactly emphasize the things that I love about my betrothed or the strength and happiness that we give to each other. NOR, do the ideas of well meaning friends who don’t love the tiara headband, strangers on the street who just think you are weird or the hairdresser at the salon who just LAHVED that green sash whats-her-name wore at HER wedding. But even so, as long as there is a firm ability to put your foot down, say no, and appreciate their thoughtfulness, creativity and sincerity with wanting your day to be über-special. I know that this year is going to be an amazing way to reconnect with the friends that I have asked to stand beside me, the family that haven’t seen me, and the last bit of my life where my primary role is as a daughter—soon to be replaced with wife.

Bridesmaid dress shopping tomorrow! And hopefully events to report…

We started with drinks at Hamley’s. Bumped into a few of their friends and had to chat for a few…because that’s how we do it in a small town. Ray & Becky stepped out on to the porch & a local young man we all knew was strumming country ballads on his guitar below us on the grass…so Ray pulled Becky into his arms. & they danced in the gold light. The next song was a swing dance…because it’s country music, people!

We slipped into the Pendleton Round-Up grounds and hung-out in the colorful stands, just watching all the preparations. I was fumbling with my reflector so Carl, the Pendleton Round-Up publicity director ran up the steps to give me a hand. Because that’s what you do in a small town. (Thanks Carl!) Finally we finished up our session in a road in the middle of nowhere. & Ray locked the keys in the car. Which is pretty dangerous in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we were at the top of the hill so I had a scant amount of service for Becky to call onstar. lol. &  three cars stopped to make sure we were okay…because yes…that’s how it’s done in a small town

So today I’m sure it will be much of the same…Ray and Becky laughing, cuddling, dancing, and just simply focusing on each other while everyone else around them embraces their love…with a little George Strait of course!

Katie & Kyle are getting married today! & I’m the lucky enough one who gets to share their day with them: well, me and my camera Before the ceremony starts, here’s chapter two of their engagement story…

Chapter 2: September 22, 2009

It was Katie’s birthday and we had tickets to go to a luau. It included dinner and a show with all the traditional Hawaiian dancers and music. It was awesome. In fact, everything we did on Maui was awesome. We had gone on a bus trip to Hannah, around the east end of the island and met a couple on their honeymoon from the UK. Turns out they were seated at the table right next to us.

I could tell Katie was thinking about them and how they seemed happily married and she wished she was. She just seemed kind of down. I had a twenty five cent ring in my pocket and I was getting more nervous as the night went on. Little did Katie know that in a couple of hours she would have a surprise, and a really important question to answer. It was all I could do to not ask her right then and there. Then before dinner was served, the luau host invited the crowd to a short dance by the water for all the honeymooners and married couples. This didn’t help her mood. We ate dinner and watched the show. I knew I had to ask her tonight. The scene played out in my head over and over again. I kept fiddling with the ring in my pocket. I had my hand around it several times to almost pull it out and ask her. I wanted to wait till we were somewhere by ourselves to pop the big question. I kept thinking about what I was going to say. I knew with almost no uncertainty that she would say yes, but I still had a million butterflies in my stomach. I missed my chance at the luau and we were heading back to the condo. While we were walking up the steps I asked Katie if she wanted to go for a moonlit walk on the beach. The water was just right there; you could hear the waves splashing up on the shore. She said no. If she only knew.

We went inside and told my Grandma about the night. It was only about 10 o’clock, it wasn’t too late. So I asked her again about a moonlit walk on the beach. I can’t remember exactly what I said to convince her, but she finally agreed. I still had the ring in my pocket, and by this time I think I had two million butterflies in my stomach. We walked down to the beach and walked a ways and then turned back. My heart was beating so fast. Thumping up into my throat. Katie asked what was wrong, and I told her that all the walking was making my tired. And that is when I did it. I asked the love of my life to marry me on a beautiful white sandy beach of Maui. I kneeled down, pulled out a little plastic bubble, popped the top off and pulled out my twenty five cent ring. The look on her face was like something I had never seen on her before. She was so surprised. It didn’t take long for her to say yes.

The moon was shinning, but there still wasn’t enough light to see the perfect, hand-selected ring on her left hand. I can remember her looking at it when we got closer to the building and there was more light, and just looking at me and smiling. In fact she didn’t stop smiling for a while. When we got back inside we showed my Grandma and she said “Oh, that’s why he wanted to take you for a walk on the beach tonight” She looked at the ring and I think instinct told her to say how nice it was. It wasn’t until the next day that she examined it closer that she figured out that it wasn’t a high-dollar piece. I had pulled it off with a twenty five cent ring.

The next day Katie sent a picture message to, I think everyone she knows, of the ring on her finger. She got responses like “How big” and “Very Nice”. She was so very happy. She was engaged, maybe not married yet, by her 30^th birthday.  I hope it was the biggest birthday surprise of her life.

The ring, it turns out, didn’t wear like normal jewelry. It kept getting tangled in her hair. It ended up getting lost while up in the mountains. I suspect it broke, after all it was only twenty five cents. I had the other two rings I had bought while trying to get a good one, still in the center console. So Katie dug out the ruby red oval and put it on her ring finger. This served as her engagement ring until we picked out a “real” ring about a week later.

Kyle & I went to high school together. More specifically, we spent at least a class a day together for all four years, which is sort of a novelty in our big high school: Agriculture Class. We sat through hours of tool identification & meat judging. Then there was soil judging & record books. I was the girl who tried to hang with the guys, and received all kinds of teasing & torture from them for doing so: I once was put in a very successful headlock. You know, the kind where you can’t breath. It wasn’t Kyle, but I’m positive he didn’t mind the momentary silence. lol. So I think Kyle gets a kick out of us meeting again like this: me the wedding photographer, him the groom who gets to make fun of me when I leave my lens cap on. (That hardly ever happens. Promise. lol. Maybe.) I asked Kyle to tell his twenty five cent ring story, as I wasn’t sure I could do it justice.

Chapter one: the Twenty Five Cent Ring

I was thinking a lot about asking my girlfriend of almost 3 years, Katie, to marry me. The subject had come up a couple of times and I think Katie finally was about to give up on me ever asking her. Katie was bummed out that she would soon be turning 30 and wouldn’t be married. I wanted to wait for the perfect time and place to ask.

The perfect time and place presented itself. We got a really cool chance to go to Hawaii, and so I thought it would be the perfect place. And it just so happened that we would be there over Katie’s 30^th birthday. I had the time and place, but what about a ring? You have to have a ring to propose. I didn’t know what size her finger was: who would? I thought about somehow covertly measuring one of the rings she wears, but she never takes them off long enough. I came up with the idea of buying a ring out of one of the twenty five cent machines, the ones you see at the grocery stores and what not. I went around to several stores and couldn’t find any that had rings. I ran out of places to check and then I remembered that Pizza Hut has twenty five cent machines. It took about 3 tries to get a ring that would work: one that wasn’t a ruby red oval, or a big dark blue star. I took it out of its little clear plastic case just long enough to know that it was the perfect one, a small light green circular “stone”, cut like a real diamond.

I had the ring; I just didn’t know how I would get it to Hawaii with us. I thought about having my Grandma, who was taking us, smuggle it there with her, but I would have to tell her what I was planning to do (see I hadn’t told anyone about proposing other than some guys at work that I had ran my plan by to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.) So I had to get the ring to Hawaii on my own. I stuffed the ring, still inside it’s protective plastic bubble, down inside one of my shoes that were going to go in the suitcase and then stuffed some paper towels down in to hold it in place. My only fear now was that she would unpack the suitcase once we got there and discover the surprise.

to be continued…

This isn’t the twenty five cent ring, or the engagement ring, but it is a ring that Katie got for her birthday while she was in Hawaii.

I knew Becky & Carl because I used to help-out with the sheep club they used to be apart of in High School, but it wasn’t until we sat down for dinner together at our consultation that I really got a better idea of their relationship. They have built a relationship which puts others first. They make sure they are on the same page as they make decisions (like, who their photographer would be…lucky me they were in agreement Carl is careful to watch that Becky is comfortable, especially when she’s wearing those cute heels! Now there’s a great guy! Becky looks at Carl with her big, beautiful eyes in a look that says nothing less then “I respect you, I adore you.” Both love the pictures of their Love best.

More than all that care in their own relationship, they have put other’s before their own relationship. They’ve waited as two other couples close to them have gotten married, for their wedding date to align with the stars for their own wedding. So this year, it was finally their turn! Becky & Carl were married in May in Hermiston, but before that, we met up for an engagement fotoNovella of kisses & 4-wheelers.

Trevor & Laura have agreed to share their version of their love story with us. Trevor & Laura are getting married this month during an intimate wedding up in the mountains. Hello, log cabin! Oh, & did I mention there will be tacos?! That’s the real reason I’m shooting their wedding kidding!

Here’s what Trevor says:

“I used to think that the term better half meant that you had found someone better than you willing to stick it out through thick and thin.  This would imply that one’s better half would not only serve as a trophy spouse but would also inspire their fortunate companion to strive towards perfection (or something like it) as well. Since I met Laura, the meaning of this slightly overused term has changed profoundly.  Now, better half no longer implies that in any given relationship or marriage there is one better person.  The term better half, to me, means that I have found someone that makes me want to be a better person for them each and every day.  In this sense Laura is my better half.

Laura and I started dating in high school. During our first date, I was extremely nervous and even surprised that I had landed such a beautiful young woman who hadn’t second-guessed herself and decided to cancel and run at the last minute.  That evening we talked, we laughed and we danced the night away in our high school cafeteria during Homecoming. Our first date led to another and I guess you could say the rest is history.

My relationship with Laura is full of memories from our years in high school, but since those days we have both grown up a lot.  Even though we now face the challenges of adulthood and we deal with the stress of planning a wedding along with our future, Laura has shown me how to handle it all with grace and courage.  Even though we must carry on as adults, Laura keeps things in perspective.  She is my better half because the way she loves me makes me laugh like a kid even when it seems like we are at odds with the world.  There is no doubt that we are older, but we are both big kids at heart.”

Taylor & Frankie brought-up how they have made it a ritual as a couple to go to the Panaderia. As you might know, I have an affinity for panaderias that is only serpassed by my love of taco trucks, so I was excited! “Let’s go to the Panaderia, then!” I’m sure they thought I was crazy, but Taylor & Frankie obliged and we made our way to their favorite panaderia in Hermiston for jalapeno cheese bread and a few pictures. See…my kind of couple!

Thanks Taylor & Frankie for taking me along to the Panaderia, for hanging out in back alleys and ghetto basketball courts, and for wearing bright orange (go beavs!). Enjoy each other in your new engagement. And good luck as you start to dream about a 2011 wedding Suerte!

Now…I’m off to the taco truck for lunch. Provecho!

They are IN Love. Hot-for-you Love. I-wanna-cuddle-with-ya Love. Swing-me-in-circles Love. Let’s-walk-hand-in-hand Love. Whisper-a-secret-in-my-ear Love. Ring-on-my-finger Love. Grow-old-with-you Love. Garrett makes Carly laugh: a big loving-life laugh. & Carly’s laugh makes Garrett smile: a wide love-this-woman smile. Yes, when they look at each other, you can see it: Carly & Garrett are IN Love.

They love hanging-out with each other. Because that’s what a fotoNovella session is all about: hanging-out with each other. Focusing on Your Love. Carly & Garrett did just that. They hung-out & interacted together & let me stand at the edge of their love & capture their fotoNovella.

They have MAD style. Carly rocked hot boots & tall heels. Garrett accessorized with a killer  black watch & Carly with bright blue earings & pearls strung on black ribbon. They started out with their best going-out-on-the-town outfit & then finished with classy dinner-for-two outfits. 

They love pictures & they ‘get’ my style. Carly & Garrett were up for anything. Long walks on the beach…errrr…alley! (Thanks Garrett for man-ing up & covering dumpster duty–for the sake of the picture. lol.) & I’m pretty sure they have a future as runway models: check-out their Fierce Face!  They have a story! Carly & Garrett met in La Grande when they were going to Eastern Oregon University. Garrett was brave enough to chase Carly & their first date was at the haunted house. Though they don’t really recall what they talked about while waiting in line, it didn’t really matter…they were smitten. I can’t wait to share the next chapter in their fotoNovella: their wedding in Roseberg, Oregon this June!

Thanks Carly & Garrett!