Rita & Cameron said “I do” on a beautiful day in March.  The clouds were coming and going, but the weather was perfect.  I thought for a moment there may be a sprinkle or two, but it held out!  Yea.

The first time Rita & I actually met she was buying a couch that I was selling, which suited her house much better than mine, by the way!  She has such a sweet spirit and her family is such a huge part of her life, both her hubby, Cameron & their son, Jayden.  Everyone was smiles & hugs on this special day and I was so thrilled to be a part of it!!  Thank you so much to my sweet friend, Natalie Crane for shooting with me too!!

There was a slight mishap with the wedding flowers (as in one of her bridesmaids didn’t get one, but they were so creative & put her one together in 15 minutes that was perfect!)  The bride’s bouquet was amazing!

I have to give a shout out to the Steel Drum Band, Steele Sound because the man there in the middle, Jerry Lopatin, was MY steel drum teacher in grade school.  I have so many amazing memories from that experience it was so great to see him!!

I think he got a pretty good shot!

Just loved Rita’s face here!!

These two have no problem just having fun with each other!

Jayden looking quite handsome!!

Thanks so much for inviting me to be part of your wedding day, Rita & Cameron!

Many Blessings!

Janelle

Amy & David wanted a ranch style wedding.  They had a hard time finding what they wanted in town, so they decided to look beyond Phoenix and they found the perfect location.  They chose The Windmill Winery in Florence, AZ.  At one point when we were driving out there I had a panic attack because I thought we had taken a wrong turn and were headed to no man’s land, but a few more miles up the road and we were there.  It was a HOT day, but that didn’t stop the wedding from being AMAZING!!

Amy, was one of the most stunning brides I had ever seen.  Simply radiant.  Dave cleaned up rather nicely himself.

I would go on with the story, but really I think the pictures tell the story just right…

Amy’s dress was perfect.

Many many thanks to my AMAZING friend & photographer, Erin McFarland for shooting with me…I don’t even know how to shoot a wedding without you! {XOXO}

Amy, you are absolutely stunning.

Beautiful girls

The flowers were amazing…what color pop!!

Brewer, is Amy & David’s gorgeous Labrador and had to be part of the festivities!!  He looks quite handsome!

AND so does his owner.  Lookin’ good, David.

The boys…ahem, men.

Is this wedding party gorgeous or what???!!!

Just right.

I love love love to hear wedding vows, especially when the bride & groom writes them…

Mr. & Mrs Colson

This one says, “Let’s Get This Party Started!!!”

First dance…

Props to Amy & David’s DJ, Nathan owner of Infinity Entertainment - He had so many fun things for the guests, great songs, personal touches!!  I would highly recommend him!!  These are some of the guests that got roped into being part of the night’s entertainment.  They didn’t seem to mind!!

David works for Glendale Fire Department (which is how I know him!!) and here he is with his very proud crew…LADDER 157

**SPARKLERS**

Amy & David it was truly an honor to be part of your wedding.  Congratulations!!

Blessings!

Janelle

So, now to the reception of this fabulous wedding!!  There was still some great light outside so, we grabbed just a couple since it was getting chilly and everyone was anxious to get the party started!!  There were so many cute touches to different parts of the reception.  One of my favorite things was the “treat bar”.  As their favors for guests to take home they had a “bar” that was full of sweet treats.  The sign read, “Love is sweet, take a treat”!!  There were lots of non-dentist approved candies to choose from…and of course my absolute favorite, black licorice (although I have a soft spot for red too)!!!  I just LOVED this idea and am tossing around some ideas on how to use this for a party of my own!! 

Tiffani’s family is middle eastern and there are a few traditions that would not be missed!!  One of my favorites is grape leaves!!  I have rolled many a grape leaves with this family for different traditions.  In fact the last time I had rolled them was when Tiffani’s big sister got married almost 9 years ago…in the same dining room!!  So, I was thrilled to be a part of that tradition once again!!  I think that we rolled almost 500 grape leaves for this special day!!  If you have never tried these little morsels you are missing out!!  The other tradition that was not to be missed is a belly dancer!!  This was a real treat for Tiff’s side of the family, really for everyone, this gal was amazing!!  At one point she was dancing with a sword!!!  So, fun and really made the night that much more!!

I have to say that after almost 12 hours on my feet and 30 weeks prego, I was definitely beat by the end of the night, but so thankful to be part of this wedding and even more to have been part of this family for so long!!  They are a blessing to me and Jason both!!  We are already planning to drive the kids up next summer to spend time with all of them…can’t wait!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the SHOES!!!

Isn’t this cake soooo perfect, simply elegant!

Sweet Treats

Their first dance was so sweet and they were both singing to each other the whole time…

Bride & her dad…they started out slow and then boogied with lots of spins and twirls!

Tiff’s sister, Terra (my BF) was her matron of honor

Jake’s best man brought along the Snoopy Snow Cone Maker.  I had one exactly like it.  Most of Jake’s groomsmen were his life long friends and they used to make snow cones together and were in their own little “snowcone gang”…so they welcomed Tiff in with a fresh made snowcone!! 

Terra & her oldest little girl, Addi who made one beautiful flower girl

The yummy grape leaves!

The belly dancer was a surprise to her dad, so I love his expression when he finds out!!  Priceless!!

The inside of the cake was pink champagne…oh so yummy!!

Jeff & Jason

Tiffani, Jake and all the family…Thank you so much for letting Jason and I be there to celebrate and capture this day with you!!

Love all you guys!!

Blessings!

Janelle & Jason

Can I just say how completely thrilled, jumping up and down (well, not technically - I am 8 months pregnant - Ha!!) EXCITED I am to be finally posting my Seattle wedding from last month???!!!  The last few weeks have been a blur to me with moving ( 8 months prego & 3 small children - I almost lost my mind) and getting a HORRIBLE cold that I had to put work on the back burner for just a teensy bit!!  So, I am finally done with this gorgeous wedding and there were SO many amazing images that I wanted to post that I decided to break it into two posts for two days!!

I have known Tiffani for around 16 years!!  Obviously, she was a little girl when I first met her!!  Her older sister and I have been the bestest of friends since our freshman year in high school!!!  Miles separated us after our freshman year, but not our friendship and I spent many spring breaks and part of my summers out there with her family!!  So, amazingly beautiful!!  Their family is so precious to me from grandparents down to Tiff.  Love them all!!  So, when my bestie called and told me her little sister got engaged and wanted me to shoot their wedding I was a little bit EXCITED and so honored!!!  Jason and I both knew this would be so fun to do together…a sweet little get away for us too!!  Since we knew about the wedding almost a year in advance…we even waited to get prego with baby #4 so that we knew we could make the trip!!  Haha!!

Well, Tiffani found her a great man!!  Jake is such a gentle spirit and they are just a wonderful fit together!!  They both love the Lord and each other which is obvious in both their lives!!  Jason and I were so happy to be part of their beautiful day!!  It was true Northwest weather I must say…raining, sunny, raining, sunny, cloudy, sunny…and so on went the day, but it was perfect and we were able to be outside for some gorgeous scenery (sometimes with umbrellas)!!  So, here is part I of their beautiful day!!

Are these the BEST shoes you have EVER seen???!!!  I wanted to snag them!!  I refrained.

One of her girlfriend’s had the hanger made with her new last name…

Loved how the itinerary for the day said, “Game Plan”

Jake and Tiffany wanted a “first look”…oh how I LOVE these…the emotion is so amazing, takes my breath away when they see each other for the first time.

Tiff…you are absolutely stunning!

Love the umbrella!!

Handsome groom!!

Gorgeous Wedding Party - What a BARN next to the church????  Score!! 

Tiff’s brother-in-law, Jeff was the officiant (my best friend’s hubby) - He did an amazing job!!

Headed to the reception…

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow!! 

Blessings!

Janelle

This is one of the most gorgeous resorts in Sedona, AZ.  Absolutely stunning with Oak Creek flowing right behind it.  I am talking about the L’Auberge de Sedona.  The next little get away for my hubby and I will definitely be here in one of their cozy little cabins.  Just so cute and they even have a super cool outdoor shower in the cabins!!  Jordyn and Jamie have a wonderful story of what a soul mate is all about.   They are definitely soul mates without a doubt and both are just complete when they are together.  Jordyn has two of the sweetest kiddos and I just love seeing her interact with them, but even more than that I loved watching Jamie with his two precious gifts…Jordyn has definitely got herself a wonderful man!  Jordyn is already a wonderful mother and now she is going to make an amazing wife…even more than that she will be a military wife as Jamie is in the Navy.  He is based in San Diego, but just after they said “I do” his ship headed out for the next several months.  Once he is back they will follow him wherever the Navy has him settle (hopefully, San Diego!!).  Thank you, Jamie for your amazing service to our country.  May God protect you as you serve.

So, this was the first wedding that I drug my amazing hubby with and gave him a camera, lens, a few tips and said go get ‘em.  He did a great job and I really tried not to be bossy…haha!!  The best part was that he LOVED it and it was awesome to hang out with him and shoot the wedding together!!!  I feel so incredibly blessed!!  Well, here are some images that I have been dying to share!!

LOVED her shoes!!  Perfect match to her dress!!

Her dress was SO stinkin’ cute!!  Her precious little girl’s dress was made from part of her dress…

My hubby captured the next image of the couple’s “first look”!!  love love love it!!

I just love it when a couple chooses to see each before…the moment is sweeter than any other.  The bonus for a photographer is it gives us some time to get beautiful pictures of the bride and groom relaxed and just enjoying one another…all of the next shots were shot right after their first look.

Hubby’s angle…

Jordyn…seriously you are a beautiful bride.

Not so bad yourself, Jamie.

B just loved this bouquet and was completely thrilled to be running around with it for pictures!! 

Thanks again you sweet love birds for allowing us to be part of your Wedding Day!!

Blessings to your family!!

Janelle (& Jason)