Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

All I have to say is, I’m glad it’s rose season. The day I met up with Katy and Justin (who are getting married in August at the coast) to do their session, the roses at the Rose Garden in Portland were in fine form — the whole place smelled like perfume and the blooms were everywhere.

Katy and Justin are a great couple. They’re always smiling and laughing, and let’s face it, they look great together.

Katy was really excited to shoot near red roses since red will be the accent color in their wedding, which is less than a month away!

Congrats, Katy and Justin! I can’t wait for your wedding. I just know it’s going to be beautiful.

I love taking engagement photos. They’re so fun and relaxed and there’s usually a lot of laughing. When I met up with Caroline and Michael to do their engagement session, all this was true, except that there were also hats. They love hats, so they thought, why not bring some along?

We ran around on a perfect summer afternoon at Portland’s Pittock Mansion. It was a great spot, especially since Caroline and Michael had never seen the place before. They just moved to Portland about three months ago, so they’re still getting to know the area.

I just love how comfortable they are together — you can tell they’ve been together for awhile and they’re totally at ease.

Congratulations, Caroline and Michael! I had a blast with you guys doing engagement photos and I can’t wait for your wedding!

I am so excited — last week, the fantastic bridal blog Brooklyn Bride featured Kim and Curt’s engagement session, shot in Waterfront Park.

I just love photographing fun couples like Kim and Curt, and I also love seeing my work featured on wedding blogs! Thanks for the feature, Vané!

Erica and Nick had their reception at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, where her family has been members for longer than she’s been alive. They also incorporated other traditions in her family, like using the same pastor. Her parents’ reception was also at Columbia Edgewater, when it was housed in a different building.

I loved Erica and Nick’s gorgeous wedding cake by Helen Bernhard Bakery. It was so regal and I loved the topper of yellow flowers.

Erica’s niece, Jordyn, was the hit of the party. She danced it up and she was the smallest member of the wedding party.

Congratulations, Nick and Erica! I had such fun documenting your wedding and I wish you many happy years of marriage together.

Erica and Nick’s wedding was a great family event, especially because Erica’s family is big and local. Nick’s family came in from Texas and Georgia, and the two groups got to meet each other during this big wedding weekend.

These guest book and gift table girls are Erica’s cousins, and they were so cute in their fancy dresses.

This was such a fun wedding party to work with! Everyone was fun and laughing the whole time.

Tune in on Friday for even more photos from Erica and Nick’s reception.

Erica & Nick

Married July 3, 2010 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and the Columbia Edgewater Country Club

Flowers: Annie Chen, Floral Sunshine

Cake: Helen Bernhard Bakery, Portland

Erica and I went to middle school together about a million years ago, so I was so happy to hear that she was getting married. Erica and Nick make the best pair — they’re sweet, kind, laid-back and smart. Being at their wedding was such a treat.

A little bridesmaid R&R during hair and makeup time on the morning of the wedding.

Erica and Nick were both so calm and collected on the day of the wedding, and it showed.

Tune in on Wednesday for more photos from Erica and Nick’s wedding!

I am so excited to be featured in Oregon Brides’ new fall-winter issue! They asked me to recommend my favorite wedding band, and I told them about Marianna and the Baby Vamps and Moon Vine Music. Check them out, and check out the clip below! The new issue of Oregon Bride is now available.

Thanks, Oregon Bride, for including me! I hope more people find great wedding music because of this fun article.

UPDATE: We found out this morning (Thursday) that we won first place in the Inspired Creations Contest! We’re so grateful for the chance to have competed with such great, creative wedding vendors. Click here to see the post where we were announced as winners.

If you followed the blog awhile back, you most likely saw our “Dandelion Wine” shoot that we entered in the Inspired Creations Contest on two great blogs: Elizabeth Anne Designs and The Sweetest Occasion. I put together this shoot with Punch and The Party Place, and they made the magic happen.

On Monday, we found out we are among the top ten finalists in the contest! We’re among fantastic company in the group of ten, and so excited and honored to be featured. The blogs’ editors, along with some special guest judges, will be deciding soon which concepts win first, second and third prizes. The other factor playing in here is how many comment votes we get, so please, if you liked the Dandelion wine concept, go vote for it on Elizabeth Anne Designs by clicking here!

Thanks so much for your support, blog readers!

On Friday, we went to Crave Portland‘s “Up in the Air Summer Affair” party on the roof at Hotel Deluxe. It was so fun! I thought I’d share some photos.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t know there were such high concentrations of beautiful people in Portland. They were out in full force!

Lots of local shops like Betsy & Iya were out showing some of their cool products.

These are our friends Todd & Arwa. Arwa is the face behind GemKitty Jewelry, where you can design your own necklace or earrings.

And that’s us! Thanks, Todd, for wielding the camera with such finesse. And thanks, Crave, for another fun event!