Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

I love love. And I love these two, Sara and Greg, who are getting married later this year on Whidbey Island. It’s one of my favorite places ever to shoot weddings, and I’m so lucky to get to do one or two every year. We took these engagement photos awhile back at Sara & Greg’s house and at Green Lake in Seattle. See their mugs? If you turn them around, they’re my initals. I got a little kick out of that one.

So in love with Sara’s dress — isn’t it cute?

Such a pretty lake — I love how it’s always full of people and activity, but it’s still so serene.

I can’t wait for your wedding, Sara and Greg! It’s going to be so beautiful.

It’s been a little while, but if you’ve been following along, you’ll remember when my friend Erin of Foosie Design and I teamed up and held a contest to give away a free engagement session and a set of save-the-dates! The couples who entered were so cute that we had to pick two winners. Holly and Andrew took their photos awhile back, but Erin and Simon waited awhile — and boy, was it worth the wait. These two were amazing! Just check out these balloon-inspired photos taken all over Portland!

I love the dynamic that Erin and Simon have together. They were such a blast to photograph!

Erin’s laugh was totally infectious. What a gorgeous bride she’s going to be!

Erin and Simon: You guys are amazing. I had so much fun doing this session with you guys and I can’t wait to see your save-the-dates!

Jocelyn & Praket are so sweet together. She’s a little on the shy side and he’s got a charming smile. Together, they’re magic. In just two days (TWO DAYS!) Eric and I will be traveling to Ranchi, India where I’ll be photographing Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding and I could not be more excited to spend time with these guys at their amazing wedding!

We met up several weeks ago in southeast Portland and had such fun hanging out and taking some engagement photos. I love the look on Jocelyn’s face in the one below:

Jocelyn and Praket: Loved working with you guys on these photos and totally can’t wait for your amazing wedding. See you guys in India!

I have been photographing so many engagement sessions lately for my 2012 couples, and it’s been a blast! This session was no exception. Lindsey & Geoff wanted to meet up at Le Happy, a little creperie in NW Portland, for their session. From there, we took the scenic walking tour of NW Portland and it was so fun to get to know these guys a little better and get them some fun images that represent their fun personalities and their relationship.

I love Lindsey’s red dress — so gorgeous on her!

I love Northwest Portland because of all the great little spots around there that make for amazing photo backgrounds.

These guys are getting married next July and after this session, I’m looking forward to it even more! They are such fun, laid-back people and I think it really shows in their photos.

Congrats, Lindsey & Geoff! Here’s to a fun next 10 months until the big day!

Oh, Portland in the summer. It’s so beautiful, especially when I get to spend it in the city’s amazing outdoor areas with couples in love. This session was no exception. Jasmine and Chris are getting married in September and have the most amazing vibe together. We spent some time on both sides of the St. Johns Bridge taking their engagement photos recently. I love her dress with the little elephants, don’t you?

Since they live nearby, the St. Johns Bridge is a meaningful spot for Jasmine and Chris. I just love shooting on and around it.

Congrats Jasmine & Chris! It was a blast to work with you on these and I can’t wait until your wedding celebrations!

One of my favorite things is when a couple really captures something about themselves in their engagement photos. Ashley and Jeff did this so well — they live in Portland, but I met them near Kalama, Washington, where they like to fish and spend some quality time away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Jeff’s family has been fishing in this spot (and has a bunch of fishing cabins there) since the 1920s. They told me they are never wanting of good, fresh fish.

I love how Ashley & Jeff are so totally at home in this spot — and they didn’t do anything too special to dress for the occasion. I love that because I feel like these photos are so totally them. They sum up this great place that they go together.

They were also great sports since the Columbia River has been over its banks for some time now, so there was water and mud pretty much everywhere. Thank goodness for boots!

Jeff & Ashley: Congrats! It was a blast working with you two and seeing what a great relationship you have.

I have had so many great engagement sessions lately! I loved this one because when we had to decide whether or not to call it off on behalf of weather, Marissa told me she just didn’t want to put it off because she was so looking forward to it! We kept our plans and despite some rain, these two did a fantastic job. They’re so fun together and I love how you can tell how much they love each other.

We made our way around downtown Portland, working from Director Park to the Oregon Historical Society, the Portland marquee and a few other spots.

Congratulations, Marissa and Jarrod! I wish your wedding was sooner, but it will be amazing next summer. It’ll be here before you know it!

Life is funny sometimes. And one of the things I love about doing this for a living is that I often get to reconnect with people from my past and get to be a part of their lives again. Rosa and I were close friends in middle school, but then went our separate ways for high school and college. Then she reappeared, engaged and looking for a wedding photographer. I’m so lucky that I get to photograph she and Chris’ wedding this September.

Yeah, she’s always this pretty. But she had a little extra sparkle the day we did this session. I love her necklace!

With taste like this and such a great dynamic, I seriously can’t wait for Rosa and Chris’ wedding in September. It’s going to be so great, not to mention I get to see some old friends from the days at Conestoga Middle School!

Rosa and Chris, you guys are so great together and I can’t wait to celebrate with you on your wedding day!

Oh, Didi and Kevin. Sigh. These two are so sweet. I think their silly dynamic reminds me a bit of my dynamic with Eric, which I find very endearing. We got together for their engagement session recently in the West End at the Ace Hotel and in the vicinity, and we had a blast!

Of course, I managed to schedule this session for the exact day (just an hour before) the Starlight Parade in downtown Portland — whoops! We hit a rare no-traffic moment inside the Ace’s lobby, but I thought we wouldn’t have a chance when we showed up to throngs of parade watchers lining the streets.

Didi is super creative, and had the idea that she wanted to incorporate coffee and books into their engagement session. I think it came out so cute!

Kevin and Didi, I can’t wait for your wedding next month! It’s going to be a blast.

Sigh. Ivy and Zack. Silly and sweet all wrapped up into one.

I met these guys awhile back and the pleasure was all mine, because these two are seriously some of the nicest people I’ve met. They both hail from Chicago, and they’re in Portland for a few years while Zack does his residency at OHSU. They’re getting married next June and decided that they wanted to be able to remember their time in Portland once they’re back in the Midwest, so we sprinkled a little Portland magic throughout this shoot and it was seriously such a blast.

That’s right, folks: It’s a save-the-date Voodoo Doughnut. Ivy and Zack arranged for a special order of Voodoo’s best, including this beauty and a Voodoo bride and groom doughnut.

We adventured all over Portland for this session, from Zack & Ivy’s place to the original Voodoo Doughnut and then out to Sauvie Island.

Voodoo Doughnuts’ original location is closed for remodeling right now, so these guys very wisely decided to order from the Voodoo Two location. Then we took our doughnuts down to the original Voodoo location, and complete chaos ensued. People were walking by in droves, going, “Where’d you get those doughnuts? Those aren’t Voodoo doughnuts, are they?” and “How did you get in there?”

The Sauvie Island bridge is one of the spots Ivy really wanted to shoot at for their engagement session, and on the Sunday afternoon we did this shoot, she got her wish. We just had to carefully watch for cars as they danced around on the bridge.

Zack and Ivy, seriously. One of the more fun Sunday afternoons I’ve had in a long time. I’m so glad I got to spend it with you guys!