Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

At the moment, I’m loving the whole photobooth experience. Last week, I was at Alt, where there was a new photobooth around every corner (from the fun, white-accessory one at the Winter Wonderland Party, above, to the fun Method-sponsored Smilebooth, below). These photos are me and my friends Amy and Erin, goofing around.

I have a photobooth of my own that makes the rounds, mostly at weddings, but I’ve got about a thousand cool ideas for making it event-ready. One is integrating cool accessories like the ones above, and the other involves some pretty rad backgrounds, like some fun crepe paper stripes or some glitter, like below. If you want to photobooth it up — for your wedding or for a birthday party, house party or whatever kind of party, let me know!

Hey blog friends! If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, there’s no way you didn’t already know this, but I just got home from a few days in Salt Lake City at the Altitude Design Summit. It’s a design blogging conference, which means that all those people out there who are super creative and have those blogs that make you drool were there. It was a total blast and I learned a lot. As a result, I’ll be making some changes here on the blog over the next few months. Here’s a recap of some things I learned (with some fun photos from my experience at Alt!)

First off, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of ME in the blog! Not photos of me, per se, but a bit more about my experience as a wedding photographer and small business owner, and my life. I’ll also be sharing some of my own favorites from the wedding world here in Portland and beyond.

The second change you’ll see is the frequency of posts, which is going to jump up a bit over the next several weeks. I know it’s a change I’ve made before, but I’m feeling good about bringing in a few more posts each week.

I hope you’ll let me know what you think about the changes as they roll out — I do write this blog for you who read it, of course! Have a fantastic week, everyone.

I hope no one is tired of travel photos yet, because I still have one more post full of photos from my trip in November. On our way home from India, we took a long layover in Amsterdam and got to spend three days exploring the city. The weather was beautiful (if a little chilly, after 80-degree days in India!) and we really enjoyed how festive and Christmas-y everything was. Here are a few highlights from our trip.

We’ve been to loads of European cities together, but somehow we loved Amsterdam so much. It might be leading for my favorite at the moment.

This last photo is of possibly the cutest corner in the world. I love how cute the building is, super cute little cafe inside, and we went in too: Food was cute, waiter was cute, everything was cute. Cutest corner ever.

Thanks for coming along for the ride while I shared all these travel photos! What’s the verdict? Do you want to see more travel photos as time goes on or would you prefer we just stick to weddings here? Let me know in the comments!

Our last few days in India, we visited some really cool sites. One of our favorites was Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi. They say it’s like a small version of the Taj Mahal, which we weren’t able to see on this trip because of the way our travel schedule worked. But this was a pretty close second.

This guy was one of three elephants I saw while we were in India, all from a distance. We saw loads of animals, though: goats, cows, water buffalo, monkeys, pigs and so many dogs I could hardly believe it.

This was one of the most colorful and interesting places I’ve ever been. I love the beauty that’s there, even though a lot of it comes with sadness. Here’s a final note for my final day of photos from India: A little video taken on the street in Ranchi to give you a little taste of what it’s like in real time.

Happy New Year! I’m excited to share some more travel photos from India this week. While we were there, we spent a few days in New Delhi kicking around town and trying to get our bearings — it is such a big city! It’s actually second in the world in population, just behind Shanghai. I love how you can see Eric in the right-hand rearview mirror in this auto-rickshaw.

Above, a memorial to Gandhi.

One part I loved about my trip was the opportunity to participate in things with actual local people. As part of the wedding, I got to partake in the Mendhi ceremony and I came home with my very own (hot pink!) saree.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a handful more of my India travel photos!

Whenever I reflect at the end of the year, I’m always so grateful for the experiences I’ve had. It’s crazy how amazing this year has been. I’m so fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had! Here’s a quick recap (I’ll try not to wax poetic too much…)

First, the bread and butter: The weddings! I photographed 19 amazing weddings in 2011 and enjoyed every one of them. My favorite part about my clients is that they always bring a piece of themselves into their wedding planning, which means every celebration is unique. Thanks to each of you for allowing me to be such a big part of your weddings!

Revisit the 2011 weddings: Lucy & Darren | Brooke & Galen’s Elopement | Joe & Naomi | Allison & Matt | Patricia & Vincent | Stephanie & Peter | Sarah & Trevor | Morgan & Robert | Lesley & Trevor | Didi & Kevin | Brooke & Galen’s Happily Ever After Party | Jaclyn & Toshio | Angela & Luke | Emily & Jeff | Rosa & Chris | Kirsten & Cody | Denise & Zach | Jasmine & Chris | Denise & Greg | Jocelyn & Praket (Note: A couple of these weddings will be blogged in January — stay tuned!)

In addition to the amazing weddings I’ve photographed this year, I have some other projects that came to fruition in the last year. In January, I launched I Live Here:PDX with my dear friend Erin McGovney (we’re celebrating our anniversary in two weeks — come to our party if you’re in Portland!)

In March, with my friends and business partners Amy Trang and Allison Doty Schexnayder, I launched MarryThis! — then we relaunched it in November. It’s going strong — have you downloaded a free guide yet?

I moved into a new office space in March, then another (same building!) in November — stay tuned in the New Year for more photos of the new space and perhaps a little gathering!

I also got to travel the world this year, for work (two destination weddings!) and for pleasure. I went to New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Boise (three times!), Maui, India, Amsterdam, Spokane & Coeur d’Alene. Phew! I need a vacation from my vacations.

All in all, it’s been a really amazing year personally and professionally. I turned 28, I celebrated four years of marriage with my boo Eric, and I’m in such a good place. This next year is going to be the biggest yet for Sara Gray Photography, so if you want me to be a part of your wedding this coming year, let me know soon!

Happy New Year to everyone, and may you all have a happy and healthy 2012.

Hi all! This weekend I’m in Spokane with my in-laws having a blast and celebrating Christmas. Nearing the end of the year makes me a little nostalgic for the year that’s wrapping up, and I just wanted to say thank you all for your business and your support of me as Sara Gray Photography gets another year older. This next year is shaping up to be the biggest wedding year yet, and I feel incredibly grateful to all of you for being with me on this crazy trip.

I hope you’re all getting a chance to relax with your families and celebrating the holidays.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love spending time with family, taking time to be thankful and of course, pumpkin pie. This year’s a little different though — this year, we’re 7,000 miles away enjoying Indian food and celebrating Jocelyn & Praket’s wedding celebration in India.

One thing I’ll still be doing this Thanksgiving, though, is being thankful! For my family and friends, and for opportunities like this to travel around the world and celebrate with couples on one of their happiest days.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And don’t worry — there are tons more India photos to come.

A week ago today, Eric and I celebrated four years of marriage. My dear friend Annie from Annie’s Sweet Pea (she takes the SWEETEST kid photos) came out to take our photos, which was so much fun. This October marks nine years since I first eyed this guy from across a tackily-decorated dining services hangout on campus at Washington State University. It’s been a third of my life that we’ve been together and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Speaking of anniversaries, birthdays are anniversaries, so I want also to give a shoutout to my mom, whose birthday is today! Congrats, mom. You look so young for 37!

Time for a travel recap, everyone! Of course by now you know (because I’ve essentially been shouting it from the rooftops on the blog here), I just got back a few weeks ago from Maui, where I photographed my sister’s wedding and spent lots of time relaxing with family. Here are some non-wedding-related photos from our trip to Maui.

First, nothing beats fresh coconut juice FROM A COCONUT. I want to have one every day. See Exhibit B, below, where I am fully enjoying the stuff. Above left is the small and totally adorable town of Paia, where we had a great breakfast one morning.

One of the coolest things we did while were were there was going to the top of Haleakala (the mountain in the middle of the island) and watching the sunrise at 10,000 feet. There were a few of us there to see it, and it was really beautiful, almost otherworldly.

Below, my brother-in-law Kail, looking like a boss on top of a mountain. It’s just how he rolls.

Below, the newlyweds before the wedding, working on their tans.

Twice during our stay on Maui, we went to this awesome little cart on the side of the road called Kya’s Italian Ice. It was awesome (below, the mango) and it even made a little cameo in the wedding pictures.

More Maui photos on Tuesday! Have a great weekend, everyone.