Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

This is a question I get a lot, so in this quick video, I explain why doing an engagement session will make a difference in your wedding images.

I’m excited to bring you the first in the series of videos that I’ll be sharing on the blog. In this short video, I talk about the top three things to look for when you’re shopping for wedding photographers. I also say “um” a lot. So much for all that theatrical training.

I’m going to be doing one of these videos each month, and I’d like to hear from you — what would you like to hear about?

Some of you may have seen this shoot before when it was published in November, but it was so fun that I wanted to share some images on the blog, too. This was a project commissioned by Ami and Cyd (editors of Elizabeth Anne Designs and The Sweetest Occasion, respectively) to launch their new Inspired Creations e-mail newsletter. I worked on this shoot with a great team: The Ace Hotel, Sammy’s Flowers, The Party Place and Ambient Sky Studios.

The reason I call this shoot “Twirl” is because I took my inspiration from the Kate Spade perfume of the same name. It’s pure gorgeousness, and I had fun trying to channel the colors, shapes and feelings of it.

The Bride and Groom signs were a DIY project I came up with using construction paper, wired ribbon, acrylic paint and glitter cardstock. Easy!

I love how The Party Place can match every mood — notice the gold chargers matched with gold silverware and paired with modern stemware. Fantastic.

The miracle workers at Sammy’s Flowers came up with these gorgeous pink and red arrangements, which were kept modern by using minimal greenery.

Since this shoot was a little bit festive, I thought I’d share it just before New Year’s — have fun out there! And just for kicks, here’s a video of this shoot, from Ambient Sky:

You saw Kim and Curt’s engagement photos on Wednesday. Now check out some video from their session, including behind-the-scenes creation of that save-the-date series that I love so much.

Kim & Curt from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

Enjoy, and happy Friday!

By now, some of you have probably seen some new photos from an inspiration session I worked on with Punch and The Party Place at Saucebox Restaurant. We created the concept as an entry into the Inspired Creations Contest, hosted by Elizabeth Anne Designs and The Sweetest Occasion. Today, I wanted to share some video from behind the scenes creating the shoot. On Friday I’ll be sharing tons of photos from the shoot!

Dandelion Wine Inspiration Shoot from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

Music by Courtney Freed. You can buy her album here.

In one of the more exciting moments of my week, my latest inspiration shoot was featured on The Wedding Chicks blog on Wednesday. I’ve got to tell you — the vendors I worked with on this shoot were just amazing, and I think it really came through in their hard work and creativity. Here’s the video from the shoot, and I’ll be sharing more photos from it on Monday and Wednesday of next week. Enjoy!

May Inspiration Shoot from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

I’d like to thank:

Tia from Saucebox Restaurant, my friends Cat and Jeremy (our models), Jennifer of Face Body Beauty, Meg from Fieldwork, Erin of Foosie Design, Sara from Love, June Bridal and Kathy from The Party Place for making this a reality! Also, a huge thanks to crooner Courtney Freed for providing the music used in the video. And, because I know someone’s going to ask, those shoes are from Steve Madden.

Happy Friday!

Bonnie and Kim from Punch have it — the magic touch. To watch them come up with ideas and then arrange them beautifully is totally amazing. If you saw the blog last week, you saw the red and white inspiration shoot we collaborated on — now here’s some behind-the-scenes video of us putting together the shoot.

Punch Inspiration Shoot from Sara Gray on Vimeo. Music by Marianna & The Baby Vamps.

I know it’s been a week or so since I shared Morgan & Brandon’s engagement session, but I am excited finally to show you the short video that came out of that session. It’s a little shaky because I’m way too focused on looking for locations than looking for the shot, but hopefully it communicates the great energy this couple has and brought to their session. I am just about to bust at the seams waiting for their wedding this July!

Morgan & Brandon from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

I really love engagement sessions, and can’t wait to share more in the coming months. It’s been such a fun springtime getting to know this year’s wedding couples and finding fun new locations to shoot in.

I wanted to share some extras from Rachel and Neal’s engagement session, which was sort of train-themed and came out super cute. Below is the video from their session.

Rachel and Neal from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

Rachel and Neal also ordered a guest book that’s bright green — it’s sitting on my desk right now and I want to show it to the world, it’s so cute. Here’s the design.

I love getting to dream. When I planned my own wedding, I dreamed about colors, dresses and details like a lot of girls do. But a week ago, I had the opportunity to dream out loud with a group of amazing wedding vendors who worked together to breathe life into a wedding inspiration shoot.

It went so well that the photos from our inspiration shoot were published only a couple of days later on Style Me Pretty, which is a fantastic wedding blog that brings me lots of inspiration. It was a dream to be counted among the ranks there of inspiring photographers and other vendors.

For the rest of the week, I’ll be sharing that inspiration shoot in lots of detail, but in order to kick that off, I’d like to share this video I put together, which shows a few glances behind the scenes as we created this beautiful setup. I hope it’s inspiring to you!

Spring Inspiration Shoot from Sara Gray on Vimeo.

Like any wedding, this took a small army to pull off. So thank you to all (listed below) who worked hard to make it all happen!

Special thanks to: Elizabeth Ann Events (styling and coordination), Eye Design Studio (menu and invitation design), Floral Sunshine (flowers), The English Dept. (for loaning us the stunning Coren Moore gown), Face Body Beauty (for our model’s stunning makeup and hair), Grayling (for the bride’s jewelry), John Rink (for the wedding bands), Made by Girl (for the yellow LOVE print), Le Cookie Monkey (for the cake and adorable lemon cookies), The Party Place (for our tables, chairs, linens and other rentals), The Petersons, my wonderful aunt and uncle (for letting us use their lovely home) and the fantastic Jennifer and Jason, our models, who are one of the most willing and friendly couples I know. The music in this video was kindly provided by Marianna and the Baby Vamps.