Sara Gray Photography Portland, Oregon

I’m so excited to share this fun wedding that I shot back in October in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It’s such a beautiful place for a wedding, and we got beautiful weather and a really sweet, meaningful wedding day for Denise and Greg.

Denise and Greg decided to incorporate a Scottish theme into their wedding, complete with bagpiper and kilt. Below, it was so sweet when Greg first saw Denise in her wedding dress. These two are just the sweetest people, and together they’re such a great fit.

This little red chapel was a great backdrop for their wedding celebration, surrounded by family and friends. It was also just a couple of blocks from the lakeshore, so we headed there after the ceremony for some more photos. I had so much fun photographing these guys!

Look at those smiles!

Denise and Greg, thank you both so much for letting me be a part of your wedding day! It was such fun to get to know you better and I wish you many happy years together!

I’ve been holding on to this gem for awhile because I knew it would be a great wedding to share in the new year. Jasmine and Chris are incredibly creative and unique, and they incorporated so much of their own personalities into this simple celebration, which they held at Stub Stewart State Park in Vernonia. Their family and friends came from far and wide and stayed the weekend in cabins, celebrating and hanging out.

Jasmine’s gown from Anthropologie and boots were the perfect thing for this chill outdoor wedding. I loved the layers on that skirt!

A s’mores kit was placed on the porch of each cabin and after the party was over, everyone made their way back to their fire pits to make some.

Jasmine plays the ukelele, and instead of hiring a band to play while they walked down the aisle, she played herself. It was such a sweet moment as they joined their group of family and friends for a simple hilltop ceremony.

Congratulations to Jasmine and Chris! Your wedding was really beautiful and I love how much of your own personalities you incorporated! Here’s to many happy years together.

The night of Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding was so intense. It was intense for a few reasons: First, it was the first Hindu wedding I’d done, so I was unfamiliar with the traditions. Secondly, there are about 750 guests present at the celebration and it was an absolute hotbed of activity. Third? Well, check out all this color. Talk about sensory overload.

In the Indian tradition, things go in a different order than we normally do them here. First is the reception, where all the guests can come in and wish the bride and groom well, giving them gifts and saying hello. It’s like a giant receiving line that just goes on and on.

After the reception and after many guests had something to eat (trust me, there was LOADS of food at this party!) the bride and groom and their family went upstairs to begin the ceremony, which is a pretty long ceremony filled with many small acts along the way. The ceremony’s rites are in Sanskrit, and a priest leads the gathering.

This wedding was so incredible, but also one of the most difficult weddings I’ve photographed. One of the reasons? Check out all these other guys I was competing with for a good spot, good light etc. Many of the videographers had old-school bright video lights mounted to the front of their cameras, which made for some pretty wonky light. It was hard work!

What an honor, though, to be able to be this close to two really wonderful people as they were married. They went through this experience with us nearby, and I feel it was such a privilege to be there for them and with them.

Eric really had the chance to be there with them: Below, you can see him in the top right corner. He was asked to step in as Jocelyn’s “brother” to help with a few of the traditions. Here’s he’s refilling her bowl so that she can sprinkle it on the ground as they walk around the fire together.

I think Jocelyn was so beautiful in her wedding saree and veil — she told me during the trip that this was the last thing she thought her wedding would be when she was a little girl, but I think that’s how life works. It’s always surprising, isn’t it?

Saying thank you in a blog post seems so trite and little compared with the gratitude I have for these two for trusting me to travel across the world with them to capture their wedding. But I’ll say it anyway: THANK YOU, Jocelyn and Praket. You two are amazing and this was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had. Here’s to many years of happy marriage that started with one crazy wedding.

I hope you guys are ready for more photos this week from my trip to India, because I’ve got loads to share and this is the part in the story where everything gets really colorful. Let’s pick up where we left off: The next night after the Mendhi ceremony was complete, there was an event with lots of singing and dancing. Mostly family members attend this event, so it’s smaller but it was held at the wedding venue too. We ate and danced, and family members old and young prepared songs to sing or dances to perform in honor of Jocelyn & Praket’s marriage.

Jocelyn got ready for the event in the first of two sarees she would wear throughout the week’s festivities. I love the way the Mendhi looks on her hands.

The colors of all the sarees and fabrics in the room was pretty incredible that night. Above, some aunts and cousins sing a song together.

At one point, a little dance party broke out with Jocelyn’s friends from home and Praket’s cousin (below). Jocelyn and Praket even performed a dance together that they’d been learning most of the week. All in all, it was a really fun event and chance for Jocelyn to get to know some of Praket’s family better.

The next morning, Jocelyn had to get ready for the big night: the actual wedding. It was the last night of celebrating, and about 750 guests were invited.

Below, Jocelyn’s anklets, which were passed down from Praket’s grandmother (and their wedding rings). On the right, the necklace that Jocelyn would wear for the wedding.

A whole team of women worked hard to get her hair and makeup done, and then to get her dressed in her saree.

She looked so beautiful in all her regalia — and this was even before her veil went on! The level of detail was so amazing and gave me so much to photograph. But for the rest, you’ll have to wait until Thursday — then I’ll be sharing the last of the wedding photos and you can see how it all came together!

In the days leading up to Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding, there were lots of traditions and preparation to go through. On the day Eric and I arrived from New Delhi, Jocelyn and Praket were working with a dance instructor to learn a choreographed dance that they’d perform, and the Mendhi process began for many of the women. Family was also arriving every day and there were lots of meals served by cooks hired by Praket’s family.

I really enjoyed being part of the Mendhi ritual. It’s almost like a shower, with many of the women crowded around, hanging out, chatting and laughing while the henna is drawn on and then you wait for it to dry. Two henna artists worked two straight long days to finish all the art. It’s such a process!

First, the ladies draw on the designs by hand. They’re really amazing and intricate, and the speed at which they can do it is pretty amazing. Thirty minutes later, they dab a mixture of lemon oil and sugar on it, which helps it set, and then about 30 minutes later they dab it again with mustard oil. You have to sit still and let it dry for about another hour and then you scrape all the henna off. The first day, the markings are a bright orange color and when you wake up the next morning, it’s darker. They say that the darker your henna markings are, the more your husband loves you. Because my skin’s so fair, my henna was pretty dark and Eric got congratulated quite a few times.

Below, the ladies hanging out during the Mendhi ritual (and some of the guys too). Tuki, Praket’s sister, is having hers done.

Soon it was Jocelyn’s turn. Below, the artists work on her arms and then they moved to her feet, which is an extra step only for the bride.

Jocelyn’s family arrived the next day and they had their first meeting with Praket’s parents over some snacks. It was so fun to be in the room as they got to know each other a little.

Below, Tuki and Sandy (Praket’s sister and Jocelyn’s sister) share a hug.

Next week I’ll be back on the blog sharing loads more photos from Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding!

I’m so excited to start sharing photos from my trip to India and Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding. Our two-week trip was amazing, and I took an absolutely ludicrous number of photos. Because of that, I’m breaking my sharing of the photos up into some chunks. This week, I’ll be sharing some travel photos from Ranchi, the city where the wedding was, and some wedding prep photos. Next week, we’ll get into the thick of it with lots of photos from the wedding and wedding festivities. Then I’ll take a little break, and later on I’ll share some travel photos from New Delhi and from Amsterdam, where we stopped on our way back. Here are some of my favorites from Ranchi. It’s a smaller city in the east of India and it’s very naturally beautiful. I love all the color and texture that we found there.

I love this blue bicycle below. In fact, I loved all the bicycles we saw in India. Most of them are very old and have a really cool style, and people would be riding them with bare feet or carrying baskets of stuff with them on their way.

We saw a lot of street food, but couldn’t eat it. It looked so amazing, though.

One morning, Eric and I were up at about 6 a.m. because of jetlag and we went out on a bit of a photo expedition as the sun rose. Because the streets are normally so crowded, it was a fun time to see some of the details without the chaos of trying to watch out for cars and bikes and motorcycles.

Whenever kids would see us, they would run over and say hello or want to take their pictures with us. These kids let me take their photo one morning.

I’m so lucky that I got to take this trip and see this part of the world! I’ll be back on Thursday to share some prep photos from Jocelyn and Praket’s wedding.

Weddings are so much fun! I love watching each couple make a celebration uniquely their own, and then being there as their friends and family get to enjoy it all. Kirsten and Cody’s wedding, back in September, was so completely them. They threw a fun party that everyone had a blast at, and did it completely in their own way.

We started our day at Portland’s Peninsula Park, which is gorgeous and made a great spot for some portraits of these guys and their families.

Flowers came from Emerald Petals — they have the cutest little shop on North Mississippi Avenue!

The celebration was held at Holocene — sometimes known as a music venue, this was a perfect spot to celebrate in a little bit more modern style than most of Portland’s wedding venues.

Partygoers crowded around for Cody and Kirsten’s wedding ceremony, officiated by Cody’s twin brother Dusty.

The hula hoop contest was just one of the fun things that Kirsten & Cody treated guests to. They also got cookies for dessert, a photo booth and a BINGO game that helped them get to know each other. They really thought of everything.

Kirsten and Cody: What do I say? This was one of my most fun weddings all year. You guys were a pleasure to work with and I’m glad to call you friends! Best wishes for a long and happy marriage full of hula-hooping, family and friends.

I have been waiting to share this wedding for awhile and so excited for you all to see it! Rosa and Chris’ Portland wedding was amazing — all glitz and glamour at the Riverplace Hotel. Rosa and I met in sixth grade, and we were good friends through middle school. We lost touch in high school and college since we went to different schools, so it was so fun to reconnect while she was planning her wedding to Chris. These two are so fun and caring, and everyone around them was so excited to be there to celebrate with them.

I’m going to open (is there any other way?) with her fabulous, fabulous Kate Spade shoes. These shoes stop my heart.

Rosa’s family are all so creative and hardworking. She had family members do all her flowers, her favors, her hair and makeup and much more. Everything turned out so beautiful.

I loved how they incorporated pops of modern orange, grey and white throughout their wedding. The color palette was so fresh and pretty.

I love that Rosa and Chris are shoe people. Chris has a thing about Nikes and collects them, so he had his groomsmen in these perfect-for-the-occasion Air Jordans.

Talk about a gorgeous wedding party!

Rosa and Chris, you guys are amazing! It was so fun to be a part of your day and to reconnect with you through your wedding process. Here’s to many happy years together, with gorgeous, rare and unique shoes on your feet!

Photographing Denise and Zach’s wedding was like a vacation for me. I got to travel to Whidbey Island (one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest) and be part of a simple and elegant celebration with these two back in September. I want to go back now! The weather was perfect, they kept it very simple and relaxed and it was such a gorgeous day to celebrate their new marriage with their friends and family.

Denise was such a glamorous bride. I loved how her dress fit her like a second skin — and THOSE SHOES. As a photographer who loves to shoot shoes, can you imagine the look on my face when she pulled these babies out of the box?!

Denise and Zach’s wedding celebration was held at Zach’s parents’ house, which overlooks the water on Whidbey Island. You can see the ferries coming and going in the distance and the ocean breeze was soft and undulating. It was seriously such a perfect day.

Taking their cue from the Puget Sound, Denise and Zach chose a simple, classy nautical theme replete with anchors and shells. I thought it turned out just lovely.

These two kept it simple by having their parents serve as “attendants” instead of crowding their small ceremony. It was very sweet to see their families get to know each other.

Then, after they’d tied the knot, it was time to party! Midnight Kitchen Catering is my absolute favorite catering company in the Puget Sound and I always look forward to getting to taste their yummy food — look at all this great-looking stuff!

Finally, these smart newlyweds decided to have their wedding on a night when there would be a fireworks show across the sound in Mukilteo, so they got to share their first dance with fireworks as a backdrop.

Congratulations, Denise and Zach! Your wedding was an absolute pleasure to photograph and I had such fun getting to know you and your families. Here’s to a long and happy marriage!

I’m so excited today to share Angela and Luke’s wedding with all of you. This was a beautiful wedding in so many ways, from the lovely people to the beautiful decor and weather. Angela began her day at Dosha getting pretty — they always do such a great job.

Below is Luke and Angela’s first look, when he first got a good look at her in her dress. I love this location — they got married at the University of Portland, where they both went and they met each other, and the doors on the chapel there are so beautiful!

Luke’s mom, who is super creative, did all the flowers herself! I love how every single bridesmaid bouquet is so different. Check them out:

Wasn’t she a beautiful bride? Angela’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Both she and Luke are selfless, laid-back and so compassionate and fun-loving. All that made for a really enjoyable wedding for all their family and friends.

I love these two together — they laugh, they love to travel and they are both teachers, and are so passionate about it.

Congratulations, Angela and Luke! You guys are so great together and I wish you many happy years together as Mr. and Mrs.!