The Reversed Lens » portland oregon events

We Love Weddings

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:33:15 +0000

I still remember the day that we photographed our first wedding. Looking back, there was so much to learn. Being a wedding photographer means being in five different places and moments, all at the same time, and it’s daunting when you first step into those shoes. But there are moments that seem as though I was in them yesterday– seeing the bride coming down the stairs, dress trailing behind her; the groom’s tears as he spoke his vows; their joyful waves as they speeded away on a boat down the Willamette River. Each wedding has been like that for me. It’s the moments that stay, each of them as individual as the couple that we’re photographing. Each event has it’s own personal stamp. It’s finding those qualities that really thrill me as a photographer. I love seeing them through a different lens than the last and telling each story as a new chapter to our own story of documentation. It’s an incredible privilege to be trusted to tell the story of one of the most important days in one’s life. And it’s not something that I– we, because Will and I still photograph as a team, so that those moments have complementary perspectives– take lightly. I love that this is what I do with my life.

Thinking and reflecting on the past year has brought all of that back. This has been a year of significant change in our life. We welcomed a new child and life took some twists and turns. But through all of that, my love of life’s seminal moments remains. We’ve continued to tell those stories in the lives of some beautiful couples. My mind has traveled over the last several days back in time and so I thought that I’d share a few of my favorite moments with you.

This bride planned her entire color palette on the shoes– aka The Manolo Blahnik shoes worn in the Sex and the City movie by Sarah Jessica Parker. Her mom surprised her with them and I just had to take a stunning shot of them to do them full justice.

When there are little people involved in the wedding I know that there will be some great candid moments.

I love Cathedral ceilings and this particular one, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Lake Oswego, is one of my
favorites. Will and I both have an art photography background and love finding lines and symmetry in our work.

It’s the little touches, like taffy to guests that reminded this bride of her childhood, that I adore.

The first look is often the most romantic and emotional– and can be the setting for the very best pictures.

One way to ensure a fun-filled evening: make sure that your best man/maid of honor gives a rollicking speech.

I love taking a traditional moment and making it something special. These bridal portraits
(and their first look) were set in the Driftwood Room of the Hotel Deluxe in Northwest Portland.

Choosing a venue with stunning details– like the wedding above at Zenith Vineyards in Oregon’s wine country,
or the bar at the Secret Society Ballroom in NE Portland– guarantees that we’ll have lots of inspiration to draw from.

We’ve photographed everything from low-key green weddings to totally luxe affairs. This wedding for an
intimate twenty-five guests, at a private residence in Lake Oswego, was absolutely stunning.

Taking the moments and crystalizing them for future memory, like this mom and daughter who found quiet and
solace in those few steps, is a really profound experience for me.

I LOVE seeing the reactions of all of the friends and family. Brian’s mom was over the moon during their ceremony
in their hometown in Eastern Washington. The bride literally got married in her childhood backyard. How cool is that?

One of the fun things about photographing a couple immediately after the ceremony is that NOTHING
can stop traffic like a bride and groom, even a MAX train! Passersby are always so excited for them.

This wedding, at the Abernethy Center, is still one of my favorites. The bride and groom nearly missed
the wedding, due to his Army assignment in Germany, when the Icelandic volcanic ash clouded European flights.
Their reception, full of family and military buddies, is still one of the best parties we’ve ever attended.

Crazy crowd dancing shots are one of Will’s specialties. I love seeing what people will do to get in his lens.

Watching the evolution of wedding delicacies has been so fun. We’ve feted with treats from Saint Cupcake and
Cupcake Jones, multi-tiered fondant cake masterpieces from La Jocante, and homemade pie potlucks. This assortment
of confections, macaroons, and chocolates from Pix Patisserie was absolutely brilliant and beautiful.

When we venture out with couples we tell them to pretend that we’re not really there, to just enjoy each
other and their day. Some are overcome with emotion and some? Well, they just can’t stop celebrating.

Weddings on the beach may be my favorite. Whether they’re at the Surfsands Resort in Cannon Beach or
at a destination wedding, they’re so relaxed and beautiful.

Though we photograph primarily in the Northwest, we’ve traveled thousands of miles and abroad. This
wedding in Colorado was one of our favorites. But really? I don’t know that I can choose a favorite
wedding. All of our couples, and their celebrations, have been wonderful to be a part of.

Perri and Corey at the Crown Ballroom • Portland Oregon Weddings

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:20:07 +0000

Perri and Corey have one of those stories that make me kind of believe in fate: they met in Mexico, on vacation, while they were each with their individual families. They had an instant connection and spent the rest of the time inseparable. But Perri is from Toronto and Corey is from Portland and you’d think that the story would end there. But they had had such an amazing time together that they found ways, over the next year, to rendezvous; by the time Corey proposed, it was a foregone conclusion that they would spend the rest of their lives together. And so their wedding was this amazing celebration of a love that could bring two people together, after chance or fate or something conspired to get them in the right place at the right time. Their families– and friends– were thrilled to be joining with one another and Perri’s dad gave one of the sweetest toasts I think I’ve ever heard. And their wedding itself was beautiful. Perri was absolutely stunning, thanks in part to genetics but also to the always amazing Jennifer of Face Body Beauty. Katie of Fleur Bliss created the most lovely bouquets (and other flower adornments that decked out the ballroom) out of a myriad of purples that were just to die for, and with all of that love behind them, there was just this feeling that the day was blessed. I’m so thrilled for them. Congratulations guys!

This is one of my favorite moments: when the groom sees his bride for the first time.

Their little flower girl needed some diversion during the ceremony, in the form of saltines.

I loved her exquisite dress but I think that I loved her shoes even more!

OK, seriously, how cool is this? The new son and father-in-law doing the chicken dance together!

They literally danced their shoes off that night!

Brigitte & Eric and the bridges of Portland • Portland Engagement Sessions

Emma Easley Darden — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:14:53 +0000

Over the last several months we’ve been thinking about weddings here at RLPStudios. (Full disclosure: I’ve been subscribing to Martha Stewart Weddings since the inaugural issue. But I digress). We photographed a lot of weddings last season and had an amazing time. We noticed something, though, along the way: with our portrait clients, we’re able to take the time to really tailor their sessions and experiences, and then the collections that they choose for their homes, to really fit them. When we’re photographing two or three weddings in a weekend that personal interaction and experience becomes more difficult. So we made a very difficult decision: to take fewer wedding commissions, but in turn, to devote the same attention to detail and inspiration to each one. The couples that we have and will photograph are each so lovely. I’m starting to feel like what one of my mentors said about parenting: you don’t love one child more, you just love them each for different reasons.

Brigitte and Eric are going to be wed later this summer at The Madeleine Church and then fete at a reception at the Oregon Historical Society. They are planning so many fabulous touches that the more I hear, the more that I just want to dance with excitement. But the thing that excites me the most is, well, just Brigitte and Eric. We went out last month for their engagement session along the Eastbank Esplanade and into the industrial district near our studio and spent the entire time giggling. Literally. They are so playful with each other and so affectionate. It’s just adorable. I could go on and on but I think I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves…

This was Eric’s idea, and it took a lot of convincing from him, but I think that the end result was hysterical!

Josh & Emily’s Military Wedding at the Abernethy Center

Emma Easley Darden — Wed, 26 May 2010 04:00:46 +0000

A month and a day ago, RLP Studios photographed what was one of the most fun, lively, emotional, and lovely events of our studio’s history: the wedding of Emily Brock Jones and Josh Jones. We had met them as we do many of our couples, through an online wedding resource, but their situation was a little bit different: the timing of their wedding was of significant importance because Josh is in the Army and would be being deployed shortly after the wedding. We spoke on the phone and they were just so sweet that I knew from the first interactions that it was going to be a really fun event. Because we are a full-lifestyle studio we have decided to take a only a select number of weddings a year, with couples who we just click with and adore, and Emily and Josh certainly fit the bill. But that was just the beginning. As we began hearing about the plans we became more and more excited: it was booked at one of our favorite venues (the Abernethy Center in Oregon City), and they’d also booked our very favorite entertainment team, Event Team Entertainment. (We have several amazing DJs that we work with, a list of which will be on the blog shortly! But Event Team just takes it to a whole new level). Will and I both have considerable military backgrounds in our families and so we loved that component, including that the male members of the bridal party would be in full dress and perform a sabre arch. We were really looking forward to the day for the months in between when we met and the actual event.

But then, the day arrived and the plans played out and it was even more fabulous than we could have even hoped for. After all, it’s not every day that the dad of your bride is a former, and celebrated, member of the NFL. Or that the groom’s father is a decorated colonel and educator at West Point. There were emotional components that made the day sweet in truly profound ways. Their families, without exception, were absolutely lovely to work with. And the party! Oh, the party. Both families love to dance but I have to say that the Brocks take the cake for the funnest family that I have ever worked with– their nearly 10-minute long lip sync sealed that without exception! The day was an expression of joy overflowing from beginning to end and I am so glad that we were able to document it for them.

To view many, many more images from the day, please visit the RLP Studios’ Facebook fan page gallery.

Hailey’s Simchat Bat • Portland Oregon Family and Event Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:55:19 +0000

Many people are familiar with the Jewish bris, which is performed on the eighth day after a baby boy is born to celebrate his life and give him a name in the Jewish tradition. The tradition that is less well-known is the Simchat Bat, the naming ceremony for little girls. We had the enormous pleasure of celebrating with Hailey and her family for her name and blessing. Friends came from around the nation, all four of her grandparents (and aunts, uncles, and cousins!) were there to celebrate with the family, and the ceremony itself was so beautiful. Hailey’s mom read a special prayer that she had written for her that was so touching that I even found myself tearing up. And her dad presented her names, one of which was after his great-grandmother who had passed away in the concentration camps and the other for her son, his grandfather, who had carried on her legacy. It was a truly joyous day to be a part of and I’m so glad that we could capture all of the moments of celebration with them!

CCA Celebration of Courage • Portland Oregon Photobooth

Emma Easley Darden — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:10:54 +0000

We had the awesome opportunity to bring the Mini Studio™ down to the Children’s Cancer Association Celebration of Courage event last Sunday. CCA is an amazing organization, born from the legacy of a little girl who lost her own battle with cancer but fought bravely to the end. Her family started CCA because, as they so eloquently state on their website, “When seriously ill kids and their families need more than medicine, CCA is there with compassion and innovation creating moments of respite and hope, in the hospital and at home. Managed by a professional staff and powered by volunteers, CCA brings soothing music in a time of crisis, friendship in a time of loneliness, resources in a time of turmoil and vital support in the midst of life-threatening illness. We call it Joy Rx.”

Joy Rx was in full force on Sunday at the Celebration of Courage. Pirate singers joined the party and provided music throughout the event. Face painters, balloon masters, and “tatoo” artists decorated the guests, and craft stations were set up to make all manner of pirate paraphenalia. And when they were full decked out, they joined us in the Mini Studio™ to record the moment. We had an amazing time bringing a little bit of fun into the lives of some people who truly deserve it. (For those who attended, the full gallery can be found at www.rlportraits.com/photocart. Just click on the gallery, scroll through to find your images, and then use the free download option.)

Yelp’s Ballroom Bash • Portland Oregon Event Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:25:45 +0000

We’ve been longtime lovers of Yelp. Their tagline “Real People. Real Reviews” to me says it all: it’s a great place to go to get the true story about a business. Sometimes the recommendations are glowing and you’re so glad that it’s a place you know you’ll love. Sometimes, you’re glad that you checked so that you can steer clear of something that really was way too good to be true. With all of the Yelp love that goes around, we were stoked with Don, Portland’s Yelp rep, called and asked us to come down to the Ballroom Bash and bring along the Mini Studio™. The Mini Studio™ pics are fabulous, which you can see in the post below, but we also had a great time mingling with the other Yelpers, dishing on our favorite joints, and capturing the revelry. And the other vendors– Pine State Biscuits, Hot Lips Pizza, and Cupcake Jones to name a few– were amazing as well. Too bad their food flew too fast to get images of! There’s also one face distinctly missing, and that’s of Don, because the guy was simply too hard to keep in one spot!

One Yelp-maestro we did catch: Michelle, the West-coast rep.

Ron and Lindsey • Portland Oregon Wedding Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:20:35 +0000

Rob and Ryan photographed Ron and Lindsey’s wedding earlier this month at the McMenamin’s Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, one of our very favorite venues. Ron and Lindsey are a really sweet couple, the kind of people that instantly make you feel at ease the moment you meet them. They had a beautiful ceremony in the wedding grove, and though it was threatening to rain that day, the sunshine held through for them. (Though they did have a perfect supply of white umbrellas on hand, just in case!) And then they had a party that, from the accounts I’ve heard, I’m still sad I missed! Lindsey (the McMenamin’s event director at the Roadhouse, not the bride!) and her staff, and Ron and Lindsey’s planner Colette Livermore of Simply Elegant Events were amazing and kept things running perfectly. I just talked to Ron the other day and asked him how married life was treating him and he said, “Never been better.” And I couldn’t wish that feeling on two more lovely people. Here’s your peek at last!

I absolutely love seeing the way a bride looks at herself when
she sees her first reflection in the mirror the day of her wedding.

(I’ll give her beautiful bouquet credit later this evening!)

They were married on one of those savagely hot days, making the weight
of waiting even that much more difficult.

I love seeing both sides of the story as the vows are told, the reactions of
one partner to another as they promise themselves and their stories to each other.

Their fabulous cake, by the always amazing Beaverton Bakery

The Ballroom Bash • Portland Oregon Event Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:53:11 +0000

We’re psyched about this event– some of our favorite vendors will be participating (including our favorite cupcakerie, Cupcake Jones) and we’ll have The Mini Studio™ photobooth there in full party force for some crazy mementos of the night. Don of Yelp! puts on some of the most amazing parties we know so this is not to be missed. The one catch (and this is SUPER IMPORTANT) is that you have to be a member of Yelp! So mozie in a rather quick way over, create a profile, and then get yourself on the guest list. And while you’re at it, give some of your favorite businesses (including, of course, yours truly) some Yelp review love. It’s one of the best ways we know of to get the real skinny out about our favorite places to frequent. In fact, I have a review to write about a few places right now…

(A note from our sponsors: This is a private event open to Yelp.com members and their guests. RSVP and ID required for entry. To attend, RSVP to portland@yelp.com and include your name, a link to your Yelp profile, and the name of one guest.)

Meegan and Levant • Portland Oregon Wedding Photographers

Emma Easley Darden — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:50:44 +0000

At last, the long awaited addition of Meegan and Levant to our blog! We photographed their wedding on an absolutely gorgeous day at the Oregon Coast a couple of weeks ago. Truly, the day could not have been more perfect. Meegan and Levant have been best friends since college and, to hear their friends and family tell it, are one of those love stories that makes everyone else believe in love. They are both amazingly beautiful inside and out, and celebrating with them will likely be one of the highlights of our summer season. Their wedding on the beachfront at the Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach was flawless; in fact, there had been a small patch of clouds and it cleared just as they said their vows! And Mandi from Blush Bridal helped make it even more so. (Oh, and AJ Lane, with her make-up skills of course.) And their party! Oh, my, do they love to dance. They’re both known for their moves and Marc from Event Team kept everyone rocking literally until the last note. We’re so thrilled for you, Meegan and Levant! Here’s to a future as lovely as both of you.

They chose to go along the Surfsand’s boardwalk for their first look…

and seeing Levant be so emotional to finally see Meegan was one of the incredible moments of the day.

There’s nothing life sun-filled sand and Haystack Rock for a perfect background.

Instead of table numbers, they used words associated with the beach. Isn’t that clever?

They had a beautiful first dance…

and then broke into… a more unconventional dance style. But everyone loved it!

The best moments at weddings are always the unexpected ones, like, “How in the
world do we cut into the top layer of this wedding cake without tipping it over??”

Then Will took them to the beach for a brief sunset session…

and then the dancing started. This little girl stole the show for about a half hour. She was a killer dancer!

I love that both grandmas are out on the dance floor!