It is no surprise that in the midst of summer, we in Seattle are spending our Sunday in a rainy drizzle.  It’s quite all right with me though because I’ve heard the rest of the country is trying with all their might to stay cool in humid 90-110 degrees.  Here in the upper left corner of the U.S., we’re considered pretty lucky, basking in our high 50′s, low 60′s cloudy, wet mess.

If you’re enjoying your Sunday on your computer, high five!  Solidarity, my sistas and brothas!  Since you’ve decided to stop by the blog, let me try to fill your world temporarily with a little cuteness.

My daily conversations with my wonderful friend and fellow photog Ami through Gchat revolves around food, pictures, and recently…decorating.  We’ve both been hit with the interior design bug lately and we’ve been hunting for little knick knacks to spice up our humble abodes.  Well, yesterday while killing time with Chris after one of our photo shoots, we came upon these little salt and pepper shakers.  I’m not sure what to do with these or even use them as they’re intended.  But I just found them to be the cutest little things ever!  So I thought I’d share!

Now can I get an “AWWWWWW” from you?  I wake up to this little face outside the bedroom door as my parents are over today helping us install an underground sprinkler system.  You’d think the rain would naturally water our lawn, but there are actually sunny days in Seattle which requires actual hose watering.  I promise!  But my little doggy and I are enjoying our Sunday together with some Friday Night Lights and chocolate covered coffee beans.  None of coffee beans for him though.  :)

A few weeks prior to Gina+Brian’s nuptials, Chris and I started to feel extremely nervous for the event.  Maybe it wasn’t nerves, but excitement we were feeling.  Whatever it was, it made our hearts beat a little faster whenever we thought about their wedding.  Why you ask?  Well, you see, Gina+Brian were the first clients we’ve ever had…whom we’ve never met.  Up until their wedding day, we’ve only communicated by phone or email.  Brian first contacted us after speaking to his brother, Eric, who’s a friend of Chris’ and a co-worker of mine.  But when their wedding day finally arrived, Chris and I got up early to drive the 3 hours to Yakima, Washington, and while driving on the I-90…probably around exit 33, our nerves calmed and we were ready to help Gina+Brian document the happiest day of their lives.

Gina+Brian are one of those couples you meet and instantly realize they’re together for a reason.  They are both individually calm, cool, quiet, collected when they’re apart…but together they are the perfect vibrant pair.  When I first met Gina alone, I immediately saw her cute, quirky personality shine through.  Her fun, sweet side is the perfect match for Brian, who’s outer shell may seem to be all serious business at first, but it did not take long for his silly side to also poke through.  These two love birds wanted to share their wedding day with only the closest few family and friends.  It was an intimate affair I’m sure the couple will remember for years to come.  Chris and I feel extremely honored to have been there to document Gina+Brian’s intimate wedding day.  To have them trust us enough to allow us this opportunity truly meant a lot to us.

Gina+Brian, we hope you had a wonderful wedding day, honeymoon and now…enjoy your slideshow!

Slideshow below, or over here in HD.

When we were planning our wedding, almost nothing excited Cindi more than being able to share and compare notes with other brides-to-be.  They could go on and on discussing down to the finest details with such joy and excitement, and I couldn’t notice how “lucky” most brides feel:

“I booked xyz venue, I feel so lucky!”

“We’re waiting to hear back from abc vendor, but if we’re lucky they’ll take us!”

“Luckily we found lmnop photography, and they’ll be able to cover most of what we need!”

Having been on both sides of the wedding event experience (the wedded and the wedding vendor), we can’t say we agree with this line of thinking.  We can understand how stressful it can be at times, trying to get everything in-line for your day, but as photographers, our view has always been that we were the lucky ones.  You are entrusting us with encapsulating the mood and memories from your day, based on the moments we choose to freeze.  This, to us, is an honor and a privilege.

Most couples will spend most of their day with their photographers.  Possibly more time than with their spouse-to-be.  When you’re separately getting ready, seeing each other for the first time, hearing your first introduction as man+wife, experiencing your first dance, and celebrating with your closest loved ones, you’ll be doing it with a new shadow.  A sometimes unavoidably conspicuous and constantly clicking private papparazzo.  It’s not just the wedding days either — anytime you’re inviting us to an engagement, couple, or family portrait shoot, we believe you’re sharing some of your most intimate and treasured moments for us to capture.  And to be chosen, by you, to be allowed this role is a privilege.

Me in shadow-mode. Sometimes we can't help but pull in close. Reaaaalll close.

The too-sexy couple sharing a joke. We're seconds from one of the "in-between" moments between staged poses that we like to capture. While I was hanging in close, our two lovelies whispered the types of inside jokes all couples have. I'll just be there to make sure I freeze those moments.

The more we shoot, the luckier and luckier we feel.  We have the opportunity to do something we love, together, and make so many awesome friends in the process.  We’re so thankful to be allowed the chance to get to know you, and live some of your life’s best memories with you.

Shoot wrapped! Memories made! Here's the 4 of us before celebrating the close of a beautiful sunny Saturday over dinner.

More shots from this session with our couple Jean+Jun to come.  Stay tuned!

A wedding day is usually a couple’s happiest day of their lives.  It’s a day when they can enjoy it for all its worth and is all about them.  For Karen+Josh, not only did they make their wedding day a celebration of their love, but really, they made it a celebration of close loved ones.  Every one of their closest family and friends arrived in Leavenworth Washington to share in the most happiest day of Karen+Josh’s lives.  Chris and I were so happy and honored to have enjoyed the weekend with the lovely couple and their loved ones that the pictures came effortlessly.

All of us stayed at the Sleeping Lady resort in Leavenworth in our private cabins.  We ate together, played together, and danced together the whole weekend.  The celebration continued into the wee hours of the wedding night where, after the reception, we all gathered around a fire pit to continue the good vibes.  It was like the best summer camp ever!  Chris and I made so many new friends and we could not have thanked Karen+Josh more.

Karen+Josh, congratulations!  Here’s to many, many more memorable nights to come!  For now, we hope you enjoy your wedding slideshow!

Love,

Cindi+Chris

Click below to see their wedding show slideshow.

It’s been a crazy journey so far, and we’re so excited to be taking the next step.  If you’ve found yourself here on, or around, the day we’re writing this, chances are you’ve followed our Cindi+Chris antics, adventures, and musings separately on our respective Cindi and Chris blogs.  Despite the sheer volume of words we’ve written across the intertubes to date, no combination can quite express how much it has meant to us to meet such great people interested in what makes us … well, us.

A huge part of us has been photography, and as 2 people who do absolutely everything together, it only made sense for us to write about our passion together.  Our personal blogs will remain, so you’ll still see us journal there from time to time.  You’ll also find links to those blogs under the “Archives” menu, so we’ll be able to share our prior work with new friends.

And of course, what’s a new blog without a new website?!  We’re super pumped about our new portfolio page.  We’ll be making small tweaks and enhancements to both this blog and the new site, so let us know what you think and keep checking back for more.  We’ve got some awesome shoots we can’t wait to share with you!  In the meantime, we’ll be commemorating this milestone with a small independence-day-launch-party-bbq.  More to come!