We arrived in Portland the night before the wedding just so we can fit in an extra meal because Chris and I love love love Portland’s food scene.  Every time we go there, our first top has to be Pok Pok’s for their spicy garlic fish sauce wings.  After two stomachs full of wings, we checked into our hotel to get a nice night’s rest in anticipation for an awesome wedding the next day.

And what a wedding it was!  Kat+Jeff’s nuptials were held at one of the most unique locations we’ve ever shot at.  The octagonal barn was in the middle of a baby forest right in the center of town.  Once inside, you couldn’t tell there was a Fred Meyer right across the street.

Kat+Jeff are young lovers who met in high school, so you can call them high school sweethearts.  A lot of young loves that start out this way don’t actually last this long.  But we know these young love birds are going to make it.  Why?  Well, Kat is a loving and nurturing sweetheart who’s totally dedicated to her family.  And Jeff is a responsible, patient, and loving man that tends to stick around the people he really cares about.  With this combination, there’s no doubt they will be the poster couple for all high school sweethearts.

With that said, enjoy some of their wedding sneakpeek photos below and help us in congratulating this awesome couple.

Play the slideshow below for more of Kat+Jeff.  If you are on an iPhone or an iPhone, click HERE.

If there’s one thing for a bride to worry about in the Pacific Northwet, it’s rain (har har, see what I did there?).

It comes up all the time when we chat with brides up here.  Should I shoot for mid or late Summer?  Is September too late?  Where should my backup ceremony location be?  Do I need to pick up cute umbrellas just in case?  Contingency plan.  What locations will we use for portraits if it does happen?  You lied to me Steve Pool.  How can I best keep the rain off the dress?  Is that makeup waterproof?  No, I don’t mean for tears.  Rain is such a fact of life up here that you can’t help but have it on your mind, all. the. time.  And it’s enough to drive your stress level through the roof and back.

That is, unless, you’re Suzanne.

Remember Suzanne?  We shot Suzanne+John this past March for their engagement session, and rain tagged along for the fun.  But it didn’t phase them then, and it sure didn’t phase them this time.  Nerves of steel, these two.

I’ve always known Suzanne to be calm, composed, and refined.  She gave me my first ‘big break’ out of college when she hired me into my first real job as part of her team.  To this day I’ve never worked with someone who rolled with the punches and embraced Murphy’s Law better than Suzanne does.  Or was as thoughtful and nurturing.  She never failed to make sure I was squeezing all the learnings out of my experiences, or getting enough to eat in spite of my not-yet-broken-bad-habit of skipping lunch.  Suzanne was my first work-mom.

On Suzanne+John’s big day, it rained sideways, and they shrugged.  It rained upwards, and they waved it off.  We had lightning and thunder and they ooh’d, ahh’d, and smiled through it.  And you know what happened?

It stopped.  Right on schedule for their first look.

Suzanne+John are at the same time your gorgeous classic couple frozen in elegance, and your quintessential young lovebirds those romantic feel-good movies are made about.  Surrounded by the closest of family and friends, it was an honor to be a part of their celebration.

More from their big day in Suzanne+John’s slideshow below.  To view the slideshow in HD or if you’re on an iPad or iPhone, click HERE.

You can find everything you need on Amazon.com, from ‘A’ to ‘Z.’  And for J+J, that included their 1 and only.

Jackie and Justin first met while working at the tech giant, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect fit.  She’s a spunky go-getting firecracker who makes things happen.  He’s a laid back go-with-the-flow box of mystery, intrigue, and hilarity.  Together, they’re a harmonious balance of fun, excitement, sexy legendary good times, and love.  Oh, the love!

Leading up to a wedding, we typically work more with the bride to make sure we see her vision for the big day, and plan how to capture it best.  As we’ve gotten to know Jackie more over these past few months, it’s become very apparent how nurturing, caring, and welcoming she is.  This is the girl that will take you to coffee happy hour on your first day, play tour guide when you visit her city, or walk you to that hard-to-find-whatchamacalit when you find yourself lost.

We get more and more excited as we learn more and more about what Jackie+Justin have in store for their big wedding this September.  And knowing how friendly, hospitable, and absolutely fun Jackie is, we have no doubt it’ll be one smashing shindig.  We cannot wait!

Congrats you two crazy kids. <3 C+C.

See more of their engagement session in their slideshow below.  If you’re on an iPad or iPhone, you can catch the video here.

Jump Jump!

In a few more years, will Kris Kross references be lost to history?  Will the Daddy Mac and the Mac Daddy be as forgotten as the 3rd crew member of the Apollo 11, Crystal Pepsi, or the Strawberry-n-Creme Twinkies of yesteryore?

I don’t know.  But I do know that it’s strange to start a thought-thread with 2 of 1992′s most prolific hippity hoppers and end with a delectable discontinued pseudo-food snack treat.

Oh yes, and we believe in fun.  That much I do know.  In fact, I did have a reason for posting today:  While finishing up edits on Kat+Jeff’s session from a couple of weeks ago, I came across several shots that I just had to share.  They were just too much fun, and deserve to not be lost to historic obscurity.

I love how this sequence just captures the carefree and fun-loving essence of Kat+Jeff. It totally came through on the shoot that day. A consummate professional, Kat even held her face and pose even while Jeff leapt right over her.

They say to find your dream job, find something you love.  To us, the other half of the secret formula is finding people you love to do it with.  Now, I suppose you could say Cindi and I get along pretty well, but we feel incredibly blessed that we have the most awesome couples to work with.  Love ‘em love ‘em love ‘em.

Meeting Kathy+Angelo was like getting together with old friends.  At our initial “potential client” / “potential photog” meeting, they invited us into their home on a typical sprinkly-but-sunny-Seattle-Sunday-afternoon, and we ended up chatting for hours on everything.

It’s no wonder our shoot went the same way.  We spent the day all around Seattle, laughing, joking, and goofing off (you can tell they like to squeeze the fun out of life, and don’t sweat the small stuff — like the threat of rain we faced all week).  We even had a lunch break in between (you can tell they also like to squeeze the food out of life, being a lot like us and planning to-do’s around to-eat’s).  It’s was just like heading out with our besties, except somewhere in there pounded out several gigabytes of photos.

Check out more photos of Kathy+Angelo in their slideshow below.  To view the slideshow in HD, or if you’re on an iPad or iPhone, click HERE.

You know those folks that are just fun?  Living, breathing, walking fun?  You know what I’m talking about.  Those people you could describe as good-times, rolled in ohmigawsh, deep fried in LOL oil, wrapped in bacon, and served on a plate of my-cheeks-hurt-from-laughing-so-much?  Yes, those types.

Those types are almost as much fun as Kat+Jeff.  2 of the most genuine people you’ll meet, who are so enjoyable to just be around.

Though we hadn’t met before the shoot, I feel like after a few quick hours we had made fast friends.

And it’s not even because Kat — the bakery manager at the uberdelicious Bliss Bake Shop – left us with tons of itty bitty cakes, or even because Jeff took us through the twistiest, turniest, funnest road I’ve been on in the Evo (Cupcakes and spirited driving?  These two really know the shortcut to my heart!).

It’s because just a few moments with these two and you’ll clearly see how loving and caring they are.  To each other, of course, but also to all those around them.

These are my kind of people.  Congrats you two, we’re so excited for the wedding!

Check out more photos of Kat+Jeff all over the Pearl District, Powell’s Books, and Cathedral Park in their slideshow below.  To view the slideshow in HD, or if you’re on an iPad or iPhone, click HERE.

I’ve always been a pretty decisive person.  Most of the time, the decisions I make turn out well.  And there are some times where those decisions turn out GREAT.  For instance, the decision to adopt a dog on a Saturday, and going out and getting the first one I ever saw on that following Monday.  Or the decision to say “yes” when Chris asked me out on our first date (best one ever!!!).  Or the decision to become serious at wedding photography on a Monday, and going out to buy a camera on a Wednesday.

That camera I decided to buy was a used Canon 20D from famous camera store Glazers in Seattle.  I drove into town one rainy day after work, saw the camera body in the glass case, asked the sales person to hold it, and the rest was history.  For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was home.  The camera and my hand molded together as if this black piece of metal had always been meant for my hand.  Without hesitation, I spent the $275 and the rest was history.

I went home with the 20D body in hand and one of the first things I did was buy the Canon 50mm 1.8 prime lens and start shooting away.  And although I’ve since moved on from the 20D, I still love this camera and use it as my primary backup body for weddings.  Some of my favorite pictures were taken with my old love, and I will never forget that moment when I first realized I’ve taken a great photo.  Below are some oldies from the archives of Cindi+Chris Photography.  Enjoy!

I’ve always loved the holiday season.  When the crisp, brisk, bite rolls into the air you just know that fabulous string of holidays closing out the year are just around the corner.  Aside from the holidays, and the omnipresent wafting seasonal latte smells, it’s the excuse to spend more time with my family that I look forward to most.

When it comes to families, there’s all kinds.  And when it comes to Theresa+Serimon+their 2 beautiful children, you can tell right away they’re the kind of family that truly loves… well, being a family.  These folks just fit together.  Like turkey+gravy.  Wait, no, sweeter… like apple pie+ice cream.

It was super chilly this past weekend when we met up for our shoot, but it wasn’t long past introductions that my heart melted.  Theresa+Serimon are super down-to-earth and kind folks.  You can’t help but feel completely at ease with them. Like those great friends you see not-often-enough.  And their little tykes Christian+Chloe? — Suave+Sassy.  And ever-so-well-behaved.  It was truly an honor to have the privilege of spending the day with this fam and capturing their precious moments.  I could go on, but I’ll spare you my word-fumbling and let the photos speak for the day.

Look at these cutie-pa-tuties!

Like Cindi and me, Theresa+Serimon LOVE photography. So it definitely meant a lot to us when they asked us to shoot for them.

Christian loves football and couldn't get enough of posing with it.

What a handsome little fella!

We first met Shannon+Kevin when we shot our first wedding.  You might remember SaraLeigh+Ryan from our old blog where Shannon+Kevin attended as guests.  When they contacted us about their own wedding, Chris and I were so thrilled and we wanted to make sure their special day was captured the way I would want it to be captured if it were my own wedding day.

It was probably one of the best Fridays we’ve had in Seattle.  The weather was a perfect high 70′s and as soon as the sun started to set, the party started to get livelier.  I love a wedding where all of the guests feel the music and all they want is to have a great time.  If you’re also one of those people, this was the place to be on a Friday night!  The best part was being on the dance floor with Shannon+Kevin’s parents!  At one point, Shannon’s dad took my camera and started to shoot some photos of me on the dance floor.  :)  Chris and I had SO much fun at their wedding and we wish that the newlywed continue to live their life with the same happiness and joy they felt on their wedding day.

Shannon+Kevin, it was such a pleasure to have been a part of your special day.  We hope you enjoy your slideshow and that it helps you relive some of the happiest moments!

Slideshow below, or over here in HD.

I met Margi at my old job a few years back when Margi was just graduating from school and interviewing at the same company.  When I first met her, it was really easy to fall in love with her because she’s exceptionally beautiful on the outside, but a genuinely warm person on the inside.  My company at the time, of course, made her an offer but unfortunately Margi took another offer with a different firm.  This may have been the best decision she’s ever made because it was this decision that led her down a path that eventually introduced her to Travis.

Travis is one of those guys you love and trust immediately…probably after you’ve had your first pint of beer with him.  You see, a couple years after I met Margi…I met Travis.  Through chit chat and casual conversation, I found him to be smart, kind, and amazingly funny.  I met each of them separately, but when I eventually found out they were a couple, I could not have imagined a better fit.  Both Margi+Travis are genuinely good people and they are so in love.

This post and slideshow is coincidentally timed perfectly because Margi+Travis just got engaged this past Friday.  I squealed when I read the news because it truly makes me happy when I see two people so perfect for one another step into another chapter in their lives.  Travis probably made Margi the luckiest girl on this planet last Friday and when she said yes, he the luckiest man.  Together they are in for a lifetime of happiness!

Margi+Travis, congrats on your engagement!  Enjoy your slideshow!

Slideshow below, or over here in HD.