Best Mexican food I’ve ever had…. no joke.

WAHOOOO!

Jay and Nicole’s Venue from Laura Marchbanks on Vimeo.

The possibility of ending up at this exact spot in this exact moment didn’t quite dawn on Jay and Nicole when they first met. Jay the small town boy and Nicole the city girl, met their freshman year of college at WSU while living in the dorms. As Nicole puts it, she was way too busy being a freshman in college to notice silly boys. But Jay noticed Nicole. Her infectious laughter, her stunning beauty, and her outgoing personality. It’s no surprise, that when an opportunity came up for Jay to move in with Nicole and 6 other girls their sophomore year, he jumped at the chance. Although, now that I think about it, I’m not sure there would be a guy out there that wouldn’t jump at that chance.

One thing lead to another, and Nicole found herself falling for his chivalry, dashing good looks and charm.

Saturday, as they stood there in THAT spot, they started into each others eyes reflecting on exactly how they had come to this point. Together, in Dayton, surrounded by their friends and family, standing at an altar together, holding hands. An entire lifetime of craziness ahead of them. You could see it. Happiness. Contentment. Adventure. Future.

Jay and Nicole,

You are my kind of couple. Totally in love, down to Earth, and CRAZY! I knew from the moment Nicole sent me that 3 page email inquiry we were meant for each other!  I had a blast shooting your wedding, and wish I could have stayed to party the night away right along with you. Congrats, and hope to see you again soon.

xoxo,

Laura

EPIC. Seriously, I could live in Dayton except I would need a Target within 15 minutes. It’s that beautiful.

Part 2 coming soon!

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I’m not sure what’s going on, but all of our friends decided to get pregnant this year. They’re all conspiring to leave us in the dust, or it’s in the water. Either way, I’m trying to drink bottled water in case it’s something that was slipped in the local water supply.

Thankfully, most of our friends are ridiculously good looking smart people, so I have no doubt they’re going to create socially acceptable children and we’re really excited for them!

Regan and Erica are two of our great friends and they’re expecting their first baby in about three weeks! I was thrilled to have them in front of my lens.We braved the unpredictable Seattle weather and headed out to get some fun shots of their growing family before the big day!

Here are just a few from their session, it was SO hard to narrow them down.

Erica has the BEST laugh…

Their little girl already has her very first pair of Chucky-T’s!

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There is nothing in this world that can compare to the relationships we women have with each other. Yes at times, women are competitive and catty. Our friendships take constant work and dedication and care. But what you give of yourself to the women in your life can build you up, sustain you in hard times, and bring you joy in a connection that goes beyond words. It’s why sororities work, it’s a sisterhood. Women just get each other, we are from Venus, we speak a common language.

I’m lucky enough to be marrying into a family full of incredible women. Every year these women gather for a girls weekend. For 3 full days we  fill each other up with hugging, pee-your-pants-laughter, long walks on the beach, cooking amazing food (OH THE FOOD!), American Idol worthy singing, and lots of other activities that are so sacred – if I told you I’d have to off you. This year we had a couple of special projects in the works, and I want to share with you a few quick  portraits I took of some of the incredible women in my life, and a few words that come to mind about them.

Mama Mel. Generosity and wisdom.

Auntie Amy. Light.

Auntie Jo. Strength.

Aunt Lolly. Humor and laughter.

Aunt Aleta. Fearlessness.

My Sisters. Rachel and Leah.

Radiant Rachel.

Amy Lynn. Talent and Laughter.

Heidi. Beauty and Grace.

Leah. Warmth.

Hayley. Passion.

Brooke. Ease.

Olivia. Inspiration.

I’m incredibly blessed. I think you’ll agree!

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Hello big beautiful world! Welcome 7 day old baby Kaia! Don’t you love her name? Jenna and Tim kept this little nugget’s name a secret almost her entire baking time. I spent almost the whole day with them while we rocked and fed and coaxed Kaia to sleep for these shots. She’s angelically beautiful, sigh….. I hope you enjoy these!

Jenna’s sister surprised her for the weekend so I got a chance to snap a few of her 2 year old niece too! How cute is this curly top?

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