Our very good friends, Justin and Melissa were married on the first TRUE summer Saturday in Oregon. They tied the knot at the Mission Mill Museum in Salem Oregon…. an awesome venue! It’s a historic woolen mill that’s been transformed into a gorgeous place for a wedding and reception.

I enjoyed being a guest at their wedding, but can’t help myself… I have to bring my camera. Especially when the bride is A. stunning, and B. stunning. Thanks for letting me steal you away for a few quick snaps you guys!

GORGEOUS LIGHT!

Sometimes life doesn’t fit a mold. So many of us have a plan and vision of what our life will look like, expectations of how our lives will be lived out. Some call them dreams, some call them goals, visions, expectations, or paths. We all have them, our families have them, our friends even have them for us, expectations. What happens when love comes into the picture? Are you brave enough to abandon your expectations? Your safe vision of what comes next? Or do you blaze a trail, a life UNordinary?

It’s possible that for Jenna and Tim, their existence together was fated from the beginning of time. Two people, caught in a holding pattern. Their love story is something out of a romance novel, but I’ll save that for their engagement session post ;-)

What matters most in this love story is that love came first, COMES first. Their little one, who should be here any day now, will be the most loved baby this world has yet to encounter. With two parents like hers, it is the only outcome. PS, they’re keeping the name of the baby a secret, which I think is pretty cute. Life has so few surprises in it.

Congratulations Jenna and Tim, I can’t wait for the adventures in your future!

Sorry Tim, couldn’t help it!

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I had 3 main goals for WPPI this year, and I really pushed to achieve them. Between naps.

1. GIVE something.

2. BUY something.

3. LEARN something.

Parts one and two were accomplished in the first two days, PHotoshoot, check!, new boxes (for a top secret project) at the trade show, check! Parts 3 and 4 were the ones I needed to focus on. Because I shifted my priorities this year from trying to do EVERYTHING to trying to do 4 things, I actually had a really wonderful week. I had lots of coffee dates with new friends, looooooooong dinners, shot a maternity session for two very good friends, and even had a mentor session with a photographer I love.

I met with Emilie Sommer of Emilie Inc. on Wednesday. She is a Maine based photographer, who’s work I’ve been following for years. I tried to win this mentor session on Ebay through the Thirst Relief auction. I stink at Ebay. I really do. I must not click enough, my strategy is always off. This time, I lost by 2 dollars in the last minute. I was devastated so I tweeted about it, not expecting a response at all. She tweeted back and asked me if I wanted to meet up for coffee anyway! Simply THE BEST. We talked about business, goals, life, and success. One thing I learned? I have a ton of work to do. We talked mostly about my web presence.

Emilie took a look at my website and confirmed what I secretly knew to be true but wasn’t ready to deal with. IT was HORRIBLE. Hard to navigate, limiting and not at all a representation of my brand. We talked strategy and exactly what direction to go! I can’t thank her enough for meeting with me. I know WPPI is a very busy time for most and I just think the world of her. I walked away from our meeting like I was floating on a cloud. I have a great new friend and I learned so much!

So here is the BIG news! BIGGEST news of the year! It’s a brand spanking NEW website!!!! I’m so excited about the launch, and because it is new there are still a few bugs to be worked out, but please take a look and let me know what you think. I used a revolutionary software called SHOWIT to make this site. It’s more than words. It’s my new best friend. I’m so in love with it.

Thank you for taking a look, I can’t wait to hear what you think!

www.lauramarchbanksweddings.com

Well everyone, it’s been far too long since I let you in on what we’ve been up to for the wedding! Part of this is because we just really haven’t found a venue we can agree on. We have seen SO MANY venues, but nothing is really completely speaking to us as a couple. It’s important to both Billy and I that our venue represents us, and is something memorable and special! We aren’t the type to just say “that’s a venue, that will do!”. I’m pretty set on wanting a barn venue, but mostly we just want something unique and cool! What we do have is a clear design, a planner we love, a florist, a caterer, and a band. NOW if we only had somewhere to put them!

Here are some of the venues we’ve seen and our thoughts on them, keep in mind these are just OUR OPINIONS, and if you’re looking for a venue yourself, I suggest you visit them in person and form your own!

We decided to hold a date at the Blue Rooster in Oregon. The owner is really flexible and I love the rustic appeal of the venue. This feels like “THE” venue to me. But Billy isn’t completely sold. He is having difficulty understanding my “vision”. Imagination is priceless I tell you! There isn’t a commercial kitchen so I need to check with whatever caterer we choose to make sure this will work!

Here is a sneak peak at my wedding inspiration book. I’ve gotten some pretty weird looks when I pull this out for people to see. What can I say? I’m type-A, organized, and I know what I want!

Russell’s Barn: We LOVE the inside of this venue. when you first walk in it’s like looking up into the belly of a ship. It’s a great size, and would be a perfect option for a ceremony that was being held at a different location. Doing a flip here seems almost impossible with 250 guests. On another note, Russell will likely be doing our catering if we tie the knot in Seattle. His food is AMAZING, hands down one of the best in Washington.

I also visited Sodo Park in Seattle, Billy hasn’t seen it in person yet. I love this venue too. The venue is completely indoor. This would be GREAT if it rains, or if we decide we want an off season wedding. Their facility rental also includes so much! The chairs we want, tables, china, linens. It’s all in there. You can’t bring in an outside caterer, but their food is really really really good.

We attended Weddings in Woodinville this year. What an unusual and fun event! I was completely impressed and if you aren’t getting married until 2011 check it out next year! On this tour we saw, Novelty Hill + Januk, Columbia Winery, JM Cellars, DeLille, Willows Lodge, and Russells Barn again. I love the look of Novelty, but the size doesn’t fit us, they max out at 200. It’s not ideal for lots of kids and there are 40 on our guest list. Willows and JM were too small, DeLille and Columbia weren’t our style.

Some other venues we’ve checked out are Swan’s Trail Farm, Tazer Valley Farm in Stanwood, and of course our favorite, Rosario Resort on Orcas Island. Swan’s Trail is awesome! This one is a major contender, and it’s only 15 minutes from our house. Tazer Valley is another favorite, it’s grounds are impressive. The barn doesn’t seat very many people, but they provide tenting so that makes it work.

Rosario broke my heart. It’s perfect for us, but only for 140 of our guests. We’d have to get married in shifts, hahaha.  There are also a few things I wouldn’t like about having it here. The have two ceremony locations and two reception locations. For smaller groups (max 140) you can use the music room, which is so beautiful I almost collapsed when I saw it. Smaller groups also fit into the smaller dining room that is part of the mansion. There is a larger ballroom that can accommodate up to 300 people, but it isn’t built in the same fashion as the resort, so it’s a bit dissappointing. I would want get married at Rosario because of the historic aesthetic, hence the smaller dining room. We can’t imagine how we would manage to cut the guest list by 100 people. It would be impossible.

In Oregon we looked at Blue Rooster of course, Langdon Farms, The Mount Pisgah Arboretum, Heidi Tunnel Catering Co. Furrer Farms, and several wineries that simply will not do.

So here we are….. I’m thinking of buying my own wedding venue. If you know anyone who is trying to sell property with a historic barn on it. Please give them my phone number, we’ll talk.

Hopefully we’ll make our decision soon!

xoxo,

Laura

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The Higgins Family, well… they’re like family to me. Amy is the cousin of my bestie Marie, and when I planned a trip tto visit Marie I knew I had to get them in front of my lens. Their adorable daughter Ella is one of the most unique captivating babies I’ve ever seen. I’ve taken a few snapshots of her over the years, from 3 weeks to now, and she remains one of my favorite subjects.

We headed to this beautiful little farm tucked in the hills of Portland, unsure of whether or not we’d be able to shoot there. The property owners weren’t home, but the sheep were! Funny thing about trespassing, somehow it always ends in lots of fun and beautiful images. My motto is “it’s always easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission”. Although I always attempt to ask permission before I kamikaze a location.

Amy and Brennan! Thanks for being outlaws with me, seriously…. ANYTIME!

No babies were actually hurt during the making of this photograph, just a little spill… and some of the most beautiful giant tears ever.

STUNNA! For reals.

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