She really is that sweet and wonderful.  And sincere.  And sweet.  Did I say sweet already?  She makes me happy to be a wedding photographer.

Yoko got married in Portland, Oregon to Joji.  You’ll meet him in a minute.  Here’s Yoko getting in her fantastic wedding gown:

(Yoko – I want arms like yours )

Here’s Joji.  And yes.  He’s as  jovial and authentic and reflective as he looks.

They are both from Japan but met here in the states (Portland, Oregon to be precise) when they traveled here to learn English as exchange students.  Here’s a picture of the first time they saw each other on their wedding day.  An aside: brides and grooms to be…the FIRST LOOK is the best way to get the best portraits on your wedding day and be relaxed during your ceremony! Look how happy they are!!!

Alright, I know what you are going to say, “It’s Oregon for crying out loud!”  But it rained ALL morning on their wedding day.  Even in Portland that’s just sad!  We had elaborate (and I mean detalied, elaborate, well thought through) plans to go with family and friends to a park and down to the waterfront to take some really fabulous outdoor pictures of the group.  We were even going to walk through a farmer’s market.  But none of that happened.

But – we still had fun and got some great portraits in the lobby of the amazing Paramount Hotel in downtown Portland where the wedding party got ready.  Chris and I love to improvise and get the shot – no matter what the conditions are!

The Paramount Hotel – Portland

808 SW Taylor Street
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 223-9900

After spending some time in the Paramount Hotel lobby, we all traveled to McMenamins at Edgefield, the ceremony and reception site.  Yoko and Joji planned a really incredible affair at an venue called McMenamins.  They are well known in Oregon for taking over old venues and transforming them into cool new ones.  Chris and I were already in love with Portland.  But when we arrived at McMenamins Edgefield, we thought we might never go home.  The venue was amazing – full of character and lush landscaping (the rain helps with that ).  There were so many places to take pictures!  But we started inside of a small house that Yoko and Joji rented for their family and friends to stay.  Here’s Yoko taking one last look before the wedding started.

McMenamins Edgefield, Oregon

2126 S.W. Halsey St.
Troutdale, Oregon 97060

All of the women waited downstairs in the kitchen before walking down the isle in a tent that was set up outside on the lawn.  Doesn’t she look SO happy and excited to get married?!?!

Here’s Joji getting every last detail ready for his wedding.

I love this image of Yoko’s dad looking at her before they walk down the isle together.  He looks so proud of his little girl.

And here they are together, soaking in this wonderful moment.

I love so many things about being a wedding photographer, but here’s something I didn’t expect to experience when I started on this journey.  I never thought I would see such a range of tradition and culture.  But I HAVE.  And I love it.  At Yoko and Joji’s wedding Joji’s father performed a tea ceremony.  It was beautiful.  The setting provided by McMenamins, the tone by Yoko and Joji, and the lighting by mother nature – it all made the tea ceremony a very special part of Yoko and Joji’s wedding.

We took some time to explore McMenamins together with the amazing videographers, Scott and Amanda from Ambient Sky.  These two blew us away with the way they captured and represented Yoko and Joji’s wedding…please check them out if you are interested in a videographer (and they will gladly travel!)  They even created a 3-4 minute same day edit that Yoko and Joji played at the reception!!! Anyway, take a look at some of these portraits – we had such a great time exploring McMenamins.

I could go on and on but I’m going to leave you with this last image.  It makes me happy.

Yoko and Joji, thanks for inviting us to McMenamins at Edgefield & Portland Oregon to be a part of your wonderful day.  It was our honor.

We’d love to travel back to McMenamins, Portland, Oregon (or anywhere, for that matter!) to shoot your wedding.  If you’re interested in learning more about our wedding collections, give us a call or email us.  Thanks for reading!

Sara