Marissa and Daniel had their wedding at the stunning Skamania Lodge overlooking the scenic Columbia Gorge. I have always wanted to photograph a wedding at Skamania lodge as I have eaten their awesome Sunday brunch many times and have always been mesmerized by the location.
This being a Jewish wedding, there were many Jewish traditions too, my favorite it is the hora (chair dance) of course. I love seeing the looks on the faces of whoever is being lifted in the air. Since their wedding was on July the 11th they also served Slurpees to their guests, honoring their 7-11 date. Marissa was a trouper - she had a cast/boot on her leg but you could not tell from the way she danced all night! The groom had scrabble cuff links - very cool! Marissa’s mother, Carol, is an accomplished photographer - check out her beautiful work here. Her dad, Daniel Isaak is also a very respected rabbi.
Venue/Caterer: Skamania Lodge
Band: Shawn’s Kugel
Florist: Bloomsbury
Bride’s Dress Designer: The English Department
Videography: Focal Point Digital
You can see the full set of pictures here. Please ask for the password from the couple.
Skamania Lodge Wedding
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Idil, a high school classmate of mine from Robert College got married to Greg in a New York wedding ceremony and reception. They had elements of Turkish and Jewish traditions. The ceremony was at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, and the reception was Pera Mediterranean Brasserie (which is run by another high school classmate of mine, Burak Karacam). Idil specializes in social media and has a new book coming out. Greg is a very talented abstract painter. They make a lovely couple.
Quite a few Turkish relatives and friends also made the trip from Turkey. One touching moment was when Idil’s father saw a relative he has not seen for over 3 decades. There was no shortage of belly dancing as well!
You can see the full set of pictures here. Please ask for the password from the couple.
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Jamie and Jordan’s Mt. Hood Bed and Breakfast wedding was a relaxed and fun affair! The setting was beautiful, a typical Oregon setting with Mt. Hood at the background. Jamie’s dress was from Divine Designs Bridal and it was beautiful! Very elegant! After signing the ketubah at the ceremony, we did some beautiful bridal portraits featuring the beautiful bride and Mt Hood. The catering was by Simpatica and it was amazing! For dessert, they served amazing pies! SugarCane got the crowd going!
Guests and family can see the rest of the pictures here. Please ask for the password from the couple.
Vendors:
Officiant: Rabbi David Kominsky 503-320-8356
Caterer: Simpatica
Band: SugarCane 503-929-8121
Florist: Passion Flowers, Teresa Kinne
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Jessica and Timothy’s wedding started at the Avalon Hotel & Spa in the South Waterfront with Jessica getting ready with her bridesmaids. Jessica and all the girls then took a limousine to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens to finish getting readyfor the wedding and meet the boys. The huppah (the canopy) that Jessica had chosen to cover the two during the ceremony was actually her grandmother’s, which was very neat. After the Jewish wedding ceremony we walked throughout the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens, taking some fun images of the couple, then came the wedding reception. The wedding reception was filled with tons of dancing, which all led up to the hora (the chair dance), a Jewish tradition, which is always fun to photograph especially when you see the look on the couples faces when they are lifted into the air. Media Jockeys kept the dance floor filled!
Ready Location: Avalon Hotel & Spa
Ceremony/Reception Location: Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden
Caterer: Catering By Laurie
Baker: As you Wish Events
DJ: Media Jockeys
Florist: Mayfly Flowers
Guests and family can see the rest of the pictures here. Please ask for the password from the couple.
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Here are some quick pictures as a preview for Jamie and Jordan’s wedding at the gorgeous Mt. Hood Bed and Breakfast. The catering was by Simpatica and they did a great job. One of the highlights was the amazing pie’s. Serving pie instead of cake is becoming more popular, and from what I tasted so far, I have no problem with that!
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As soon as I met Niran and Gary, I knew we would have a great time and that we would have some amazing photos! I met them for the first time at Calypso Restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. At the rehearsal dinner, there was an AMAZING animated video done by one of their friend’s that detailed their relationship. It was funn, and romantic, and brought a ton of tears and laughter. Kudos! I love to get a copy of that!
Niran loved animals, and she used pictures of her dog to highlight some of the pars of their wedding celebration. The place cards were highlighted by her dog’s pictures. Some of the other cool ideas they had were: hanging pictures detailing their romance on a clothesline, like a timeline, a polaroid guest book, beautiful shells hanging from the tree they got married in front of. There was a great band, and later some of the couple’s musicians friends took over and sang for them as well. How fun! There was even pastor tacos for the guests! Catering was by Don Pedro’s. Everything was expertly organized and ran by Sayulita Dream Weddings‘ Andrea.
Casa Las Palmas II is an amazing location at Punta Mita. It reminds me a little bit of Rancho Huracan that I shot earlier. The bathroom that Niran was getting ready is probably bigger than my entire studio, and had some amazing architecture and light. You can see some pictures I did using that focused light in the photos.
Overall, this was a great time!
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Amy and Larry’s The Tides Hotel wedding at Zihuatanejo was my 3rd wedding of this Mexico trip - I flew in from Puerto Vallarta and joined them at The Tides Hotel. As a Zihuatanejo wedding photographer, I love shooting at the Playa Ropa beach. The boys were hanging out, drinking some Johnny Walker Blue Label, and having a great time in general. I then went to photograph beautiful Amy and her group getting ready and got some great black and white’s. Since this was a Jewish wedding in Mexico, the bride and groom got together and signed the Ketubah. It was a beautiful Zihuatanejo wedding at the beach, with the sun setting right behind them. Just perfect!
The The Tides hotel wedding reception was fun packed, and hora, the chair dance, was very energetic! The wedding party went on for a very long time! There were fireworks, and a whisky bar was frequently visited by the guests!
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Lindsy and Aaron transformed the Hilton Hotel Vancouver’s Ballroom into a fantastic wedding environment - everyting from the decroations, flowers, settings to food was gorgeous. Dynamic Events outdid themselves this time with the execution and created a fantastic look.
Lindsy’s dress was also so beautiful - very flowy. Aaron had a GQ look and everybody at the wedding had a great time! We had a break in the weather as well so we were able to go outside and have some fun photos. I also got a pretty funny photo (check out the toasts!)
(To see the full set of proofs, click here - password required)
Hoopa
Poor squirrel
When Lindsy entered the ballroom, she was backlit with a strong spotlight. The whole room held it’s breath as she stood their in that beautiful light.
Just gorgeous! I had to change the camera settings in about 0.1 seconds but it was worth it!
Amazing decorations and settings.
The chandeliers were brough in just for this wedding
Himm, shadows… No comment!
Another Jewish tradition - Horah / Hava Nagila
