Sara and Ronnie are truly living the dream life in love and location!!! This kind and stylish couple invited me to photograph their engagements at their modern home on the Willamette and I was pretty much in house heaven! With a breezeway over the tracks and a dock on the water, they have my dream home for sure! (And those chairs, their windows, their amazing dog… I can’t stop!) So elated to photograph their wedding this month at the historic Benson hotel! Cheers! 
Back by popular demand!!!
Kids are friggin’ hilarious! My approach as a family photographer brings that crazy and wild joy to the typical family portrait. With over 15 years as an award winning professional family and wedding photographer, I love capturing all the unique things that make your family yours. It’s time you got family photos! The Autumn Mini Session has just been announced and spots are going quickly. With a sizable donation going to Unicef hurricane relief and a custom wood ornament, I think this is the best year yet!
Your 25 minute mini session will include your immediate family in a short and sweet photo session just in time for the holidays! To learn more read all about it on the Autumn Mini Session booking page.
These two!!!! Ande and Mike are full of life, love and so much spirit! I had the absolute honor of photographing at the Portland Japanese Garden, with permission of course. I was overwhelmed in beauty by the trees, koi fish streams and waterfalls and had this crazy idea for the koi fish to be circling their heads. Ande and Mike laid on the dock and waited patiently for the koi fish to line up perfectly and it was hilarious! We stopped foot traffic and I was talking to the koi fish to align. For sunset we hung out on the SE Waterfront and had fun dancing with the fading sun and calm waves. Ande and Mike- You guys are so awesome and I’m so beyond elated to work with you at your Sentinel wedding this weekend with Bridal Bliss! It’s going to be MAJESTIC! 
For Lucy and Paul’s engagement, we decided to do a beautiful mix of Portland nature and urban scenery. I met up with them at Mt. Tabor park to capture their sweet love among the tall trees and greenery. We then headed across Portland’s newest pedestrian-only bridge, Tillikum Crossing. We ended capturing the couple on the Southeast waterfront at sunset. These two kind hearted and laid back people met and live in lucky Las Vegas and Lucy grew up in Portland which brought them to plan their wedding here! I can’t wait for their wedding this weekend at the stunning Youngberg Hill Winery!
Any afternoon spent eating oysters, exploring the best murals in Portland and jumping in the river is pretty much the best afternoon ever. Not to mention spending it with two astonishingly wonderful people. Mandy and Avery are perfect for each other in every way- they laugh together all the time, bring out the best in each other and have a lot of fun together. They met while Mandy was traveling to Colorado for work and decided to make the long distance thing work. “Jumping in has always been a theme of our relationship from the start” said Avery of their love. Not surprisingly, he proposed while traveling in Ireland right before plunging into the Atlantic ocean in winter. “Will you jump in with me?” He asked- “Yes!” She replied and Splash!!! They are tying the knot this June and it’s going to be insanely magical. Our fun adventure started at Eat : An Oyster Bar, near their home in North Portland where they like to hang. We ate raw oysters and cheered Negronis! We then explored the many incredible murals on Alberta and ended at sunset on the docks in SE Portland. There was another photographer shooting a guy dressed up as a T-rex so we posed with him and he recognized Mandy! They are mutual friends and it was hilarious. Only in Portland in all the best ways. Can’t wait for Mandy and Avery’s wedding for sure.
I first met Ellie and Matthieu back in 2012 at an incredible wedding and we just clicked. They are kind, beautiful, creative and intelligent and I remember thinking what a great couple they made. Ellie and Matthieu first met during Ellie’s time abroad in Paris. They met at a cafe and Ellie asked Matthieu to “break” ten euros but in not-so fluent english so it actually meant to tear in half (cute right!) and from that moment on they started falling in love. Over five years, many travels and now speaking perfect French, Ellie and Matthieu are getting married this upcoming September. Because they are still traveling from Portland to Paris, they looked though these engagement images together via Skype and this is what Ellie shared with me about that moment. “He was smiling the entire time. Ear to ear. He told me they are way better than he was expecting. Thank you so much Jessica. You truly made our hearts feel warm, looking at them together. Just no words. They showed who we are and I love that. Thank you thank you.”
Receiving emails like this truly confirm my life’s work and love. Thank YOU both Ellie and Matthieu and I’m beyond excited to be documenting your first steps together as husband and wife this year and to share this with your amazing family and friends.
Sarah and Carter planned a festive winter wedding at the beautiful Armory Gerding Theatre with lots of personal touches, twinkle and laughter. Although their wedding took place almost year ago, there are so many timeless details and oh-so holiday inspired decor, I really wanted to post this when the season felt right… Christmas! When you find out your bride is also a professional fashion stylist, and the planner is Nora Sheils with Bridal Bliss you know the wedding is going to be on fleek! This couple is just as kind-hearted as they are beautiful and I loved how they involved their family in a lot of the overall wedding themes.Carter’s dad was an architect on the building they wed in, which added to the personal feelings of home and Sarah sparkled with family heirloom diamonds. What a gorgeous couple! The white and pinecone stunned blooms from Zest Floral with the faux fur wraps and sequin dresses looked dazzling on on the bridesmaids and the guys looked dapper in classic black tuxes. Truly a night to remember and happy one year anniversary S&C! Happy holidays everyone and hope your heart and home are warm and cozy this holiday season!
It’s been such an incredible year and I’m so honored that Oregon Bride Magazine named me the Best Independant Photographer in Portland… again!!! I won back in 2013 and it feels so warm and fuzzy to win again. This is a two tiered voting process where the public votes first, and then vendors specific to the wedding industry vote later. From the rooftops I shout… “Thank You All!” I couldn’t have done it without your support and votes and you guys mean the world to me. As you know, I live, eat, breath and dream wedding photography and I feel extremely passionate about this incredible industry. It’s a true joy to be celebrated in this way. Much love and Happy Holidays!
A pic of my husband Evan and I right after the award ceremony!
When you first meet Michelle and Chris, you can’t help but notice how so full of love, kindness, joy and adventure they have together and for others! Michelle and Chris fell in love among the castles of Germany and Chris proposed on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, so I knew these photos would be something epic! The engagement session started as a fun day along Mississippi with a beer/photo stop at Prost! a classic German beer spot, and then our day turned to evening and a magical adventure happened all around Portland! We headed to the East Bank Esplanade, the new SE Portland mural “Everything is Everything” (Which inspired me to then listen to that song by Lauren Hill and the Fugees from the way back! SO good! ) and then to their awesome neighborhood around the Alberta Arts area to hang with their cute pup, Charlie.
They are going to be saying their I Do’s on the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii on the shores of the Kealakekua Bay. I’m SO very honored to be documenting this next huge adventure in their lives and couldn’t be more excited for them!
