Portland Oregon Wedding Photographers, also serving NC and internationally

Molly & Bobby – Rehearsal & Dinner {Croatan Ridge Buxton NC Wedding Photographers}

crystalgenes — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:56:21 +0000

It’s not every day that we get the opportunity to photograph the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, but the more we do, the more we love them. It’s a great opportunity for us to get to know the family and wedding party better before the big day! We can see more of the family dynamic and get more guests comfortable with having a professional camera snapping in their direction, so that they are pro models by the wedding day Molly & Bobby’s rehearsal and dinner was attended by a select few individuals closest to them, which made for a very special and meaningful evening. It was catered by LaChine at Croatan Ridge and was just perfect in every way. Dinner was held around a huge table in a very sunny room surrounded by windows that let in a great ocean breeze and the light from sunset. You could just feel the contentment and love in the air…. The priest’s dog joined us for a few minutes during the rehearsal… and wouldn’t you know… her name was Molly as well!

Bobby’s sisters made a slideshow of Bobby through the years… always fun!

Croatan Ridge’s kitchen is amazing… give this to me please!

Bobby & Molly – Married! {Cape Hatteras Croatan Ridge & Our Lady of the Seas Wedding Photographers}

crystalgenes — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:36:26 +0000

Last week, my associate Tola and I drove all the way up and over and down to Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks for Molly & Bobby’s wedding festivities! The weather was amazing the entire time we were on the island. We started with their Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner which was so sweet and shared by those closest to the couple. Check the blog in a few days for those images!

But first, we just couldn’t wait to share some of the wedding images! Click the link to watch the wedding day slideshow!!!

The couple, wedding party and family stayed at Croatan Ridge in Buxton, NC… a HUGE rental house that doubled as the perfect reception location! Seriously, it was GORGEOUS… inside and out! And the wedding ceremony was held just a mile or so away at Our Lady of the Seas Catholic Church… a quaint little church with huge windows behind the altar overlooking the sea. Beautiful beautiful beautiful! The day was full of more tissues than I can count, including a few from myself during Molly’s rehearsal dinner toast! But it was also one of the most fun groups we’ve ever partied with I’m so happy we were able to capture this amazing day for such a thoughtful and sweet couple!

Below are a few of my favorites, but be sure to check out the slideshow above for the full story!

These adorable Picadilly Weeks clutches were gifts for all the girls and were handmade by a talented artist named Carla… Check out her website here and get your own!

And a shout out to our assistant for the day, Anne Carroll… love these next two shots that she captured…

This may be my new favorite image ever…

And what better way to prove it’s a great party by the end of the evening than by falling into the pool?!

Click here for the wedding day slideshow! And be sure to leave some love for the couple in the comments below!!!

Ceremony – Our Lady of the Seas

Reception -Croatan Ridge

Hair/Make-up – Bangs Salon & Spa

Bridesmaids Clutches – Picadilly Weeks

Catering -Cafe LaChine

Coordinator/Flowers/Cake -Linda Bradley

Photography - Crystal Genes Photography

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We are wedding photographers based in Wilmington NC and Portland OR and we travel worldwide! Click here to visit our website and contact us today for information on booking your event!

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Oh, and I almost forgot! Molly & Bobby had us bring our photobooth along! ALWAYS a fun time! We don’t just bring a box, we make it happen! Check back soon for all the photobooth images!

Happy Anniversary Heather & Bryan!

crystalgenes — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:19:27 +0000

Last year Ben and I were a few weeks into our great American road trip, and stopped in Illinois for Heather & Bryan’s wedding in Colona at Indian Trails. We wish you a wonderful anniversary!

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To see more images from their wedding, click here.

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We travel worldwide for weddings, and would love to photograph yours! Contact us today for pricing information.

North Carolina & Oregon Wedding Photographers

Jessica Church – Bash! Events NW {Portland OR Event & Wedding Planner}

crystalgenes — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:40:03 +0000

Before I left Portland for the Summer, I had the chance to meet up once again with the adorable Jessica Church who owns Bash! Events NW for a quick little photo shoot. Jessica was one of the coordinators for the AniA CHOICE Bridal Affair Fashion Show at the Portland Art Museum. She is full of creativity and vision and definitely knows how to pull off an event without a hitch. If you’re in the Portland area and need a coordinator or event designer, she’s your gal!

My favorite…

So pretty!

For the shoot I got to explore a little bit of the Pioneer Square area as well as The Nines Hotel which is super cool. And afterwards we grabbed a bite & drink in the Departure Lounge…. best brussel sprouts I’ve had in my life. No joke.

Jared & Tasha – Married! {Portland OR Vancouver WA Wedding Photographers}

crystalgenes — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:00:47 +0000

Click here to see their wedding day slideshow!

I photographed Jared & Tasha’s wedding the day before jumping in my car and driving non-stop 55 hours back to NC. And not because their wedding made me want to run! (I have a dozen weddings here in the Carolinas over the next few months, so I had to say goodbye to the Pacific Northwest for a short spell, but I already miss it!) But seriously, there couldn’t have been a better wedding to bookend the first part of our wedding season! They were married in Portland, literally .7 miles from our house, at City Bible Church, and then we drove across the river to Vancouver WA where they partied hard and wild at the Baptist Convention Center. It was epic. And heartfelt. And there were lots of tears. From everyone.

Tasha and dad did a “first look” and it was so sweet!

Aside from the tears, there was lots and lots of laughter, these two love to be silly!

I loved this idea for the wedding party to rate the first kiss by holding up numbers. I think they scored pretty high overall

The reception decor was awesome. The couple had a great vision and the navy blue and yellow looked so good in all they pulled together!

Tasha’s parents surprised her with really sweet song that, if I’m not mistaken, I think they wrote themselves. It started off really sweet and caused some tears, but ended on a more hilarious note. Love.

As soon as the song ended for Tasha & her dad’s first dance, they both went straight into a fun choreographed dance and the wedding party joined in. It was hilarious and really got the entire room excited. The party just kept going uphill from there!

Ceremony -City Bible Church

Reception -Northwest Baptist Convention

Hair/Make-up – Jenee Fahndrich

Click here to see their wedding day slideshow!

***We are wedding photographers based in Portland OR & Wilmington NC. We love to travel! Contact us today for more information on our wedding collections, and click here to see our website***

Tonya & Brian {Tanner Springs Park Engagement Photographers}

crystalgenes — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:14:53 +0000

Tonya & Brian were contestants in our wedding photography giveaway contest who, as the voting had it, didn’t take the big win, but they did opt for an engagement session with us! We had the most beautiful weather of the year, clocking in around 80 degrees with sunny skies. Perfect!

Tonya suggested that we start at Tanner Springs Park in the Pearl District of Portland. I’d heard that it is a really popular place for portraits in the city, but I’d only passed by it a few times driving around, so of course I was up for it!

I thought the color scheme of their outfits worked especially well against the rust and blue…

Such a great looking couple!!!

So sweet…

Brian and Tonya love love love to bike, as you may remember from their contest entry. When I suggested that we incorporate biking into the session, they loved the idea and requested some bike shots by the waterfront along Natio Parkway. Love these next few!

Happy Anniversary Sabrina & Wille!

crystalgenes — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:53:12 +0000

This time last year, we were enjoying the beautiful island that is Puerto Rico and photographing the wedding of Sabrina & Wille! They were married at the Hacienda Siesta Alegre in Rio Grande, and the morning after we scoured the streets of Old San Juan for some pictures of the two of them Hope you two have a fabulous day celebrating your first anniversary!

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Click here to see their wedding preview from last April 2011, and be sure to leave them some Anniversary love in the comments below!

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We are wedding photographers based in both Portland, OR and Wilmington, NC. We travel worldwide! Contact us today for more information and click here to visit our website!

Matt & Rachel – Married! {Clackamas Portland OR Wedding Photographers}

crystalgenes — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:48:50 +0000

Click here to see Rachel & Matt’s Wedding Slideshow!

Well, our wedding season has officially begun! We kicked it off this weekend with our first wedding in Portland! Rachel and Matt were married at Eastridge Church in Clackamas, and they had the most beautiful weather the entire day. We so enjoyed spending the day with Rachel and Matt and we know they are going to have a beautiful life together!

I love it. I’ve yet to meet a guy who knew what to do with his boutineer on his own I watched them suffer for a few minutes and then helped out until someone else came to the rescue!

Such a pretty bride!

I love first looks with dad This one was no exception!

And of course dad can’t get teary eyed without mom getting teary eyed…

My friend Ruthie came along to assist for the day… love this capture she got of mom…

And then the real first look… I love that Rachel wanted her wedding party to be a part of it, so we had them all in the background watching on!

Though it’s usually too much for the guys to handle

Matt gave all his groomsmen superhero tees, so of course they put them on under their dress shirts for a little fun!

Save us, save us! … Superheroes to the rescue!

The fun thing about this wedding party was that each couple was a married pair! Perfect.

Lady bugs + Wedding Day = Good luck forever

The couple had lights strung overhead in the ceremony/reception space. It was definitely one of my favorite details.

Everything was focused around Springtime… during the ceremony, they sat down on the stage and potted a new tree together. It was so sweet!

One unique thing about the decor for Matt & Rachel’s wedding was the reception centerpieces. Different people were assigned tables before the wedding and it was their job to decorate it on the day of. It was awesome how beautifully they all came together, even though they were all so very different! Here were a couple of my favorites…

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Be sure to leave the couple some love in the comments below! And check our Facebook page soon for even more pictures from their wedding!

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We are international wedding and portrait photographers based in Portland Oregon & Wilmington North Carolina, click here to view our website! We love to travel and we’d love to photograph your wedding!

Photographing for fun {Glamour, Fashion & Body Paint}

crystalgenes — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:23:50 +0000

I’ve been trying to step out there a little more now that I’m in a new city and meet people, attend events and gatherings, join groups, and take all that Portland has to offer. It is so easy to get comfortable in a routine… and for me that usually means being a homebody. I love staying indoors. But I also enjoy going out and doing things. The problem is, if I don’t keep it up, I forget how to go out! I don’t want to be the girl who lives in Portland for 10 years and has never been to see the famous landmark (any of them… I’ve already seen them all! I kid, I kid…)!

So when I was invited recently to a photographers cookout and shootout just over the bridge in Vancouver Washington, I decided to go have a good time photographing something completely different from my day to day shoots. Originally the forecast had called for steady rain all day… so the organizers had come up with the theme of rain and body paint and maybe even some mud. Well, of course leave it to the Pacific Northwest to give you a 70% chance of rain on the hourly forecast for the entire day, but for the actual forecast to be clear, bright, and sunny!

Several models came to participate in the craziness, and had their hair and makeup styled by the fabulous Korie Nicole

And after several hours of waiting for the sun to turn to rain, everyone gave up and decided to drag out the paints anyway!

Tori – High School Senior Photos {Lake Norman & Davidson NC Portrait Photographers}

crystalgenes — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:56:29 +0000

Wow, I just found this post buried in the drafts folder! I thought I had shared it with you all months ago, ooops! Without further ado, meet the beautiful Tori. Tori’s a senior this year! We met up with her and her mom in the Lake Norman area and visited pretty a park, the Peninsula Club, and the Davidson College Campus. Despite the stormy weather that came up just as we were getting started, we got some awesome shots! And the rain blew over soon enough and left us with some pretty soft light. Right at the end of the session the sun even peeked out for a few shots!