Beautiful day. Beautiful venue. Beautiful bride. Beautiful Handsome groom. Well, you get the point. I love my job. Add to that a wedding party full of awesomeness & a couple of former brides who were in attendance (including hair & makeup wiz Kylie Buttrey who works at Summer Sun in C d’A—you should check her out), & you have a recipe for a great day for taking some wedding photos.

Getting jiggy with Sara & Kylie, two of my super-awesome former brides!

I can say that there’s no better way to spend my birthday than driving down to Lewiston, Idaho & shooting a wonderful wedding.

It was a pleasure to photograph Katie & Olin’s wedding. I’m knocking on wood, but the weather couldn’t have been better. The forecast wasn’t giving us a feeling of optimism & the days leading up to the big day were all rain-soaked as well. The warm sun shone down & it got better as we were getting set for a portrait outside the Lewis Clark Plaza Hotel the clouds started to come in, lending us some drama for the night portrait, & making me happy.

I had a great time celebrating with the couple & their friends and family which came from all over to witness the event. The prep all took place overlooking the Washington Idaho border aka the Snake River at the bride’s parent’s beautiful home. The shopping took place at the beauty supply store by Katie’s sister Ellen. I still think she ‘stole’—or allowed her sweatshirt to steal—the lost eyelash as an excuse to buy Koen some new baby shoes. We then took some portraits as we walked (!) down to the Lewis Clark Hotel Plaza where the ceremony & reception took place.

Thanks to Katie & Olin & their families for making me feel so welcome (and for the birthday cake)!

Next up, an amazing wedding that was held up at Schweitzer Mountain in Northern Idaho. At this point I’m starting to wonder if I’m carrying a lucky weather charm around. The days before Kailin & Bret’s wedding the weather up on the mountain was not pleasant. I was reminded of this several times by the couple, who spent the previous days snowboarding away on the slopes. The day I was there it couldn’t have been more perfect—to the point that they actually debated whether or not they should cancel the wedding & hit the slopes one more day (ok, I don’t think the debate was that serious, but still). Of course, Kailin & Bret were thrilled, since they wanted a mountain wedding because it’s a reflection of who they are.

The other thing about weddings in the snow, the light is amazing. I love the way the light bounces around in the snow. Windows are brighter & more filled with light. Since I pay close attention to the exposure of the wedding dress to keep the details there, all the snow does is turn the rest of the ground to the same color as the wedding dress.

We had a blast. It was fun wandering through the crowds of skiers & having all of the little girls run up to Kailin, gushing over her beauty & gown.  The reception music was taken care of by a live country band who kept the dance floor packed & the night wrapped with the newlyweds jumping on one of the snowcat ski slope groomers for a once in a lifetime ride.

Now for some photos of the gorgeous bride, her groom, & their day.

I’m pretty pumped to finally (officially) start the 2010 wedding season! First up is Sara & Trevor with their incredible wedding at a private campground in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Weather was the biggest concern since I had to drive through 3 different storms to get there, but fortunately the rains never showed up & we were left with a beautiful (but chilly) day. There’s not much I can say that won’t sound cheesy about how great these two & their families are (unless you know them). So just insert here all of the good things you can think about someone & double it.

I had a great time with them & appreciated Sara & Trevor’s willingness to trust me with their day (after Sara is a photographer herself). I was honored & I think I came out ahead in the deal.

For the best viewing experience, open up the photos & use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the photos.

P.S. Their first kiss as man & wife was actually their first kiss—period. How sweet that it was captured for them to treasure & share.

Later this summer I’ll be the photographer at the wedding of these two which will take place outside at Farragut State Park in northern Idaho. It would be an understatement to say that I’m looking forward to it, though probably not as much as Kylie & Brock.

These photos were taken in the span of a couple of hours in Coeur d’Alene. Obviously, it doesn’t get much easier when photographing couples than when they’re 1) really in love and 2) easy on the camera lens. As you can tell from these photos, these guys fit both of those criteria. We had lots of fun getting these shots and they are a nice prelude to what will be a great wedding.

Special thanks to Gina for assisting as a voice activated light stand on this shoot.

As usual, click the photos to view them larger.