After 38 years of marriage, I still remember vividly the year before our wedding. We were engaged after about four months, and married a year and 6 days after we met, so that was our first and only year together before becoming husband and wife.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. I was a radio DJ at the time, and getting ready to MC a fashion show and battle of the bands at the State Fair. She was one of the models, and came walking up wearing leather “hot pants” and boots (remember, this was the early 70′s – those were in style then), with her long auburn/brown hair flowing in the wind, and those beautiful eyes (which our children have thankfully inherited). That was at 10;30am on September 3rd, 1971. We’ve been together from that moment.
Her dad claimed until the day he died that she came home and told him the next morning that she’d met the man she was going to marry.
Shortly after we met, Kathie moved to Portland, and I went back to Corvallis for my Junior year of college, so we only saw each other a couple of times a week at best. I’d usually drive to Portland during the week, and we’d meet in Salem on the weekends.
I can still remember the butterflies I’d get in my stomach every time I saw her, wondering how I lucked out so much. I still remember being thrilled at the sound of her voice when we started our frequently hour-long conversations (this was in the days BEFORE cell phones with free minutes and long distance).
And who could forget those two-hour drives to Portland each week, filled with the anticipation of seeing her after a whole two days apart?
There’s so many memories of this time, but suffice it to say it was a magical year; probably the most romantic single year of our relationships.
Maybe that’s why I love creating engagement portraits and couple’s portraits so much.
By the way, I don’t like the phrase “Engagement Portraits”. It sounds too much like two people sitting in a studio, grinning at the camera.
No, we prefer to actually capture the personality and nature of your relationship as it naturally exists. That’s why we call this a “Mi Amore” session.
We want these photographs to capuure the real you. Who are you as a couple? What do you like to do together? Are you fun-loving and boisterous? Or is your idea of a fun evening sitting on the couch together watching a movie together?
How do you interact? Do you walk down the street hand-in-hand, or arms wrapped around each other, or simply side by side?
Is he always stealing glances at you, wondering how he got so lucky? What expressions do you have on your face when you look at him?
What’s your favorite feature of his? What first attracted him to you.
How did you first meet? Where? Is there someplace that is special to you, either because you met there, or he asked you to marry him there, or just because it’s a place you like to go together.
As we tell your story photographically, what would it take to make your friends exclaim, when they see the photographs “OH, THAT’S SO YOU!”
That’s our goal. We want to capture and present that which makes this YOUR most romantic single year. And do it in a way the shows who you are together, every day.
Take a look at the information on the following two pages about our Mi Amore session and our very special Four Seasons Mi Amore program . Then call us to schedule your consultation. Our phone number is 503-588-0902, or contact us through the contact form on this website.
Together we’ll plan the perfect way to tell the greatest love story every told – YOURS.
