Engagement: Cassie & Tyler (Part II) ... Eugene Oregon Wedding Photographer

STOP RIGHT THERE: If you haven't seen Part I, you've got to click here and check it out first!! Trust me, you're not going to want to miss any little bit of this sweet story!

(A quick aside before we really get going: As I was snapping the above image, a police officer pulled up behind me, rolled down his window, and said, "Is this an engagement shoot?! That will be such a cute picture!" And I'm thinking, "Since when do police officers use the word 'cute'?" I think my brother--a police officer--must have put one of his buddies up to it. LOL!)

...So where were we when we left off Cassie & Tyler's engagement story? Ah, yes. Clam chowder at my folks' place. From there, we headed to the beach, where Tyler serenaded Cassie with some Johnny Cash:







Tyler and I had agreed that the "signal" for the proposal would be Cassie's final outfit change, into her gorgeous blue dress. Originally, we were just going to go with the flow and let it happen whenever the moment felt right, but Tyler later asked me to carry the ring in my camera bag so Cassie wouldn't see it in his pocket. (Talk about stressful! I was packing that baby in the tightest, deepest pocket I could find... and I swear I watched it with the eye in the back of my head all the way as we hiked out to the beach, even though my sweet hubby was packing my bag for me-- he was fairly nervous at the prospect of toting Cassie's engagement ring through the dunes, too! Ha!)

Anyway, when Cassie changed into her dress it was all I could do to hold the camera steady and take a few pictures as we made our way through the dunes to the ocean, I was so excited:





We finally made it to the beach, successfully snuck the ring to Tyler, and stepped back to capture Cassie's beautiful surprise proposal.

I love these images of her progressive revelation... "Oh my goodness! Are you... ???!!?????"



Then she turned to us... "Did you know?"



And then the huge reality of the moment starts to set in...



WELL DONE, Tyler!!! I'll be quiet now, and let the images tell the rest of Cassie and Tyler's beautiful proposal story:























Cassie and Tyler, thank you thank you thank you for the immense privilege of capturing your storybook engagement!! I'll never forget it!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Engagement: Cassie & Tyler ... Eugene Oregon Wedding Photographer

Holy mackerel, have I got a whopper of a story and a session to share with you! It all started when I ran into Cassie at the grocery store (after not having seen each other for quite a while), and told her I'd been dreaming up a project that involved her... ;0)

I've been wanting to put together a video for a while now, to post online, that will give potential clients a sense of what it's like at a session. Cassie said she was game to be my guinea pig, and we started making plans. It just got better and better along the way! "You have a boyfriend? Great! Bring him along; we'll make it a mock engagement session!"

And then I got the best! secret! call! ever! from Tyler about a week before the session... "So you know how this is supposed to be a mock engagement session? Well, I bought a ring..." Eeeeeeeeeeeekkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUN!!!!!!!!!! ...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's rewind a bit.

We met up for their session in Old Town Florence (on the Oregon Coast), and had some fun on the boardwalk and docks:


I was in heaven all afternoon... Cassie and Tyler are lovely people, for starters. And they're so great together; relaxed, and affectionate, and just plain fun! Plus, her hat! And her shoes! And her hair pieces! And their outfits!! And, of course, they're just a teensy bit photogenic... Truly, everything was perfect:






































After wrapping up in Old Town, we stopped in at my Mom and Dad's for amazingly good clam chowder (thanks again, Mom!), and then headed out to catch the last hour or so of sun at the beach. So stay tuned... because you don't want to miss some Johnny Cash, a police officer, a little box full of something life-changing... I told you it was a whopper of a story! Part II coming soon!!

* Edited to add:  To see Part II, click here! *

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

Grateful .... Eugene Oregon Photographers

We were in Middle School, and my best friend's parents made a rule: She was not allowed to play any games I made up.

You see, I'm a dreamer. A constantly scheming, coming-up-with-projects, "Oh! We could SO do that!!" kind of girl... Come on, balancing a surfboard on top of a skateboard so several kids can ride down the extremely steeply pitched asphalt road all at the same time is just pure genius, don't you think? What's a little gravel in the lip, and a wee trip to town for stitches? It adds character, right? ;0)

I've long since left the "surfboard on the skateboard" days behind, but the dreaming part is still in tact. And as I'm sitting here re-living the fun of yesterday in my mind, reflecting on another little dream come true, I'm feeling deeply, deeply grateful.

I am richly blessed with a generous, encouraging, come-alongside-me bunch of family and friends, who embrace me and my crazy ideas, and help bring so many of them to fruition! I have soooo much to share from yesterday, and I'll get there... but for now, I just had to let some of this gratefulness that's oozing out of me find a place here on my blog...

Ashley & Corey: Thanks for all the planning help, and lending me your mad videography skillz:



Heather: Thanks for loaning me your earrings.

Kate: Thanks for loaning me your sweet gear.

Mom & Dad: Thanks for watching the kids.

Dan: Thanks for brainstorming with me, and setting me on the right track. (And thanks in advance for the help I know you'll be in finessing the final product!)

And last but DEFINITELY not least...

Cassie & Tyler: Thanks for being my supercalifragilisticexpialidocious models:



LOTS more to come from this amazing day!!!!!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com

2010 Favorites: Portraits .... Eugene Oregon Portrait Photographer

That last one is a perfect way to round out some of my favorite 2010 portraits... I had WAY too much fun this year, with so many beautiful, kind, hilarious people in front of my camera!

Last but not least: Coming up tomorrow... Some of my favorite 2010 wedding images!

To book a wedding or session, e-mail me at jamie.zanotti@gmail.com