Andrew & Rachel :: Wedding Preview

It's been one of those weeks. The type of week where Monday feels like Thursday and Thursday feels like thelongestdayofmylifethatneverevereverwantstoend. Fortunately it's Friday and, much thanks to the fantastic pair of J Brand Jeans I found on sale yesterday and the fancy person candle I found at Anthropologie that promised to burn for a hundred million hours and smell something like I imagine heaven smelling like one day, it looks like it's going to be a pretty terrific weekend. Phew. That mess of a sentence oddly resembles this week.

I'm off to do few more lunges in these jeans because, lets face it, you never actually find your size on sale. Before I go I'll leave this sneak peak of Andrew and Rachel's wedding from last Saturday.  I'll also wish you an extra fabulous weekend full of a million hours of sleep, sweet dreams, and painfully delicious lattes. Banana pancakes would be okay, too.

Happy Friday!

Michelle

Ryan and Lene :: Engagement

She didn't know he had been writing the letters. When Ryan proposed to Lene last month he sat his future wife down in Bend's Drake Park and began reading a series of letters he had been drafting since the start of their relationship last summer. With tears streaming down her face Lene listened to the words of her future husband as he spoke of all the reasons he was certain he had found his True Love. On one knee Ryan slipped his great grandmother's diamond ring on Lene's petite finger and asked for her hand, and the rest of her life, in marriage. From their laughter you would never know it was raining and by her smile you would never know her pain. As Ryan, Lene and I traipsed through the Portland Pearl District last Thursday the air was filled with corny jokes, high pitched giggles, and a year's supply of mile-wide smiles. Ryan and Lene have an uncanny ability to make you feel happy. Joy seems to seep from their pores and if ever in their presence you won't stand a chance of escaping the infection of their contagious smiles. While the weather may have been true to the Portland form of rain, I could have sworn the sky was clear and the air was warm. When I heard from Lene on Monday she said that Thursday's rain was perfect for this season of their lives. That even though she missed her momma, there was still so much joy to be found in the pain.

And that's how Ryan and Lene like to roll. Where there is pain they find joy, and where there is rain they choose to smile. I have no doubt their marriage will be one of laughter, love, and an abundance of joy.

Ryan and Lene, congratulations on your engagement and thank you for letting me take your pictures. The day could not have been more perfect and you two could not have been more beautiful. You really did me the honor.

In addition to being ridiculously smart, your children are going to be beautiful. I can't even believe you two are my friends. Seeeriously.

Oh. My. Gawd. Lene you're gorgeous.

Sammy's Flowers on 11th & Glisan provided the stunning bouquet.

I think Ryan is especially good at looking handsome. Good choice, Lene.

They're so nice that they even laughed at my entirely unfunny jokes. LOVE them.

Lene and I used to be friends. Then I saw her legs and realized I didn't want to be her friend anymore. I'm totally jealous and I'm not even ashamed to admit it.

Ryan and Lene, congratulations again. You are two beautiful people who make Colton and I better people for knowing you. We are so honored to call you friends and we can. not. wait. for your wedding. Colton's been perfecting his seawalk and me? I've just been listening to lots of T.I.. That dance floor is gonna be off the hook.

Michelle

Sperry Loafers and Sneak Peaks :: Personal

For some reason I never saw it coming. When I fell in love with Colton I was attracted to his kind spirit, his sense of humor, and his, ahem, rugged good looks - don't get queasy yet, it gets better. In our situation rugged good looks referred to the fact that Colton's wardrobe faves were a Carhart jacket and a pair of Levis from four years prior. A slight but noticeable difference from the rugged good looks of Bradley Cooper in The Hangover. It wasn't that kind of rugged.  Regardless, I was a freshman in high school and Colton could have been wearing one of those swishy teal and purple track suits and I would have found the teen boy handsome. Love is so, so, powerful. I probably should have picked up on it earlier. He fell in love with Linen my Sophomore year of college and was crazy about the white Italian linen suit he received for Christmas of the same year. He had a mild obsession with crewneck sweaters during our Junior year and was an especially big fan of the merino wool versions we found at Banana Republic. And then, this winter, he asked for a scarf. His own scarf. Because, let's face it, mine weren't cool enough. It never truly came to fruition until we arrived in Virginia, though - almost as if Colton was simply waiting for the go-ahead from the seersucker sporting East Coast. My husband had totally gone Preppy.

Since settling in to our East Coast apartment Colton has added to our wardrobe five cotton polo shirts, two pair of darkwashed jeans, a fantastic pair of pinstriped Bermuda shorts, and my personal favorite, a perfect pair of Sperry loafers. Also a partridge in a pear tree. We're currently on the lookout for a plaid bow-tie and those Chinos with sailboats and Scottie dogs on them. ...Colton doesn't know about the Chinos, though. They may just have to subtly appear in the dresser one day. I'm alllll about the Preppy.

In honor of Colton's initiation into the Preppy Club of America (...on second thought we would never make it into that club), I'm posting a preview of last week's engagement shoot. I think the groom has especially rugged good looks - the Bradley Cooper kind.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Michelle