I had the pleasure of working with Garrett Grove of Grove Weddings in August on Lydia and Burk’s Bohemian Beach wedding. We owe James Moes the credit of introducing us, as Garrett was actually the second photographer that day. Nonetheless, I was very impressed by his presence. He was very active about getting certain, unique shots from different perspectives, while maintaining a calm energy and focus. I wasn’t surprised at all when I got to see the images—he’s truly talented. While he acted as the second shooter for a friend, he is by no means second best, Lydia and Burk were lucky to have two really amazing photographers present on their wedding day! Read on to learn more about Garrett Grove and his photography business-

Rachelle: How would you describe your style and approach to photographing a wedding?

Garrett: The style of wedding photography I love is taking directed candid portraits of the couple during the portrait session and during the prep, ceremony & reception it would be a fairly hands off style of photojournalism.  I am constantly looking for the moments that when told together make a story of the day.  The funny, the beautiful, the embarrassing, the ironic and honest snippets that make up so many memories and the overall feel of your wedding day.  The approach/mentality that I strive for throughout the day is to be as assuring, personable, relaxed and light-hearted as I possibly can. 

Rachelle: Do you do other types of photography?

Garrett: Yes, my other passion is outdoor adventure commercial & editorial photography.

Rachelle: What do you love about weddings?

Garrett: I love that wedding are honest and authentic.  They are a very critical and important part of so many people’s lives and thus the photos that result are nearly a necessity.  It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing that every time I press the shutter button there is so much purpose and meaning behind it.

Rachelle: What do you do in your free time, when you don’t have a camera in hand?

Garrett: If I don’t have a camera in my hand you could pretty much guarantee that I am either outside or sharing a meal & drink with my wife and/or friends.

Rachelle: Why do you live in the NW?

Garrett: The NW keeps pulling my wife and I back because of the unique culture and the proximity to such natural beauty.

Rachelle: What type of clients are ideal for you? What do you look for in a client?

Garrett: My ideal clients?  Wow that is a hard one to pin down.  Some characteristics I really enjoy are enthusiasm, sincerity, simplicity, creativity and the confidence to make your wedding day unique.

Rachelle: Anything in particular you want people to know about you?

Garrett: I love to travel.  It is a passion and to incorporate that into a wedding photography would be a dream come true.

Rachelle: If you had unlimited funds- what would be your dream vacation?

Garrett: So many options!  A few would be to travel all over Canada & the States in a camper van with my wife for a year in order to soak in other cultures and ski/climb.  Another would be to live in the country side of Japan for a winter and ski the amazing powder they have there.

Rachelle: Thank you, Garrett, for telling us more about you and your passion! We look forward to working with you soon! Make sure to check out Garrett’s website and blog!

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle

Thank you all for entering the Proposal Contest! We will be announcing a winner later this week! Thank you for visiting our blog! We offer a free no-obligation consultation to learn more about wedding coordination and if we are the right match for you! Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) today!

I feel so honored to have been asked by Portland Style Unveiled to do a few guest blog posts for them! Keep checking back for more, but the first one is up and it’s about the importance of a master timeline and having a professional there to run it!

Click here to view the article and don’t forget to check out the rest of the site!

Reminder: Don’t forget to enter your proposal story in our contest to win a $50 gift certificate to a Portland restaurant! Whether you’ve been engaged 5 minutes or married 50 years, we want to hear your story! Details here.

Don’t forget about this upcoming wedding show:
Perfect Wedding Guide’s
1st Annual Spring Wedding Show
An Intimate Boutique Style Event You Won’t Want to Miss! Pre-register here!
GRAND PRIZE one carat diamond earrings compliments of Joseph K wedding rings.
GRAND PRIZE Beautiful wedding gown compliments of AniA bridal collection
Many more giveaways!!

Coming soon on the blog… photos from our photo shoot with Dayna Schroeder Photography, Up close with Garrett Grove, a fashion segment by Amanda [One of our lead coordinators] and much much more! Stay tuned!

Hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday!

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle

Rachelle and I have been buzzing around Bend, Oregon meeting with vendors and a visiting gorgeous venues all day, but I wanted to take a moment a share with you a feature that Vibrant Table posted on their blog about Champagne and my experience in the wedding industry. We featured Vibrant Table and Vibrant Table Flowers during out 30 days of Vendors last month. They offer not only quality food, but great customer service! Click here to view our feature!

Thank you Vibrant Table! We look forward to working with you this summer!

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle

P.S. Do not forget to enter our Proposal Giveaway! Whether you’ve been engaged 5 minutes or married 50 years, we want to hear your story! Details here.

Also, make sure you mark your calendars: Perfect Wedding Guide is having a wedding show at The Heathman Hotel and Restaurant on March 20th, 2010 at 12:00-4:00pm. Giveaway’s every half hour including a wedding dress from AniA Collection, diamond earrings from Joseph K! We look forward to seeing you there! Details here!

Thank you for stopping by our blog! We’d love to meet you! We offer free no obligation consultations so you’re able to see if you’re in need of a wedding coordinator and if we’re the right match! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) now to set up an appointment! We have a few basic packages and also offer custom packages to fit your needs!

We had so much fun reading the love story entries last week that we couldn’t help but have another contest! This time we want to hear your proposal stories! Whether you’ve been engaged for 5 days or married for 50 years, we want to hear how he [or now days maybe she : )] proposed! We will pick a winner on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 and announce the winner soon after. We encourage all of you, who entered our love story and everyone who was too shy to tell their story, to share with us the day you got engaged!

We can’t wait to read your stories!!

Details:

How to enter:

In the comment section of this post answer the following questions:
[1] Your name:
[2] Your fiance/spouse name:
[3] How did you meet?
[4] When did he/she propose?
[5] How did he/she propose?

What you win:*

A $50 gift certificate for a local Portland restaurant. Who doesn’t love going out to dinner?

When to enter:

Now until Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 10:00 pm.

Who can enter:

Engaged and married couples.

We will be picking a winner by the following Monday, March 8th, 2010.

*Entries only valid in the United States. 

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle

Make sure you mark your calendars: Perfect Wedding Guide is having a wedding show at The Heathman Hotel and Restaurant on March 20th, 2010 at 12:00-4:00pm. Giveaway’s every half hour including a wedding dress from AniA Collection, diamond earrings from Joseph K! We look forward to seeing you there! Details here!

Thank you for stopping by our blog! We’d love to meet you! We offer free no obligation consultations so you’re able to see if you’re in need of a wedding coordinator and if we’re the right match! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) now to set up an appointment! We have a few basic packages and also offer custom packages to fit your needs!

So, many of you probably thought we had forgotten to pick a winner for the Love Story Contest we held last week, but the problem was, between all of the great entries, it was nearly impossible to chose! Though we would have loved to pick them all… we have chosen a winner!

Congratulations Huma and Christopher!! We can’t wait to see your photos from your photo session with Paul Rich Studio! For those of you who haven’t read their story yet, fall in love here…

Dr. Huma Pierce | Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 09:09 PM

[1] Where did you meet?

The first day of Chiropractic school and I new I had to get my hands on him!

[2] How long have you been together?

We have been together since May 5th 1998
So, 12 years… Married Ten years in April!

[3] What do you love most about the love of your life?
The harmony we have as parents, business owners and lovers. We aren’t afraid to explore, indulge and reward for good behavior!

[4] Your love story:
I met Christopher just before the first day school. I had jammed all of my things into a locker at New York Chiropractic School and some of the girls in my suite said we were going to a bar to meet the rest of our class. We walked out into the courtyard of the dorms and this tall, broad-shouldered, beautiful, great calves man walked out of the dorm in front of us. He was holding a bottle of champagne, home brew and a few glasses. I couldn’t breathe. He hugged a classmate and looked over the crowd of girls and pointed at me and asked if I’d like to join him for a drink. Since I couldn’t breathe I couldn’t speak either. So I nodded… sure. Then he quickly invited all of us to come up to the suite above mine, to have a party with the upper class-men …and women, I would soon find out! After meeting the rest of our class at ‘Reds’ we returned to our dorm, I ventured upstairs to a room full of supermodel type women (classic for chiropractic school). Mildly discouraged and somewhat disgruntled I returned to my dorm room and the mentality of only coming to NYCC to study. 
A couple of weeks went by as our class and the class just above us (Christopher’s class) would pass by each other a couple times a day. I saw him smiling and waving every day at me. I was convinced by then, since I saw him in my dorm every day, that he must have been dating one of the supermodels upstairs. After all, he was 6’2” and a mix of (younger- not pretty in pink but more of the suave 20’s JS) James Spader wrapped up in a Brendan Fraser goofiness. I proceeded to completely ignore him, even though I thought I was going to throw up or laugh uncontrollably every time he was within 2 ft of me.

One day he was sitting in my dorm room on the couch talking to a classmate. I walked by and said hi, and raced to my room. After about 3 hours of studying and an insatiable appetite, I went out to the kitchen area to see my suite mate, looking rather disappointed. She promptly told me off and that Christopher had been trying for 2 weeks to ask me out.  I can’t remember the details of what happened next, but somewhere between the hike around the falls and wine country he told me that the first night he saw me, he told his mom that I was the one he was going to marry. Gotta love a guy with determination and conviction.
It’s ten years this year. We have one perfect child, several clinics and when I least expect it, he takes my breath away.

Thank you all for sharing your stories with us!! We are looking forward to many more contests and giveaways in the next few months!

Cheers,

Mandi & Rachelle