the journal

Oh my goodness, Jesseca and Alan were so FUN to work with! They like to tell people that they met at a coffee shop but they actually connected online through a dating app first. They had both been through a lot of heartache and hardship and were hesitant to start something up but really enjoyed just talking to each other. Neither of them expected it to go anywhere but one day, Alan called Jesseca and said, ‘I’m sick of waiting, I want to meet you’. And that’s where the coffee shop comes in. Jesseca headed out to meet him with ZERO expectations of a relationship but when ‘[she] walked up & saw him [she was] immediately giddy & felt [her] heart drop into [her] stomach. Something happened when [she] saw him.. if there’s any chance that love at first sight is possible, that was it!’ They had coffee and walked around Portland just talking. ‘Whats funny [is that they] both told each other all the baggage [they] had, thinking to [themselves] “put it all on the table so he/she has the chance to run” haha.. but neither did.. [they] went out to dinner and took photos in a photo booth and then [Jesseca] showed [Alan her] favorite viewpoint in Portland (Rocky Butte). [They] sat up there in his jeep & talked & listened to music & enjoyed the night skyline for hours. [Alan] was so sweet & so amazing [and Jesseca just] didn’t think guys like [him] existed. [Jesseca] was living with [her] mom at the time & [she] went home & told her that [she] had just met the man [she was] going to marry someday.. he [didn’t] know it yet, but it [was] going to happen!’ This was SO unlike Jesseca but her and Alan really connected and from that time on were joined at the hip. ‘Later on in [their] relationship [Jesseca] found out that before [her & Alan] met that day, he sat in his car … praying that this [would] be “the one”.’

Well, if that story doesn’t have you in tears, I don’t know what would! Hearing Jesseca & Alan’s story and then meeting them in person, everything matched up. They are SO perfect together and share a love that is so deep and meaningful. We started off their session with family photos with Alan’s daughter and their cute little boy. He was very rambunctious, which made us all tired, but we got some great photos of them! And then we went straight into engagement photos and Alan & Jesseca turned up the heat! They are SO romantic, and were SO sweet with each other! When I photograph couples, I always try my hardest to capture their relationship as it is. I try not to pose too much because I really want natural movements and emotions to show in these images. And with Jesseca & Alan, that was SO EASY! I’d give them a prompt and they’d just go for it! We had a STUNNING location and the weather was PERFECT! I was hesitant when Jesseca said she wanted to do the session at Rocky Butte (because I hadn’t seen it in person) but when I heard their story, I knew I had to do images there. It was too sentimental not to. And when I got there and saw how beautiful it was, I was SO EXCITED! The skies were cloudy, the architecture was rustic and beautiful and there was such a variety of spaces to capture. I LOVED photographing this couple at a location that means SO much to them and I CANNOT WAIT for their wedding next month in Portland!