courtney jade’s blog

This was by far the most decadent, lush, luxurious affair I have ever attended. As a photographer, it was a dream. Every beautiful detail displayed with elegance, nothing forgotten. The amount of thought, planning and effort put into this event was obvious and could not be ignored.

If you remember, I shot Laura’s Bridal Shower earlier last summer. She sure likes to set the bar high!

Laura and John chose the very beautiful DeArmond Garden Estate to have their most special day. The Estate is a one of a kind location, tucked away and gushing with vintage chic romance. It was the perfect setting for them.

My lovely friend, the ever-fabulous Jessica of Modern Moments Designs designed and created all of the invitations, programs, graphics, signage, and more. The event’s styling was absolutely stunning, between Modern Moments Designs work and the bride Laura and her twin sister’s styling company, Double Take Events, this was hands down the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen.

I did not photograph the actual wedding. I came out for the day to shoot all of the details- and there are a LOT of them! If this post isn’t long enough for you, just imagine twice more what you see here.

I am proud to say that this wedding, and my photos were featured earlier this week on Style Me Pretty! One of the most prestigious and most viewed wedding blogs out there. So humbled to know that others want to see and share my images.

Without further ado, please enjoy every pretty little detail from this wedding!

I can hardly believe I haven’t blogged this ADORABLE session yet! Time just flies these days. I’m so excited to finally be able to share these with you- this session was so much fun, and I couldn’t be happier with how the images turned out!

I got together again with one of my bestest friends and partners in creative-crime, Jessica, and we shot her son Emerson for his 2nd Birthday!

His theme this year was “Carnival”, so we thought that Oaks Park would be the perfect location to get some fun, colorful photos to use for his invite and party products. We picked an evening in the late summer/early fall, and shot this entire session in about 45 minutes. Emerson has always been super easy to photograph, ever since the first time I shot him at his 1 year session – which we shot start-to-finish in under 30 minutes! We are kind of a dream team if I do say so myself! It also helps that he’s just sweet to the camera, and to me, the little flirt

Looking over these images makes me even more excited for the summer and sunshine! I love how the warm sun played into his images and add that extra “happy” to them.  How can you not want to just smooch him?!

I ended up shooting his AMAZING carnival Birthday Party, which I will blog about soon… but for now, here is a sneak peek!

This family has been with me from the start. She was one of my very first brides, first boudoir session, and one of my favorite families to photograph each year. It’s so fun seeing a family grow over time, and be there to capture the little in-between moments.

Shauna is a dear friend of mine, and one of the most supportive. She truly loves photographs. She gets it. And she’s always thinking of fun ideas to incorporate. I love going over to their home and seeing all of the photos I have taken over the years, literally everywhere! It’s one of the most rewarding feelings as a photographer. THAT is what I aspire to give all of my clients- photographs that they cherish so much, they hang them all over the place, and keep coming back for more!!!

I love you guys, and I’m so happy that you keep coming back <3 I hope you enjoy your photos, and here’s to many more in the future! (Corey, you’re a trooper )

I feel so lucky to have such amazing clients turn into friends. Emerson’s parents are just that, and I am SO happy that we have gotten to know each other over the past year! It seems like just yesterday I was shooting Lexie’s maternity photos, and now Emerson is already so grown up!

When they decided to do my “Baby’s First Year” plan, I was ecstatic because that meant that we would be able to build and grow our friendship even more! Lexie has the BEST ideas!! She went all out for Emerson’s 6 month session and got some super adorable outfits. It totally paid off, as you can see!

I, personally, am a huge fan of that adorable red swimsuit and matching cap by Janie + Jack, and the adorable flower headband by the very lovely Sew Whimsey!

I cannot wait for one year cake smashing fun with you guys!!! <3 Thank you for being so so wonderful!

 

a while back i did it. i splurged.

i posted about it on my facebook page.. but never said what it was that i splurged on. it took about a month to get to me, but when it arrived from hong kong i couldn’t have been more excited!!! i have been wanting one forever now, so it’s really fun to have one… this is the beauty that i purchased:

a fujifilm instax mini 7s!!!

i also purchased 5 packs of film with it. It produces business card size polaroid photos, and i am in loooooove with them!!! Thank goodness they still make film for this baby, i hope they never quit!!

my first photos i took with it were of quincey and the flowers that mark brought me when he picked me up at the airport from costa rica

Then i took my fabulous friend Tonja out to a newer restaurant here that I’m in love with- Slappycakes for her birthday, and we had some Polaroid fun It’s a super awesome modern style restaraunt that is all about having fun, making pancakes, and enjoying deliciousness!! All of the staff is SUPER nice too! We ended up taking my dad there for his birthday the next weekend, we loved it so much! Oh, and they serve Stumptown coffee <3 win!

Making delicious pancakes!!

Us and our delicious blood orange mimosas! Yay birthday breakfasts!!!

My camera shaped pancake with butterscotch chips <3

The awesome booth decal! This place has STYLE!!!

Can you say “YUM!”?!

They came over and sang “Slappy Birthday” to Tonja, and gave her a deep fried banana with fresh made whipped cream and a candle to blow out

still learning to use the different settings on this polaroid cam… you can set it to indoors, cloudy, sunny, or really sunny…. i forgot to switch it, and it was bright out for these 2. Thanks to the random dude on the street who took these for us!!

And of course I had to get some fun pics of my boys and i

Mark bought me an amazing 7th Heaven bunny butt cupcake from JaCiva’s!!! THAT is LOVE! <3 Quincey wanted some, hahaha i love that pic!

<3

Needless to say, I’m putting my “splurge” to good use! And hopefully I’ll be able to use it soon on some of my photo shoots!

until the next post!

<3

Yesterday my bestie Ben, and his sister Jenna introduced me to what is now my favorite restaurant in all of Portland: Jade Teahouse & Patisserie

Located in the adorable Sellwood neighborhood, off of 13th and SE Lexington, is a beautiful green building. One of the reasons it was love at first site was the design of everything. From the moment you spot the place driving by, to the second you walk through the door, it’s beautiful. The colors, the lighting, the furniture, even the fonts on the menu board create such an upclass, yet homey feel. You can tell that everything has been carefully thought out and cared for with a whole heart. These people want you to feel comforable!!

The atmosphere is completely beautiful and warm. There’s a peace about it, and there are fun little details everywhere. Just look at the rack of loose leaf teas!

And the menu, oh, the menu!!! Mark and I have a hard time finding a place with food that we both LOVE. Sure, there are places that he loves, and I like, or visa versa… but this place is the perfect fit! They have menu items that are more traditional or basic (but still completely flavorful and delicious), and also items for the more adventurous tongue, and everything in between. I don’t know anyone who couldn’t find something here that they didn’t absolutely love.
They have a huge variety of asian influenced dishes, as well as baguette sandwiches, soups, and delicous baked goods! The head chef pours her heart and soul into every single dish that’s prepared, and you can tell 100%. Everything tastes and looks like it was specially prepared just for you. The people are extremely friendly, and go above and beyond the norm to tell you about the cuisine, even recommending things! All of the ingredients are fresh, and though I’ve only been there twice now, it seems as though they make most everything from scratch! They have a bakery downstairs where the head chef (who apparently studied the art of french baking for a time in France [i think, can't remember exactly what our server said about this.. but I know she studied it over in Europe for a time]) prepares delicious baked cookies, macaroons, and other tastey treats!
I could go on and on all day, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves

Mark’s Thai Iced Tea & my fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade

A few cute shots of my markie <3

Our delicious food!!!

Hands down, best Pho I’ve ever eaten. Mmmmmm so good

And of course, we had to have dessert!!! Jenna was raving about their traditional cake that they make! It’s green due to the banana peels that they use in it, and it tastes like a light vanilla. The cake is moist and fluffy, and the buttercream is smooth and creamy. There’s a surprise crunchy layer in the middle of some sort of flaky pastry, and white chocolate shavings on top To. Die. For. And not too sweet either!

We also tried this traditional sesame ball treat, which I forget the name of! It was awesome!! It was like a rice/bread doughnut-like ball that was crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and it was filled with some sort of yummy almond paste and coconut. Then it comes with a sweet glazey honey caramel sauce (I think that’s what it was… it was all so delicious and went so fast I can’t be positive!).

Seriously. Best. Restaraunt. EVER. I’m officially in love, and SO excited to find a place that Mark and I are both totally blown away by! I can’t wait to go back, and I was just there 2 hours ago!!

Until we meet again Jade… <3

Have you ever read the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman? Well, if you haven’t you should, it’s a very interesting book!

“Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.”

At the end there is a quiz that you take to determine which of your love languages are the strongest. My top results were “Receiving Gifts” and a tie between “Words of Affirmation” and “Quality Time”. Everyone speaks all 5 languages to some degree, but it’s natural for most people to have a dominant one or two.

This was no surprise to me by any means. I value gifts, little and big, immensely. Whether it’s a quote written down on a napkin, or a beautiful sparkly something, it has the power to take my breath away. I also love giving gifts! I feel like it’s a great way to show that I’ve been thinking of someone, and I always put great time and effort into selecting and preparing special presents for people.

I believe that this is why I love photography so much. When you take someone’s photo, and then give it to them, it’s a very special gift. No one can ever relive the moments that have passed, and memories fade with time, but a photograph lasts forever. Those little moments frozen in time to remember and hold on to forever. There’s just something so special about that.

So it was to my complete surprise when I opened my mailbox this evening and there was a “You Have a Package in the Manager’s Office” slip sitting atop my mail! I racked my brain trying to think of what it could possibly be… did I order something? Did Mark order something? A print order? A large envelope from the insurance company (you know, one of those horribly ridiculous packs of paper that they are required by law to send out once a year or something.. waste of trees!) None of those. I raced up to the office since it was about to close, and eagerly handed her my slip.

“Ah!” she said as she turned around and picked up a medium sized brown box.

She handed me the box, and it was sealed with SAINT CUPCAKE PACKING TAPE!!!! Saint Cupcake?? But, who? How? Why??? What was in there?! My mind went racing, thinking who would be so nice as to send me something so amazinly sweet and awesome… and what was in it?! I thanked the manager and raced back to my apartment. Once I got in the door, I cut the tape and opened the package.

The glory of it all. I LOVE this place. It is the first cupcakerie I ever stepped into years ago, and I’ve been in love ever since. My good friend is friends with the owners of the place (one who is a graphic designer superstar– in case you couldn’t tell..) How gorgeous is this presentation!?! I flipped the card over…

Of course!!! My lovely bride (and friend of MANY years) Jesse from last Saturday’s wedding! She had asked me for my address and I thought nothing of it. WHAT. A. DOLL!!! At this point I have serious little pink hearts floating all around me, I’m so happy. Pink + cupcakes + amazingly gorgeous packaging/design= DROOL!

I realize that it’s not just cupcakes, but an entire “Saint Cupcake cupcake kit”!!! What the heck!? Completely amazing.

Six un-frosted cakes, 6 containers of different flavored frostings, six spreading sticks, and six little baggies of sprinkles! No sparing on the presentation, this is completely adorable and to die for! Not to mention tasty!1

Naturally, I had to take some fun photos of my kit before indulging

Hot fudge!? That’s my fave!!!!

pink, pink, and more pink!!!

a pile of frosting cups!

YUMMY!!!

Thank you SO much Mr. & Mrs. Thiel & the Davis’s!!! You totally made my day SO much sweeter (literally & figuratively!) You rock, and I was honored to be a part of your special day!!!

Now, something sweet for you… a sneak peek pic from your wedding day!!! Enjoy!

Now if you’ll excuse me, IT’S CUPCAKE TIME!!!!

<3 <3 <3

Newborn sessions have a special little place in my heart. If you know me, then you know that I was born a mother, and for as long as I’ve lived I’ve looked forward to being a mother. (In fact, when I was 5 I remember telling my mom that I wanted 100 babies when I grew up. I imagined having them in a hospital-nursery-like setting. Of course, that was before I knew how babies came into the world…)

A lot of the photographers who inspire me the most are newborn photographers. So to say the least, they are always some of my favorite sessions!
This little bundle of love was 7 days old on the day we had his session. I couldn’t believe all of the hair he had! Such a darling little baby boy. His name is Evan Grey, and I could just eat him up! Congratulations Rachelle and Brenden, your little baby boy is perfect

And my personal favorite from the session… it was a tough call, and the monkey pic is another fave… but this one makes my heart melt…

Sneaky peekie!!!

Beautiful couple, beautiful location, beautiful day = beautiful photos

more to come soon… and also be on the lookout for the engagement shoot i teased earlier…

Every year my sisters and I get our photos done about this time of the year to give out to our family for Christmas. (I wouldn’t say anything, but it’s been about 5 years since we started this tradition, so honestly, I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone who may be reading this ) So when the beautiful Holli asked me to do photos of her and her sister for their family, I was quite excited! I do a lot of couple shoots and group family groups, but not so many “sister shoots”.

We decided to shoot at Laurelhurst Park, since it’s one of the most beautiful locations in the Portland area during this time of year. The trees, leaves, and entire setting is just picture perfect! Plus, while Holli and her family have lived here in Portland for a few years now, they are originally from New Orleans– so I thought it would be the perfect landscape to capture some memories!

Holli and her sister Lindsey are so gorgeous, they made my job really easy!! I’m really happy with their photos

(random side note- I got my passport this weekend!!!! AHHH!!! I’m so excited!)

Ok, now onto the photos!!!