Anchorage, Chicago, Seattle, Vancouver, British Columbia | Wedding Photographer | Erica Rose

Fulton’s on the River Chicago Wedding :: Brett & Diana

Erica — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:15:55 +0000

This past weekend was my first wedding of the 2013 season, and an incredible way to begin. Brett & Diana are those people that just make everything look effortless. They celebrated their love in the most beautiful, sophisticated & *fun* Chicago wedding imaginable and pulled it off with a grace that made it look way easier than it possibly could be!
You two deserve the amazing South American honeymoon you are having. When you can, grab a drink and enjoy this first peek into your wedding photos…

Diana…you were are the most stunning bride! Truly.
Pulling up to the reception on a Water Taxi? Why not…

Brett & Diana…to be honest, I’m a little sad that your wedding is over…only because that means I don’t get to keep working with you two! I truly loved every moment of my experience with you both and I hope our paths will continue to cross in the future!!

I would be remiss to not mention the amazing team of vendors that worked together on Brett & Diana’s wedding:

Coordinator: The Savvy Event (Katie…I would work with you every weekend if I could – you are the best!)
Venues: Fulton’s on the River, Tiffany & Co. Celebration Garden
Videography: Smiling Toad Productions
Florist: Monarch
Cake: Fulton’s via West Town Bakery
Make up/Hair: Crizen Hasewaga
DJ: DJ Chicago
Dress Designer: Simone Carvalli Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Anchorage Engagement Session :: Carly & Tony

Erica — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:50:41 +0000

I have always wanted to photograph an engagement session at Beluga Point (a little stop on the side of the road between Girdwood and Anchorage). On a beautiful day I think it is one of the prettiest spots ever. I was *so* happy that Carly chose that spot for her and Tony’s engagement photos last week. I thought it would be hard to convince someone to start a session at 8:30pm, but not these two. All I had to say was that the golden sunset light makes all the difference in photos, and they were on board. Every day the sun sets a little later up here, but I’m up for starting any time if it means we’ll get some of this glow-y goodness.
This week Tony is visiting Carly here in Alaska, next month they’ll be getting married in their home town of Omaha, Nebraska. Tony & Carly, I am so happy for you two…and excited for your Alaskan adventures together over the next few years! Here are a few of my favorites, lots more to come. xo – E

“i’m not locked…”

Erica — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:44:19 +0000

Earlier this year Jamie and I went snowshoeing on Cypress Mountain in Vancouver. It was a gray day and snow was falling pretty heavily as we went along. It was absolutely beautiful and peacefully quiet. Neither of us were familiar with the trails so we just explored. After an hour or so we found a warming hut and stopped to see what was inside. As we walked up to the door, I saw that a sign was posted.
Jamie shoved the door before turning away because it wouldn’t open, and I said…”Read the sign, it says its not locked – just hard to open.”
I stopped and read it again and this feeling of serendipity washed over me.
It seemed like this sign should have been worn around my neck, not taped to the door of this warming hut.

“I’m not locked. Just sometimes hard to open.”
Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

All but those who know me well might be surprised by this, but I’m not someone who easily throws open the door and welcomes the world inside…not really. I tend to be more cautious, and always take a read on the situation before inserting myself.

Normally I’m not a really introspective type, but I couldn’t get over this sign. And then someone wise said something to me (and because he is wise I thought I should listen).

Jeff said: Erica, you know its the really valuable stuff that is worth a little bit of digging.

Basically, don’t begrudge any part of yourself…celebrate it!
I’m thankful for the perspective of people like Jeff in my life, everyone needs reminders like this sometimes.

How to Gain a Fresh Perspective :: Visiting Kotzebue

Erica — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:44:34 +0000

I love any opportunity to experience a new place. Last weekend we finally got to visit Kris & Amy (brother & sister in law!) at their cozy little home, north of the Arctic Circle in Kotzebue. You have to fly to Kotz. it isn’t connected to anything by roads, although I think there is an ice road to a couple of neighboring villages in the Winter (yeah…). It is really amazing how a just couple of days out of our normal routine can be completely rejuvenating.
Normally when I’m on the ocean, it isn’t frozen beneath me! Let me tell you, this is not typically my element…but I *love* that! I love the feeling of being somewhere new and less-comfortable and experiencing the goodness of life there. If you’ve never done that before, its about time!

Levi’s First Birthday

Erica — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 03:46:51 +0000

On March 17th Levi had his First Birthday! I never expected that I would be someone to be so excited to celebrate a first birthday, but I guess there really is something different about it being my own baby.
Lets be real honest here…I am known to put way too much pressure on myself about this sort of thing…and comparing myself to others via pinterest is not helpful! I didn’t go over the top, but I think that part of me just wanted Levi to know that this was a special day, and that I love him. Thank goodness (for Jamie) we had a couple of good friends in town the night before and they helped out sooo much.
This feels like as much of a celebration for Jamie and I (We all made it to this milestone, and more or less we are all in one piece!) as it is for Levi. We celebrated with lots of great friends and family, and Levi seemed to be in his element. The cherry on top was when Levi, sitting in his chair with the birthday candles lit, looked at his cake and said “Wow!” Melt my heart, why don’t ya?
These next few are just because I wanted to do some One Year pictures. He wouldn’t cooperate until I put him into a cardboard box…whatever works, right?Happy Birthday sweet baby!

Career Milestone :: 101

Erica — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:51:49 +0000

Lately I have started to do some reflecting. Taking some time to sort through my business, both literally and in more abstract ways.
As organized as I am, I’m not a really good record keeper. Sometimes unless you slow down and take time to sort through things both in your desk and in your heart, things can get lost in the shuffle.

In counting, I realized that I am at 101.

One Hundred and One weddings, that is.
{Not engagement sessions, families, children, events….just weddings}

Can you believe it? I think its kind of hard to believe.
It feels like a milestone, breaking 100 weddings!
When I think back on life in the recent years, I guess can believe it. Life has been crazy and amazing and full of adventures. Mostly, life has been more.

More fun than I could have ever imagined.
More work than I bargained for.
More than I ever dreamed it would be when I started down this path.

I feel really blessed, and thankful! To the one hundred and one couples who invited me into their story, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m blessed to be in a career that I love and I couldn’t continue doing this without the people who choose to welcome and trust and share their lives with me. Cheers! To many, many more.

{Here are all 101 of my couples, but in no particular order. Aren’t they beautiful?}

Anchorage Engagement :: Melissa & Brian

Erica — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:45:16 +0000

Earlier this week I got to do a quick engagement session with Melissa & Brian in Anchorage…just hours after they got engaged! These two are in a long distance relationship and won’t be seeing each other again until the week of their wedding (thankfully, only a couple of months away) – they’re on a bit of a time constraint as Brian will be deployed shortly after the wedding day. I hope that these photos will help to ease that time of newly-married-separation just a little bit!

Vandusen Botanic Gardens Engagement :: Vanessa & Joe

Erica — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:39:39 +0000

This post carries a little extra significance for me because 4.5 years ago when Jamie and I got married, Vanessa was our wedding photographer! I am so thrilled to be the one behind the camera as she and Joe get married this summer. For our wedding photos, I knew that I wanted well composed shots with beautiful colors and natural emotions, I knew that an artist had to be our photographer. I love our photos so much that photographing Joe & Vanessa made me a little nervous! I hope that when these two look at their photos, they will have the same experience that Vanessa gave us.

Vancouver Engagement Photography :: Michelle & Sean

Erica — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:25:03 +0000

Most of the time I interact mainly with the bride leading up to the wedding…but my emails with Sean actually started about a year ago. He emailed to tell me that someday soon he would be proposing to Michelle, and then he described why they already knew that they wanted ME to be their wedding photographer! How awesome is that? That might be the best email I’ve ever gotten from a groom.
Since then I’ve been looking forward to finally meeting this guy in person. In that initial email, not only did he gush a little about how much he and Michelle love my work, but he gushed a lot about how much he loves Michelle…those two things make me incredibly blessed and excited to be shooting their wedding this fall.
Sean & Michelle, thanks for braving a cold and drizzly Vancouver afternoon with smiles on your faces! Here are a few of my favorites…

Vancouver Engagement Photography :: Chad & Erika

Erica — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:00:55 +0000

I love the love story behind these two. Chad & Erika met when they were kids and Erika’s family was on vacation in Oregon. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that they reconnected (thank you facebook) and the rest is history. Between the two of them have been way too many 6 hour drives between BC and Oregon, I’m sure countless emails and hours on the phone. I know from experience what long distance relationships can be like. Chad actually drove 12 hours in a 24 hour period just for our engagement session…with a smile on his face, pretty amazing if you ask me. This summer they’ll finally say goodbye to long distance when they say I DO at a vineyard in Eugene Oregon.
Congratulations Chad & Erika, I couldn’t be happier for you both and am so excited for your wedding!