Since I seemed to get asked about this by many of the couples with whom I meet about wedding photography, here is the (greatly abbreviated) story of how I got started as a wedding photographer. Try not to fall asleep while reading!

I have been an avid photographer since 1976, when I discovered photography while in college. I began photographing weddings in 1980, after a friend who had seen samples of my work asked if I would take the photos of her upcoming wedding. The conversation went something like this -

Me - "You do realize that I've never taken wedding pictures before, right?"
Bride - "That's alright. You do realize that I can't afford to pay you, right?"
Me - "Will this count as my wedding present?"
Bride - "Only if you do a good job. And if you don't, you have to deal with my mother!"

Under the circumstances, how could I say no? Somewhat to my surprise, I loved the experience! The bride was very happy with her pictures, and I was referred to a friend for her wedding. More referrals followed, and within a couple of years I was booked for at least one wedding almost every summer weekend, and even was picking up off-season bookings. At this point I decided to get serious about photography, because taking pictures at weddings was a lot more fun than working! Since then, I have photographed weddings at locations all over the country - including Vermont, Massachusetts, Detroit, and San Francisco - and well over 1000 weddings in the Pacific Northwest. And the rest, as they say, was history.