I am totally smitten with Lauren and Lincoln’s wedding. Cozy, warm and so intimate, it is the epitome of what a wedding should be. And whether it was the timing of the photographs, the weather or simply the Oregon sky, this next set of images shot by Eric Cable is pure gorgeousness….
From the lovely bride, Lauren…
Fashion ~ When dress shopping, I only went to one bridal salon, AniA Bridal, in downtown Portland. I ended up buying the third dress I tried on. I didn’t know what I wanted when I went shopping but knew the minute that I tried my dress on that it was ‘the one’. It is a fluted Alvina Valenta gown made from silk shantung with Guipire lace trim. I had a bolero made out of the Guipire lace – it was lovely. I decided not to wear a veil but instead made a hairpiece by deconstructing a necklace from Banana Republic and wiring the broach-like jewelry to a hair comb.
Choosing bridesmaids dresses was a challenge. I had 7 bridesmaids and wanted them to feel comfortable in their dress. I chose the designer, color and fabric and let each of them choose the style. The crocodile-green color looked surprisingly good on everyone and the girls said that they felt very comfortable. As a gift, I bought them all sage-colored wraps to help keep them warm. I also found wonderful jewelry designer on Etsy. She had a lovely red fern pendant necklace in her collection and I bought one for each bridesmaid as well as Lincoln’s sister, our groomswoman.
Lincoln and his groomsmen rented espresso-colored suits from Mr. Formal in Portland. We bought satin fabric that matched the bridesmaid dresses had the groom and groomsmen’s ties custom-made. Lincoln gifted each of his groomsmen hoodies – one of his favorite articles of clothing and a must-have in the Pacific Northwest.
Family and Friends ~ The most memorable part of our wedding day was, of course, the love and support or our family and friends. We wanted to include them as much as possible in our wedding celebration since they’ve had such an impact on who we are today. We really saw our wedding as not only the union of the two of us, but also the joining together of all of our friends and relatives.
Lincoln and I decided that we both wanted our parents to escort us down the aisle. We did a ring-passing ceremony, where our mothers gave our wedding rings to our wedding party members. Our wedding party then passed the rings to one another, offering a silent blessing before Lincoln and I exchanged the rings.
At the end of our ceremony, each of our parents stood and offered a blessing. My dad and stepmom read the Art of Marriage, my mom read ‘Two Happy Lovers’ by Pablo Neruda and Lincoln’s parents offered some valuable words of advice about love and marriage.
My maid of honor is a talented singer and one of Lincoln’s groomsmen is a talented guitar player. Several months before the wedding, we asked if they would be interested in singing and playing our first dance song. They agreed and, man, was it great! The best part is that a friendship between the two blossomed out of the whole thing.