All right, dear ones-it’s time for a little update on Claire Eliza’s life. After a year of honeymooning abroad, Jack and I finally found a new home â we moved to Portland! And what better way to celebrate our new chapter than to share a beautiful wedding on an Oregon berry farm, so typical of Portland.
Joe and Brittany are used to breaking traditions â after getting married devoted two years earlier, the couple motioned to their friends and family to travel to Portland â a city known for promoting alternative lifestyles (hello, Portlandia) – for their two-year renewal of vows and wedding celebration.
On this happy day, there were so many reasons why Jack and I fell in love with the area. On the one hand, the party took place outside the city in one of the most famous and under-the-radar plonk regions in the country – the Willamette Valley – in a picturesque berry farm. To continue the theme of good food and drinks, the couple rented a local pizza truck and the iconic Salt & Straw ice cream shop (which is within walking distance of our new house, ahh!)
You will also see an Ode to Portland Fashion, with personalized Nikes that come from the bridal party (and from the bride and groom!) and a cool wedding dress from our beloved friends at A&bé bridal.
We are very happy to share this beautiful day and to open another “home” for bridal fashion at PNW (we will continue to do Shoots and fun things in New York!) If you are a Northwest wedding vendor, bridal designer, or just a Friendly bride and groom, feel free to sign up and say hello to [email protected] .
The Destination & The Place
A large part of our family lives out of state and we wanted to use our wedding as an opportunity to bring everyone together and experience the beauty of Portland and the Oregon plonk Country.
Having an outdoor place felt authentic to us and we wanted a simple but beautiful place in itself. When we founded Hoffman Farms, we knew that it was fully aligned with our Vision. We wanted to highlight the organic beauty of the farm and opted for a decoration with green that seems to have been able to exist there without intervention. We have designed all our wedding colors and decorations on the same principle.
The Dress And The Clothes
We had our immediate family dressed in marine tones, the groomsmen in white shirts and navy pants and the bridesmaids in dusty sage dresses, which would complement the barn wood and organic green so well.
We were able to get the groomsmen nike id sneakers as a gift that they loved so much that they convinced me to wear them instead of the brown shoes they would originally wear. You certainly made the right call… they looked pretty cool. Like the groomsmen, Joe would be equipped with a Giorgio Armani suit.
I had actually found my dress on Pinterest, but made up in lace, and I immediately knew that the Cut would really complement my body type. I eagerly searched the internet to find what I was looking for. It was a coincidence that I went to A&b bridal in Portland (psst, they are listed on our own best wedding salons on the PNW list!) because they had the Sadie dress from Made With Love Bridal, made up in crepe. The simplicity of my dress was so beautiful with it.
Special Details
What was really special for us and our wedding party encouraged her to sit with her significant other and enjoy the ceremony from the pews of the church. We also let the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle alone, in the order in which we met them, which was a very nice way for us to recognize them for the important role they played in our lives and for making us the people we are today.
Favorite moments
It was important for us to rewrite our vows from the first time we got married. Not many people are lucky enough to get married twice in two years, so we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on our growth and recommit ourselves to the idea that, given every turn that life brings us, we will continue to choose ourselves every day.
It was a great experience to bring all our family and friends together to celebrate. We knew it would be so special to have all our loved ones there, but sharing these moments with everyone was undoubtedly more meaningful than we expected.
Tips for other couples
No decision seemed too important, since we were already married, and we are really grateful for it. But with that in mind, I would tell other couples that it’s okay to pass on things that don’t suit you, even if everyone else does.
Let your celebration be exactly that and let it be an authentic reflection of you. What it looked like for us was to pass things like favors, a photo booth, garters and bouquets of flowers, and to bring a cornhole for the guests.
Foodstuffs
Portland is known for its food trucks and we wanted to offer this experience to our customers. We had prepared delicious pizzas from Tastebud PDX directly on site and were able to taste salt and straw for dessert without waiting in line (if you know, you know).
Honeymoon
We were allowed to travel through Spain for the first time in marital bliss. This time, we packed all our bags together and drove across the country to our new duty station in Fort Lee, Virginia. It wasn’t romantic or happy, but it was an adventurous part of one of those twists and turns by which we vowed to love each other, and that’s exactly what we did.