Amanda and Chad
Clackamas, OR
One of the things I love about Amanda and Chad is their sense of adventure and thirst for life. When you walk into their home, in the main hallway to the guest bedrooms is an entire wall of collage tiles that are images from their various travels and excisions. Each time they plan a new outing, they take an image, make a tile of it, mount it to the wall and then add a label tile below, documenting the date and location of this most recent experience. As a guest in their home on June 7th I couldn’t help but gravitate again and again to such a fun way to commemorate their journeys together.
The morning of their wedding, I laughed with Amanda as she was having the finishing touches put on her hair that she could practically launch a new career as a wedding planner at this point. Like many couples who had chosen Spring 2020 for their wedding date, these two went through planning several different weddings until finally arriving at an intimate in-home ceremony.
In attendance at this gorgeous but tiny ceremony would only be Amanda’s Dad, his dog, Chad’s mom, and Amanda and Chad’s two fur-babies. Video-called in however would be family and friends from all over, getting to enjoy this moment with these two through the advances of technology.
Chad had set up their living room to perfection, (the rain outside was a bit too threatening to the video equipment) and as the florist arrived colors of sunset filled the space and the scent of fresh lilies were everywhere.
Amanda, with the help of Chad’s mom stepped into a gorgeous gown and they proceeded to work the marvel of fabric tape to ensure everything was in its proper place, giggling and laughing as they did so.
I somehow convinced Chad to walk all the way to the end of their street where I felt a little block of undeveloped grassy area would give a light and neutral background to their first look. Leaving him with strict instructions to not turn around until he hears Amanda call, I raced off to grab the bride.
Chad, despite his manly looks must have a bit of Disney Princes blood in him, as while waiting for Amanda and I he was not only visited by a bunny but also a blue heron, and this was in the middle of a housing development!
Amanda and Chad shared their first look and it was a gasp and an immediate hug from Chad that officially began the wedding day emotions running wild. The rain decided to kick up right at that moment, so we did their portraits while on a bit of a run, laughing about “Yes Man” references all the way back to the house (any other Jim Carrey fans out there?).
Amanda and Chad’s entourage of canine groomsmen were the perfect gentleman during portraits, both inside and out and their orange bow-tie collars were a perfect fit to the sunset color scheme Amanda had chosen.
The wedding began and Amanda’s dad walked her to the fireplace where Chad stood waiting. The ceremony was gorgeous and filled with emotion as not even Amanda’s dad escaped with dry eyes when the officiant wove the beauty of Amanda’s mom and her legacy into to celebration of this new life of Amanda and Chad’s.
Personal vows led to more tears and laughter, the first kiss was had amidst dried flowers tossed in the air in celebration. “But wait, that’s not all!” and the four of them turned around, donning sunglasses and danced together to a traditional family favorite song.
The cake was cut, toasts were made, and Amanda and her dad shared a gorgeous waltz under their living room chandelier.
All too soon the festivities and celebrations came to a close, and as everyone dressed down into more comfy clothes, the tests and congratulations started rolling in! I had the pleasure to stay a while chatting with the four of them and we swapped stories about Chad’s family traveling and moving around to different states, and laughed Amanda and her Dad’s train shenanigans in Germany.
Amanda and Chad had planned a honeymoon in Kauai, but with the travel restrictions, this was off the table. This weekend however, they will escape to the Oregon Coast for a few days, reveling in their marriage and celebrating this next step in their life.
It was a beautiful day, and I wish them all my love for this next chapter!
