*A Summer Wedding at Horning’s Hideout, OR*

Becoming Kylee and Noah’s wedding photographers was a bit of a serendipitous occurrence. Kylee had previously booked a different photographer for her and Noah’s July wedding at Horning’s Hideout but unfortunately something came up and Kylee and her mom set out to the wide web once more to try and find someone who was available. Finding my work and falling in love, they reached out and after an hour conversation it was clear, Kylee was 100% a Kate Holt Photography Bride!

One of the first things you find out about Kylee is that she LOVES birds. She and Noah are both artists and Kylee was kind enough to send me a few of her paintings of birds that were jaw-dropingly beautiful. Being the bird aficionado that she is, one of the elements of her wedding which she was looking forward to the most was a Dove-Release they had planned post-ceremony.

Kylee has brought Noah on board with her bird fan-dom and when Noah proposed, he did so with a custom engagement ring which was complete with a tiny relief sculpture of the first bird they spotted together, a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.

Noah’s passions include martial arts and Japanese-culture and one of the many DIY elements they featured in their wedding was a giant curtain of folded paper cranes forming the Kanji symbol for love.

Noah and Kylee have been dating for just over 2 years, meeting at George Fox University. They were drawn together by balancing each other- Noah’s fun-loving energy being balanced out by Kylee’s natural sense of calm and order. When they are together it is easy to see the sparks flying and both Dom and I mentioned how relaxed and at-home they seemed when they were with one another.

Kylee and Noah’s big day began with a whole crew of family and friends arriving to Horning’s Hideout and immediately getting to work. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many hands helping to put together a wedding before, everyone was running around tying ribbons to chairs, setting up reception tables, hanging lanterns and arranging floral centerpieces.

Soon The Stage at Horning’s was transformed into a vibrant palate of deep blue and purples, set off with draping white fabric rippling in the wind that was gently blowing off the lake.

Kylee slipped into her dress as her bridesmaids chatted animatedly, Noah and the groomsmen donned their suits in a tent across the reception space.

Noah and Kylee shared a first look by the shores of the lake and Noah’s socks were 100% blown off by seeing his beautiful bride for the first time.

Escaping up into the woods to do wedding party photos I enjoyed spending time with Kylee and the girls while we could hear Dom, Noah and the guys busting up over all the silly and fun poses Noah had picked out for them to re-create.

One of the poses Noah picked out involved his groomsmen launching him up into space above their heads and while their martial arts skills almost certainly would have allowed them to do this daring pose successfully, I was too nervous about injuring the groom just prior to the ceremony and unfortunately used my executive power to veto that particular pose, sorry Noah! :)

After a brief round of family portraits, the girls tucked themselves away while the groomsmen ushered guests to their seats.

The company Kylee hired for the dove release brought two of the sweet birds behind the ceremony space for Kylee and Noah to enjoy a private moment holding the birds and getting centered and present for what was about to occur.

Their ceremony was officiated by Noah’s dad who did a brilliant job tying in both humor and sincerity into a beautiful wedding ceremony.

Kylee and Noah built a cross together and also shared a first communion as husband and wife before exchanging touching personally written vows which brought tears to every eye.

Their first kiss was filled with excitement and as they exited the ceremony stage their family and friends cheers, clapped and waved their purple and blue fans.

Following the ceremony were a few more family portraits and then all the guests gathered around Kylee, Noah and their parents for the Dove release.

I’d never photographed a Dove Release before so truth be told I was more than a little nervous, thanking my lucky stars that I had Dom with me as a backup to make sure we got the shot. it was actually one of the coolest things I’ve seen at a wedding- seeing the doves all wait patiently for a few seconds until they simultaneously took flight in a flutter of white.

The reception was catered by friends of the family who created a beautiful spread of artisan meats, cheeses and fruits and must have spent about a thousand hours making individual-sized mini pies for the guests to enjoy.

There were a plethora of moving speeches from the wedding party but I must say Kylee’s brother stole the show with a toast that was fit for Saturday Night Live and had everyone busting a gut.

Kylee and Noah shared a beautiful first dance, complete with professional footwork, twirls and a dip. Kylee and her dad also boogied down to a country song and Noah and his mom added some sweetness by swaying to a slow bluesy melody.

Kylee and Noah had many of their friends in attendance, so the bouquet and garter toss both had some steep competition and the general dancing took all the guests from the roaring 20s all the way to the funk of the 80s.

Noah and the groomsmen surprised everyone by busting out a synchronized dance number to a Russian Dancing song which had them all kicking their feet up and tossing their arms in the air to the whooping and hollering of approving guests.

As the evening started to draw to a close, Kylee, Noah, Dom and I took advantage of the golden hour light and went around Horning’s Hideout’s expansive campus to take bridal portraits before Noah whisked Kylee away to an evening surprise in his decked-out Subaru.

Being a part of this wedding was an absolute joy and I couldn’t be happier for this wonderful couple.

Leave some love and congrats in the comments below for Kylee and Noah!