Spencer + Rosie
An Autumn wedding in Hood River, OR
Like all couples who have planned their wedding in the last two years, Rosie and Spencer had their share of ups and downs in the wedding planning process. Through all the trials and tribulations, stress and rescheduling, however, I’m exceptionally happy to report that this wedding story has a very happy ending with all the changes ended up in the most stunning of wedding days that you could ever hope for.
Originally, Rosie and Spencer were planning for an early spring wedding, but with the spring of 2021 bringing along with it just as much uncertainty as spring of 2020, Rosie and Spencer had to make the heart breaking decision to postpone their wedding for months.
While waiting even longer to marry wasn’t ideal, when their now-autumn wedding day did finally arrive, they were met with one of the most stunning days I’ve ever seen in the Columbia River Gorge. Not only was the sun shining down, but the crazy whipping wind of the morning quickly subsided to a calm breeze by 10am and by the time we were ready to go outside for first look and portraits, the sun had warmed the air temperature to a very comfortable level!
Rosie and Spencer choose to have their wedding at the historic Hood River Hotel, which is located right in the heart of Hood River, Oregon. Their families had booked the whole hotel to make the wedding weekend as comfortable and safe for all the guests as possible, and it was an absolute joy to start to see family and guests begin to mill about the hotel’s stunning lobby while Rosie had the finishing touches of her hair and makeup done upstairs in her suite.
Dom and I arrived in the mid-morning after spending about an hour walking and driving around to scope out the perfect secluded spot for first look and bridal portraits. As lovely as a town Hood River is, on a sunny Saturday in fall man does it get packed, so we really took the time to find portrait locations that would get us off the beaten path so as not to have crowds of onlookers during portraits.
After finding the perfect spots, we joined Rosie, her bridesmaids and her adorable pup Gracie upstairs to photograph the details and finishing touches of the getting ready process.
For her wedding colors, Rosie had chosen a soft green, complimented by white roses and eucalyptus florals. Her stunning wedding dress was form fitting and had the most phenomenal teardrop train with lace details.
Her heels were green and her jewelry included a sparkling tennis bracelet and pearl and diamond earrings.
The hairstyles Rosie’s bridesmaids chose were some of the more elaborate that I’ve seen, but their hair stylist from Subi Salon was more than up for the challenge, as not a single hair was out of place when their updos, braids and curls were all complete!
Rosie and her bridesmaids opted for a more natural look for their makeup that complimented them perfectly. Laura from Bloom Makeup did a lovely job with each lady and of course accentuated Rosie’s natural wedding-day glow perfectly!
Dom had a good time with Spencer and the guys who had spent the night in the “Bunk House” of the Hotel. Spencer had treated them with custom socks and Yeti coolers and each groomsman finished off their wedding day looks with a custom jacket, tailored with an individually chosen inner liner specific to each one!
Upstairs, Rosie was ready to put on her stunning dress and invited her and Spencer’s mom to join her to help button up the back while Rosie’s bridesmaids got into their green bridesmaid dresses and positioned themselves just outside the door, ready to see Rosie’s full wedding-day look for the first time!
I love the new tradition of doing a first look with your bridesmaids, as there is such love, excitement and adoration in the moment when your best friends get to see you for the first time in your full bridal look on your wedding day. Rosie’s grand reveal elicited both tears and smiles and each of her bridesmaids came up for a huge hug of support for this big day!
Rosie and Spencer were helped out on this day by their coordinator Abbey from Abbey Rose Event Planning and Design, who was even kind enough to offer her personal car to drive Rosie and I over to the first look location where Dom and Spencer were waiting.
As Rosie and I walked toward the river, Hood River locals with their dogs out for their morning walk passed by, making this first look location even more perfect for Spencer and Rosie, who have 4 dogs of their own and are just crazy about them.
As we passed by the stunning golden pathway leading to a small river-side beach, I could see the back of Spencer’s bright blue jacket and you could truly feel the anticipation in the air. As Rosie softly walked toward Spencer she called his name and he turned. Seeing his stunning bride for the first time brought a huge smile to his face and he reached out for her hand to pull her in closer.
After sharing a few moments together, Dom and I snapped some Bridal portraits before we headed back toward to hotel to collect the Bridal Party. The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen were all there waiting and cheered as Rosie and Spencer entered the lobby of the Hood River Hotel.
As a big group we walked to a little hidden garden just up the hill and had a blast making some fun, silly and sweet wedding party portraits before returning to the hotel for family formal portraits in front of the large fireplace.
Tucking Rosie away as guests filled the lobby, Abbey ushered everyone downstairs to the ceremony location. Rosie and Spencer’s amazing florist, Trellis Flowers had put together a stunning floral display on a gold hexagon as a backdrop for their ceremony, and as Spencer and the officiant who was also Uncle took their place at the head of the room, music began and the processional started.
Rosie was escorted down the aisle by her father and the ceremony began. Rosie and Spencer’s ceremony was touching and emotional, but also had its hilarious moments of comic relief such as when the officiant donned some pink reader glasses or when Spencer had to start over on his vows. The ceremony ended with a kiss fit for Hollywood and as Rosie and Spencer were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Rosie threw her bouquet up in the air and the beaming smile on Spencer’s face lit up the room.
Directly following the wedding ceremony, Rosie and Spencer got to enjoy cocktail hour with their family and friends before heading back downstairs to a plated family-style meal of fresh salmon.
Emotional and hilarious toasts were made at the conclusion of dinner, and Rosie and Spencer wowed the crowd with an epic first dance that included a head-over-heels flip!
The rest of the reception was filled with dancing as I swear I’ve never seen so many line dances and epic couples dancing!
As the evening drew into night, Dom and I took our leave of the still epic party raging in the basement bar of the Hood River Hotel and after saying our goodbyes to Rosie and Spencer and thanking their moms, we made the trek back to Portland, our eyes peeled on the horizon trying to catch a glimpse of the rare Northern Light display that was predicted for this epic evening.
Enjoy the following images from Rosie and Spencer’s wedding day sneak peek and be sure to leave a comment of congrats for them in the section below the photos!
Coordination: Abbey Rose Event Planning and Design
DJ: Randy H Productions