MICHELA & DANIEL
TIMELESS & MODERN AUGUST WEDDING
“Daniel and I met in high school, and have been by each other’s side ever since. While I knew that at some point we would get engaged, Daniel’s proposal was a complete surprise! A photographer friend had asked me to take photos with her at the Oregon tulip fields to enter them into a “photo competition.” Little did I know this was actually part of Daniel’s plan…
This photoshoot was supposed to take place right around sunrise, so I felt terrible asking Daniel to come with us, but he was incredibly sweet and willing to help (of course, because it was all his plan!) When we got to the tulip fields, the sun was nowhere near ready to go up. Brigit played her role perfectly, and kept apologizing to Daniel for getting us there too early and said she was going to go get info on where photographers were able to access the private tulip fields. So I just sat in the car, waiting patiently to help Brigit out with her “photoshoot.” When the sun finally came out, we walked over to the pale pink tulip section and started to take photos. Since this area was only open to photographers, there was nobody else in the beautiful tulip fields and we had complete privacy. After taking a few photos, Brigit had me turn around to get some back shots. Then she had me turn around again, and Daniel was down on one knee! As you can imagine, it was such an incredible surprise! After this amazing moment together, we took some engagement photos in the fields and completed Brigit’s “photoshoot.” To follow up this incredible surprise, Daniel had reserved a hot air balloon ride for us, but in classic Oregon fashion, it was too cloudy. So, we postponed the hot air balloon ride for the following week (basically a bonus day to the engagement, yay!)
“We headed back to Portland and when we got to my parents house, Daniel made me a cup of coffee (mind you it was only about 8:00am at this point). He handed it to me in the cutest little coffee mug with a picture of a barn on it…. I looked up at him in shock. Tin Roof Barn was a spot I had randomly visited and fallen absolutely in love with!! I wasn’t someone who had been planning my wedding for years, but after visiting the barn I knew I had to get married there. Daniel told me that almost exactly one year prior, he had reserved our wedding date at Tin Roof Barn. Talk about some serious planning!
This was truly a dreamy day – Daniel had organized evening cocktail drinks with all of our friends, and then a big family dinner at the Heathman Hotel. He reserved a beautiful room that our parents had filled with engagement gifts and champagne. When we sat down for dinner, we gave everyone Tin Roof Barn coffee mugs to announce the date of our wedding and the location. It was such a magical day with all of our closest friends and family.
Most people get engaged and then scramble to find their location and lock down the perfect date, but in our case, Daniel had handled everything and I was able to just sit back and take it all in! Major props to Daniel, Brigit, and my parents for creating a magical day only secondary to our wedding day, and for keeping this secret safe for over an entire year!”
“We loved it that the Gorge is such a perfect getaway location, but it was truly Tin Roof Barn that made us want to have our wedding there. When I initially visited the venue I absolutely fell in love and it was everything I could have ever wanted. Most venues have some elements that are perfect, but then you end up having to bring everything in to make it your dream venue. Tin Roof Barn was already everything I had dreamed of and more! Plus, it was easy to get to for all of our guests who were from Washington and Oregon, but it was also far enough out of the main cities for everyone to make a whole weekend getaway out of it.”
“Since Tin Roof Barn already had an aesthetic that reflected our style, my main design elements focused on native florals and modern charm. I wanted to elevate the natural beauty that the venue had, and was able to work with an incredible florist to achieve that natural look that I wanted to incorporate. I also wanted to bring in clean whites and romantic neutrals to modernize the rustic look of the old barn. We also brought in personalized decor and details, like custom loose-leaf tea from a local tea company, in order to make it our own.”
“I had planned to go try on dresses with all of my friends, and scheduled an appointment in Portland. Since I wasn’t even sure of the style I’d like and didn’t want the pressure of trying on a million dresses with all of my friends around, I had my Mom come up to Seattle to go to a local bridal boutique and help me narrow down a style of dress. By coincidence, Flora was holding a trunk show at the boutique that day. I tried on the first dress they brought in… and it was the one. I continued to try on a few other dresses, but every dress I put on just made me realize how perfect the first one was! I purchased it right then and there and called and changed my bridal appointment in Portland to a surprise party for my bridesmaids!
I ended up surprising the girls at the appointment with bridesmaid’s gift boxes and letting them spend the day trying on bridesmaids dresses and picking out their favorites. My wedding gown was a creamy blush/ champagne color, so I wanted the girls in white for contrast. We also knew we wanted the guys in all-black to keep with that classic look, so we used The Black Tux for the boys. I felt it was a clean and modern look for our wedding party that would be both timeless and elegant.”
“Daniel and I had gifts and notes for each other to open first thing on the day of our wedding, and then we spent the rest of the morning with our wedding party getting ready and relaxing. We had finished getting ready at our hotel, so once we got to the venue we took that time to have drinks with our family and friends, as well as our “First Look.” We were so glad we had a First Look, because it gave us that moment on our wedding day all to ourselves. We walked down into the beautiful forest to have our private moment together…
side note: a piece of advice is to have comfortable shoes to walk around in, and to have someone there to hold your dress up in order to stay clean before the ceremony! After the ceremony, I ran around barefoot and let my dress drag through the grass and dirt, but prior to the ceremony, I made sure my girls helped me keep everything clean and tidy!
Having a First Look also opened up the early afternoon to get lots of pictures with our family and wedding party before the ceremony. After our ceremony, we were able to just relax and enjoy cocktail hour with our guests.”
“Daniel and I wanted our ceremony to be really personal and casual. We had one of our best friends, who has known each of us since childhood, officiate the ceremony. We wrote our own vows, and had three of our friends and family members choose either a reading, a piece of advice, or a story that was meaningful to them as a part of our ceremony. I wouldn’t say our wedding was traditional, but it had a traditional feel and a modern twist. It was perfectly ‘us!’ “
“Before your wedding day, so many people have advice and tell you what it’s going to be like. But I didn’t want it to be any ‘certain’ way, and I knew I wanted to enjoy our wedding day with all of our guests. It was important to me that the pressure was off, and that everyone had fun together.
My dad had asked for the father-daughter dance to go last in the list of scheduled dances. He came up with the idea to start with a classic song, and then break out into a fun/silly song to get everyone up and dancing with us so that there weren’t any awkward moments where only a few people are on the dance floor. It was the perfect transition, and from that moment on, our guests danced the night away!”
“I always hear how stressful wedding planning is and how the day can have stressful moments. I decided that if I just went into it with the attitude that I was there to have a special day with my husband and our wedding guests, and then low-and-behold, something went wrong, I wouldn’t even notice, or even care! Once your wedding day has arrived, it’s time to just sit back and enjoy each minute. Everyone, including your guests and vendors, feed off the energy from the bride and groom. So just have fun and focus on all the magical moments you get to experience on this special day!”
