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Fall Beer Lovers Wedding Styled Shoot at Gorges Beer Company | Cascade Locks, Oregon

Fall Beer Lovers Wedding Styled Shoot

Oregon Wedding Vendors Get Creative at Gorges Beer Company

I was so excited to be the Portland wedding photographer invited to participate in this creative fall wedding styled shoot held at Gorges Beer Company in Cascade Locks, OR.

Lead by the talented Ashley, wedding planner and owner of Blue Lark Events, we put together a group of creative and experienced Oregon wedding vendors to brain storm, conceptualize, plan and execute this stunning fall wedding styled shoot.

Once we had our vendors in place, the next step was to find a real couple to be our models. After meeting them at a Portland bridal show, I reached out to Ben and Rachel, and even though they were getting married for real, just weeks after the shoot, they answered the call and said, "COUNT US IN!".

Rachel and Ben's Love Story

How They Met

Rachel and Ben met on a Saturday evening at the Candlelight Restaurant and Lounge, a classic Portland kareoke dive bar. Rachel said from the moment they made eye contact, something sparked between them, they were intrigued. A playful conversation started and they found they shared a mutual love for the Portland Trail Blazers, they are both native Portlanders, and they have the same go to karaoke song. Ben, being a gentleman, gave up the song to Rachel and pivoted from the band Lit to Usher, he did not disappoint. Their connection was effortless, the humor endless, and the banter was just right. Since then, a day hasn’t gone by that they haven’t talked.

The Proposal

Ben and Rachel were on a couple’s trip to their favorite Oregon destination, Bend. After a day of drinks, adventure, food, and perusing their favorite jewelry store , they decided to take a sunset stroll through Drake Park. While Rachel found herself in awe of cute ducks surrounded by the cotton candy pinks and blues of the sky reflected in the water, Ben got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. With absolutely no hesitation she said yes! The two now newly engaged gleefully walked through the park telling every passerby "We just got engaged!!".

I know why all the wedding vendor wanted to participate in the styled shoot, but I was curious what inspired they to join us. Rachel said, she felt the theme was perfect for them and it seemed like an exciting opportunity. Later she said she realized, capturing beautiful moments without all the stress of the actual wedding day was a real bonus.

On the day of the wedding shoot, all the vendors were busy buzzing around the venue, setting up, testing gear, doing make-up, steaming veils, it was all hands on deck to create this fun fall beer lovers styled shoot! On top of all that, not only would our models be in front of the camera that day, but each vendor would also have a personal headshot, captured by yours truly, and a branding video, filmed by Jeremy, owner of Jeremy Ito Story Design.

After the shoot, I was excited to find out that Ben and Rachel decide to hire a few of the vendors for their wedding, just 3 weeks away! They added Aimee Claire to paint their portrait during their wedding and purchased a veil from Tamra, with C.M. Couturier. Rachel said both were major conversation pieces with her guests before and after the wedding.

For this fall styled shoot the bride's bouquet was created with white majolica spray rose, and iris, cymbidium orchid.

To create the feel of an intimate reception and capture photos of Gorges Beer Company's delicious food, the kitchen cooked up for our styled shoot the following mouth watering menu: chicken sliders, beer cheese sliders, mini fried mac n' cheese, chicken skewers, zucchini drops, english muffin toasts with red pepper/pimento cheese and chives spread, filo spinach mushroom goat cheese puffs, balsamic deviled-eggs, and crostini - butternut squash, ricotta, fried sage on baguette. YUM!!! Don't worry, none of us let the food go to waste.

The reception continued outside at the hilltop bar where Sloshy Pops was set up and ready to serve. These amazing boozy popcilces come in all your drink favorties. For this fun styled shoot we decided to feature: Strawberry Margarita, Peaches & Cream, Old Fashioned (my personal favorite drink), Pineapple Susie, Pinot Gris & Citrus, Strawberry & Rose, and Raspberry Sangria.

I asked Rachel a few questions after her experience at the styled shoot:

What their favorite moment from the day was, she said:

"Dancing in the wind on the hillside was a pretty sweet moment. Hard to choose though! The food was delicious, venue gorgeous, and the people were amazing. We had so much fun, Ben learned how to dip me, and we got to do something we had never done before. All in, it was a rewarding and inspiring experience."

What is your favorite memory from your real wedding day?

"Hard to choose! Some highlights are being on the dance floor surrounded by family and friends. Getting ice cream cones from the Ben & Jerry scoop truck was a favorite for us and guests. Arriving ready and on time to the ceremony site, then seeing Ben for the first time, all the stress melted away at that point and I just got to be in the moment."

What advice would you give to couples who are currently planning for their big day?

"Don’t sweat the small stuff, and in the end, almost everything is small stuff. Pick the things that matter most like, food, drinks, music, and direct your energy/money there. Delegate or hire out responsibilities, no need for added stress (learned this one too late). We only allowed two speeches, best man and maid of honor. It was heartfelt, rehearsed, no babbling, no embarrassment, and no long disruption to the mingling and dancing. Don’t allow open mic or 20+ minutes, it drags on for everyone. EAT THE FOOD!"

Great advice!