5 min read

Summer Wedding at Red Barn Villa | Oregon City, Oregon

Kelsi & Nate

Celebrating Pregnancy and Getting Married

When Kelsi reached out to say she was getting married and wanted me to her Oregon City wedding photographer for their barn wedding at Red Barn Villa, I was so over the moon excited!

I have had the honor of knowing Kelsi and her brother since they were little kids. My Aunt and her Mother have been getting into trouble together since before we all came along. And the two of them have brought us all together on many occasions over the years, so they have always basically been family.

When we met for Kelsi and Nate's wedding photography consultation of course the first thing I wanted to know was how these two met. This is what Kelsi said:

"We met at a super trashy dive bar in Clackamas off 82nd Ave, LOL. My best friend Bethanee (my maid of honor) and I took my new neighbor out for drinks because her boyfriend just broke up with her. Nate was at the same bar for a bachelor party. I don’t remember meeting him because I got drunk off $2 Jell-O shots. Nate tells me that I closed the bar down and at 2am when they said last call, I just got up and walked home. No goodbye or anything. He didn’t think he would ever see me again. In the morning, I woke up to a text from him and immediately called Bethanee to ask who this random guy was. She told me he was cute, really sweet and I should definitely respond to him. So I did and he planned a date to Ringside for happy hour, we had a great time. For our second date, we went back to the same trashy bar and sang karaoke. Nate sang "Tequila" and the whole bar got up and danced with him."

I love that they met the old fashioned way, ya know, at a bar. Ha, ha!

Bethanee was right on! Nate is a wonderful person and I am so glad they met. From the first time I saw them together you could see their connection and how much he really loves her. It was a beautiful thing to witness, seeing someone you care for, find their person.

Of course I also wanted a peak at the ring, jewelry isn't everything but it's still fun, and I wanted to hear the proposal story that goes with it. Kelsi, again, gave me the run down.

"Nate took me to Hood River, OR for our 2yr anniversary. We stayed at a super cute Airbnb with a beautiful view of the gorge. We were making tacos for dinner, listening to music and drinking some wine. While I was cutting some tomatoes, he got down on one knee, told me how much I meant to him, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me to marry him. I was shocked! I had no idea this was going to happen and my response was “are you f-ing serious!?” Not very romantic, but it’s the truth. LOL. I of course, said yes. Then we danced in the kitchen and sat outside looking over the gorge the rest of the night."

Kelsi is so wrong! As I put this together and read their proposal story, I find myself grinning from ear to ear, because it is real life, and it is romantic.

Love is messy, strange, work, joy and so many other things, each couple has their own story and each one is it's own and worthy of capturing and preserving.

Nate and Kelsi were married at Red Barn Villa in Oregon City, OR before the coronavirus pandemic, so no masks will appear here and I can't wait until our elopements grow back into these big celebrations.

More of their story in Kelsi's words:

"Walking down the aisle with my Dad. It was such a special moment for me and him. And one of the last things he was able to do before he passed in August of 2019. I can’t even put into words how special the pictures Cambrae took of me and my dad are to me. He kept them next to his hospital bed until his last day. "

"Nate and I were engaged in May 2018 and I didn’t start planning my wedding until Nov because I was so overwhelmed with taking care of my Dad. I booked my venue and got my dress in December and then found out I was pregnant in Feb 2019. I was so thrilled because Nate and I wanted to start a family right away, but I was also a little stressed that the dress I just bought wasn’t going to fit or be able to get altered."

"I had stopped taking birth control in December thinking that it would take awhile to get pregnant, but I was obviously wrong, LOL. Luckily, we found an amazing seamstress that was able to move the waist line up a bit to accommodate my growing belly."

"I got a lot of people asking if this was a "shotgun" wedding because I was pregnant. It was upsetting to me at first because there’s a lot of negative connotations to “shotgun weddings”. Implying you aren’t really in love with each other, your just getting married because you’re preggo, etc. I’m not sure why people thought it was ok to say those things, but some people just don’t think first. Eventually, I would just make a joke out of it and when people would ask about me being pregnant at the wedding I would just tell them yes, it’s a shotgun wedding."

"Nate was amazing through it all. I was under a lot of stress with work, taking care of my Dad, being pregnant and planning a wedding all at the same time and he was so supportive. I don’t think I would have gotten through all of that without him."

"I am so thankful I got pregnant when I did. I had all the great moments with my Dad, talking to me about how proud he was of me and how he thought I was going to be the best mom. I think the most important thing for pregnant brides to remember is that your baby is a blessing, and even if it’s not traditional, your wedding day is going to be amazing! You have all your loved ones, your future husband, and your baby gets to be apart of the special day! Just enjoy it, be thankful for the beautiful life you are creating and screw what everyone else thinks."

- Kelsi

Man, I love that girl! Kelsi and Nate experienced a lot in their first few years as a couple, including a proposal, pregnancy, wedding and the loss of a parent. I thank them both for being so open and allowing me to share their story. I know other couples experiencing life events like these while planning a wedding will find comfort in knowing they are not alone. I also thank you for choosing me to capture and preserve it for you.