Two big things happened last week that put this gorgeous two-bride wedding at the top of Oregon Bride's relevancy list: The Supreme Court's history-making legalization of gay marriage; and our very own Best of Bride awards, at which Powers Photography Studios took home the award for Portland's Best Photographer! In light of all this excitement, we couldn't be more proud to celebrate equality and a fabulous local photography studio who captures such celebrations in a priceless way. Keep scrolling to see all of Alyssa & Christy's big day, and head to the bottom of the page for a vendor list and more from the brides about what made their day so special!
From the brides:
"We thought about this some and realized how hard it is to encapsulate everything on our big day. First off, and this might have been obvious, we are a little crazy. With both of us being in our final year of graduate school and the imminent start to our careers, we had to fit our DIY wedding planning between going to our classes, studying for and taking exams, planning a cross-country move, and buying a house. Originally, we hoped to have our wedding nestled in the woods somewhere in the beautiful Oregon outdoors. Realizing that cost and logistics were out of our scope, we decided to bring the natural Oregon elements that we love to a location in Portland that would be easier for our guests to get to, plus give them an opportunity to explore the city during their visit. Little by little, we gathered driftwood from the Oregon coast for our centerpieces, scoured local thrift shops for glass items and trinkets, and took advantage of sales at craft stores in the area.
We couldn't have done it without our loved ones though. The week and a half before the wedding was spent crafting and preparing with family and friends, both catching up and telling old stories as we went. There was something about the time we all spent working together leading up to the big event, something profound and ancient about that devotional preparation for just us two, silly people in love. Both of us couldn't have felt more loved, nor thankful enough for everything that was done to pull the whole thing off.
The actual day was action-packed! Our favorite times were probably the moments we could spend alone together amidst the excitement. Neither of us is practiced in such honest exposure of our intimacy and love (LGBTQ love being accepted on grander scale still feeling sudden and new), so saying our vows privately during our first look was incredibly important to us and gave strength to each of us when we stood in front of our loved ones later during the ceremony. Getting the decorations up was CRAZY and took a team effort. Somehow everything got done, despite so many little hiccups along the way. We had blast with our wedding parties toasting for the march down the aisle. It really was a symbol of everything we had been through together and the strength of our bonds. Cutting the cake was hilarious and delicious, probably eliciting the shock and embarrassment of a few parents. We had hemmed and hawed about our first dance, but ended up dancing to the song we had first brought up many months ago. It felt perfect and each of us was delirious with joy. We intentionally bypassed some customary wedding "must-haves." Our vision was a brief, but meaningful ceremony, followed by revelry, feasting, and libations to celebrate everything--our love, family, friends, graduations, and new challenges. Crazily enough, it worked out. Our friend's severe allergic reaction brought up the adrenaline, but after making sure he was okay the party really got going and everyone had a great time. The only real disappointment was that the night ended so soon. We wish we had more time to spend with everyone together, but are relieved that we actually pulled it off!"
