It’s time to get a Claire Eliza update. After a year of honeymooning abroad, Jack & I finally chose a new home – we moved to Portland. What better way to mark the beginning of our new chapter than with a beautiful Oregon berry-farm wedding?

Joe and Brittany have a history of bucking tradition. After marrying intimately just two years earlier, they invited their family and friends to Portland. This city is known for its alternative lifestyles (hello Portlandia), wedding celebrations & vow renewal.

Jack & I were so happy to be reunited with our beloved area. The party was held outside the city at a beautiful berry farm in the Willamette Valley, one of America’s most celebrated and under-the-radar wine regions. The couple continued the excellent food & drinks theme by hiring a local pizza parlor, Salt & Straw, and the iconic ice cream parlor, Salt & Straw, just a short walk from their new home.

There’s also a nod to Portland style with the custom Nikes worn by the bride and groom. a&be Bridal has a beautiful gown for the bride.

We are so happy to be able to celebrate this special day & have a Bridal Musings “home.” (We’ll also continue doing fun shoots & things in NYC.) If you’re a Northwest wedding vendor, bridal designer, or just a friendly bride & groom, don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello at claire.eliza@bridalmusings.com.

Our Love Story

Coffee Meets Bagel is an app that we met through. Joe worked for the U.S. Army in South Korea, and Brittany was living in Portland, Oregon, working for Nike. It seems, looking back, that a million seemingly unimportant moments conspired to bring us together.

We were both quite content with our linear visions of the future. We had no idea what would happen from our meeting. But we quickly connected and became deeply interested in each other’s values, stories, and future hopes.

I knew I’d marry Joe after two weeks. Three and a half months later, I picked Joe up from the Portland Airport. It took some time to get used to being in the same place and trying to link the emotional bond we had created to the physical relationship we were now in. The following two years would be spent driving the I5 between Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Portland and our home, balancing the demands of the old and new lives.

The Proposal

Our relationship began in a not conventional way, affecting how we approach certain moments in life. At the end of it all, we know that the love between us will matter most. We could ignore everything else.

Joe told my father, a very traditional man, that he would marry me at breakfast the following Saturday. I asked him not to ask my father for permission, as it seemed like an outdated way to go about things. Sunday, we spent with friends on the Oregon Coast. After lunch, with Joe’s discussion with my father in mind, we hurried off to look at wedding rings. We bought the bands and were engaged immediately.

We got married in Oregon Wine Country two months later. Five months later, we picked Joe up with 24 family members and friends at the airport. We honeymooned in Spain over the holidays, and Joe was deployed to Afghanistan three months later. We celebrated our wedding with family and friends nearly two years after we tied the knot.

The Destination & Location

We wanted to make our wedding a chance to bring our family together to experience the beauty of Portland, Oregon Wine Country, and Portland.

We wanted to create a simple yet stunning outdoor space. We knew that Hoffman Farms was the perfect fit for our vision when we discovered it. We wanted to highlight the farmhouse’s organic beauty and natural feel, so we chose greenery to look like it was there naturally. Our wedding decor and colors were designed with this concept in mind.

Dress & Attire

The bridesmaids wore dusty sage dresses, and the groomsmen wore white shirts with navy pants. All of these colors would complement the barn wood and organic greenery.

As a present, we were able to get the groomsmen NikeID sneakers. They loved them so much that they convinced me to have them wear them instead of their brown shoes. The groomsmen made the right choice… they looked fantastic. Joe was dressed similarly to the groomsmen but with a Giorgio Armani suit.

I found the dress on Pinterest, but it was made of lace. I knew immediately that the fit would complement my body type nicely. I searched online for what I wanted. I was lucky to find the Sadie Dress by Made With Love Bridal in Portland. (PSSST, they are featured on our Best Wedding Salons of PNW List!) The Sadie Dress Made with Love Bridal was available at the shop. My dress was so simple and elegant with the tulle.

Special Details

We and our wedding party thought it was extraordinary that we encouraged them to enjoy the ceremony in the pews with their partner. The bridesmaids walked down the aisle in the order in which we first met them. This was a beautiful way to thank them for their significant role in shaping us and our future.

Favorite moments

We wanted to revisit our vows. We tried to use this opportunity to reflect and commit to choosing each other every day, no matter what life throws at us.

It was a wonderful experience to have all our family, and close friends come together to celebrate. It was a unique experience to share those moments with our family and friends.

Couples Advice

We are so grateful that we already had a marriage. With that in mind, I would tell other couples to be okay with passing on things they disagree with, even if it is what everyone else does.

Your celebration should be a true reflection of who you are. We passed on favors, had a photo booth, tossed garters and bouquets, and brought corn holes to the party for our guests.

Food

We wanted to give our guests the experience of Portland’s food trucks. We enjoyed delicious pizza cooked on-site by Tastebud PDX and Salt & Straw ice cream for dessert without waiting in a long queue (if you’re aware).

Honeymoon

The first time we were married, we enjoyed a trip around Spain. We packed everything and drove to Fort Lee, Virginia, our new duty station. It wasn’t romantic or blissful, but it was an adventure we both agreed to endure.