Our Oregon Forest Wedding
We did it! After planning our wedding for two years, it finally happened, and it was everything we wanted and then some. When we got engaged in 2019, I quickly arranged the vendors we wanted, knowing they could book up quickly for 2021 (my friends call me plan master, virgo here!). Little did we know that a pandemic was right around the corner. I spent a lot of 2020 thinking we should cancel, is it safe for guests? Should we just elope? As things developed and vaccine roll-out happened in the winter of 2020, we felt okay about moving forward. Timing couldn’t have been better.
In this blog I want to be honest with you about what we liked about our wedding, and what we didn’t like (that list is short, fortunately). And of course, photos! Let’s get into it.
Planning
In typical Logan fashion, after we got married we picked a date and went from there with the planning. I knew I wanted to be engaged for two years, so we picked 2021 (so glad we did). Benji thought I would plan for that following year, but doing it so soon felt rushed to me.
THE VERY FIRST THING I did is create an excel spreadsheet, create a budget, see how many people you plan on inviting, and go from there.
Date and Venue
The second thing I wanted to do was pick the date and the venue. *Fast forward to 2020 we had to move our date as the Olympic Track Trails were moved to our original date (6/26/21). We moved it to the only other available weekend the venue had (6/6/21). It is important to be mindful of big events for guests as hotel rates quadrupled in this time.
After visiting Horse Creek Lodge a couple times as guest in one of their cabins, we asked the owners if they do weddings. While they aren’t a wedding venue, they do rent out the entire property. We loved this idea-people can camp, a few cabins for family and guests, and no noise ordinance rules like the city of Eugene had. Plus we rented it for 3 nights, giving us a space for the welcome dinner, and more time with everybody.
Benji and I love going to music festivals and love camping, so Horse Creek was the perfect setting for us. Plus, you all know how much the Oregon forest means to me so being able to create our own little love fest in a sea of ferns (very Her.Oregon.Life) was serene. *That’s my first blog name for those of you who are new here.
We picked June as Benji is a cold weather guy-so we wanted to avoid the Oregon summer heat if possible. Fall also sounded lovely but after last years wildfires we didn’t want to risk getting married in smoke or having to cancel.
4 months later the pandemic hit. Benji was a champion at keeping me calm in the bursts of anxiety and overwhelm I felt wondering if any of this pre-planning we could even happen. We decided to keep the wedding on and continue with planning. Unfortunately we cut the guest list in half due to COVID, making planning a little easier despite the circumstances.
So let’s get into the vendors.
Food
Being an hour from Eugene, we knew a food truck that could make fresh food on site would taste best. Pizza! We picked one of our favorite food trucks, Oregon Wood Fired Pizza, and set our date aside.
Since we saved on doing pizza and salads, we also did some passed appetizers. Carte Blanch Catering is who we hired. This happened in between the ceremony and cocktail hour. We didn’t go with a theme here just picked what we liked in the sample platter we got.
Bar
I had seen photos of The Tipsy Mule online and knew it would be super cute next to the food truck. We immediately booked them and chose to do beer, wine, and 2 signature drinks rather than a fully stocked bar.
Photography
We chose our photographer right away as Benji had met her before for our engagement photos. Even though I have grown to be comfortable in front of the camera, I wanted to be mindful of how much time Benji would enjoy getting his photo taken (not much!). I’ll get into our timeline and how we made sure it was the right amount of photography time for both of us. We booked Mecca R. Photography who did our good friend Caitlin and Paul’s wedding years prior, making it extra meaningful. Plus Benji and I had done a photoshoot with her before so we had that relationship established.
DJ
We had a hard time choosing the right DJ. A DJ can make or break any party, so we wanted to get one recommended to us. It wasn’t until late 2020 when I added Megan of Curated Mess Co. for design and coordination for our wedding. She suggested David Baker, who did her wedding. KUDOS for David for driving all the way from Seattle to throw a hell of a party for us.
Flowers
Picking a florist was easy for me. My friend Megan Petersen of Freckled Fleurs has been building her floral business, so I immediately booked her.
Rentals
Horse Creek Lodge is not a wedding venue so we had to reserve everything to be brought out then sit up on site: tables, chairs, dance floor, etc. Since I had been planning so early I saw wood tables I loved at a wedding event show right before the pandemic hit, and went with those. Destination Events covered all the large rental items.
Closer to the wedding I needed decor and an arbor, so I also used Motif Event Rentals in Southern Oregon for those items.
Cottage Restrooms
Since Horse Creek has port-o-potties by the campground, we wanted to have something a bit nicer for our guests. We rented a cottage restroom trailer from Bucks Sanitary services for the weekend.
Signage
Rebekah of The Lettering Bee Co. designed our wedding invitations, save the dates, and our signage for the wedding. She was an absolute delight to work with, especially since I had a couple last minute requests. She executed the vision I had in mind so well.
Day Of Planning
As the day got closer I worked with Megan of Curated Mess Co. to plan for the day of. Megan was a vendor that I hired later in my planning process after finding out about her through Instagram. She was the best addition we could have made to our wedding weekend. I hired her for day of coordination and design-so essentially the day of she would be there to make sure everything ran smoothly.
She met me at the venue and helped decide how things would flow that day, and ran through everything with a fine toothed comb. Here is a brief overview of our timeline which might be helpful for your planning.
11:30AM Set up Begins
12:30PM Logan and wedding party get ready
2:10PM Logan gets into wedding dress
2:30PM Logan and Benji First Look
3:00PM Bridal Party Portraits
3:30PM Family Photos
4:00PM Guests arrive
5:00PM Processional Begins
Of course this was much more detailed, but you get the jist of what we did here. Important things to point out, Benji knew he would want to get all posed photography done before the ceremony, and we did! We wanted to make sure we could enjoy time with friends and family during cocktail hour, so I loved getting the bulk of them done beforehand.
Completing the first look before the ceremony is another aspect I am so glad we did. It made us so relaxed going into the day.
Prior to the ceremony we talked about sitting in a separate area so nobody could see us, but since we were all hanging out at the main cabin as a group we decided to hang out outside and have drinks with friends. My aunt was appalled that I wasn’t in hiding but I don’t regret this part one bit! It truly made it feel like our friends were all there for us to warm us up for our vows. Again, not traditional and totally us in the moment. So let’s dive into day of a bit more.
In typical virgo fashion, I kept the timeline moving to be right on time. Nothing worse than the guests waiting for the bride and groom who are running late right?
We didn’t have a typical bridal party. We liked the idea of just us being up at the altar together. I still had to take photos with my girls though!
Classic Oregon weather made an appearance that day too. It was 85 and sunny the week prior, then the day of the wedding changed to 50% of rain. Benji kept reminding me it will all be okay (he was right). We opted out of renting a tent, so if it was really going to rain it would be tricky with 60 guests. It did the PNW drizzle when our dads gave their speeches, and again at the end of the night. Tolerable amount of rain and kept it nice and cool for the night.
My advice to brides here-not everything is going to run according to planned. There is going to be things about your day that weren’t 100%..but in the grand scheme of things, none of that matters. What matters is the memories made with friends and family.
Dresses by Birdy Grey
Our Attire
After we picked out our date I confirmed that I could work with BHLDN on getting a wedding dress via my blog. We went to Seattle and I tried on dresses in the store with my best friend Theresa. I had thought I wanted a poofy princess ball gown, but then I tried this dress on and she goes, “classy, elegant, and dat ass.” That was enough for me right there!
When I was trying dresses on I wanted to make sure I had a dress that my body type felt comfortable in. I didn’t want to buy a dress and have to “loose the weight” to fit into it or feel confident in it. This was it. I felt confident, comfortable, and sexy.
For my accessories, I knew my shoes would barley be seen, so I went with a custom converse sneaker that I found on Etsy. Benji laughed at the thought of this nice dress being paired with sneakers, but it was such a good call for dancing into the night. Plus, I am able to wear them all the time now.
I wore my grandma Lori’s silver turquoise ring she gave me, to honor her in spirit since it would be too hard for her to travel from Florida to be there. I had opal hoops from Coya Jewelry as my earrings.
As you will see later on, I got to bring out my favorite accessories after the ceremony. When I got engaged I knew I had to have a fringe jacket from Rye at Opal Milk. This beauty had been stored in the closet for two years. My hat is from Lack of Color Australia, another reason to buy a hat right?
I knew I wanted Benji in a burgundy tux. He looks great in red, and knew it would look great against the lush, green forest. He had a good friend with a contact in China who custom made it to fit his body. His wedding band was made by Scott James Jewelry, a silversmith I have admired from afar who lives in Utah.
It was special to have silver pieces from two jewelers I admire, as I believe the intention and energy that they carry will be carried into our marriage.
First Look
Instead of seeing one another when we first walked down the aisle, we wanted to do our first look alone with our dogs. This truly made us feel so relaxed.
Unexpectedly to the both of us, we were so laid back and didn’t cry at all. I think Benji felt more emotional about the girls (Patsy and Gouda) being there with him.
Taking these pictures ahead of the ceremony gave us more time to be with friends and family when the ceremony was complete.
The Ceremony
Getting married in the woods of Oregon was absolutely stunning. I often take for granted how people have destination weddings in our beautiful state.
When I asked Benji what he wanted for the altar space he said a ring because it symbolizes the uniting of us and our families *GUSH runs to find gold ring*. It was the perfect backdrop for us.
Thanks to Megan of Curated Mess Co. she had the idea to add a rug. I almost went for the rug down the aisle look, but really didn’t want to take too much away from the forest setting.
We had 3 beautiful flower girls, Benji’s nieces. I will never forget the moment of me rubbing Madisons back before we walked down. She was crying and extremely nervous (she is the oldest of the 3). I could tell she needed to blow her nose, so my dad gave her his handkerchief. She goes, “but that’s not mine,” and I replied, “we are all family here, it will be okay.” She calmed down and oh my were they cute!!
What made us so calm this day was having my best friend Theresa marry us. We have been friends since kindergarten, grew up in the same neighborhood together, and now she lives in Seattle. Benji and her had grown especially close since her moving out here, so he was calm too.
It was even more special to know her partner, Will, and my brother Tyler set up the ceremony and reception space with Megan-bringing in all the good vibes from the very beginning.
Since we did not have a religious ceremony, we are planting a tree in our yard to symbolize the uniting of our families. My friends call me “LLP” Logan Loves Plants, so like Theresa said in her speech, hopefully we have room for one more. Kudos to Megan for saving the day with the BOHO basket and table for the tree, two things I forgot!
We poured soil into the basket symbolizing the unity of our love and our families. The tree is now planted in our yard where we can watch it grow for years to come.
It was partially cloudy and 65 which made for a great setting. Gentle light would peak through the trees now and then. I was told by my friends that as my dad and I started walking down a big breeze came through and songbirds sang (bringing them to tears). Magical.
A splurge was the confetti poppers for when we kissed and walked down the aisle. Megan recommended them and I found these on Amazon. They were quite loud like a firework which scared Gouda from running down the aisle. Biodegradable which was a must for us!
The Reception
Our reception area was so beautifully done; simple yet forest vibes so perfectly done by Megan + Megan. We had table names that were Oregon destinations that we loved-no seating chart. We had tables close to the front reserved for family, and everybody else could sit wherever they wanted.
Since we finished the majority of our posed photos prior to the ceremony, we went right into passed appetizers and happy hour with The Tipsy Mule.
As far as traditional ceremony aspects go for the ceremony portion we did: first dance, mother-son dance, father-daughter dance, speeches from family, and a send-off.
Benji and I had a hard time picking our first dance song. All of the go-to songs we found online felt forced, and not really us. We are big fans of Mac Miller. I was on a road trip home from California 6 months back and listened to the entire Divine Feminine album. I stumbled across the song “Soulmate,” which we both somehow had never heard. I sent it to Benji and he said, “good find babe, I think this is it.” Since it was an upbeat song we invited friends and family to dance with us halfway through.
All of the guests hadn’t been to live music since the pandemic happened, so we tore up the dance floor until we couldn’t no more.
Both of our dads gave speeches first, which brought many tears into the room. My mom and stepdad gave a speech too. We wanted to give all of our parents that moment. As they were giving their speeches, little sprinkles of rain came in; and don’t they say rain on your wedding day is good luck?
Benji and I wanted to say our thanks. His niece Ava is a spicy one, and was telling me how romance is gross. We totally didn’t plan this but we let her “drop the mic” creating some of my favorite photos and moment of the night.
Our families got creative with rain cover
Our First Dance as Husband and Wife
Father Daughter Dance
Patsy enjoying the dance floor with mom
Momma and Me
It wasn’t before long until my bustle broke. A forest dirt ombre was slowly happening, my mom was mortified! By the end of the night my dress turned into a prop on the dance floor, as my friends took turns carrying it behind me so people wouldn’t step on it. As you can tell, I like to dance.
When the bar closed for the night, we did our send-off at 9:30PM. Doing the send off with sparklers was a suggestion of Curated Mess Co. and I am so glad we did it! Our DJ suggested actually taking that time to step aside and take a breather. Best advice we could have had, we went to our cabin and took some deep breaths for 20 minutes before heading back out. At that time most of the family staying off-site left, and we continued dancing until 11PM.
All in all, everything went so well for us. Our friends and family all had a great time and we felt supported and relaxed the entire time. I said I would be honest about our entire experience. After taking some time to process and go on a little honeymoon to Sayulita, we discussed some things that went wrong. Luckily, that list is short!
Takeaways
-Cold Appetizers: this was not on us, Carte Blanche showed up without a way to warm a couple of the appetizers, leaving them lukewarm. They could have easily been warmed in an oven at the shared cabin, something I had discussed with them prior. We ordered shrimp cocktail and they served a shrimp ceviche with baby shrimp, something we did not order. This is the only vendor I will not recommend.
-Galvanized bucket was very tiny, this was a funny oops, I had ordered a galvanized bucket to keep beers cold for guests before the ceremony. It was very tiny, and oversight I made when ordering the rentals. We set beers on the welcome table and called it a day there-nobody noticed but us.
-Slow it down; I wish I would have found moments to walk away and take a breath. Once the event started, things went soooo fast. When they say it will come and go in the blink of an eye, they aren’t wrong. I see why people have vow renewals..do to it all over again!
Megan (Curated Mess Co.) and Megan (Freckled Fleurs)
I am happy to say that having a group of boss ladies to pull this day together truly put the energy in the right places. Mecca (photography), Megan (flowers) and Megan (design and coordination) all worked together so well and took any stresses off of us and our families.
If your having a traditional wedding, elopement, or plotting to propose, make sure you do your research. Instagram was a great place for me to connect with vendors and hear first hand experience from people who have worked with them before.
Can we do it all over again!?
Hope you enjoyed!
xx,
Logan
