Sarah and Orion Get Married

It was a Sunday in July. I was working at Starbucks (LETHAL combination already). I was having a crappy week. Like, a REALLY crappy week. But then something happened that turned it all around… just like that. I got a call from Sarah, who is a friend of Susan and Lane’s (whose wedding I shot back in April). She had seen the slideshow of their wedding images, and she was planning her own wedding, which would be in October. In Portland. As in Portland OREGON, not Portland, TN, where I’ve grown up visiting my grandparents my whole life. As in Portland, land of perfect rainy days spent at Powell’s Books drinking coffee and hoping to run into Donald Miller. And Sarah wanted ME to come shoot her wedding there. Yep… that turned it all around… just like that.

Sarah and Orion’s wedding… well, let’s just say it was right up my Morgan Trinker alley. For one, everything took place in The Governor’s Hotel, which is right in the middle of downtown Portland and in walking distance of Powell’s, Anthropologie, and an entire city block’s worth of food trucks. Magical. On top of that, this hotel was something straight out of Clue, which just so happens to be my favorite board game. There was a library, a billiard room, a ballroom, hallways lined with black and white tiled floors… you get the picture. Basically a photographer’s dream. For two, I got to shoot with my long time pen pal Carly, who completely rocked it out as my second shooter, providing me with moral support, letting me bounce ideas off her, and of course…. giving me some excellent shots to add to this lovely collection. For THREE, Sarah and Orion’s style… fantastic. I didn’t know this until dancing time at the reception, but apparently Orion once had an illustrious career as a hip hop artist, and that reflected in his attire, all the way down to his bright purple leather sneakers. Oh yeah. And Sarah? She’s a lover of color, which made me totally giddy. I loved how perfectly coordinated everything was, without being overly matchy-matchy. And boy, was there ever COLOR. We’re talking pink and orange and green and purple and yellow and blue… oh yeah. Right. Up. My. Alley.

This wedding was full of firsts for me. It was my first trip to Portland. My first rainy wedding day (which was totally fine since everything was indoors, even our awesome locations for shooting the bridal party which you’ll soon see). My first semi-Buddhist ceremony. My first ballroom reception. But none of these things could match the obvious love that Sarah and Orion have for each other. They’ve been together for TEN YEARS. They’ve survived a pretty scary experience together (Sarah underwent a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy several years ago… I wikipedia’d it, and man, it sounds just as intense as the name would imply). They’ve seen plenty of ups and downs, and more than one person struggled to give them marriage advice in their speeches, as they’ve already been through more than most married couples go through in their entire lifetimes.

So without further ado, here you have it. Sarah and Orion Get Married.

The programs and menus were designed by Sarah’s friend Emily. How adorable are these? They were folded into paper airplanes and shot into the air as Sarah and Orion came down the aisle. Cute.

Gorgeous. Thank you Carly for your dress-shot-location-scouting skillz. :)

Did Carly and I totally obsess over Sarah’s Kate Spade shoes? Why yes. Yes we did. I think all the girls found it quite amusing. (p.s. If there is any brand that best represents Sarah’s style, I would definitely say it’s Kate Spade. LOVE her. Can’t afford her, but LOVE her!)

And speaking of killer shoes….

Thank you Quince for providing such AMAZING florals and decor! Definitely drool-worthy.

Whoo-hoo Sarah and Orion for choosing to do a First Look! This allowed us to get sooo many fantastic images with that little bit of grey Portland light we had before it was gone for good. Plus, I just love this moment:

Fierce.

Woweeee. Sarah is gorgeous, the light is beautiful… mmmmm.

See what I mean with the Clue?!

Absolutely ADORE this shot that Carly grabbed. Every single part of it. (The camera she’s using? Yep, it’s a Super 8. TOLD YOU this was right up my alley!)

So perfectly Portland. :)

Right across the street was this amazing little yarn shop called Knit Purl. Sarah’s a knitter, and as we’ve clearly established, a lover of color, so this was pretty much perfect. As we were leaving the store, Sarah yelled out “Thank you Knit Purl!”, which made me feel like we were on Project Runway (“Thank you Mood!” anyone? anyone?).

Meanwhile, back at the record store, Carly took the guys (and girl!) off to do some more shooting.

Two things I loved about Sarah walking down the aisle. One: she chose to walk with both her parents. Two: she really took her time, stopping every now and again to look around, smile at all the guests, and really soak in the moment. I’m sure she’ll never forget it.

So Sarah hadn’t really cried all day, but when her friends began to play a version of “Such Great Heights”, she just looked up, and I saw her eyes full of happy tears, and it was all I could do to not start boo-hooing right in the middle of the ceremony.

LOOOVED the use of the festive paper goods!

And this one might just be my favorite shot of the whole day. Right before Sarah and Orion were introduced at the reception, I spotted them between the crack in the door doing this. And it was beautiful.

Maybe if her hair weren’t covering 90% of her face, you would recognize Susan. (They were guests at the wedding! It was SO GOOD to see them again!). But this is one of my fave shots ever. Love the movement and how her hair is just perfectly swishing across her face, revealing only her “yay we’re dancing!” smile. :)

This wedding was just FULL of lovers!

Sarah, did you really expect those paper balls to not be used as dancing props at some point in the night? :)

Naturally, there was LOTS of old school hip-hop played. It was HYSTERICAL to watch everyone gather in circles and rap together. Especially Orion, in his pimpin’ suit.

“Hip hop hooraaaay, hooooohhhh, haaaay, hoooooohhhhh…..”

I asked Carly to take a shot of me with Lane and Susan. And yes, I had to stand on the stage to be anywhere close to the level of their heads. I think they’ve got about 14 inches on me. :) Also, please pardon the end-of-the-wedding-chaos that is my overall appearance in this. Keepin’ it real, folks!

And I couldn’t resist throwing in a few shots that Carly and I took of each other throughout the day. I just love behind the scenes!

And finally, to see more of Sarah and Orion’s wedding, watch the slideshow below. I used Iron and Wine’s cover of Such Great Heights on account of S & O’s love for them, as well the song, which was played during the ceremony. Hope you enjoy! And congratulations you two!