Melissa and Mike – Castaway Portland Wedding

Melissa and Mike were married at Castaway in Portland Oregon. This wedding was a bit different for me because not only was I photographing some of it, I was also in the bridal party. Since I couldn’t be in two places at once, I had some awesome help from deena of d. selbak photography to capture the ceremony, the bridal party, and some of the portraits, so that I could do my duties as a bridesmaid. Luckily the wedding was intimate enough that I could just pick my camera back up and photograph bits here and there, and spend some time with the couple doing portraits along the train tracks, in front of that beautiful backdrop of lights, as well as with those incredible giant balloons at the end of the night. I even snapped my first picture ever of a little hummingbird who was having a little snack as the groom waited for his first look at the bride.

This wedding was a wonderful mix of the industrial look of Castaway, and the really rich and beautiful details that the girls all helped Melissa put together. We made the tassels for the balloons and for the decorations, the confetti, her husband Mike helped make the structures to hang the string lights that made up the ceremony backdrop, as well as all the chalk boards, and the centerpieces with the faux mercury glass votives. We also tied together scraps of fabric for the photobooth backdrop – which turned out looking really awesome. The floral arrangements were just gorgeous and really complimented the colors of the girls dresses and the grey suits worn by the groomsmen. The little treasure boxes carried by the ring bearers later served to hold lots of M&Ms from the candy bar, and I loved all the pink and gold confetti that the flower girls (and later everyone else) threw as they went down the aisle. The giant balloons were something Melissa had mentioned early on in the decorating planning process, and they really added a great element to the portraits.

I am so happy to get to share this wedding with you! I was very lucky to get to be in it and to help document it for these two!