Timberline Lodge Wedding from Jessica Hill Photography
Mmm Oregon. You call to us all. Your mountains beckon us West. Your beautiful weather has made your lovely state a must-visit. And with Jessica Hill Photography on your side, you've won us all over times a million. Especially when we see just how beautiful a wedding you can throw, like this one at Timberline Lodge. With the fabulous purple, and the gorgeous, classic décor, we're just about on our way. Click here for the ticket!
Our wedding planning began moments after my husband-to-be popped the question on the beach at his family's vacation home in Neskowin, Oregon. The sweetest thing about this situation was that it was not me talking about the wedding, but my adorable fiance. He had obviously spent some time thinking about our wedding before he even asked me to marry him! We sat on the beach, and he told me about his vision for our wedding. He really wanted to have a weekend event with a rehearsal dinner for our families and bridal party the night before and a farewell brunch the day after our wedding. He envisioned a uniquely Oregon location for our wedding that had hotel accommodations for family and friends because he wanted the weekend to be like a vacation full of fun events and everyone spending time together. He wanted to create the feeling of a destination wedding without all the traveling and planning from afar. As he told me all of this, I was just so happy and excited. I had just gotten engaged to the man of my dreams, and he had ideas for our wedding that I loved.
I took these ideas and ran with them. I needed to find a location that was unique and beautiful, had hotel accommodations, and enough entertaining spaces to create a unique feel for each event. The location had to be far enough away from Portland to feel like a destination and needed to have great outdoor space as we knew we wanted to be married outside. Timberline Lodge fit these criteria in every way possible and more. The lodge and its surroundings are absolutely stunning in the summertime with its borderline barren landscape and vibrant blue sky. Additionally, the lodge has many spaces, so we were able to have our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, after party, and farewell brunch in distinct places throughout the lodge. The spaces themselves were so beautiful that I did not spend a lot of time or money on decorations. I wanted the uniqueness of the lodge and its surroundings to speak for themselves.
One of my favorite elements of the lodge are the purple wildflowers that bloom in late summer on the mountain, and they fit perfectly within our vision for the wedding. Plus, purple is my favorite color! I wanted to keep the color scheme on the cool side so I used a lot of white, gray, pewter, lavender, and violets in the flowers, linens, and other elements. Will and I did not want a traditional rustic wedding, which is what Timberline Lodge tends to inspire. We wanted an elegant nature-inspired wedding with a hint of rustic. We had to be careful of the design choices we made and this was really difficult to do. I would find myself gravitating towards wooden vases and evergreen branch floral arrangements since we were getting married at a lodge and that is what a lodge wedding looks like, right? However, once I got the color scheme finalized, it really became the starting point for our elegant nature-inspired wedding.
For our floral arrangements, I wanted them to look effortless and natural, not overworked. I also wanted to avoid using items like moss and rocks traditionally seen in rustic weddings. What we came up with was inspired by wildflowers. I did not want just one type of flower, but a variety flowers with different textures, sizes, and shades of purple.
We did not do too many DIY projects, but there were a couple. We made wedding wands with bells and ribbon for the guests to wave as we were introduced into our reception. We made simple wedding favors with purple and silver wrapped Hershey's Kisses that also served as our place cards. For our table numbers, we actually used the names of places that have special significance for Will and I. On the back of each card was the story of why that place is important to us along with other fun facts about the location. Many guests went around and read each one! We also created a s'mores station outside on the patio with all of the ingredients in glass apothecary jars. My favorite project that we did was the one involving our cats. I kept seeing all these beautiful weddings were couples included their beloved pets, which were usually dogs. However, we have cats, and bringing them with us was not really an option. To have them there in spirit, we dressed them up in bow ties, took their pictures in front of a green screen, Photoshopped them onto random backgrounds, and put the pictures in frames to be displayed at the wedding. This project probably took the longest of them all because to get a cat to hold still for a picture while wearing a bow tie might be one of the most tedious things I have ever tried to do. It was totally worth it though.
While all of the decorations, flowers, DIY projects, dresses, and other details were important and so fun to put together, nothing was more important to us than creating an intimate and personal wedding ceremony. We wanted to blend traditional elements with our own personal touches. It was important to me that the music at the ceremony be live and that it be traditional. We had a guitarist play music during the ceremony, and he was amazing. The wedding party walked in to Pachelbel's Canon in D, and I walked in to Wagner's Bridal Chorus. The moment I heard the beginning of the Bridal Chorus, I started to cry. I had done pretty well that day not getting too emotional, but at that moment, the day became very real and I was so happy. We deviated from the traditional by writing our own vows. It was important to each of us that we express our feelings and thoughts using our own words. We each had so much more to say than traditional vows allow for, and while writing your own vows can be a daunting task, standing up there in front of our friends and family and expressing our commitment to each other was worth every stressed out night he and I spent in front of our computers figuring out the exact right words to use.
Our wedding could not have been more perfect. Sure, everything did not go exactly as planned, but those little hiccups did not matter. We still got married, and everyone had so much fun! It was a wonderful day that my husband and I will cherish forever.
Photography: Jessica Hill Photography / Flowers: Bloomsberry Floral / Catering: Timberline Lodge / Cake: Beaverton Bakery / Ceremony & Reception Location: Timberline Lodge / Invitations: Papyrus / Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Dress: Lazaro via Ania Collection Couture Bridal Boutique / Bridesmaids Dresses: Lazaro via Ania Collection Couture Bridal Boutique / Bridesmaid's Shoes: Report / Makeup: Kirstie Wight / Groom & Groomsmen Suits: Men's Wearhouse / Ceremony Music: Kit Garoutte / Reception Music: Media Jockeys
I took these ideas and ran with them. I needed to find a location that was unique and beautiful, had hotel accommodations, and enough entertaining spaces to create a unique feel for each event. The location had to be far enough away from Portland to feel like a destination and needed to have great outdoor space as we knew we wanted to be married outside. Timberline Lodge fit these criteria in every way possible and more. The lodge and its surroundings are absolutely stunning in the summertime with its borderline barren landscape and vibrant blue sky. Additionally, the lodge has many spaces, so we were able to have our rehearsal dinner, ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, after party, and farewell brunch in distinct places throughout the lodge. The spaces themselves were so beautiful that I did not spend a lot of time or money on decorations. I wanted the uniqueness of the lodge and its surroundings to speak for themselves.
One of my favorite elements of the lodge are the purple wildflowers that bloom in late summer on the mountain, and they fit perfectly within our vision for the wedding. Plus, purple is my favorite color! I wanted to keep the color scheme on the cool side so I used a lot of white, gray, pewter, lavender, and violets in the flowers, linens, and other elements. Will and I did not want a traditional rustic wedding, which is what Timberline Lodge tends to inspire. We wanted an elegant nature-inspired wedding with a hint of rustic. We had to be careful of the design choices we made and this was really difficult to do. I would find myself gravitating towards wooden vases and evergreen branch floral arrangements since we were getting married at a lodge and that is what a lodge wedding looks like, right? However, once I got the color scheme finalized, it really became the starting point for our elegant nature-inspired wedding.
For our floral arrangements, I wanted them to look effortless and natural, not overworked. I also wanted to avoid using items like moss and rocks traditionally seen in rustic weddings. What we came up with was inspired by wildflowers. I did not want just one type of flower, but a variety flowers with different textures, sizes, and shades of purple.
We did not do too many DIY projects, but there were a couple. We made wedding wands with bells and ribbon for the guests to wave as we were introduced into our reception. We made simple wedding favors with purple and silver wrapped Hershey's Kisses that also served as our place cards. For our table numbers, we actually used the names of places that have special significance for Will and I. On the back of each card was the story of why that place is important to us along with other fun facts about the location. Many guests went around and read each one! We also created a s'mores station outside on the patio with all of the ingredients in glass apothecary jars. My favorite project that we did was the one involving our cats. I kept seeing all these beautiful weddings were couples included their beloved pets, which were usually dogs. However, we have cats, and bringing them with us was not really an option. To have them there in spirit, we dressed them up in bow ties, took their pictures in front of a green screen, Photoshopped them onto random backgrounds, and put the pictures in frames to be displayed at the wedding. This project probably took the longest of them all because to get a cat to hold still for a picture while wearing a bow tie might be one of the most tedious things I have ever tried to do. It was totally worth it though.
While all of the decorations, flowers, DIY projects, dresses, and other details were important and so fun to put together, nothing was more important to us than creating an intimate and personal wedding ceremony. We wanted to blend traditional elements with our own personal touches. It was important to me that the music at the ceremony be live and that it be traditional. We had a guitarist play music during the ceremony, and he was amazing. The wedding party walked in to Pachelbel's Canon in D, and I walked in to Wagner's Bridal Chorus. The moment I heard the beginning of the Bridal Chorus, I started to cry. I had done pretty well that day not getting too emotional, but at that moment, the day became very real and I was so happy. We deviated from the traditional by writing our own vows. It was important to each of us that we express our feelings and thoughts using our own words. We each had so much more to say than traditional vows allow for, and while writing your own vows can be a daunting task, standing up there in front of our friends and family and expressing our commitment to each other was worth every stressed out night he and I spent in front of our computers figuring out the exact right words to use.
Our wedding could not have been more perfect. Sure, everything did not go exactly as planned, but those little hiccups did not matter. We still got married, and everyone had so much fun! It was a wonderful day that my husband and I will cherish forever.
Photography: Jessica Hill Photography / Flowers: Bloomsberry Floral / Catering: Timberline Lodge / Cake: Beaverton Bakery / Ceremony & Reception Location: Timberline Lodge / Invitations: Papyrus / Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Dress: Lazaro via Ania Collection Couture Bridal Boutique / Bridesmaids Dresses: Lazaro via Ania Collection Couture Bridal Boutique / Bridesmaid's Shoes: Report / Makeup: Kirstie Wight / Groom & Groomsmen Suits: Men's Wearhouse / Ceremony Music: Kit Garoutte / Reception Music: Media Jockeys