When it comes to a vineyard wedding, Portland, OR isn’t the first place that comes to mind, but after seeing today’s editorial, Villa Catalana Cellars will be at the top of your list! A diverse group of vendors came together to bring this styled shoot to life, working together to represent the BIPOC community, and have all of their voices heard on each and every detail! Photographed by Carlos Hernandez and planned by Indigo Event Design, you just have to keep scrolling to see it all, from the beautiful blooms by Jodi Iverson Florals to the romantic table design! Take a peek below and thank you ALL for this stunning editorial!
From Indigo Event Design…This inspirational shoot was birthed from a cry for more couples and wedding vendors of color, to be seen in the wedding industry. A cry for equal representation and a chance to be seen. It took place just outside of Portland which is unfortunately the whitest big city in America. While spouting liberal concepts, Portland‘s racist roots bear down hard on its minorities particularly BIPOC. Fueled by the black lives matter movement and the death of George Floyd; this diverse group of mostly vendors of color, came together wanting to push for representation, learn from each other, and provide a space to create beauty within our diversity. We worked collaboratively in almost every aspect of this styled shoot wanting to make sure that all of our voices were heard.
Our inspiration for the design of this shoot came from our mutual love of this breathtaking Vineyard, with its timeless elegance and old world charm. We wanted every detail from invitations to the floral to mimic it’s romantic, even ethereal, surroundings. We took our color cues from the Vineyard’s estate and gardens, using rich merlot, dusty travertine, pale peach, and cornflower blue. The perfect bridge between summer and fall. While these hues are an uncommon combination of both rich and light, muted and bright, we found this variation created great depth and interest.
The bride was crowned in full the beauty of her natural hair, and ever so lightly kissed with a touch of smoky taupe eye shadow, mauve lips, and flushed cheeks to add romance and tie in the warm accents in her bridal bouquet. The groom, sported a custom tailored gray suit with a bowtie that perfectly matched the brides bouquet ribbon.
We staged this small ceremony in front of the picturesque waterlily pond with the epic winery estate in the background. As they exchanged their vows the couple was perfectly framed by a foam-free, floral masterpiece. During the ceremony, we wanted to showcase different traditions, particularly African wedding traditions, starting with the tasting of the four elements. For couples not familiar with this tradition, it is a Yorùbá ritual where the couple gets a literal taste of the flavors that represent different stages within a marriage. Lemon represents sour, Cayenne represents spicy, vinegar represents bitter, and honey represents sweet. By tasting each of these flavors, the couple symbolically show their friends and family they’ll be able to stay together through it all… better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. At the end of the ceremony, the couple engaged in the jumping the broom tradition, which many take to be a symbol of sweeping away the old and welcoming the new.
The reception took place in arched walkway at the winery, with beautiful travertine stone columns. Natural light seeped in through the abundant grapevine greenery hanging from the wood beams above. The tablescape was set with a velvet cornflower blue tablecloth and a sheer sustainably harvested silk table runner. On each place setting had three mixed-matching porcelain plates with their own unique gold patterned accents. Also in mismatched fashion were the vintage gold candleholders and elegant gold pedestal vases. The stiletto thin glassware and flatware added just a hint of modernity to this primarily old-world classic tablescape. Each of the centerpieces appeared to almost float on the tablescape with it’s paper-thin Italian poppies, delicate sweet peas, cloud like cotinus branches, elegant lisianthus, stately garden roses, ocean pearls, and digitalis. While the centerpiece floral definitely gave off strong European vibes, 90% of these beauties were locally grown.
To finish off the night, was a decadent five tiered wedding cake with elaborate cascading floral made entirely out of hand-crafted editable sugar flowers. While COVID might limit the number of guests you can have, that doesn’t mean you can’t go big when it comes to your cake. After all, that just means more cake left over for you.
Photography: Carlos Hernandez | Event Planning: Indigo Event Design | Floral Design: Jodi Iverson Florals | Wedding Dress: The White Dress PDX | Wedding Dress: The White Dress PDX | Cake: Zelia Rose Cakes | Stationery: Love, Kenedie | Jewelry: Amaree and Reese | Calligraphy: amandareiddesigns | Wedding Venue: Villa Catalana Cellars | Make-up & Hair: Shantilly Make-up Artistry | Model: Amber Nicotra | Model: Monty | Rentals: Great Jones NW