Between the ping pong tables at the reception, the Salt & Straw ice cream bar, and the glorious autumnal floral arrangements, there are so many reasons we’re obsessed with Cassie and Eric’s Union/Pine wedding in Portland, Oregon! The couple chose a woodsy vibe and focused on simplicity and fun, which led to some super cool, unique touches. We love that florists brier+ivy kept with the couple’s non-traditional style and used pomegranates, hops, figs, and artichokes in the reception decor. Olivia Strohm Photography captured every beautiful moment, including some super sweet couple portraits in the woods and in the industrial reception space.

The Couple:

Cassie and Eric

The Wedding:

Union/Pine, Portland, Oregon

The groom gave the bride a necklace from Anthropologie that said “darling,” a name he often calls her. The bride gave the groom Bleu de Chanel cologne.

We wanted our “vibe” to be somewhat simple, due to both personal style and budget considerations, but we also wanted it to represent us. For our invitations, decor and florals, we opted for a woodsy vibe that was true to the PNW, loosely inspired by the Wildwood book series and Moonrise Kingdom.

We forewent tradition and had both groomsmen and “groomsmaids,” including Eric‘s sister and his high school friend in his party.

For our wedding attire and our bridal party outfits, we were going for a dark, romantic, autumnal look. Since my wedding dress had lace detailing on the neckline and sleeves, I kept my accessories very minimal. My bridesmaids all picked their own sleeved black dresses with lace detailing, which they wore with black flats and gold necklaces that I had made for them. 

We chose our ceremony venue, Door of Hope, because we met in a community group through that church and had been attending it for several years. We chose our reception venue, Union/Pine, because we loved the simple, minimalistic vibe that didn’t need a lot of dressing up to be beautiful.

The most important part of planning our wedding was to represent key aspects of our relationship. We integrated our love for the Pacific Northwest in our florals; we represented our obsession with the show Adventure Time with the groom’s Jake the Dog socks; our florist decorated our reception with hops, pomegranates, figs and artichokes to represent Eric‘s career as a cook and our mutual love for good food and beer; and we fed our guests tacos and ice cream to make sure that our reception was a party.

We decided to give our gifts succulents that we wrapped in hand-cut fabric squares. We wanted to give our guests something that we ourselves would be excited to receive, so we hand-selected each plant and wrapped them in various fabrics with prints that matched our woodsy decor.

Our best advice for other couples is not to do too much! Simple can be very beautiful. And if a tradition or wedding detail is not important to you, you don’t have to include it. Neither of us like cake, so we had ice cream instead!

Processional – “True” by Tilian Pearson
Recessional – “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen
First Dance – “Ordinary” by Copeland

Congratulations to Cassie and Eric, and a special thanks to Olivia Strohm Photography for sharing this beautiful wedding! Love the woodsy vibe of Pacific Northwest weddings as much as we do? Take a peak at this travel-inspired wedding in the woods of North Bend, WA!