Well, we’re crying. And smiling giddy smiles. And feeling all the feels. Alexandra and Leif’s emotional Italian elopement is everything our music and mountain-loving hearts needed. The couple decided to elope in their favorite places in the world: Florence for their getting ready location and the Dolomites for a sentimental ceremony. Photographers The Ferros adventured with the couple all day, artistically capturing every tear and sweet moment of laughter. If you’re into vintage fashion and unexpected surprises, you will surely be inspired by every little thing about Alexandra and Leif’s special day.
The Couple:
Alexandra & Leif
The Wedding:
Florence and Dolomites, Italy
We had a small getting ready session in Florence, one of our favorite city in the world (where we also had a private jam session the night before).
We are both musicians and travel quite often around the world, even separately. So we really wanted to find some quality time for the two of us only and spend a couple of days just being together. We actually perfectly knew how we wanted our wedding to be: intimate, adventurous and fun. And surely with our favorite music as our background. So planning wise that wasn’t a lot we did, except for choosing our photographers, the perfect location and the most dreamy dresses! (We both love fashion, me, Alexandra especially that is why I picked 2 dresses instead of 1!)
Being both quite sensitive towards art the research of the right photographers meant a lot to us. We felt we needed someone who was able to express our feelings (with his own vision) differently from most of the “wedding photographers” we found on internet. It took a while to find the perfect fit, til we find the perfect fit in The Ferros. Two incredible human beings and amazing artists who made such an artwork! So for us the research of the photographer has been quite crucial. Nico and Vinx are now our best friends. Really. They made our days a dream, they have been able to get so close to us as persons and as artists that we still cannot believe our eyes when we see those pictures. What they have created is something we will treasure for ever, it has been a magical chemistry among the four of us. I still don’t know how to describe it but it has been one of the best experiences of our life.
We decided to read our vows to each other, so we did. I actually wrote them on a piece of paper a couple of days before. The most intense moment (and most unpredictable too) one was when Leif pulled out his music cassette and let me hear a song he wrote for me as his vows! I literally couldn’t handle my tears…
Calling all edgy, fashion-forward couples: Courtney and Marcell’s Castaway Portland wedding is sure to drive you wild — in the best way! We’re obsessing over all the little things that made this day equal parts stylish and cool. If you’ve ever dreamt of interesting wedding ideas, take this couple’s advice: break as many rules as possible. Courtney totally nailed the non-traditional bridal look with a fabulous champagne-colored, beaded The English Dept. gown, and Marcell looked so rad in all back attire from The Black Tux. The duo chose classic “black and white” colors for their bridal party and reserved all the gold details for their looks. If moody decor and artistic photography is your jam, you’re going to love every single image Naba Zabih Photography captured of this inspiring day at Castaway Portland!
The most memorable part was probably our first look when we fist saw each other. We had no idea what the other would look like, and we hadn’t spoken yet that day, so we were just sooo happy to be together. In that moment I just remember being more excited than ever before. Our first look was in a green house full of beauty, a little rabbit named Kevin, and sunshine. It was perfect.
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This sounds silly, but we were each other’s most passionate ally. There was not one decision we didn’t make together. Planning a wedding was unlike anything I have ever experienced, and who better to relate to how I was feeling than the one I was about to marry? It was important to us that no matter which direction our plans took us, that we were on the same page and happy overall with what was happening. Compromise is everything.
We knew we wanted an industrial vibe, and a downtown Portland location, and then the greenhouse on-site was the killer. Castaway Portland couldn’t have been more perfect for what we were looking for.
There were many pieces of our ceremony where we changed the traditional words. Courtney had both of her parents walk her down the aisle and instead of being asked “who gives this woman to be given to this man yada yada” we re-worded it to say “Who stands in support of this marriage?” and all four parents were to answer. Courtney always felt like it was weird to be “given away.” We wanted our ceremony to reflect our faith while being respectful, and we also wrote our own vows. We just remember feeling STOKED the entire time to be marrying each other.
Wedding planning advice from the couple: Compromise is so important for the happiness of your partner. People will tell you that you should plan your wedding for “you” and forget what other people want. But what they don’t tell you is that you and your partner might have different visions for your wedding. Be honest with your partner about what you want, but be willing to bend a little their way. It’s not just “your” day, it’s both of your day.
I loved Marcell‘s look all together. The tie clip and collar chain were wedding day presents from me, but Marcell had accumulated lots of cool gold rings, and gold studs for all his piercing to really complete the look. And the black on black on black for his suit was just soo cool.
We literally could not love our photography more. Naba is a real life friend and now best friend forever. When it came to choosing our photographer and videography we knew we wanted people who we loved to be around. People don’t realize how much time you will spend with your photographer and videographer.
We were probably the most excited to choose our wedding looks. We kept about 80% of our looks a secret from each other while we chose key accessories and colors for the entire bridal party. We wanted gold freckles for the bride look before we were even engaged, and over time we decided with our makeup artist to do the gold freckles on both of us. We are both risk-takers when it comes to fashion and we wanted to break as many rules as possible. We looked using the classic “black and white” colors for our bridal party and reserving gold for just the bride and groom.
We did not do wedding favors and the reason is this: nobody takes them. As wedding photographers we have seen this time and time again. At least half of the favors get left in the basket, on the table, you name it. Instead of spending that money on favors, we chose to use it on an experience for our guests to enjoy at our wedding: aka the Photo Booth.
Jen and Tylor’s sentimental Idaho wedding was low key, beautiful, and vintage — a.k.a a dream come true for those who love bohemian and rustic vibes! When it came to their wedding day attire, it was only natural that the pair and their crew be outfitted in western flair from their personal store, The Western Wanderer, as well as rockin’ bolo ties from Hells Canyon Bolo and handmade Kay Seurat gems for the ‘maids. We’re loving their rust-colored signage, especially the “unplugged” ceremony sign. Pro tip: Unplugged is the way-to-go for a ceremony experience that will truly be felt and remembered by everyone in attendance. Need proof? Just look at the emotional photos Maggie Grace Photography captured! If you’ve been searching for low-key, mountainous wedding inspo, this day planned by Emily Aitken Events is for you!
Our wedding day fashion was fueled by our passion for vintage and western style, which is truly our style in our everyday lives too. Because we run The Western Wanderer, our vintage western wear shop, we had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted everyone to be wearing. Our groomsmen wore vintage embroidered pearl snap shirts which we were able to source from our own collection. Tylor wore a vintage 1970’s vest and jacket set that he found in a thrift store while he was out on tour – it fit so perfectly that he didn’t even have to get it tailored! All the guys wore custom made bolo ties from Hells Canyon Bolo. They cut the most beautiful picture jasper stone that was absolutely perfect with the attire. The bolos were also Tylor’s gift to his groomsmen and they were a big hit.
SHOP THIS LOOK:
When we got engaged we didn’t have any real agenda for our wedding except one thing – we knew we wanted a Stanley, Idaho wedding. It’s a place that is very special to us, both as a couple and individually. Some of the most important moments in our relationship have taken place there and we knew that was the place we wanted to take our vows. We also decided together that we didn’t want the wedding to be stressful. We didn’t want planning it to consume our lives since we’re both busy self employed people. Although there are some great “venues” in the area, for us there was just something special about the Sawtooth Valley Meditation Chapel. It’s right in the middle of town, but its perched on top of a hill at the base of the Sawtooth mountains. The view is unparalleled! Early on in our relationship we spent a lot of long afternoons sitting outside the chapel on the benches talking about life and our future and the magic of the Sawtooth Mountains, so it felt like the right place to take the leap into this next phase of our lives together.
Pretty early in the planning process we decided that the most important thing was to make sure that the wedding felt like “us”. We wanted it to be relaxed and low key, beautiful and easy for everyone who attended. We wanted everyone to be present and unplugged so they could truly experience our day with us. We are big fans of all things vintage and we own a little vintage western clothing shop called The Western Wanderer so we wanted to bring that vibe into our day as well.
Wedding planning advice from the couple: Hire a wedding a planner and a good photographer!! Our wedding planner, Emily Aitken and our photographer, Maggie Grace were a Godsend!! They handled everything start to finish for us and took all of our ideas and turned them into the most perfect version of what we had in mind. We didn’t follow all the wedding “rules” and they never skipped a beat.
It’s hard to choose just one part of the day as “the most memorable”, because it truly felt like the perfect day. But if we had to choose, I think we would both say that our sharing our vows was a very special moment. We didn’t really have much else planned for the actual ceremony because we felt like our vows to each other should be the main focus. Tylor wrote his vows into a song and sang them to me at the ceremony and mine were hand written on a piece of paper that I gave to Tylor after the ceremony to keep with him as a reminder of my promises to him.
Also, we wanted to incorporate as much music as possible in our day! We are musicians – Tylor is a full time, touring musician, songwriter and frontman of the band Tylor & the Train Robbers. His band is made up of his two brothers, Jason and Thomas and my Dad, Johnny ‘Shoes’ Pisano, so we had some built in talent to bring into our day. We are also fortunate to have some insanely talented musician friends who we knew we could count in!
The wedding favors were one of my favorite things about our wedding! Giving out “favors” was a tradition that I have never been a big fan of. Most of the time the trinket that you get, monikered with the names of the Bride and Groom and their wedding date, just ends up being garbage in a year or two (if that). We didn’t want to give our guests something like that. We spent a lot of time thinking about what would be meaningful to share with them and ultimately we decided that what we really wanted to share was our story. Since we are musicians, we knew that the best way to share our story is through our music. We went into the studio and recorded a few tracks that had never been recorded before and used a few that had been on Tylor’s albums in the past. We ended up with a five song disc that we put in chronological order of our story, so it truly could be told through the songs. It’s was such a special thing for us to get to share with everyone!
Our colors were inspired by our environment and season of the wedding. Since our wedding was up in the mountains on the weekend of the Fall Eqiunox, we knew we didn’t want too much saturated color. Our wedding planner, Emily Aitken was amazing and pulled colors from the scenery to help create the perfect palette.
Working with Maggie was an absolute dream! She is such a pro! It felt like we were all just hanging out and having fun all day, but in reality I know that she put so much time planning and organizing everything and she never stopped taking photos from morning until after the late night party. Maggie brings such an incredible calm but fun energy to the day, which is exactly what it needed on such an important day. She has fun, but also keeps things on track and takes control when needed. Maggie had told us in a planning meeting that she recommended that we leave the reception a little early to get some sunset photos. Of course it felt weird to just leave our own reception, but I am so so glad that we listened to her advice, because that turned out to be one of the most special and memorable parts of our day. She had scouted the perfect location for us not far from town, but just enough that we felt like we had escaped the bustle of the wedding. We walked a short trail and ended up in this meadow at the base of McGown Peak – a truly magical spot. Tylor brought his guitar and we sang songs together and danced and got to have some quiet moments soaking in our day and the beauty around us. Maggie made us so comfortable to just be goofy and relaxed and not to worry about the photos. The pictures are proof that she is so insanely talented and knows how to capture people perfectly. Thank you Maggie!
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