Being back in Portland this weekend in the same place I got married nearly 8 years ago got me thinking about our own wedding day.

When Ryan and I were planning our wedding, my sister and her husband were planning theirs too. Then we did something CRAZY. We decided to get married the SAME Weekend! I don’t recommend this for most siblings, but we were willing to make some compromises so that our siblings could make it to each of our weddings – we knew rounding up all 8 of us twice in a year would be a financial burden for some of them. It also turns out, people are really shocked when we tell them!

Choosing a Photographer

My dad wanted to hire a hobbyist in my hometown, but I was adamant that wedding photography was NOT something I was willing to skimp on. So I did a lot of research and got sticker shock a few times. I get it guys!! Photography can be expensive. I ultimately found a photographer who was willing to do bridals, formals for both of us in one day, and cover our JOINT reception. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, our wedding ceremonies take place within our holy temples and are not photographed.

Our Formal Portraits

The day before my wedding, my sister and I got glammed up and went with our future husbands to take our formal portraits. The Pacific Northwest is so rainy in the spring time and since we got married in April, the day we had planned to do photos was no exception. We ended up going to downtown Portland to do photos! The next day, Ryan and I were married and then the day after, my sister was married and we had our joint reception that evening!

Why I chose to invest in wedding photography

To this day, I still love my wedding photos. We are coming up on 8 years and I appreciate our photos so much – they are true to life color, classic and timeless. Every time I look at our photos, I’m transported back and find so much joy in the photo of my dad crying while we danced, my siblings singing lyrics my mom wrote up to the tune of “Sisters” from “White Christmas”, and the extreme embarrassment it was having Ryan stick his head up my dress to take the garter off with his teeth. All things I love remembering!

It would not be possible for me to remember all these details on my own without looking back at the photos. I will forever cherish them and love them, even as trends change and we grow older. Someday our grandkids will think the styles we wore are ‘so dated’, but at least they’ll get to see their grandparents in their wedding day finery!

Trends

As trends change, there are a lot of things I would change about my wedding. Oh the list includes having a lace wedding dress, my husband would be in navy, hiring a makeup and hair artist, having rice crispies instead of cake, and it could go on! But I wouldn’t change 3 things – My husband, having my parents and siblings all there, investing in a wedding photographer.

Photos by Stephen Wagner.