It all started with a Missed Connection for Caitlin and Nate.

"I saw him at the grocery store in April 2015 and could tell he’d noticed me too. I was annoyed at myself for not saying anything, so I wrote a Missed Connection on Craigslist, and against all odds, he saw the post AND we’re the same type of weirdo!"

Straight out of a romantic comedy and into a love affair that would ultimately end in the fairytale promise of a lifetime of love.  During a camping trip in the Redwoods to celebrate their three year anniversary of this magical romance, Nate decided to take it to the next level.

"On our anniversary we went to dinner in Port Orford, then out to the beach for a sunset walk."

When the couple got to the beach, they quickly realized they had the whole place to themselves.  Nate suggested that there on the beach would be the perfect place to exchange anniversary gifts, so sitting on a log on the beach Caitlin and Nate began to trade their gifts.

"I gave him my gift first (he loved it), then he gave his gift."

Then Nate surprised her with ANOTHER gift. It was a puzzle box, much larger than a ring box.  Caitilin wasn't expecting a proposal so she suspected nothing.

"When I opened the box happy tears exploded out of my eyes and I started nodding my head before he’d even asked the question. I’m not usually a crier so we still make fun of the number of tears that came out of my face."

With the proposal out of the way, it was time to start planning the biggest party of their lives!  This meant Caitlin needed to find the dress for the big day, so the hunt began.

"When I got to Charlotte's, I knew what I wanted, but hadn't found anything close to it at a previous bridal shop."

Caitlin learned that gowns were looking a lot different on the hanger than they did on her body, so when her stylist Bethany suggested a Sincerity Bridal dress that didn't stand out to Caitilin on the hanger, she decided to take a leap and trust Bethany anyway. 

"It turned out to be exactly what I wanted - lacy without sparkle, comfortable to dance in, I felt amazing in it, and as a bonus my mom teared up when I put it on!"

Caitlin said yes to Sincerity Bridal style #4011, a form fitting lace dress that features a v-neck and matching v-back.  A combination of sheet lace and venice lace appliques combines for a romantic, subtly sexy and classic look!  Caitlin wore the gown with a nude lining which made the ivory lace stand out against the darker undertone.  For the big day, Caitlin paired the dress with a few family heirlooms making it an extra special look.  

"My veil was borrowed from a cousin, the diamond earrings were borrowed from an aunt, I inherited the pearls from one of my grandmas, and another grandma's wedding garter was used as decoration on my bouquet...It was really neat having all sides of my family represented through what I was wearing."

Caitlin and Nate chose to say "I do" at a venue perched at the base of a hill the couple had actually hiked on their second date in an area the bride had spent most of her life wandering around.  

"We knew we’d have a fairly large number of guests, and our preference was that the ceremony be outdoors, so Mt. Pisgah was perfect."

The ceremony took place underneath a huge oak tree then a covered pavillion was perfect to house the reception.  A lovely courtyard was set up for dancing and some space for lawn games was set aside to keep guests entertained all night long.

In true Oregon fashion, there was a slight weather scare, but everything turned out beautifully when the big day rolled around.

"It was 90+ and thunderstorming the night before, but we had perfect weather on the big day, not too hot, humid, or raining - something you can never quite count on in Oregon."

When asked to recall some favorite moments from the big day Caitlin had some wonderful things to say about the love they felt that day.

"Our favorite part of the whole day was the amazing amount of love and support we felt from every direction… I don’t think I was prepared for how entirely wonderful that was! Several family members took on the entire process of making food and catering the event (thank you!), plus helped with set-up and take-down; they put so much energy into making our day more perfect than I had imagined. It was a beautiful evening and people were on the dance floor all night. I have about a thousand favorite memories from our wedding so I’ll leave it at that!"

Caitlin and Nate wanted their wedding day to be a happy, comfortable celebrationg with their favorite people so that is exactly what they planned!

"Decide what feeling you want to have surrounding your wedding day and let that guide you as you plan. We skipped a lot of things that are considered tradition simply because we didn’t want to - we had 5 hours to spend with our favorite people and wanted to enjoy that time with them, so things like the garter/bouquet toss just didn’t feel important."

Caitlin and Nate's guests thanked for their attention to creating such a warm and comfortable space with guests saying it was one of the most fun weddings they'd attended!

"It’s 2019, don’t feel like you have to do anything at your wedding!" 

"My second piece of advice is don’t sweat the small stuff. Weird things happen at every wedding and you have to roll with it! I tore the bottom of my veil 15 minutes before the ceremony and one of my best friend’s did her best job sewing it back together; the DJ forgot what time to fade out our first dance song so a ton of people joined us on the dance floor when our dance was over and the song was not; the ice cream place gave us Mint Chip instead of Mint Oreo (sigh). None of these things had any impact on the wedding and we laughed it off. If you find yourself getting wrapped up in something, ask yourself how much it will affect your ability to marry the person you love."

Vendors

Venue: Mt Pisgah Arboretum

Photographer: Spring Fed Media

Hair and Makeup: Jessi Ogan Honeycomb Salon

Lashes - Bumble Lash Eugene

Caitlin’s ring - Brilliant Earth

Nate's ring - Rings by Pristine