Sydney + Jason's Intimate Oregon Forest Wedding

HOW THEY MET

When you question when or where you’ll meet the one, sometimes a dating app comes into the picture and the rest is history!

“We met on Bumble...the dating app! We like to joke that the fact that both of us were on a dating app is the absolute most off brand thing about us, but hey it got us here so no complaints!”

After some very important initial first questions (like is the toilet paper on the roll over or under?) Sydney and Jason had their first date at Portland Zoo Lights, and a few days later a second date followed. Sydney had a feeling Jason might have been the one and texted her mom:

“If this guy isn’t my husband...holy wow at whoever is.”

HOW DID HE PROPOSE?

After traveling for a few months for work, Sydney was back in her hometown of Spokane, WA. The morning of November 3rd she was greeted with a handwritten letter, a key, and a box with a lock from her mom:

“I opened a handwritten love letter from Jason which also held a key. There was a beautiful box hidden in the living room with a heart lock attached. The key opened the lock and inside was a compass with engraved coordinates. A hand-written note directed me to arrive at the coordinates later that morning. The coordinates led to the gorgeous Manito Park.”

Arriving at a bench in the middle of the park, Jason took Sydney’s hand and began walking, sharing with her all of the things he loved about her, and then said:

"Some of our most important decisions happen on walks. We decided to start dating while on a walk. We decided to officially become boyfriend and girlfriend on a walk. And now, it only seems fitting that I ask you to be my wife on this walk."

After saying yes, they celebrated the moment together and captured all of the “giddy laughs and smile wrinkles” on camera with a photographer nearby that Jason had planned.

SAYING YES TO THE DRESS!

While some girls dream of this moment, Sydney said she wasn’t looking forward to it like some as before beginning she “had flashbacks of years of back to school shopping, where the jeans never fit and I’d end up with my arms above my head while my mom wrangled the sweater off of me.”

Claiming she was also pretty indecisive, Sydney felt that the odds were already stacked against her. The only thing she knew for certain...sleeves!

“My good friend and mom accompanied me the next morning to Charlotte’s and it was THE BEST! Our stylist, Nicole not only brought in the most beautiful dresses to try on, but she was super funny and we all vibed so well. My wedding dress ended up being the third one she helped me slip into.”

After trying on a few more gowns for good measure, she kept coming back to her favorite and knew it was the perfect gown!

“It was all things lovely and special, and the first day I truly felt like a bride. Like “What?! I’m getting married to my best friend AND get to look like a princess?!”

"Thank you to Nicole and the rest of the ladies at Charlotte’s for an incredible experience!”

Sydney wore Sincerity "44169", a beautiful off-shoulder, long sleeve, beaded lace gown.

THE BIG DAY

While they were expecting to have a beautiful day, they weren’t expecting the cancelled pre-wedding celebrations, flights, and big question marks on venue locations. While unexpected, Sydney and Jason kept in mind the one thing that wasn’t and could never be changed...their love!

“Honestly, I think it ended up exactly how it was meant to be. We look back on that day now, and have no regrets, no disappointments, no what if’s. It was better than anything we could have dreamed of.”

Both Sydney and Jason loved being in nature and stumbled upon their new ceremony spot—Henline Falls in Elkhorn, Oregon. Surrounded by tall trees and a beautiful waterfall as the backdrop, they knew that this was the perfect place to say their “I-Do’s”

With their closest family and friends present as they became husband and wife, they also included them in multiple aspects of their big day.

“My good friend and colleague officiated our ceremony, another good friend did my hair and makeup, my fourth grade best friend’s mom created my bouquet, my parents hand-built much of our decor, my in-laws hosted the most gorgeous backyard dinner party the night before, my mom made my garter from her own wedding dress, and even the compass box Jason used for the proposal was used as our ring box...There was so much intentionality and meaning down to the tiniest of details.”

WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER BRIDES-TO-BE?

“When we first got engaged, we sat down and brainstormed together what we wanted our wedding day to be about, how we wanted to feel, what was important to us, etc. I highly recommend this! Every decision we made, every pivot that was required, was filtered through these foundational values we had agreed on. Not only did this make the day-of feel immensely intentional, but we look back and see how each of those things we dreamt up together came to fruition.”