They say never work with children or animals but Lane and Amanda threw that, and many other old adages and traditions, out the window when it came to planning their big day – they had their dog, Penny, and Amanda’s son, River, as the only members of their bridal party!
Instead of a first look, Lane and Amanda decided to do a ‘first touch’. They had gifts to give each other, and so stood round a corner from one another to exchange them and have a precious moment together before the celebrations kicked off.
The moment that Amanda had thought about the most in the lead up to their wedding was walking down the aisle. “I definitely thought I would be sobbing and unable to hold myself together,” said Amanda, “but when I saw everyone out there and Lane standing at the end of the aisle, I was overcome with immense joy in the form of hysterical laughter. I just could not stop laughing!”
Their ceremony was officiated by a friend, and together they wrote a deep and meaningful ceremony; as well as writing vows to each other, Lane read his own vows to Amanda’s son during the ceremony too. “River is two,” explained Amanda, “and has a very tough time staying still. During the ceremony, he was skipping and dancing up and down the aisle. We just went with it, it was very ‘us’, and everyone loved it!”
“Fortunately for us, I am a wedding photographer and know the ins and outs of wedding planning!” said Amanda. “It made it much easier that I knew several of our vendors ahead of time and they shared our style and artistic vision. I give props to all couples out there wedding planning, it’s hard!”
Their biggest expense was the flowers, as they know how the right decor can turn a venue from pretty to completely unique. “We decided to go with a very wild look,” explained Amanda, “with tons of greenery brought in. The long farm tables had greenery running along the middle, and the same leaves were climbing up the walls of the bar, and along the handles of the staircase. We also had large floral installations on the heptagonal arch.”
That’s not to say they didn’t do their fair share of DIY for their day. Lane designed the full invitation suite, and built all the ceremony benches and the heptagonal arch with his dad. They chose to make them from Douglas Fir, the state tree of Oregon. “It was a great bonding process with Lane’s dad during wedding planning,” said Amanda. “He even mentioned it in his speech, which was very sweet.”
