Whitney and Levi imagined a wedding day that was magical, playful, and soft. With Whitney having POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and EDS (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome), they planned a day that was truly laid back, relaxing, and stress-free.

They spent the morning getting ready together before heading to a wildflower filled view in the Columbia River Gorge where they exchanged private wedding vows and had a beautiful picnic. Then joined their family and closest friends at their incredible vacation rental to be married in the backyard. The day ended with a long table dinner on the deck with unique wild mushroom and floral table decor and a family style dinner.

“We wanted something that would split the difference between elopement and micro-wedding”, the bride told us. “We opted for a destination wedding with a small guest list, with activities just for us in the morning. A lot of our inspiration came from our wedding photographer’s Instagram!”

After getting ready together, they exchanged private vows at the top of Rowena Crest in the Columbia River Gorge. Following the vows, they enjoyed a picnic nestled among the wildflowers. Hot drinks, cosy blankets, and favourite snacks helped them soak in the calm before rejoining their loved ones. “We wrote our own vows in small notebooks/journals that we bought specifically for that purpose”, Whitney explained. “We wanted to keep this between us, and let us get our tears of joy out of the way before the larger ceremony. The picnic afterwards was one of our favourite parts of the day. It gave us a chance to pause and just be together.”

The second part of the day brought the couple to a vacation rental, where they gathered with family and friends for a backyard ceremony, officiated by a close friend. The evening then culminated in a candlelit dinner on the deck, featuring family-style dishes and a unique tablescape decorated with wild mushrooms and spring flowers.

This was a destination wedding so the couple couldn’t visit locations or sample menus in advance which meant they had to put a lot of trust in the people they hired. “You don’t need to worry and stress about it as much as you think you do,” Whitney concluded. “The people who are helping you, especially those that you hire to help you, are very capable and know what they are doing. It will be a wonderful day, no matter what happens.”

“Despite how expensive everything was, we do believe that it was a fair price. Don’t rely on Google results for ‘average cost of wedding’ – it is not accurate! There is room for people to adjust their budgets if they make concessions or compromises. In most other areas of consumerism, prices are able to be low because of some sort of exploitation, either of labour or resources. We were not interested in lowering our budget in that way. You really get what you pay for, and the fact that some services in the wedding industry are expensive means that they are high quality and worth the price tag.”