Yes! It’s time to blog Kelsey and Peter’s Gorge Crest Vineyards wedding! This wedding was a long time coming for everyone involved, including us. We first met Kelsey while photographing her brother Brian’s wedding in Central Oregon in 2014. Kelsey had flown all the way from New Zealand, where she still lives today, to be there. At the time, we just thought that was so cool that she lived in NZ.
We had no idea that a few short years later, she would contact us saying she was engaged to her boyfriend whom she met in New Zealand, and that they were having an Oregon wedding the following year.
Kelsey and Peter chose the jaw dropping Columbia Gorge wedding venue, Gorge Crest Vineyards. On a clear day, you have a straight view of our beautiful Mt. Hood. The grounds are blanketed with grape vines and wildflowers which are nestled in between two classic Oregon woodsy trails. Having a Gorge Crest Vineyards wedding means having all the best parts of Oregon wrapped into one.
Going into Kelsey and Peter’s wedding, we knew that this wedding was low fuss and all fun. Kelsey and Peter instructed us to be like family. Enjoy, have a good meal, eat the cheese (brought from New Zealand!) and do your thing. Kelsey said she knew the photography was the last thing she could be worrying about. We appreciate that more than you know!
Kelsey and Peter smartly hired Whitney Werts who planned all the details leading up to the big event, including flying up gorgeous Tavola fine linens from Southern California. Heather Sullivan, a Hood River wedding coordinator whom we always love to work with, took over to oversee the day-of preparations. As if anyone had any doubts, the wedding went off without a hitch. Kelsey and Peter were effortless, elegant and so easy going. The weather faired in our favor and we were blessed with many great wedding portrait moments against the Mt. Hood backdrop.
Overlooking the Gorge Crest winery vines, guests witnessed a lovely and touching ceremony, where Kelsey almost put the ring on the wrong hand for Peter (happens all the time). The reception gave way to many thoughtful speeches from the multitude of friends that these two have collected over the years. One of Kelsey’s bridesmaids read aloud the emails Kelsey wrote to her afte meeting Peter, and we honestly had to cull down the images of Kelsey laughing hysterically. After catering by a Hood River restaurant, Celilo, a rockin’ dance reception on the lawn got started and even had Daniel dancing to DJ Collin Krum’s music more than once.
Side note, Collin was also the DJ at his sister Carson’s wedding, which we photographed after meeting her parents at Brian’s wedding. (Are you still following along? Brian is Kelsey’s brother and Carson’s parents were at Brian’s wedding….ok nevermind but thanks for trying!) The point is, we love when one wedding leads to another and another and another. Especially when the friends and family in that referral circle are super relatable and awesome to work with. Seeing your former clients at new weddings is like seeing an old friend. We just need people to keep getting married so we can keep hanging out!
We felt totally in sync as we were shooting this wedding. Our tandem photography team was seamlessly bouncing between our opposing camera angles, taking creative risks, noticing little details and just having ourselves a dream photography day. Yes, we work hard for this level of teamwork and artistry at every wedding but at Kelsey and Peter’s wedding, we just seemed to flow and the result was over 1000 delivered images that captured every angle and every facet of this couple’s story.
We hope you enjoy a selection of our favorite images. It was tough to narrow down so…there’s a lot! Click, comment, follow and drop us a line if you like!
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