Patty & Alex enjoyed an intimate backyard wedding in Portland, Oregon surrounded by a forest of overgrown Christmas trees on their family’s property.

Upon meeting Patty & Alex to help them with their timeline, we munched on Domino’s pizza slices and ended up chatting for over 2 hours about life and random topics and our mutual love for The Office. They were the most laid-back and easygoing couple, and the love they have for each other was so evident even upon that first meeting.

How They Met

“We met while we were both working at New Seasons Market and started dating a few months later. It’s amazing how time flies by when you’ve found your person, the last two years have gone by really fast. We’re each other’s best friend and can’t imagine life without the other. We feel very lucky to have found each other. ”

Wedding Details

Their Portland backyard wedding day was beautiful and intimate and full of family and friends that instantly make you feel right at home when talking with them. So it seemed all the more fitting that the wedding was hosted at the house and property of the Bride’s family. There was a deep thankfulness shared by all that were present that day, celebrating the marriage of Patty & Alex. As guests filtered in for the ceremony a string quartet, Columbia River Strings, were playing notes that soared softly through the summer air and surrounding gardens (I even caught the “Game of Thrones” intro song in their mix!)

DESSERT BAR OF DREAMS

Inside the house, their wedding dessert bar was the thing of DREAMS. 5 wedding cakes made by Baker & Spice, with an accompanying DIY dessert bar with goodies from Petunia’s Pies & Pastries that had me practicing my own self-control – a rainbow pyramid of macarons, stacked towers of donuts, cookies and bars of every kind, vegan cupcakes, and colorful candies!

Favorite Moments of their Wedding

Patty – “Seeing Alex standing by the tree for our First Look photos, and having that nice quiet moment right after the ceremony where we got to take a moment to relax. Also seeing my family dancing.”

Alex – “Being able to have a private moment with Patty after the ceremony, and the first look. Also, the string quartet and the champagne toast. Then Patty and I got to eat by ourselves at the reserved table and that was really nice.”

Golden Hour Goodness

Patty and Alex’s wedding day continued through the setting sun, where we adventured over to the edge of the property amongst a small forest of overgrown Christmas trees to catch the golden sunset. It was absolutely magical to witness the sun filtering through the trees and the way it silhouetted the two of them!

Kind Words from the Couple

“Marissa was fantastic to work with! Marissa has such an amazing eye for taking photos and is so creative. I’d recommend her to anyone! Besides taking incredible photos, she also helped us kick things into gear in terms of creating our wedding timeline and had very helpful suggestions. She was a calming presence during our wedding and it was nice to not have to worry about quality photographs being taken.”

Keep scrolling to see the rest of their magical backyard forest wedding in Portland, Oregon!

Vendors

Photographer: Marissa Solini Photography

Second Shooter: Together Theory

Venue: Family Residence

String Quartet: Columbia River Strings

Bridal Dress: Charlotte’s Weddings

Groom Suit: Nordstrom Rack, Ralph Lauren

Officiant: Ryan Smith

Florals: Seventh Stem

Food: 808 Grinds and Roxy’s Island Grill

Snowcone Station & Food Set-up: Teresa Tucker

Hair: Lisa Roberts

Cakes: Baker & Spice

Desserts: Petunia’s Pies & Pastries and Camille Smith

Wine: Cooper Mountain Vineyards

Sign Maker: Justin Rueff

Wanting to have a backyard wedding of your own?

Fill out my Contact Form and let’s start planning your dream day!