Sarah + Chris | Lac de’ Fleur Garden Wedding

Saturday took us to Washougal (near Vancouver, Wash.), for Chris and Sarah’s garden party wedding at our new favorite venue Lac de’ Fleur Gardens. Sarah and Chris are an awesome couple. They are both in the hospitality industry, and met while working at Portland’s Hotel deLuxe.The style of the wedding was garden casual, Sarah’s dress was J. Crew cute, complete with pockets, and Chris wore khakis and flip-flops. Once he was ready, Chris and I headed down to the garden to the small bridge where they would do their first look. On the way down, he stopped to say hi to Sarah’s dad Guy.I knew from the way Sarah approached Chris with a “ta-da” for their first look that this would be a fun wedding, and I was going to have a blast as their photographer. Sarah surprised Chris by wearing a necklace he bought for her from Anthropologie, he didn’t think she planned on wearing it for the wedding.After their first look they had a pre-wedding cocktail hour. Sarah’s grandma Peg was so funny with her disposable camera. She traveled from Wisconsin for the wedding, and kept giving me updates about how many exposures she had left. She said she was going to get the photos developed at Walgreens as soon as she got home, so she could share them an hour later with her friends and family who didn’t make the trip. At one point, she had seven photos left, and we hadn’t even made it to the ceremony yet! I said to her, “be careful, it’s almost like you’re eating all your popcorn before the movie starts.” She just laughed and laughed. But I also assured her that I’d take care of it, and she’d have plenty of images to enjoy. She says she’s not a computer person and probably won’t read the blog, bummer. After the meet ‘n greet it was time to move the music in from the garden for the big event.That little box is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s called an iPA, and is basically a battery operated PA system with an iPod dock. The music ran all day, and you could hear it from everywhere. I thought it probably cost at least $1,000, but it’s selling for less than $200 on Amazon. Amanda, the garden’s wedding coordinator, told me that other couples have brought in really expensive systems, and the best she’s heard comes from Lac de’ Fleur’s little iPA.Sarah and Chris wrote their own vows, that had nearly everyone in tears. They made promises to each other, and told us stories about how they met, and how their co-working friendship blossomed into love. P.S. Isn’t this place amazing?Their rings were custom designed by a local Portland artist. So cool!
After dinner we did some portraits with Sarah and Chris around the property. Quickly, because they wanted to get back to the party!After everyone had cake, the light was amazing. I started taking portraits of all the guests. Each couple or group who got their photo taken had to go get another person. Sarah’s dad Guy is in the middle, and third from the left is Sarah’s mom Rhea. Everyone was having so much fun! Did I mention the light was awesome? The little iPA was belting out tunes, and everyone danced the evening away.The chair photo is a Bohlin family tradition where the bride and groom pose stoically in a chair. Sarah did her best, the first one looks serious enough…These photos practically took themselves; it was a magical mix of awesome people, an amazing venue, great light, and I had so much fun as their photographer.