Bryan Aulick Photography

Mackenzie & Nick, a Portland Wedding

Bryan Aulick — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 22:07:37 +0000

Mackenzie and Nick were married in April, back when any sane couple and photographer should plan for rain, but the powers of our optimism parted the clouds, set up a high pressure system that Matt Zaffino’s still blogging about, and the city of Portland gave us keys to the city. Because we brought sun to Portland in April.

Here’s Mackenzie:

Because of who we are and what we do, we knew our wedding would be handcrafted from start to finish. Of course, we wanted a large part in the creating because craft has always served as the foundation of our relationship, but we were also eager to collaborate with other makers in the process.

When envisioning our wedding, we had three adjectives in mind: handmade, simple, and spring. April 21 was the fourth anniversary of the day we met, so we let the season dictate the flowers and the menu, and kept our fingers crossed for unseasonably dry weather.

—read the rest of Mackenzie’s account after the pictures—

The main thing Nick wanted was for the wedding to be outdoors. If you’re familiar with the weather patterns in Oregon, April isn’t much better than December when it comes to agreeable weather. Nick held his ground, and I think we can both agree we’re happy he did. Our wedding day couldn’t have been sunnier, and the apple orchard couldn’t have been a better setting for our intimate ceremony.

We shuttled 40 of our closest family and friends out to an orchard on Sauvie Island, a river island only 25 minutes outside of Portland. It’s a place that’s always been our getaway from the city, and a place where we connect with nature and each other. We had a very short ceremony officiated by Nick’s uncle, followed by apple cider in the park and a bus ride back to the Ace Hotel in the heart of downtown Portland. Our guests enjoyed local beer, wine and a completely Oregon-harvested vegetarian meal.

Locality and sustainability both play a large part in our daily lives – from going to the neighborhood farmers market to supporting local businesses – and we wanted them to be a strong influence in every part of our wedding. Our registry only contained items manufactured in the USA, we used local vendors whenever possible, and made whatever we could ourselves (candles in recycled glass jars, cloth napkins, recyclable table runners, leather books for our handwritten vows, my shoes). One of Nick’s favorite collaborations throughout the whole process was working with local designer Adam Arnold to design his outfit from scratch.

The silhouettes were cut by hand (without drawing first) by a close friend of ours who was trained at Disneyland and cut there for many years. It was amazing! Each guest was able to take theirs home, and we got to keep one of each guest which are now pasted in a book with messages.

It was important for us to steer clear of a “cookie cutter” wedding. We wanted it to be completely evident who we are as a couple and what is most important to us. Letterpress is a passion we’ve discovered and fostered together, and we made sure its presence was felt, from the invites and gift baskets to the vintage wood type on the dessert table.

Our wedding day was incredibly heartfelt for so many reasons. After 18 months of pouring sweat, tears and love into everything we made and creating messes in every room of our home, we finally got to share all of our projects with the people who know us best and have supported us through it all. I’ll never forget the feeling of walking into the reception space and seeing all of our visions realized. The light in the room was lovely and ethereal, and it was all exactly as I’d imagined it to be.

The best part? We’re married and our family of nine (that’s right: two dogs, five chickens, and the two of us) is official. And as much as the details mattered to us, nothing matters more than that.

Wedding Consulting: Ella Events
Flowers: Fieldwork
Ceremony Venue: Howell Territorial Park, Sauvie Island
Reception Site: The Cleaners @ Portland Ace Hotel
Pies: Random Order
Make-up: Ebel Artisty
Bus Transportation: Eco-shuttle

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Everyone loves live music and dancing

Bryan Aulick — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 20:11:39 +0000

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Lauren & Joseph

Bryan Aulick — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:42:55 +0000

Sonoma, CA. Hey Lauren and Joe, try these shebangs. :) Thank you so much for making me a part of them.

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Avi and Jay

Bryan Aulick — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:59:52 +0000

Engagement photographs in San Francisco. Yep, right next to the Full House house…which, I have to say, really stretched the imagination once Uncle Jesse moved from the basement to the third-floor attic space and found an extra 1300 square feet for his new family. Since when have attics had 13-foot ceilings?

These are for you, Avi, who’s warm and generous, and Jay, who cries when he laughs.

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Chrissy & Mike

Bryan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:28:04 +0000

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Beth & Michael

Bryan — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:23:25 +0000

Brooklyn at the Montauk Club. Photographing in New York is different. Cases in point: 1. As we were finishing up with the formal shots, I was amusedly watching some family members shifting around for a moment. Mike was lined up and on a schedule, and let me know by saying, “Hey, eyes on us over here.” Sorry for chuckling, Mike, but you don’t hear that on the west coast. 2. As Beth and Mike were performing the ridiculous antics I asked them to do under the arch, a stately elderly woman stopped nearby and asked, “Is this what they call creative wedding photography?” “I hope so,” I replied.

This is my last wedding of the season. And finishing up here leaves me feeling blessed. Blessed that Beth and Mike asked me to travel cross-country, and blessed to be a part of their experience—their specific reading-Marley-and-Me, lifting-35-pounders, breaking-heads-off-cake-toppers, goofing-on-statues, cherishing-the-moment experience. I’m immensely thankful, and thankful, too, to my friend Brandon Witzel, who helped capture the day.

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Sauvie Island

Bryan Aulick — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 23:59:54 +0000

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Megan and Dan

Bryan Aulick — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:59:20 +0000

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Mackenzie and Nick

Bryan Aulick — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:59:06 +0000

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Midnight snow between the toes

Bryan Aulick — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:47:32 +0000

Despite the extra camera weight and partly because of the wind-whipped snowflake-loogies splattering my face below the brim, this was the funnest run of my life.

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