Sequins. Sneakers. The edginess of a live music venue and the beauty of a Pacific Northwest forest. An electric blue embroidered suit. When we say “eclectic Oregon wedding,” this is what we’re talking about.
“We really wanted to make our wedding a celebration of everything that we loved, and we wanted to make it more like a 10-year anniversary party than a traditional wedding,” say Morgan + Ty, who had been together for an entire decade before they tied the knot officially at this offbeat Oregon wedding which took place onstage at a music venue tucked in the woods in the bend of the Hood River.
“The place we picked – The Ruins – doubles as a live concert venue and is located in one of our favorite places in Oregon,” the couple says, “nestled in the Columbia River Gorge.”
There among the tall trees and the moss-covered concrete remains of a 100‑year‑old pear cannery, Morgan, Ty, and planner Elody Rose Events brought to life a wedding day that felt as creative, free-spirited, and thrillingly non-traditional as the bride + groom’s personalities. There were colorful bridesmaid dresses, a live bluegrass band, and mini donuts instead of cake. And Morgan’s unique take on wedding day style played with some of our favorite bold bridal choices: sparkles, ruffles, capes, and bright, non-white colors. (Bonus points cause the look matched her blush + blue hair!)
“What makes this wedding so compelling,” says photographer Renee Walker, “is that nothing felt performative. Every decision was rooted in creating a celebration that genuinely represented their relationship after a decade together. The result was a wedding that felt artistic, emotional, wildly original, and deeply personal from beginning to end.”
“Morgan found her dress via social media from Chotronette a designer from Romania,” says the couple of the online dress search that led to this glittery, ruffle-y gown. Major fantasy-princess-warrior vibes in rose gold and vibrant blue.
Rust & Roses Beauty created Morgan’s side-swept braided hairstyle ,and Laughlin Esthetics took care of wedding makeup with this pink-lipped look.
We’re into SO MANY elements of Morgan’s nontraditional look. If you are too, we’ve got some homework for you in the form of these three bridal style roundups:
The First Look
Our Favorite Memory
Ty: Honestly, for me, the fact that the Wedding Planning Team really took care of everything for us.....The Planner, DJ/Sound, Bartending were all employees of the venue. So things went so smoothly, that there were really no hiccups throughout the day. The other thing for me was the "First Look" of my beautiful bride. I was in awe of her beauty, her dress, and the emotion of everything that had led up to that day......I had tears of joy in my eyes and the rest of the day was magical and so much fun.
Morgan: The most memorable moment for me was the whole day- I truly can’t pick a favorite.
“Instead of traditional ‘dress shoes’ we chose comfort,” the couple says. “The entire wedding party wore matching Nikes. The ladies wore hand painted Air Max, and the guys wore Low Dunks.”
Bridal Sneakers in Blush
Where bridal sneakers and ballet core colors meet 💕🌷
“Ty also found his suit via social media from Addicted Bespoken,” the bride + groom say of Ty’s custom embroidered look.
“Ty wanted to incorporate an Owl and Grateful Dead Roses into his suit. He submitted some design ideas to them, and they delivered an amazing product.”
“He was able to choose colors that were a perfect match for Morgan’s dress, and they were so helpful throughout the whole process.”
We love this funky + unforgettable embroidered groom style trend so much we wrote an entire article about it: Suit Up In Style: Embroidered Suits for a Unique Trending Look
‘Everything about our day was homage to our 10-years together as a couple, including having our pup, Sequoia, as our Flower Girl.”
“Ty matched the groomsmen’s ties & pocket squares (from Kind Design) to each individual bridesmaid dress color,” the couple says. “The ties & pocket squares were also topographical designs of Hood River, to further round out the style. “
The Ceremony
“For the bridesmaids’ dresses, it was decided that a rainbow of colors was preferred vs. one color for everyone,” Morgan + Ty remember. “It lined up with our eclectic lifestyle and was so much more fun!”
“To round out Ty’s attire, he chose a designer Fedora from Ruediger Hats.”
Our Musical Choices
ProcessionalOfficiant/Groom/Family Processional - Fix You - Vitamin String Quartet (Coldplay cover) || Bridal Party Processional - Fade Into You - Vitamin String Quartet (Mazzy Star cover) || Bridal Processional - Everything In Its Right Place - Vitamin String Quartet (Radiohead cover)RecessionalTrue Love Waits - Vitamin String Quartet (Radiohead cover)First DanceEverything I Need (Micah Wagner)
After “I Do”
“We met in Indianapolis, IN in the Spring of 2015,” share Morgan + Ty, who stole away after the ceremony to snap these stunning portraits.
“Ty was in town to clean out his desk at work, as he was in the process of moving to Louisville, KY. A mutual friend invited us both out to a Jam Band concert at a local venue called The Vogue.”
“We all met up beforehand at our friend’s apartment, and we were introduced to each other.”
“It wasn’t until we were left at a table by ourselves that Morgan broke the ice and started conversation. Later in the evening, the mutual friend let Ty know that Morgan thought he was cute, and a courtship soon followed.”
“We bonded over our fondness for owls, going to see live music, and traveling. A year and a half later, we decided to move to the Pacific Northwest together, and nearly 10-years after we first met, we tied the knot.”
The Reception
How fun is this custom neon sign! Love the homage to the PNW landscape with that mountain range detail.
“Since we met at a concert, we wanted to keep with that theme, and we hired the first band we saw together when we moved to Portland: Band of Comerados,” Morgan + Ty share. “This bluegrass band just happened to be part of our closest group of friends, the Rolling for Jerry Bowling (from our Grateful Dead bowling league). Beyond our family and close friends from home, a majority of our guest list were all our friends from this league!”
“We wanted a non-traditional menu, and chose BBQ and all the fixins form Two Chicks & A Rooster,” Morgan + Ty recall of the reception fare. “In place of a wedding cake, we had mini-donuts from Lil’ Funky Donuts!”
Our Advice
Have fun with it, and do exactly what you want to do.....Don't try to plan for what your guests expect, or what you think would be good for your guests......It's your Day, and you should above all make sure it's fun for you!!!!
Other than that, definitely get the ball rolling early and try to knock out the big things first. The small details start to fall in place, and are way easier to plan for than the big things.
Likewise, we highly recommend using a Wedding Planner that is familiar with your venue, or vice versa. It honestly makes your day go way easier when your planner can make things go so smoothly. We were blessed with an amazing staff at The Ruins, an amazing planner (Elody Zuniga), and great vendors (Two Chicks and a Rooster catering, Renee Walker Photography, Lil Funky Donuts, Inspired Journey Sound Production,Poppin Pix, After the Tone).......so we couldn't have been happier!
Congratulations, Morgan + Ty! Your blush + blue outdoor wedding day was an eclectic, Oregonian dream! All the best from GWS!
Wedding Vendors
Fashion: Chotronette // Fashion: Addicted Bespoken // Photography: Renee Walker Photo // Venue: The Ruins // Wedding Planner: Elody Rose // Hair Stylist: Rust & Roses Beauty // Makeup Artist: Laughlin Esthetics // Catering: Two Chicks and a Rooster // Desserts: Lil’ Funky Donuts // Specialty Rentals: River Hood Rentals // Photo Booth: Poppin' Pix // band: Band Of Comerados // DJ: Inspired Journey Sound Production
