Jessica Lemmons Photography Blog, Longview Washington (Wa.) photographer.

Clinton and Kari were married at their home church – a small but beautiful Lutheran chapel in Chehalis.  You might remember Clinton and Kari from their e-session here.  My second shooter Ruth and I had an amazing time with these two (and Ruth rocked as my second btw and some of the photos below are from her).  We shot most of their photos just outside of their church – you’d never know we were in a parking lot now would ya?  ;-) and then finished up the rest of their day with a super-fun reception at the beautiful Hotel Washington in downtown Chehalis.   Thank you so much Clinton and Kari for having me as your photographer and Congratulations!!!!!!!

This whole wedding was just to much fun!  Tanner and Shannon’s biggest thing that they emphasized to me in our pre-wedding consult was that they wanted photos of them and their guests just enjoying their day…and well, that’s what we did!  Their whole day was laid back, fun, filled with laughs and just an all out celebration of who Tanner and Shannon are.   The wedding was held at the Edgefield McMenimens  in Troutdale Oregon and they couldn’t have picked a better venue.  Shannon looked  radiant and the day went beautifully.  Thank you again Nate for helping me (a number of the photos below are thanks to him!)

Tanner and Shannon – Thank you!  I was honored to be there and throughly enjoyed being a part of your day!

Before I let Caleb and Kellyn share about their day I have to preface this post.

3 years ago I was driving to the beach and saw this little road, I was totally intrigued and did the thing any normal photographer would do….I pulled off and took some photos of it.

Well…..3 years later I end up on the same road and wouldn’t you know it that is where this wedding happens to be.  Just a random spot on the side of the road (part of Caleb’s families property), but such a pretty spot that you can’t help but fall in love with it.    So yes..Caleb and Kellyn were married on the side of the road.   But what a beautiful roadside wedding it was!    I thought it was a funny coincidence when I realized “where” I was.

Caleb and Kellyn – I seriously LOVED your wedding.   Everything about it was absolutely beautiful….  Thank you for having me.  I felt so honored to be there!

What was the favorite part of your wedding day? 

Kellyn:  My favorite part of the day was saying my vows and hearing Caleb say his.  It felt so good to FINALLY become his wife!

Caleb:  My favorite part of the wedding day was seeing Kellyn come down the aisle.  She looked beautiful.

Why did you pick the venue you did?

Kellyn:  We picked family property for our little wedding because we wanted some place memorable and beautiful.  We picked The Loft at the Red Building for the reception because it’s a gorgeous location and the view is unbeatable!  :)

Caleb:  It was beautiful and intimate, which is just what we wanted.

Tell me about your details - 

Kellyn:  I didn’t fuss to much over the details.  Where we had the reception didn’t need a lot of decorating because it is already so beautiful, so I wanted to keep it simple.  Our main decoration was birch branches and we added purple and ivory flowers for color.  I purchased a bunch of lanterns for centerpieces, but left most of the decorating to our amazing florist.  Everything turned out perfect!  Caleb hand-made some of our decorations, like our Words of Wisdom Book.  I am thankful to be married to such a talented man!

Caleb:  The details were up to Kellyn, but it turned out great.

Tell me about your bridal party and why you picked them - 

Kellyn:  We had a very small family wedding, so my bridesmaids consisted of my sister, sister-in-law, and my two best friends.  :)  I picked them because they mean the world to me.  They are the people I wanted around me on my wedding day.

Caleb:  I had three groomsmen, my brother and my two brother-in-laws.  I picked them because they are family and have always been there for me.

What was the funniest thing that happened that day?

Kellyn:  Oh gosh, when it was happening it wasn’t very funny.  But looking back on it, it is now.  My biggest pet peeve is being late, but I was almost late to my own wedding!  Our hair appointment went too long.  I had about 10 minutes to get dressed and get ready.  Somehow I made it and the wedding started only a few minutes late.  I have no idea how I managed to get ready that fast!!

Caleb:  I thought watching our nephews was the funniest part of the day.  Not all of them were in the best mood…  

Where did you go for your honeymoon?

Kellyn:  We spent two glorious weeks in Maui!

Caleb:  MAUI!

Ok……so this wedding is a little bit EXTRA special to me.   The groom is actually my cousin…..well third cousin if you want to get all-technical, but until I was about 10 or so we all lived in the same town and so our families spent a lot of time together. My little brother and him were buddies.   They moved away when we were all still young, up to Lynden (a 4 hours drive) so family get-together’s were rare.   So when I found out that him and his long time girlfriend Marian were tying the knot and wanted me to be their photographer I was so excited!

Marian is a gem….and Nate is just flat out wonderful to her and their sweet little guy.  I had so much fun taking a mini-vacation up there (Bellingham) to photograph their wedding.   Catching up with family was also a nice little bonus.  ;-)    I’m gonna shut up now and let Marian tell ya’ll about their day in her words, but before I do I want to give a BIG. HUGE. GIGANTIC thank you to my wonderful friend Cindy for seconding with me again.  You rock girl!

What was the favorite part of your wedding day?   My favorite part of the day was hearing the words Mr. And Mrs. Nate Kelsey – it was a rather chaotic day , so to hear those sweet, simple words really calmed me down and made me forget why I was upset – at least for the night. 

Why did you pick the venue you did?    We chose Homestead Golf & Resort because we have been members there for years- and the venue looked like something out of a fairy tale when we booked it. 

Tell me about your details:   Details – well my favorite detail of the evening was the flowers. It was the only thing that I had planned that actually turned out to be what I had expected. They were beautiful! White, light & dark pink Gerber daisies with green fillers and white roses – the centerpieces had a fun, but classy edge to them, as the vases were lined with limes – which pulled my color scheme of pink and green altogether.

Tell me about your bridal party and why you picked them:      My bridal party consisted of mainly family. We are pretty close with our family & for me, it was out of the question to not ask Nate’s sisters, as they have been a huge part of our relationship. Also in the party, were our two good friends – Elizabeth, whom I have known for about 18 years and Nate’s good friend Liju, who has supported us from the beginning. The best part of our bridal party – was Nate’s best man, Peyton our son, who by all means is the best man. My maid of Honor was my cousin, Rheagan who has just the biggest heart & tries her best to give you her all. We had 5 flower girls – all our nieces; Aliyah, Adyson, Alexah, Audrie & Carlee alongside the ring bearer Kamden.

What was the funniest thing that happened that day?    The funniest thing that happened that day – would be my parents toasts & my brothers reactions to those toasts…. LOL (no details there… sorry!) 

Where did you go for your honeymoon?  Nate and I went to Vegas for our honeymoon; once we got there we were told that it was a very weird spot to choose… because it is one of the wedding capitals in the world…not honeymoon capitals. LOL. We had a great time, saw Kris Angel, the Excalibur knight show & even rented a Camaro to drive out to the Hoover Dam. It was VERY hot – a whopping 109 the entire time, which was a little too hot for us Washington folks… but we had a blast, staying at the Bellagio.

Story coming soon…….