Real micro wedding photographed and submitted by Elena of Ilumina Photography
Charlie + Sam’s microwedding in Oregon City was such a beautiful example of how heartfelt, simple, and meaningful small weddings can be!
With just 15 of their closest friends and family, these two autumn lovers celebrated their beautiful day in a way that felt refreshing, honest, and most important—stress free! They chose Everett Hall at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest as their venue. And it couldn’t have been more cozy and perfect!
Just 20 minutes away from Oregon city, Everett Hall is a quiet, cozy, and rustic event space perfect for the small and untraditional wedding days.
Inside, the space feels like a warm log cabin and matched Charlie + Sam’s autumn rustic decor and color palette. This tucked away venue also has a space for those who love the outdoors. Right outside, the space opens up to an uncovered stone patio, with views of the surrounding hills and Willamette Valley forest. Even though it’s out in the open, the trees offer a barrier from the outside world, and provide privacy and seclusion without being too far of a drive from the city.
The Ceremony
These two were so intentional with every choice they made, and included their guests wherever they could. Charlie surprised her new father-in-law by having him walk her down the aisle, and included her daughter in the ceremony by giving her a bubble cannon to shoot during their first kiss! Not to mention their handwritten vows that left every single one of us teary (myself included).
Their “arbor” was a beautiful mix between boho, rustic, and modern. The primary centerpiece was a stunningly textured area rug, lined and accented with glass vases full of pampas grass and a variety of autumn florals. The couple and their families added even more personal touch to these details by putting them together and designing it themselves!
The Reception
Their reception is where all the details and decor really came together. Instead of a full meal, they set up the cutest charcuterie platter along with their homemade cake and champagne. All the autumn colors and florals filled the spaces in between and tied it together with the rest of their day. My personal favorite detail just HAS to be the little ghost candles throughout the space—hinting at their love for autumn and spooky season!
Staying true to their heart and love for their guests, Charlie and Sam further included them by setting out a polaroid guest book. It didn’t take much encouragement for them to pick up the camera and snap photos of whatever they liked. Especially Charlie’s daughter! She was so good at snapping cute polaroids of everyone, it felt like having a little assistant with me!
If you hadn’t noticed yet, Charlie and Sam love their people and love to surprise their people. I remember Charlie telling me during the day that they originally planned to wear traditional Korean hanbok. But with the change in wedding plans Charlie and her mom decided against it as it wouldn’t have shipped in time for the day.
Little did mom know, Charlie ordered some anyway! Halfway through the reception the couple stepped back into the reception dressed in their hanbok—completely surprising her and as a result, leaving the whole room in happy tears again!
A wedding day without unnecessary frills—just love & heart
Honestly, I feel like I learned so much from these two and the way they planned their day. Charlie and Sam truly have so much love and such a heart for each other and their families. With making the switch to a microwedding, those values really had the opportunity to shine through in such beautiful ways!
Advice from the couple
C: “Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations or help if you’re struggling. Our photographer is actually who recommended our venue because she shot another micro wedding there and it was exactly what we were looking for.
Micro weddings give you so much space to break tradition. Have fun with it. Make it your own!”
S: “Buying is expensive. Don’t be afraid to DIY! Friends and family can be a great resource! One of my best friends loaned us our getaway car. My mom baked our wedding cake. We were married by my brother’s father in law. All things that just added that extra sentimental touch.
Lastly, don’t let people pressure you into a wedding that doesn’t feel right for you or your spouse!”
From the Couple—Charlie + Sam
Why did you choose a micro wedding?
C: “There were a lot of reasons that went into the final decision but at the end of the day, the further we got into the planning of the big wedding process, the less fun we had and the more stress it seemed to put on what was supposed to be our special day.
When we stripped all the expectations and pressure away, we had two people getting married with their closest family. That felt more like us and less like we were throwing our next family reunion.
The money we saved from our micro wedding went towards our honeymoon and that was the best decision we could have made. We had the best time!”
S: “Wedding planning is a lot! No one prepares you for the amount of time it takes to research wedding vendors, rentals, pricing, etc. It was way more than we both wanted to take on while also working full time and having other things going on in our lives.
Outside of that, the idea of a crowd at our wedding was not for me. I don’t love being the center of attention as is. I don’t want all these eyes on me when I’m having a beautiful romantic moment with my wife.
The intimate ceremony was so much more relaxed.”
How did you keep your guest count down?
C. “It felt tough choosing who to leave out but our friends and family who weren’t invited were all incredibly understanding of our choice and were very supportive of it being what was right for us.”
S: “The most important thing was immediate family. Looking back on the day, the people who were there were all people who had been the biggest witnesses to our journey as a couple and were truly there to celebrate us getting to the next chapter of our relationship, marriage!”
How much did you invest in your day?
C: The most expensive thing was my dress including alterations. The only vendors we hired were photographer and hair and make up artist. We lucked out and got our venue at an amazing deal and saved a ton by DIYing a lot of the decor and flowers ourselves.
S: Under 10K.
What surprised you about planning a micro wedding?
C: I was surprised by how much I didn’t miss the things we considered but didn’t end up going with like a DJ or florist. The personal touches are what I remember the most.
S: I was surprised by how well our families rallied together to help put our vision together.
What surprised you about the wedding day itself?
C: Even for a 15 person wedding, we felt like we didn’t get a chance to talk to everyone for very long because it all went so quick. I can’t imagine if it had been 100 people.
S: How quickly the day went. From the time I got out of bed until we got home. It was a surreal day.
Our favorite moments of the day
C: Surprising my mom with our traditional Korean hanboks. Surprising my father in law by having him walk me down the aisle. I loved how we surprised our parents!
S: Seeing my soon to be wife walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing her face when she realized I incorporated Taylor Swift into my vows.
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