Rustic Country Barn Wedding in Halfway, Oregon - Justine & Brad
When you both grow up in the same small cluster of towns, you’d think that would be the story of how you met the love of your life. But not for Justine & Brad. How about going to the same university? Nope, their time there never lined up either. It was after they both had started on their lives, him in Boise and her in LA that they finally met each other. Super fun fact about this couple - the bartender on their very first date ended up being the one to officiate the wedding! I love that small-town magic.
Justine & Brad are currently building their lives in Boise, Idaho, and have kept close ties to their small community back in Halfway, Oregon. So, they knew that they wanted to get married back in town. A high school acquaintance had recently bought a barn just off main street with ideas of turning it and the surrounding hayfields into an event venue — eventually. As the first wedding at the property, it was an experiment for all of us. Their October wedding would take place after the final hay harvest of the season and the rustic barn would serve as the focal point to orient everything around. On one side were colorful original stained glass panels, which would be the backdrop to the wedding ceremony. Inside the barn was the buffet and the top point acted as the anchor for the long strings of bistro lights that fanned out over the reception area.
Having a private first look was important for Justine & Brad. I always recommend first looks for couples that aren’t looking forward to being the center of attention on their wedding day. As an introvert myself, I can really understand the feeling. Justine loved the wooden pathways that linked buildings at the Pine Valley Lodge where she and her party were getting ready.
My approach for first looks is very hands-off, so my couples can have this special moment to themselves. Setting the two of them up is precise, and always involves a few extra minutes of waiting, but once they start to interact I just melt away. On this day, I felt like a little bumblebee in this fall garden, hovering in circles under the sunshine around a beautiful flower. For first looks, I’m there to capture what happens, and nothing is more beautiful than your bounty of emotions on your wedding day. The great thing about first looks is that you can set aside as much or little time for them as you want for your private moment. And when you’re ready, we can seamlessly move into couples portraits. This is when we took most of the portraits on this day.
Long after I finished photographing the wedding I stayed by the fire heaters and had a blast chatting and getting to know the community who had turned out to celebrate Brad & Justine. They were the sweetest ever! I felt so at home and welcome with these people and it was an honor to get to document their wedding.
