Tell us a little about yourselves!
Garrett and Kelsey live in Portland, OR and started dating in 2022. Garrett is the Chef/Owner of one of Kelsey’s favorite restaurants in town G-Love, and coincidentally where they first met. Garrett also opened up his first cocktail bar, The Love Shack in 2024, which just got named The Best New Bar in Portland by Eater.
Kelsey works in tech, and also owns a beachfront property rental (Our Plaace in Neskowin) on the Oregon Coast with her best friend. This venture has fuelled her passion for interior design, photography, and curating experiential moments.
Garrett and Kelsey, together, love exploring the food and wine scene in both Portland and in their travels, spending time on the Oregon Coast, and adventuring with their English Cocker Spaniel, Gus.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We have been hosting a holiday party at our home (Our Plaace in Portland) the first Saturday of December every year. We thought it would be a fun twist to turn our holiday party into our wedding party!
How many guests did you have?
We had 35 guests between our family and chosen family for the ceremony and toasts, and invited another 35 to join in the after party.
Tell us about your outfits.
Kelsey wore a fun winter cape with a short fitted dress underneath, and a large red bow in her hair to tie in the holiday season. Her mom gifted her the very garter she wore on her wedding day almost 50 years prior, as well as a necklace that had been passed down from Kelsey’s Great Grandmother.
Garrett wore a tuxedo from Suit Supply - The original idea was to wear white on white, however, UPS had different plans. The white pants Garrett had wanted to wear were delivered while they were out of town on their joint bachelor/bachelorette trip in Hawaii… to the wrong house! The white on white tuxedo was completely custom and made in Italy so they had to work with Suit Supply on a rushed replacement. Suit Supply was fantastic to work with and did all they could to save the day. Luckily Garrett had also ordered a pair of black tuxedo pants as a backup, which worked out beautifully! Garrett wore his late grandfather’s cufflinks, which were gifted to him by his grandmother the week leading up to their wedding as well.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
From the beginning we knew we wanted our wedding to be small and intimate. It was very important that we were able to share meaningful moments with every guest that was a part of our special day. We ultimately decided to have our wedding in our home, surrounded by the people we love most.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
From a photography perspective, it was important to us to have our day captured as it happened, in a documentary style vs. prioritizing group photos in our day of timeline. Our only posed shot was a group photo following our ceremony.
As an ode to a very dear friend of Kelsey’s who had passed a few years prior, we served Lemon Drop Martinis as our guests arrived.
We were very intentional about our invite list and hand-wrote cards to every single guest which were placed as “ornaments” on our Christmas tree for our holiday wedding.
The large archway of our 1901 Victorian home that divides our living and dining rooms felt like the perfect location to have our ceremony. Kelsey’s brother officiated, and we had passed out champagne bottles to our guests prior to our ceremony starting. As we shared our first kiss as husband and wife, literally surrounded by all of our loved ones, the sound of bottles popping echoed throughout our home which was one of the most magical moments and feelings we will never forget.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Stay true to what is most important for you as a couple. If you want to do things differently, do it. Don’t let anyone tell you how a wedding is “supposed” to be. Some of our favorite moments both leading up to our wedding and our actual wedding day, were not considered to be traditional and we wouldn’t change a thing.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Casi Yost Photography - We wouldn’t be writing this without her. She is one of the most talented photographers we have ever met “blending editorial romance with a documentary perspective”. We had worked with her prior to our engagement and we knew it was going to be Casi from day one to be with us on our special day. Not only is she wildly talented, she made us feel completely at ease.
Wildflower Portland is one of the most thoughtful and caring humans we have met. She understood our vision from the beginning and went above and beyond. Not only did she do florals, she also staged other elements including bringing decorative wrapped gifts for under our Christmas tree, handmade wreaths, and storing Willamette Valley wine grapes she had collected over the summer months for the Champagne Bathtub install.
Taylor Stuck brought a unique perspective to our day by capturing our wedding on a vintage Super 8 camera. Taylor is a wildly talented photographer in her own right, but having the most talented duo between her and Casi was incredible. Being able to go back and relive that day by seeing and hearing the emotion in the room through both film and audio is one of the most meaningful keepsakes that we will treasure for a lifetime.
The Table catered a wonderful rehearsal dinner with our immediate family in the days leading up to our big day and prepared a fantastic array of finger foods, decadent canapés, and delicious bites following our ceremony.
Our Plaace We had the creative vision behind the wedding celebration and planned our day. We loved incorporating our home as the location for our special day.
Valley Flour - We knew instantly we would use Valley Flour for our wedding. Kelsey has loved Caydee’s work for years and had surprised Garrett with a German Chocolate Cake for a getaway they took together, not knowing Garrett had also planned on proposing that same trip! When we started wedding planning, we knew we wanted Caydee to recreate this same cake!
Kinn Studio- The ring Garrett proposed with had been passed down from Kelsey’s great grandfather! The ring had three diamonds, a thick gold band, and on the inside it was engraved with the years Kelsey’s grandma, mom, and her were each born. When we met Jenny and her incredible team, shared our story, and what we were hoping to create, they made the process of repurposing the family heirloom so special. We ultimately decided to have the main diamond repurposed into a new setting and the two other diamonds repurposed into two identical rings, each thoughtfully engraved with the same years Kelsey’s grandma, mom and her were all born (we gifted one to Kelsey’s mom just before our wedding — we both now wear them every day!). In addition they created a custom wedding band for Garrett, repurposing the gold from the previous band and sprinkled it into all four of the rings that we now wear daily. The team behind KINN is wildly talented, creative, detailed, kind, thoughtful and we could not be more grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them.
Leah Warner was so important to our wedding. Leah allowed us to fully enjoy our wedding and experience our vision coming to life. Leah’s role was instrumental in allowing us to be fully present with each other and our loved ones.
Photographer: Casi Yost Photography @casiyostphoto | Planning: by Kelsey | Flora:
Wildflower Portland @wildflower_portland | Super 8 Film: Taylor Stuck @taylorstuck | Ceremony & Reception Location: Our Plaace, Portland, OR @ourplaace | HMUA: Styled by Mal @styledbymal_ | Catering: The Table @thetablepdx Cake: Valley Flour @valleyflour | Suit: Suit Supply @suitsupply | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Kinn Studio @kinnstudio