Catherine and Erik | Portland Wedding Photography
He thought she was flaky and always running late. She thought he was a stuck up military boy. Their first impressions weren’t exactly positive… but that just goes to show that first impressions aren’t everything. A few months later, Catherine and Erik connected for a second time on a Catholic church retreat, and everything changed. He realized she was actually a really hard worker. And she realized that despite being in the Navy, Erik actually had a great sense of humor. It was love at second sight. Or maybe third, or fourth, or who knows? All I know is that these two were made for each other. Their personalities balance and compliment one another, and you just know that together, they will be ready for whatever life wants to throw at them. They spent their entire engagement apart because Erik was overseas on duty, but he still managed to come home a week early and surprise Catherine before their wedding. That’s commitment right there. That is love. Their wedding took place on Saturday, May 28th, and despite a gloomy forecast it was a perfect, sunny day. They were married in downtown Portland’s 122-year-old St. Patrick Church, with the reception taking place at the St. Pius Church Community Center in Cedar Mill. Catherine started the day by getting ready with her family at the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Beaverton. And yes, she wore fabulous gold shoes.
Catherine had a no-nonsense approach to getting ready. I’ve never seen such an efficient bride. She was perfectly on time and ready to go, ahead of schedule!
Catherine’s grandmother was at the hotel getting ready too, and was happy to get her makeup done as well!
And then it was off to the church! Definitely one of the most gorgeous churches I’ve been in yet.
Erik waited patiently for their first look.
One of the ring bearers couldn’t help but peak inside. Erik and Catherine were too cute!
From there we headed outside to take a few portraits of them together.
And a few of them apart.
They make such a beautiful pair!
Then it was time to take family portraits! I had to share this shot of Catherine and her grandmother.
The wedding party was a hoot! So much personality. This pretty much sums it up:
And with Catherine’s excellent planning, the ceremony began right on time! The couple even had a few minutes to rest beforehand.
It was a full Catholic ceremony, but Catherine and Erik asked me to put down my camera during the sacred moments of communion and prayer. I really respected that they made this decision. I’ve never seen a couple do anything like this before but it really showed a lot of commitment to their faith and to the moment.
Their priest somehow managed to throw a Star Wars reference into the sermon. I don’t know how. Catherine was pretty surprised, haha.
I loved this moment! They were not expecting the “10s”! I love when families surprise their loved ones like this.
Of course once they were married, they had to make out a little bit.
We went back inside the church for a few more portraits.
And then, on the way over to their reception, we stopped in Forest Park to have some fun! Of course, the lighting was perfect.
When we were finished taking portraits, we went on to the reception, which started with a great sword arch!
They had a lot of beautiful details – both Navy and Celtic inspired.
Delicious food too of course!
The toasts afterward blew me away. So heartfelt.
Catherine and Erik then proceeded to attempt a cake-cutting, haha. They looked a little confused at first.
They figured it out though…
At last, it was time for their first dance!
They danced to the same song that Catherine’s grandmother danced to at her own wedding.
Catherine was then whisked away to dance with her father.
Followed by Erik and his mother.
By this point there weren’t very many dry eyes in the room, so the obvious solution was to get everyone dancing.
I started to see the sense of humor that Erik likes to hide under his stoic Navy uniform.
Everyone seemed to be having a great time �
The dancing kept getting more interesting as the night continued…
A few swords were drawn too – I just about died when I saw this.
Lots of dancefloor kisses!
At last, the night came to an end!
Congratulations Erik and Catherine! I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for you two. Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of your day. I wish you a long and happy marriage!