Jordan & Charles | A Three-Day Love Story in the Hood River Valley
Jordan and Charles have been each other's person since high school. The kind of couple who never really had to figure out if it was right, they just knew. At 24, with a decade long love story already under their belt, they chose now, a long weekend in the Hood River Valley surrounded by the people they love most to tie the knot forever. And they asked me to document all of it.
The weekend began the way the best ones do, casually and with cold drinks in hand. Welcome drinks at Riverside at the Best Western Plus pulled everyone together on the deck above the Columbia River. The energy was exactly what you'd hope for on a first night, excited, warm, and a little giddy, the kind that comes from realizing everyone you love has actually made it.
Then the came rehearsal dinner, and the whole mood shifted.
Columbia Gorge Hotel has a particular kind of elegance that feels very old world, and John Cody with Kingsley Event Supply leaned all the way into it. Moss runners, pillar candles, green-tinted glassware, scalloped sage plates… It was lush and considered and a little moody; completely different from the casual riverfront evening that had just wrapped up.
That contrast is one of my favorite things about shooting a full wedding weekend. Each event has its own feeling, its own look, its own light. The welcome drinks were one version of Jordan and Charles. The rehearsal dinner was another. And the wedding day would be something else entirely.
The morning of the wedding I arrived at Mt. Hood Organic Farms, and I felt it the way I always do at this place. There's something about being on a working orchard at the foot of Mt. Hood, surrounded by a century's worth of apple and pear trees, that slows everything down in the best possible way. It's one of my favorite places in the world to show up with a camera.
Jordan was stunning. Her dress was strapless and sculptural with an architectural bow at the back, a pearl-edged veil trailing behind her, baby's breath tucked into her hair. Charles was sharp in a classic black suit with a white boutonniere, the kind of look that's clean and confident. Together they were exactly right for this place.
The ceremony was held in the garden, and I will say this simply: Mt. Hood showed up. There she was, perfectly framed between the firs, snow-capped and enormous, presiding over the whole thing like it had been waiting for this moment. Jordan and Charles stood at the stone altar, held hands, and made promises while one of the most breathtaking landscapes in the Pacific Northwest bore witness.
After the ceremony, guests spilled out onto the grounds for cocktail hour while Jordan and Charles slipped away with me for a few portraits. Through the wisteria tunnel, into the quiet corners of the farm that most guests never see. These are the images that become the ones couples keep on their walls.
Inside the historic Apple House, the reception was set with the kind of detail that rewards a close look. Lucy with Lucy's Informal Flowers set the tone with beautiful pink roses and lush greenery, arrangements that felt garden-fresh and romantic without being overdone. Pink glassware from Riverhood Rentals caught the light from every angle, and the warm wooden bones of the Apple House held it all together in the most effortless manner.
And then there was The FotoBus. The vintage VW bus parked on the grounds as the evening light went golden and Mt. Hood turned pink behind it is one of those images I couldn't have planned if I'd tried. Guests lined up, laughed, piled in, and came out clutching strips of photos that they'll keep in their wallets for years.
The weekend closed with a farewell brunch at Stratton Rose Gardens, styled once again by Kingsley Event Supply. Garden tables, morning light, the particular bittersweet feeling of a celebration winding down. The guests who had arrived as strangers to each other were leaving as something more, a sure sign of a wedding-weekend done right.
Jordan and Charles sent their guests home with embroidered hats, Mt. Hood candles, matches, and locally made candy. Small things that said: we thought about you, we wanted you to take a piece of this place home with you. It was a perfectly fitting note for a couple who, from everything I observed across three days, think about the people around them constantly.
I've been doing this long enough to know that the wedding day is only part of the story. The night before matters. The morning after matters. The moment on the deck when everyone realizes the weekend has officially begun, that matters too.
Jordan and Charles gave me three days and three completely different versions of themselves. Laughing on a riverfront deck, followed by an elegant rehearsal dinner on Friday night. Married at the foot of Mt. Hood on Saturday. And a beautiful farewell brunch on Sunday morning. Each one was real, each one was them. Together they tell a story that no single day could have held on its own.
What a weekend. What a privilege. Jordan and Charles, thank you.
Vendor Team:
Wedding Day -
Photography | @jenjonesweddings
Wedding Venue | @mthoodorganicfarms
Coordination | @gorgeweddingcoordination
Planning | @gorgeweddingconcierge
Wedding Day Catering + Bartending | @fielddaypdx
Florals | @lucysinformalflowers
HMU | @gorgestylesalon
Photo Booth | @thefotobus.co
DJ | @gorgeweddingmusic
Rentals | @riverhoodrentals
Welcome Party -
Venue | @bwplus.hoodriverinn
Design Coordination & Decor | @kingsleyeventsupply
Catering | @riversidehoodriver
Florals | @lucyinformalflowers
Rentals | @riverhoodrentals
Rehearsal Dinner -
Venue & Catering | @columbiagorgehotelweddings
Design Coordination & Decor | @kingsleyeventsupply
Florals | @lucyinformalflowers
Rentals | @ardeneventcollective
Drapery | @runestoneevents
Entertainment | @gorgeweddingmusic
Transportation | @martinsgorgetours
Farewell Brunch:
Design Coordination & Decor | @kingsleyeventsupply
Catering: Post Office Coffee | @postofficecoffeeTL
Coffee Cart | @howdy.coffee
Bartending | @the_breakroom_trailerbar
Florals | @lucyinformalflowers
Rentals | @riverhoodrentals
