This trendsetting Portland wedding is bringing back the bridal glove

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Fashion-forward brides & grooms will have plenty of inspiration to take from Franny & Ryan’s Portland wedding – from their well-curated designer (& wine!) choices to their cool raw venue space we can’t help but bow down to these talented trendsetters.

Coming from a family of fashion designers herself, Franny & Ryan chose the ultimate modern, minimalistic wardrobe pieces. Sourcing from Alexander Wang (wearing the same gown as one of my favorite brides and friends Kristi), Prada, Dries Van Noten & Saint Laurent it was a catwalk watcher’s dream.

But they didn’t just choose from the best of the best, Franny and her mother (owner of Amato New York) designed the coolest trendy floral veil & gloves for all the girls in the party – cheers to Franny bringing back the bridal glove trend!

Beyond the fashion, their ceremony venue space was fresh & intriguing – what better way to guarantee picture perfect wedding photos than marrying in a photo studio?! (Read more about styling in a raw wedding venue space here!)

Our Love Story

Franny and Ryan met through the sailing community on the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon. The two of them had been racing against each other on the river for two months before their first date. On their third date, the couple went to a wine harvest in the in the Willamette Valley where they picked grapes, stomped out the juice, and bottled it, followed by a camp out in the vineyard under a Harvest Supermoon. Ryan took home a few barrels to age himself, and this very wine was served as part of a wine ceremony in their wedding.

Ryan and Franny were engaged only ten months later, on Warren St. in Hudson, New York. Ryan got down on one knee in the middle of the street on the main street of the small city, with many passers-by! The two travelled the following day to Brooklyn, New York, where they picked out the stones together for the engagement ring at the Mociun Studio.

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Photo by Davis Hilton via Bridal Musings

The Dress & Attire

The bride wore a modern fishline dress from Alexander Wang, with a train and a veil handmade by her & her mother with gold platform heels from Saint Laurent.

All the women and children in the wedding wore gloves, provided by Amato New York, the bride’s family accessories business. The bride and bridesmaids carried eucalyptus and dogwood flower, a local bounty of the Pacific Northwest.

The groom wore an ivory shawl collar wool suit by Dries Van Noten, and brogue polished leather boots by Prada.

The Destination & Venue

Franny and Ryan’s wedding took place in Portland, Oregon, the city where they met & currently reside, in the peak of springtime, with flowering trees everywhere. The couple, originally from the East Coast live far away from their oldest friends & family, so they wanted to share the bounty of beautiful Portland with many loved ones who had never experienced this before. The space they were married in, Photon, is a white-washed loft with 20-foot ceilings and skylights, and functions as the photo studio of one of their dearest friends – it was an obvious choice the moment they saw it. Seeds of Clay filled the space with branches from the flowering trees that surrounded the city, including dogwood flowers from the tree in Franny and Ryan’s front yard.

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The Photography

Davis Hilton’s style is crisp and beautiful, and he and his photo assistant Kai caught every single moment, from the knot tying ceremony to the props in the Father of the Bride’s speech, and also when Bailey made his debut down the aisle, which was a very sweet and spontaneous thing! He also did a wonderful job capturing the entire group in front of the reception venue, which was an ambitious endeavor and turned out a big success thanks to him.

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The Ceremony

The ceremony began with a wine ceremony, facilitated by Ardor Natural Wines, the business of the groom. The wine that was served was harvested by the bride & groom on their third date, under the harvest supermoon. Friends of the bride circulated the space telling the story of the harvest, and tying gold thread bracelets onto all of the guests, a hint to the thread ceremony that would later take place.

An orchestral duo played “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen during the processional of close family and the wedding party, followed by the couple’s English Cream Retriever named Bailey, and then “Something” by the Beatles as the Father of the Bride lead her down the aisle.

The ceremony included readings by three poets closest to the bride and groom, Kit Schluter, Jhari Derr-Hill, and Mariette Lamson, who read from, respectively, Paolo Coelho, Mary Oppen, and a poem written by the poet in dedication. The couple recited their vows, followed by a blessing of the hands, a ring ceremony, and a knot ceremony where all the bridal party held two separate a golden threads and the couple tied it together into one using a square knot, a classic sailing knot.

Unique Details

The flower girl, the niece of the bride, flowered the aisle with dogwood flowers from the tree outside of the bride & groom’s house. The lavender tossed on the bride and groom after they came back down the aisle as man and wife came from the plants in front of their home as well.

The invitations were designed by the bride and included hints of the gold thread that would later take place during the ceremony. The bride’s veil and train were made by her and her mother. The gloves came from the family business, Amato New York. The wines came from the groom’s natural wine business, Ardor Natural Wines.

All of these details made the wedding very special and felt deeply connected to the lives of the bride and groom.

The Reception

The ceremony was followed by an intimate dinner party at Plaza del Toro, where Ardor Natural Wines curated tastings that paired with all four courses of delicious Spanish inspired delights, such as grilled octopus and stuffed peppers. The cake, a coconut cake with coconut buttercream icing, was made by Dream Cakes, whose owner is an old friend of the groom.

The couple danced their first dance to “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young, symbolic of their date on the vineyard that very first week they met. They then danced the night away with their family and friends to soul music by DJ Cooky Parker.

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Advice to Other Couples

The Knot was a go-to for wedding planning, very helpful. All of our vendors were wonderful and we could not recommend them more. DIY anything and everything you can – it makes the wedding so much more personal.

We didn’t have a planner but the bride made a detailed excel sheet with key people and places and a play-by-play for the day. Make sure the day of your wedding you don’t have anything to do other than getting married! Having a day-of coordinator was one of the best decisions we made.

If you use Honeyfund for your registry, don’t forget to link your bank account to it!

The Honeymoon

We chartered a 30 foot Beneteau in the British Virgin Islands, and sailed it from island to island for ten days. This trip was life-changing, but isn’t for the faint of heart – we both logged a lot of hours at the helm before doing a bareboat charter. But there are so many small charter businesses now that could take you on a very similar trip with a captain, one we recommend is The Sailing Collective!