Industrial summer wedding in Portland, Oregon

Brad and Daniel’s July wedding took place in Portland, Oregon at industrial venue, The Redd on Salmon Street.

“We wanted people to feel like they were being well taken care of at a party,” the couple writes. “Aesthetically we had this beautiful industrial space so we supplemented the industrial look with lots of flowers to create a nature meets industrial vibe. Daniel did the flowers so it gave us more room to use those as a key piece of our decorations.”

The grooms walked down the aisle together before saying, “I do,” beneath a rectangular arch draped in greenery.

What advice would you give to engaged LGBTQ+ couples?

Our advice to engaged couples is to try not to lose the magic of the day. There is so much minutiae that can get you down in the planning practice and weird emotional pot holes. Focus on what you want the experience of the day to be like, plan what you can, hold it loosely and hire an excellent wedding planner to take care of the day-of stuff. Prioritize having fun on the actual wedding day.

What advice do you have for vendors and venues working with LGBTQ+ couples?

I’m sure this is 101 but so many vendors still use ‘Bride and Groom’ language in their literature and contracts which always feels a bit weird. Our favorite vendors didn’t assume anything about the actual day and just asked a lot of questions to make sure they did their job well and cheer led us along.

What challenges did you face as an LGBTQ+ couple planning your wedding?

Personally we just had never planned something like this before so we didn’t realize how much emotion we would put in the process, which led to unexpected occasional conflict. Daniel comes from a religious family so he was nervous about some of his family saying or doing something upsetting. The solution was to not involve our family in the planning process or to ask much of them other than to show up to eat and drink. We leaned a lot more on our chosen family to help us.

Did you encounter any pleasant surprises as an LGBTQ+ couple planning your wedding?

The nicest surprise was that by not feeling obliged to have a traditional wedding, we could really pick and choose what we liked to create a celebratory experience. At first the freedom was daunting but as we dialed in it became a lovely expression of our love.