Edmonton wedding photographer Buffy Goodman

I was extra excited for my adorable friend Liene’s wedding to Thomas in Portland earlier this month, and rightly so – it was incredible!

Liene is a spirited girl with style and sass to spare, and I knew her wedding would be right up my alley. Thomas and Liene are totally smitten, and they had the most unique, heartfelt, and lovely wedding ceremony ever. I loved every second of this day in gorgeous, springtimey Portland!

The wedding favours were pretty antique handkerchiefs – they got some serious use later – lots of joyful tears at this one!

The wedding rings were passed around the room so that everyone present could hold them and squeeze them and embue them with all of their best wishes and love – it was such a sweet and lovely idea.

Liene and Thomas surprised their guests by serenading them with “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. (this is when I learned you can still take photos when you have tears on your face. I definitely used my handkerchief, as did every single other person in the room.)

Liene’s family is Latvian, and they encorporated some Latvian wedding traditions – the bride and groom wear these amazing wreaths – flowers for the bride, and oak leaves for the groom.

The Latvian marriage ceremony involves removal of the flowers with a sword. Liene and Thomas used a Nerf sword for extra awesome points.

To signify that they’re no longer single, they now receive a bonnet and a hat to replace the greenery. And with that, they’re married!

Could Portland be any prettier? Sigh!

At the end of the day, the bride and groom take their floral crowns, and thinking of all the things they want to leave behind as they enter this new life together, throw their crowns into the river. The water will carry their worries out to the sea. What a beautiful gesture!

Liene, being the hilarious gal that she is, decided to hurl her bouquet into the river as a grande finale to the day.

And one of the funniest photos ever, to end one of the greatest days ever. (I feel like this photo is a still from some sort of awesome romantic comedy or something!)

Thank you to Liene and Thomas for being absolutely, 110 per cent amazing. xoxo