Crook Point Wedding in Oregon | Katy + Mikael

Colorful Crook Point Wedding with Expansive Ocean Views

This was my first time shooting at Crook Point Weddings and it definitely did not disappoint. The venue is tucked along the southern Oregon coast surrounded by dense northwest pines and epic coastal views. This also happened to be the wedding of Katy Weaver, a dear friend and mega talented photographer herself. Shooting the wedding of a fellow photographer is always a bit nerve-racking, but I knew from talking to Katy that her vision for her wedding was one I would be incredibly honored and inspired to shoot. And she is just a super rad person all around.

Alright, enough of me talking, here are some thoughts from Katy + Mikael…

“Our wedding was playful, bold, eclectic, welcoming, and colorful. Every single part of the weekend was extremely us and I’m so happy we got to put so much of ourselves into every little detail.

I have been obsessed with the Danish concept of Hygge ever since I first learned about it. It’s meaning isn’t easily translatable to English, but the closest definition that makes sense to me is “cozy togetherness.” Hygge is staying at a cabin with friends. It’s drinking wine together around a campfire. It’s warm blankets, good conversation, candlelight and laughter. It’s cooking a meal together. It’s an environment that feels welcoming and safe with a few people you love.

When we started planning our wedding, I wanted the entire day to have a hygge element to it. I wanted it to be beautiful, but more importantly, fun, welcoming, inviting and cozy. I wanted the event to inspire and foster connection between new friends and old.

The lounge areas at our wedding incorporated many items from our own living room to really bring this sense of “home” to our venue. It made me so happy to see people relaxing and feeling comfortable in those welcoming spaces. I had items like my mom’s vintage foot-locker from college, blankets we bought in Guatemala where Mikael proposed to me, jars of rocks we collected in Iceland together, a globe that I’ve had since I was a kid that always inspired my love of travel, and even a pair of hand-me-down binoculars and bird books for people to use if they wanted. It was so us.

Ultimately, I wanted our wedding to look and feel nice, but it was important to me that the entire event was approachable, not upscale and pretentious. Mikael and I are pretty casual people (hence the camping), so finding a nice blend between relaxed yet professional was important to us.

One way we accomplished this was by serving tacos family style instead of some other fancy plated type of dinner. Mikael and I adore spicy Mexican food and eat it more than any other cuisine. His family has been eating at El Guadalajara, a local Mexican restaurant in his home town of North Bend, for many years, and we were thrilled to have their delicious food at our wedding. The owner took such good care of us and the dinner tasted SO good without seeming in any way pretentious.

My favorite memory of the entire day was our ceremony. I cried walking down the aisle with my parents, seeing everyone I love looking at me with teary eyes, and Mikael standing there so handsomely in his teal suit. As we were reading our vows (which I loved so much), one of our all-time favorite birds, an Osprey, was calling to us in the distance. After the sudden death of one of my best friends a few months earlier, I was hoping she would send me some sort of sign on my wedding day that she was there with us. The Osprey was that sign. I couldn’t believe that our favorite bird (literally tattooed on my arm) was calling as we were professing our vows to one another. It was so perfect and so special.”

Any advice for future couples getting married?

Don’t be afraid to ask your community for help.

It’s really special if you can have your friends help in ways that are deeply personalized and fit with their personalities and skill sets. I loved that our groomsman made our beer, a bridesmaid and my mom made our dessert, another bridesmaid married us, and another one helped style our decor. If people are passionate about a certain thing, they will be so much more happy to help out, AND it will be so much more meaningful in the end.

Hire a wedding planner.

Kim and Katelyn from Your Perfect Bridesmaid kept me sane through this entire process and they made everything run SO smoothly behind the scenes at our wedding. I would hire them over and over again. I know a lot of couples don’t think they need a planner - but it seriously helps SO much and takes all the stress away on the day-of.

Feel free to ditch traditions and do what you love.

We didn’t do a bouquet toss or garter toss because we didn’t want to make our single friends feel bad or in any way singled out at the wedding. It seemed wrong. We also hung out with our guests BEFORE the ceremony (gasp!) and everyone saw me in my dress. So what? They were all stoked and I got to spend WAY more time with everyone! I loved that. We also didn’t do a traditional sit down wedding rehearsal. No chairs - just pizza, beer, wine, and s’mores on the beach with a bonfire, blankets and camp chairs. It ended up being SO fun and felt like we were on a camping trip with all our loved ones for the evening. We didn’t limit the guest list either - anyone in town already was welcome.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hi, I’m Catalina Jean - a destination wedding photographer servicing Oregon, California, Mexico and beyond. Nature, minimalism, dark shadows, real emotion all make my heart skip a beat.

Getting hitched? Check out my work and reach out to learn more.

Here is also the slideshow of this wedding, created by the oh so talented Jacob Loafman. <3

Venue: Crook Point Weddings // Planners: Your Perfect Bridesmaid // Dress: Calla Blanche from a&be // Late Night Dress: Buffalo Exchange // Veil + Alterations: Colette Dieringer // Fur: Vintage mink stole borrowed from Katy’s grandmother Allegra // Nails: Best Nails on Powell // Eyelashes + Facial: Sweet Saffron Natural Skincare // Bride’s Tattoos: Parker Benyoun // Bride’s Haircut: Caity Hubert at Strut Salon // Suit: Indochino // Bow Ties: The Tie Bar // Groomsmen attire: Vintage Pendleton // Suit Tailor: Mike The Tailor // Florals: Woodland Floral // Dinner: El Guadalajara // Serving Staff: Curry Fair Friends // DJ: Pure Pulse Entertainment // Beer: Rogue Brewing and home-brew by groomsmen Sam Briggs // Wine: Naked Wine // Dessert: More Chocolate LLC // Cookies and Candy: by Katy's mom Susan Stone // Rentals: The Party Place PDX // Rings: Alexis Russell // Invitations: Designed using Canva + Printed through PaperJam PDX // Calligraphy: Place Cards by Candice Abdou + Chalkboard signs written by Hilde Franzsen // Guestbook: Artifact Uprising // Lounge area styling: Jessica Marshall // Triangle curtain: DIY by Katy and friends // Vintage Couches + Furniture: Crook Point // Cake Toppers: purchased in Iceland