Wedding at Abernethy Center — Brunch, Dancing & a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony
Vincent and Kelly's wedding was really two celebrations woven into one long, beautiful day — and I loved every layer of it.
It started in the morning at Abernethy Center's Abigail's Garden, where weeping willows drape over a white gazebo and the whole property feels like it was designed specifically to make people feel at ease. The ceremony was quiet and warm, Kelly in white with a bouquet of baby's breath and soft blooms, Vincent in navy, both of them clearly just happy to finally be standing there together.
From there, the day opened up into one of my favorite kinds of receptions: brunch. Mimosas made their way around the room, the bridal party came dressed to celebrate, and the food was the kind that actually gets eaten and talked about. The banana foster pancakes were, personally, a highlight of my career. Dessert came from Pip's Original — warm mini doughnuts, because of course — and the ring shot on a plain glazed might be one of my favorite detail photos I've ever taken.
The gardens made for portraits full of light and color — Japanese maples going amber, pink dogwood blooming overhead, golden afternoon coming through the trees. After portraits, the shoe game commenced and the crowd was absolutely feral about it in the best possible way. The dance floor opened, energy climbed, and somewhere in the middle of all of it Kelly slipped away for a reception outfit change that brought the room back to life.
Then — later, after the dancing and the doughnuts — the day shifted into something quieter and just as meaningful. We moved to a family home for a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony. The room was draped in red and gold, the banner above them reading Trăm Năm Hạnh Phúc — a hundred years of happiness. Vincent, in a royal blue áo dài embroidered with a dragon, Kelly in a red qipao, are receiving blessings and gifts from their family, many of whom had traveled far to be there. The whole room lined up outside afterward in a sea of áo dài in every color — it was one of those images I'll think about for a long time.
Vincent and Kelly, thank you for sharing both celebrations with me. The whole roasted pig, the banana pancakes, the doughnuts, the dancing, the tea — every part of this day was you, and it was wonderful.
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Abernethy Center — Abigail's Garden, Oregon City, Oregon Dessert: Pip's Original
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