This image gives the impression it was much sunnier than it really was.  But I love this shot nontheless.  And the people in it.  

According to Wikipedia, the word Polterabend comes from the German verb “poltern” (to make a racket) + German noun “abend” (evening). Now having witnessed it, I probably could have told you that without looking it up, and I don’t speak German.

The racket involves a lot of porcelain getting chucked onto the bride’s driveway, meant to bring good luck to the newly married couple. *And if you’re any good at math, you’ll know that the more broken porcelain there is, the more luck you’ll have. So there’s also a lot of sweeping for the couple while their friends and family stand around chucking even more plates, and cups, and vases.

The cleanup symbolizes the effort they must make together when facing adversity in their marriage. This message was really driven home upon the third round.

So if Saturday night was any indication, there will be much luck + love + unity in their future.

Congratulations Livia + Don.  You passed the test.

The evening started civil enough….Where porcelain comes from.  A porcelain garden of course.The first pitch.

I just spent the most fabulous weekend with the most wonderful group of family + friends in town to celebrate with Livia + Don.  Yes, I know every photographer says that about every family they photograph when they blog about them, but I really, truly, deeply mean it. Guests hailed from Germany, Italy, UK, and other exotic places such as The Dalles, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tualatin, Portland, etc. And they brought with them a collection of traditions + games I hadn’t seen at a wedding before, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to document + share in.

A shower of roses during the first dance. A log sawing exercise meant to further bond their love. A newlywed game meant to challenge their knowledge of said love.

The following are just a few from Friday’s wedding ceremony because the installation of a new OSX (that’s a fancy new word I became very familiar with this weekend) slowed me down a little + prevented me from getting through much of Saturday’s polterabend celebration.  And if you have to ask what a polterabend is, well you just hold onto your britches.  Because, once you’re in the know, you too will want to throw one down at your next wedding celebration.

So in the meantime, enjoy! I’ll be back with more… and thank you so very much to Livia + Don + their guests!

Location: Leach Botanical Gardens Catering: Food In Bloom Cake:  Portland Style Cheesecake Flowers:  Bouquets and Balloons

For the record, every guest received this beautiful glass creation Livia made herself.  Puts my whatever-I-did-for-my-guests-but-can’t-remember to complete shame.They met on a Lufthansa flight coming back to the States so the “groom’s cake” featured  United + Lufthansa airplanes + pastry replicas of their actual boarding passes!