Real Couples // A Weekend Campout: PK + Korel
/We are a queer couple with a transgender husband, who met five years ago through mutual friends at a dance night at a local bar. We lived in the same small town for over a decade, knowing some of the same people, and we managed to miss each other for all those years. When marriage equality passed, we discussed getting married, and it was an easy yes! Our wedding was one year later on the weekend of the anniversary of marriage becoming federally legal. Because both of us never thought we were ever going to get married we never thought about what we would want for a wedding.
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to be celebrating through the entire process of the wedding preparation instead of being totally focused on what needed to get done. In order to do this, we scheduled in events around the preparation so that we would be forced to take a break from a pure task-completion mentality. We started with getting engagement photos with Leah, which really kicked off the beginning of our journey and got us comfortable with working with her and collaborating creatively around what was meaningful for us. Leah really helped us get a game plan together and helped us plan our wedding around the photography and what we wanted to document about the experience. Another thing we did as part of this challenge was to make our own wedding rings with Stephanie of With These Rings in Port Townsend, WA. It gave us a fun pre-honeymoon while combining the task of obtaining rings that would be meaningful to us.
We wanted a wedding that would give us an opportunity to have our families and friends co-mingle and get to know each other over the course of several days instead of a single day or a few hours. Also, we wanted to have time to actually hang out with people and party because we hadn't been able to see some of these folks for a while. Camping and outdoor adventures are a value we both share so when it came to a location, it wasn't a question of whether we wanted to be outside. We chose River's Edge Campground, outside of Alsea, OR, a "group only" campsite located along the Alsea River. We had the entire place to ourselves, and our camp hosts were the best! (They told us to turn up the music!) We got our friend from Bespokeabc's, a traveling bartender service, to create custom cocktails for the weekend. We had a fire and music every night. What seemed to stand out about the experience was everyone's willingness to chip in to make the weekend and ceremony run smoothly. The experience of watching so many of the people we care about help out in ways in which they really shine, was a profound experience and honor. We felt really held and cared for by our families and friends. Their support of our commitment wasn't just said to us, but seen through their actions.
Our photographer, Leah Moyers, was beyond exceptional. She was a powerhouse the entire day, open to everything, and kept us on time. Her wide-panned shots mixed with her knack for catching candid photos captured our hopes for the wedding: joining our communities and connecting with people we loved while communing with our beautiful home, the Pacific Northwest.
Photos by Leah Moyers
LEAH MOYERS
Leah Moyers believes in authentic wedding photography, enjoys capturing true personalities, the spirit of the day and what’s important to her clients. She shows a sense of humor in her work and enjoys documenting all of the sweet, hilarious, emotional, quirky, sometimes messy, behind the scenes moments. She works primarily in the style of a wedding photojournalist and strives to create playful joyful work, considering her profession an art form and an honor. She earned a BFA from MICA in Baltimore and an MFA from SAIC in Chicago.
Leah has worked with wedding professionals all over the U.S. and Mexico with recognition and support from the wedding community. She is listed under The World’s Best Wedding Photographers on Junebug Weddings, is a member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association as well as the Artistic Guild of the WPJA, recognizing photographers who have a fine art photojournalistic approach to wedding photography, a Green Wedding Shoes preferred artist and a member of Fearless Photographers. Find her on Instagram here!
