Tashina was the kind of gal I sweated fiercely since long before puberty. Being raised an only child, by the earliest years of 80's pop culture, I developed an affinity for quirkier human personalities, and by middle school, longed to attract the affections of the more fascinating, punky attired, alternatively cultured girls. Long story short, if I could have "Weird Scienced" my dream woman, Tashina is absolutely what would have manifested. This may have even been the thought that crossed my mind the first time I met her at the Buffalo Exchange we ships-in-the-nighted at (employment wise), in the mid 2000's.

Having both been in happily committed relationships, while having similar lusts for the radical social scenes Portland offered, we had the luxury of developing a fun and neutral acquaintanceship that always had the potential chemistry for more fireworks under the right circumstances. The Universe delivered those arrangements at our great mutual friend's wedding.

Although a little fresh & wounded from my personal separation, I reconnected with Tashina, only to find her newly liberated from her prior long-termer. Both of us had a synchronized fervor for the future, that we fatedly, couldn't really ignore. Tashina also harbors a very real magic that totally fascinated me & ended up permeating my every thought & dream, from that first reconnecting moment. It was later learned that her enchantment is a shared familial energy, exacerbated by an adolescence spent gassing it up at Sedona, AZ's many vortexes. I'm now a very lucky beneficiary.

Anyhow... Out of practice, and instilled with some tact & good manners, I took the slow burn approach in courting her. 3 bullet points eventually clarified my intentions. The first was an "Oops, I guess there's only a couple of us" full moon midnight adventure on my favorite waterfall loop in the Columbia River Gorge. Thank you Amanda for joining us to catalyze the palpably obvious energy exchange between T&I on that hike. The 2nd was executing decorations & her favorite desserts (info. sneakily extracted during the wedding weekend) on her Birthday celebration at the Spare Room's "Get Down" dance party. Lastly, we privately season finalied Game of Thrones at my place on a beautiful Summer evening that we later spent star-gazing under. I remember her trying to play cool, but could see in her eyes that I'd struck a chord... One that I couldn't wait to play the rest of our lives. Squiiiish!

By the time things went more public, there was a resounding "Duh, that's an obvious pair!" expression cried out by our greater communities, followed by 2 years of obvious fast-tracking through ups & downs, where the strength, support, love, laughter, and epicness of eachother's contribution to our relationship has never wavered. So to stay on the full moon theme, I leaned on T's incredible girl gang to both design the ring, and wrastle the surprise engagement event during last Summer's Solar Eclipse, during totality.

The celestial theme should also cue you in on why this wedding is taking place on the last Monday of September. It's the Full Harvest Moon... And even if it's hiding behind clouds that evening, it's very necessary. September's full moon happens to not only represent my recently deceased Mother's favorite Neil Young song (Harvest Moon), but also the Thursday that follows the ceremony (when we'll be celebrating the public reception party at the Spare Room in Portland) is my Mother's Birthday. Needless to say, she'll be celebrating with us.

Oh yeah, being as close to Halloween as it is, and us being mega fans of that thematic time of year, Thursday's reception party at the Spare Room is Monster Mash themed! So shelve your inhibitions, bring a costume if interested (because there's never enough excuses to dress up & get weird), and get ready to boogie!