Enchanted Forest

"Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" at Enchanted Forest

Dee Wright Observatory

Wedding Day

Wedding

Horse Creek Lodge & Outfitters

Reception

Riverside

Tuesday Morning Brunch / Clean-up

Tamanawas Falls

Lets go chasing waterfalls!

The Spare Room

Monster Mash / Greater Portland Reception Party!

Our Wedding

Tashina was the kind of gal I sweated fiercely since long before puberty.&nbsp; 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&nbsp;girls.&nbsp; Long story short, if I could have "Weird Scienced" my dream woman, Tashina is absolutely what would have manifested.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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. &nbsp;The Universe delivered those arrangements at our great mutual friend's wedding.&nbsp;&nbsp;





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.&nbsp; Tashina also harbors a very real magic&nbsp;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.&nbsp; I'm now a very lucky beneficiary. 





Anyhow... Out of&nbsp;practice, and instilled with some tact & good manners, I took the slow burn approach in courting her.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Thank you Amanda for joining us to catalyze the palpably obvious energy exchange between T&I on that hike.&nbsp; The 2nd was executing decorations & her favorite desserts (info. sneakily extracted during the wedding weekend) on her Birthday&nbsp;celebration at the Spare Room's "Get Down" dance party.&nbsp; Lastly, we privately season finalied Game of Thrones at my place on a beautiful Summer evening that we later spent star-gazing under.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp;&nbsp;





The celestial theme should also cue you in on why this wedding is taking place on the last Monday of September.&nbsp; It's the Full Harvest Moon...&nbsp; And even if it's hiding behind clouds that evening, it's very necessary.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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!

How we got here...

Our Story

Accomodations & things going on in the area

Accomodations & Choosing your own regional adventures!

<a href="http://www.thegriffinhouse.com/area-information"></a><a href="http://www.thegriffinhouse.com/area-information">http://www.thegriffinhouse.com...</a> 

Check out the Griffin House website for a ton of information on places to stay, and things to do in the area.&nbsp; The Westcliff Lodge is literally right next door with reasonable rates across a handful of options, but there are also lots of amazing accommodations in the area. The historic Columbia Gorge Hotel is also right there (albeit a bit spendier.)&nbsp; Just be sure to check exactly how far things are from the Griffin House, as some of the recommendations are actually quite far away. 

We're still working out camping plans on the Griffin property as well, so if you're feeling that vibe, it will also probably be in the cards (although we've been warned that the winds can get a little rowdy at times, so consider that.)&nbsp; Otherwise, this side of planning we wanted to leave in your hands...

Details

Kev has tons of brothers from different mothers.&nbsp; Ben is a wilder one who's been there longer than most.&nbsp; He's already lived the kind of exhausting, eccentric, & incredulous life that&nbsp;warrants sharing with the masses, consistently sprinkled with bullet points that leave most in turbo disbelief.&nbsp; A&nbsp;genuine extra terrestrial of bottomless energy, love, creativity, originality, compassion, and radness, he'll be standing beside one of Tashina's ride or die'rs (Claire Everson) to co-officiate the 2 of us through an infinity of awesome... and beyond.    

Benjamin David Fee

Amanda Leigh Smith

Jeremy is Kev's platonic life partner.&nbsp; He was one of the first people Kevin became tight with upon arriving to Portland, outside of the massive Northeast migration crew.&nbsp; The 2 of them became joined at the hips through paralleled career paths in Peter Panning, while hanging tough&nbsp;through&nbsp;a plethora of&nbsp;Portland past lives. He&nbsp;remains  the most authentically genuine, adventurous, accountable, kind, fun, real talking (sometimes mumbling), unashamed, hard working, memory recalling, life loving, brother & boyfriend to me that I could ever fathom.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Jeremy Matherly

Jessica "Lala" Ilalole

Jordan was another easy magnet / instant brother Kevin smashed into in his earlier Portland years.&nbsp; Their constant intersections across Portland's barely legal house party scene brought them together, and allowed them to find inspirational awe & interest in eachother's different programs & characteristics, beyond their varied  social networks.&nbsp; Jordan has worked with Kevin, enjoyed challenging his perspectives, endorsed epic adventure & dream chasing, is a constant source of motivation, instills hard working values, has evolved amazingly, values respect, and thereby curated an eternal companionship the 2 of them will never let go of. Jordan also gave Kev a godson.  

Jordan Hufnagel

Claire Everson

Michelle Bluemmel

Melody Geer

Wedding Party

Photos

Registry

Q + A

Travel

Contact Tashina & I with any specific questions of other shenanigans, adventures, things to get up to if you plan on spending any extra time on either side, or in-between wedding biz.&nbsp; I moved here 17 years ago to engage with this epic, dynamic, and gorgeous outdoor playground, and have barely scratched the surface.&nbsp; FDR recognized the Columbia River Gorge's awesomeness during the turn of the century, and helped make a lot of its treasures (hikes, waterfalls, viewpoints, etc.) accessible to the masses.&nbsp; But you're also a very reasonable drive away from Portland, arguably one of the neatest liberal cities in the nation (also boasting the best restaurants in the world), a drop dead gorgeous coastline, incredible mountains / volcanoes / caves,&nbsp;fishing / rafting / and other water related fun, Casinos, hot springs, wineries, museums, scenic byways, whathaveyous, among anything else you could possibly want to dabble in.&nbsp; Ask, and we'll help send you along a yellow brick road to your own personal OZ!

Your wish is our desire!!!!

Things to Do

KEVIN & TASHINA

KEVIN & TASHINA

Photos

Photos coming soon!