Han Oak Wedding

Haley & Jonah’s Intimate Wedding at Han Oak Restaurant

When Haley and Jonah first reached out, they had a pretty simple idea for their wedding: skip the big traditional celebration, rent out a restaurant in Portland, and have a really great dinner party with about 75 of their favorite people.

Honestly, such a good way to get married.

They landed on Han Oak Restaurant in NE Portland, which was kind of perfect for what they had in mind. Han Oak already feels warm and intimate, with indoor and covered outdoor spaces and a style of dining that’s meant to be shared. It’s the kind of place where gathering around the table is already the whole point, which makes it a pretty natural place to have a wedding.

More than anything, Haley and Jonah wanted the day to feel casual. They weren’t interested in spending hours taking posed photos or turning every part of the day into a production. When we talked about what mattered most to them, they kept coming back to the same thing: they wanted photos that captured the the love in the room and all of their people together.

There was so much meaning behind everyone being in that room.

This was the first time in more than seven years that Jonah’s dad and his two brothers had all been together.. the kind of thing I always want to know before a wedding. Of course I’m there to photograph the two people getting married, but I’m also paying attention to everything happening around them, like the hugs, reunions, little conversations, people laughing across the table, and all the moments that would be really easy to miss. The little moments of magic.

Before heading to Han Oak, we snuck away to a local park for Haley and Jonah to see each other before the ceremony.

After the sweet ceremony officiated by their dear friend, everyone enjoyed the most special family style dinner.

Han Oak’s food is meant to be shared around the table, which feels especially fitting for a wedding built around bringing people together. There’s less rushing from one wedding tradition to another and more time to eat, drink, talk, laugh, and actually hang out with the people you invited.

As a Portland wedding photographer, those are the celebrations I really love photographing. Give me a room full of people who genuinely love each other, a great meal, and a couple who cares more about experiencing their wedding than performing it for the camera.

It was perfect.

venue: Han Oak
cake: Tum Tum
hmua: a friend :)
dress shop: A and Be
suit: MWL Hall & Madden
photographer: Here Today Photography