Oaks Pioneer Church | Small Chapel Wedding Venue in Portland

Weddings

Teagan and Cameron came to me with a vision for their Oaks Pioneer Church wedding day; an intimate ceremony at a beautiful location, followed by a dinner party with their closest friends and family. Their main priorities were nice portraits of themselves, their families, the ceremony itself, and some detail photos from the dinner event space. The vibe they wanted for their day was romantic, fun, and full of love. Teagan said “we kept it small intentionally to really make our day be ours”, and that could not have been more evident throughout the time I spent with them.

Their ceremony venue and location for all of their portraits was Oaks Pioneer Church in southeast Portland’s Sellwood neighborhood. Nestled in on a quiet street corner, this chapel has a stunning white exterior and a warm wooden interior. Following the Oaks Pioneer Church wedding ceremony, everyone made their way to Cafe Olli’s event space, where the tables were lightly decorated with bud vases, candles, menus, and name cards.

In additional to Oaks Pioneer Church, if you’re looking for places to host a micro-wedding in Oregon, you may want to check out Suttle Lake in central Oregon for an alternative outdoorsy feel.

Couple smiling at each other while holding a colorful bouquet during their fall Portland wedding portraits.

Bride and groom holding hands close-up with autumn colors blurred behind them during a fall Portland wedding.

Moments Before the Wedding Ceremony at Oaks Pioneer Church

Teagan arrived to the chapel with her hair and makeup complete, toting her dress in its garment bag. She and her mom used the side room to get dressed and place her veil, finally seeing the whole look come together. While they finished her final touches, I grabbed some quick detail shots of the venue’s exterior and their items including rings, vow books, perfume, and jewelry.

White historic church exterior surrounded by fall foliage at a charming Oaks Pioneer Church wedding venue in Portland.

Bride getting ready while a loved one adjusts her veil before the ceremony at an Oaks Pioneer Church wedding.

With portraits being a main priority for my time with the couple, we started with an emotional first look before circling the chapel to capture different locations. Cameron finally got to see Teagan in her wedding dress from a&bé Bridal Shop. We knew we also wanted to get some portraits inside the chapel for a more cozy look, and I was obsessed with the last photo in this section, peeking at them through the church’s window.

Groom standing beneath large trees in autumn colors before first look at an intimate wedding venue in Portland.

Bride hugging groom while holding a fall bouquet during portraits at their romantic Oaks Pioneer Church wedding.

Oaks Pioneer Church Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was simply perfect and true to them. They exchanged some of the most touching and heartfelt vows I’ve ever heard (one of my favorite parts of wedding days are hand-written vows!) They told me beforehand that one of the things they were most excited for was ringing the church bell on their way out of the ceremony, and by the look on their faces you can tell! They also had an Oaks Pioneer Church wedding ceremony grand exit with the guests blowing bubbles as they ran down the steps.

Groom reads handwritten vows to his bride during their emotional Oaks Pioneer Church wedding ceremony in the warm wood chapel.

Intimate Wedding Reception at Cafe Olli

Guests were greeted with a charcuterie table and bar to order drinks at, as well as seats assigned with name cards written in script. Teagan changed into a jacquard mini dress from Lulu’s and together, her and Cameron mingled with guests. I snapped some photos of the table setups and other details before leaving them to enjoy their intimate dinner party as a group.

If you’re getting married here at Oaks Pioneer Church, I would be honored to capture your day! You can reach out to me to learn more about having a seamless, stress-free wedding photography experience here.