At a Wedding (07-14-14)

I was invited to the wedding of a coworker, Erika G., and did these two quick watercolor sketches. It was informal, lovely, at a secluded picnic area at Bella Organic Farm on Sauvie Island.

A wedding (10-06-13)

My daughter Moso asked me to accompany her the wedding of one of her friends, Chrysta F. It was lovely in everything. The bride's dress, -made by her grandmother-, was elegant and fir the 1930s theme well.

I took the opportunity to do a few sketches of things that caught my attention... such as the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a vase of flowers, one of the bride's sisters (whose face, framed by feathers was very reminiscent of the 30s), the lovely draping of the wedding dress, a vase of lilies with a lovely phrase the bridegroom said during his wedding vows.

Alanna R. Wedding (10-06-12)

Alanna, a friend of mine and fellow local urban sketcher, got married at a Eagle Fern Camp, a lovely rural camp near Estacada.

 How wonderful to see that so many relatives and friends were present to offer their support on such a special day! Franky, I was stunned, since this is not anything I've experienced in my life in the United States, as people have been reluctant to even drive a mere 45 minutes out of their way for some of our important family events, so this was absolutely the best thing to see...

Alanna is great. She is the one who most often comes up with suggestions for places to meet and sketch, and the PDX Urban Sketchers group wouldn't be the same without her.

The dinner was fun, with guests treated to a delicious home-style meal, and I took the opportunity to draw faces in the crowd.

2011 Pen and Ink Project: The Wedding (11-30-11)

Our daughter Valérie got married in October. I decided to draw the lovely memory I have of that day, the guest tables with my daughter Julia in the right foreground, and a close-up of the young couple lost in their own enjoyment of the moment.

Just Married! (10-21-11)

Our daughter Valérie got married, and despite our limited resources, it was a beautiful wedding.

For the reception, I bought some dark brown tablecloths on Craigslist. Then, I bought some vintage china from varied places, such as auctions or the Goodwill outlet, and these plates were set mixed up on the tables, so that it looked classic yet informal. The flower bouquet centerpieces (yellows, reds and browns) came from the Costco in Hillsboro which has a large floral department. Simple decorations in the church's Cultural Hall: brown and gold ribbons attached to the wall sconces. To finish it off, we had potted trees and shrubs in various places around the room and on the stage, all wrapped in metallic gold gift wrap with red ribbons and bows. But best of all, Valérie's dress came from my personal collection of vintage wedding dresses, a $3.00 purchase.

The food served was cold cuts and sandwich makings, and delicious hot food from Café Yumm. The cake came from Beaverton Bakery, an old-fashioned 2-tiered beauty, which despite arriving damaged was delicious nevertheless; as the damage was discovered when the box was opened, a replacement cake with simpler decorating was dispatched immediately... but that one also arrived damaged... Well, this with the bride's bouquet accidentally scheduled for a day later, -quick recovery on the part of New Seasons in Lake Oswego-, were the unpredictable moments of the day. With the extra cake, and everyone at the reception fed to satiety, there was an entire sheet cake from Costco left... which I took downtown and gave away in the Homeless section of the Occupy Portland camp.

But what mattered was how much in love with each other Valérie and Patrick looked...

Patrick (with bandage!) and Valérie