Jennie & Kyle : Stott Shots Photography

Meet soccer sweethearts Jennie & Kyle Gouveia. Jennie kicks my butt as my spin instructor each week at Fit On Studios. (Side note - in another life I hope God blesses me with her body!) These two got hitched in the picturesque hills of Oregon. And while you can control many things when it comes to weddings, sometimes mother nature has a mind of its own. Enjoy Jennie's I Guess I Do moments in her own words below!

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Kyle and I met when I was 18 years old working at an indoor soccer center in Salem, OR. We both grew up living and breathing soccer, so I guess it wasn't a coincidence we met on the soccer field. So naturally, I befriended him on Myspace...yes I said Myspace. So then the journey of our relationship began. I moved away to southern California to play soccer in college, and he stayed in Oregon finishing school. After a year apart and only a couple visits to see each other, Kyle decided to take a leap of faith and move down to California. He went to grad school at Loyola Marymount, while I finished school and soccer. 

After 5 long years, Kyle finally popped the question the morning before I was supposed to undergo my second ACL reconstruction on my knee. Feeling extremely discouraged and scared about my surgery he felt I should have something to look forward to, and to calm my nerves. No cheesy engagement, no friends, no family, no big event, no distractions - just us and our dogs in our tiny apartment in Long Beach. He obviously didn't see all my Pinterest posts about having someone photograph the engagement, whilst frolicking in the snow...but I'm so glad he didn't. 

After much speculation we decided to get married in Oregon at King Estate Winery. We wanted an outdoor wedding to enjoy all of Oregon's natural beauty. To cut some costs I decided I would design and put together all the save the dates and the invitations. Realizing we had close to 180 guests, I spent most of my nights addressing save the dates and invitations in my version of calligraphy. I believe I had hand cramps and constant forearm pain, but I didn't give up. It became a family affair, and Kyle's father did the flower arrangements for the tables (which he gathered from neighbors lawns after getting their approval), Kyle's brother was our DJ and my aunt was our coordinator. 

The day of the wedding everything was going pretty smooth, for not having a paid Wedding Planner on site. To tell you the truth, I don't even think I went out in the ceremony or reception area until after our first look. I didn't really care if the table settings were correct, or if the decor was setup. 

My first glimpse of anxiety started setting in when I was getting my hair and makeup done. I decided last minute that I wanted my hair half up with a braid in my bangs. Keep in mind, this was never a part of the plan or the hair trials. My hairdresser went with it and did a good job, but as soon as she left I started bawling pulling bobby pins out of my hair. My bridesmaids rushed over to help and were very supportive and said that they would fix it for me. All the while, Kyle is waiting on our first look and I am now 30 minutes late. They re-curled my hair, calmed me down, said a prayer, and I was off. 

Leading into the next I Guess I Do moment, I made the trek to the top of the walkway where I would soon be walking down into the ceremony, and I noticed the wind had picked up quite a bit. My hair was sticking to my lips and my veil was blinding me. My aunt walked me down the pathway holding me up as all the blood rushed to my head. We enter the aisle and I see Kyle there, and my flower arrangements are leaning against the wine barrels on the ground. I was very confused, but tried to shake it off. After the ceremony, my bridesmaids informed me they put the huge flower arrangements on top of the wine barrels, but the wind was so strong it knocked one off and hit Kyle spraying water all down his pants. Apparently this happened right before I walked down the aisle and they were scared that I had seen it. So, some of my pictures may look a little bare with no alter, and no flowers, but at least the rolling hills were in the background which was almost more beautiful.

And lastly, the icing on top of the cake. We end our night back at our hotel, the Hilton in Eugene. Excited to carry me over the threshold and into our room we open the door and there is the king bed with two roll away cots on both sides of the bed and a portable fridge in the middle of the room. No rose pedals, no champagne, no chocolates - just two cots in case we wanted company...it gets better. Literally five minutes later we hear a pounding on our door, Kyle pulls the door open in his boxers and it is a security officer telling us we are being too loud and will get kicked out of the hotel. Maybe we should've invited him in to sleep on our cots. 

Weddings may be extremely expensive and overwhelming, but in the end it is the person you stand in front of as you read your vows that makes it all worth it in the end. We lucked out to have so much help from our family, and such loving, supportive friends to share that experience with. 


Photographer: Stott Shots Photography Cake: Myriad Cake Design Decor: Danner & Soli DJ: Matteo Gouveia Videography: Stott Shots Photography Venue: King Estate Winery Local Brewery: 2 Towns Ciderhouse Dress: Charlotte's Weddings

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