“The real form of love has no bounds,” says Platon Mantheakis, manager and wedding planner at the Jacksonville Inn in Jacksonville, Oregon. When you find the right person, “every instinct is going to tell you that they’re the one,” he says. 

Your wedding day should make your heart zing like nothing else. For Mantheakis, the most memorable weddings are the ones where the couple expressed their own personalities. “Brides and grooms ask me what they should do to make their wedding day special,” he says. “I tell them all the same thing: Make it your own.”

The couples featured on the following pages planned their weddings to reflect their own expressions of love. They incorporated elements from their heritage and some well-loved places where they spent time as children. They celebrated the bounty and beauty of our environment. From hot pink shoes, to bouquets featuring ripe, fragrant blueberries, to a menu showcasing produce from local farmers, each of these couples let what was important to them guide their decisions.