With the bride in Las Vegas, the groom in San Francisco and family in Vancouver, BC, Portland became the ideal location for Suzette & Jonathan’s destination wedding. Showcasing all that Portland had to offer was their main focus for a fun and entertaining wedding. Katy helped plan the nuptials and was bursting with ideas! Guests were transported via school buses to the Internationally known Grotto for an Outdoor Catholic Ceremony which included also included their family’s Filipino Traditions. Next guests were brought to LeftBank Annex where they enjoyed appetizers and cocktails before the reception. It was important to Suzette for the reception decor to incorporate metallics and go with the wood beams and exposed brick inside the venue, she wanted a rustic/chic yet glamours affair. Champagne chairs, chargers and tables adorned with grays, peaches, greens, metallics with pops of navy, and a moroccan print runners on the tables along with a thank you card from the couple on each setting left all 175 guests blown away. Jonathan serenaded Suzette to Justin Beiber’s “Baby Baby” as the couple was announced in as husband and wife where then guests noshed on a fabulous meal by Devil’s Food Catering. A dessert display provided by Bridal Bliss Desserts featured a variety of delicious cakes, tarts and cookies, along with a popcorn bar with various types of popcorn for everyone to enjoy. Guests stayed entertained throughout the 7 hour reception with an open bar, great music by their DJ along with music videos playing in the background, a Photo Booth and even true to Portland style- food trucks! Ruby Jewel and Koi Fusion provided late night ice cream sandwiches and tacos for guests late into the night. The wedding was perfectly planned and was full of fab details…so much so that Oregon Bride Magazine has featured the wedding is their current issue!
Eileen and Darren envisioned a Art Deco themed wedding reception to compliment the beautiful 1920’s style engagement ring Darren popped the question with. The wedding was held at the Oregon Golf Club and featured glamorous details created by Eileen that truly brought a unique touch to the day. Bella Bloom Florals beautiful arrangements filled the tent for a pop of fuchsia. For dessert, Laurie Clarke Cakes created a decadent, beautifully designed art deco wedding cake complete with their monogram. Guests dressed for the theme in 1920’s cocktail attire and danced the night away with with music played by John Ross Productions.
While bachelorette parties are a blast to attend, planning them can be a bit of a challenge. Brain-storming a unique location idea, finding a date that works for everyone and coordinating travel plans can be quite the task. A new website, TheBach.com, streamlines the whole process for you. Check it out!
How cute is this idea? Glam trip to LA with a stop at Disneyland! Our darling bride, Sarah, was married in January and enjoyed the California sun in December!
Ellie and Andrew both live back in Washington DC but wanted to honor the bride’s northwest roots. They planned a romantic garden wedding with Elizabeth and could not have been more thrilled after seeing a private club downtown. Their wedding was truly magical. From individual floral escort cards, hanging chandeliers in the trees and a 17 piece band- everything was perfection.
Lorraine and Stephen were married at Soter Vineyards and could not have asked for a more picture perfect setting for their wedding. The venue was absolutely gorgeous! Guests were welcomed with cocktail and appetizers upon arrival and everyone enjoyed walking around the vineyard and experiencing the grounds. Elizabeth worked with the couple to create the perfect festive environment the bride and groom were hoping for.
After the ceremony guests enjoyed dinner with an amazing view of the willamette valley. With the majority of the guests coming in from out of town, it was important to Lorraine and Stephen for everyone to experience the NW feel.
The Voodoo Doughnut truck made its way to the vineyard with classic Portland donuts for a late night treat. From flip flops for dancing to the Double Decker Bus, Lorraine and Stephen thought of every detail and guests had an amazing time enjoying everything the NW offers.
It is always so fun when a bride and groom decorate the backs of chairs with various creative ideas. Here are a few of our favorites–we absolutely love chair swag!
Flowers – talk to your florist about adding in some flowers for the back of your chairs or even re-purposing ceremony decor. Whether it’s a large single bloom or a lush garland, it will make your chairs pop!
Wooden Signs – this is a wonderful DIY project. Find some scrap wood from a recycled center, drill 2 holes in the top corners and thread ribbon through. Hire a calligrapher (or friend) to write anything fun on the wood signs.
Arrows – there are lots of fun ideas online for cute arrows with your initials, or Mr. and Mrs. The arrows add a fun modern element and also dress up the backs of your chairs.
Ribbon – grab a large ribbon and tie oversized bows on to the back of the chairs. Another idea is to tie the two bride and groom chairs together with one big bow.
Kaetlin and Brendan envisioned an intimate gathering of family and friends for their wedding. They also wanted to capture all the fun of their July 4th family traditions including running the Foot Traffic Flat Half Marathon on Sauvie Island (of course Brendan carried Kaetlin across the finish line!) and the celebration of the birthdays of Kaetlin’s brother and her best friend!
Needless to say Kirsten coordinated a festive day, filled with thoughtful touches of hospitality. Guests were greeted with orange punch and strawberry lemonade, and were offered sunblock, sunglasses and program fans while they gathered in the afternoon sunshine for a ceremony on the Ecotrust Rooftop Terrace. Reverend Griffen officiated the heartfelt exchanging of vows with just the right touch of humor and solemn ceremony.
Then it was time to party! Bride and Groom cocktails were served, Polaroid pictures were snapped and glued into a guestbook with well wishes, and guests found the way to their tables on the terrace with mini bags of homemade m&m cookies in lieu of escort cards. Kaetlin had recruited her family to help with décor, arranging colorful dahlias picked the day before in a variety of DIY concrete vases for centerpieces over chalk-paper table runners to create a unique modern urban look.
Chad Dowling kept the energy flowing with an eclectic alternative blend of music carefully chosen by Brendan and Kaetlin, and Food in Bloom provided a lavish buffet of local seasonal fare for dinner. For dessert, a decadent cake by Judy Reese at Dream Cakes was served on colorful assorted china, and a frozen-yoghurt bar with local Tartberry fro-yo topped it all off! After dancing the rest of the evening away, a Portland Pedicab whisked Brendan and Kaetlin away as night fell to watch the fireworks over Portland from the rooftop bar at Departure. We wish them every happiness and success as they begin the next adventure in their lives together in San Francisco!
Love wedding gowns with plunging backs, receptions adorned in neutrals, brunch weddings or dessert displays? Watch our recent segment on KGW News to learn about more hot wedding trends for 2015!
As a planner, the weddings that stand out the most in my memory are the ones that have the most unique details. Erika & Max’s Leftbank Annex reception certainly didn’t lack in non-traditional details! Take a peek at their day with this fab highlight video by Moving Picture Weddings and click here for more from their big day!
What Natalia loved about Erika and Max was that decisions were made as a team. This was a celebration about their union together. They wanted to throw a large party of 200 guests but also make sure there were details that brought out their personality. Both are sarcastic, ridiculously smart, creative and beautiful people inside and out. Planning their non traditional wedding was a big treat and honor.
At the very first detail meeting it was very apparent that Erika and Max were the “non traditional” couple. A few things that were very important to them was to have great food emphasizing her Japanese heritage, getting tables that would allow us not to use tablecloths, and being able to wear a custom non white wedding dress. Knowing that all were on the same page as them made the planning process that much more fun.
The details for this wedding were an amazing juxtoposition of classy and unique. The reception tables were long wood tables lined with cafe chairs. Centerpieces included silver and gold votives with large protea plants and seashells collected by Max’s family at a beach in the midwest. Erika wore a yellow and black custom made bridal gown instead of the traditional white wedding dress and to top it all off they decided to hold their ceremony the night before the reception at their rehearsal dinner. Thinking and feeling that the ceremony is the most intimate part of the wedding they wanted to share this with their close family and friends.
There were so many fun moments at this wedding but the two that stand out were the Storm Trooper we used as a Photobooth prop and introducing Erika and Max at their reception to the song of Dr. Dre’s “Next Episode.”
