Planning Extraordinary Weddings and Special Events

Born and raised in Portland, Nora Sheils has been smitten with weddings since she was a child. After graduating from Gonzaga University with a degree in Psychology & Business and working several years in the bridal industry, she decided it was time to take her expertise to the next level.  Bridal Bliss opened its doors for business in 2002 and has since risen through the ranks as one of Portland’s top event planning firms.  Since, she has appeared regularly as a wedding expert on several local television shows including KATU’s AM Northwest, KPTV 12’s Better Portland and MORE Good Day Oregon, KOIN 6’s Studio 6, Weddings Portland Style, and Portland Bridal TV.

Nora Sheils has won Oregon Bride Magazine’s Best Of awards five separate years, and recently was named Portland’s Best Wedding Planner and Portland’s Best All-Around Wedding Vendor of 2011, for the second year in a row. Bridal Bliss has been a constant fixture in several media outlets including Bridal Guide, Portland Bride & Groom Magazine and Oregon Bride Magazine. Several Bridal Bliss events have also been featured on blogs such as Style Me Pretty, Coco-Kelley, Portland Style Unveiled, and various others.  Nora’s attention to details, strict standard for quality, fun enthusiasm, and comforting demeanor puts her clients at ease.

Dear Nora,
Thank you so much for everything you have done over the past year to make our wedding perfect, beautiful, and unique beyond expectation.  Your recommendations, sweet reminders, creative ideas, support, and involvement were deeply appreciated and I couldn’t have done it without you.  I have loved working with you and feel so fortunate that our paths crossed.  Thank you for helping to make this the best day of my life.

With love and heartfelt thanks,

Hailey Bernstein

Christina Palmber

Christina moved to Portland nearly 10 years ago, and fell in love with the city and the people.

After graduating from the University of Portland, she continued working at the Portland Rose Festival helping coordinate one of their largest events at Waterfront Park.

Soon thereafter, Christina found herself collaborating with several of the large-scale community events and festivals in Portland, many of which she is still heavily involved with.

The opportunity to coordinate weddings was enthusiastically welcomed, providing the perfect setting to blend her professionalism, attention to detail and customer service skills. Her ability to problem solve, stay calm and provide fun, unique ideas makes her a great addition to the Bridal Bliss team and to all of her clients.

We could not have been more satisfied with Bridal Bliss! Nora Sheils and Christina Palmer made our dream day come true! In addition, the expertise, creativity, and professionalism were a breath of fresh air throughout the entire wedding planning process. We are so thankful to have worked with them, and will not hesitate to use their services in planning future events. We highly recommend Bridal Bliss Coordination for all brides. They are the BEST!

Jennifer

Emily Boyd

Emily recently moved to Portland, after living in Eugene for the past 8 years where she planned events for the University of Oregon. She is originally from California, where she attended UCLA and graduated with a degree in Sociology.

Emily has been an event planner for the last 10 years, and has coordinated everything from conferences and conventions to corporate parties and weddings around the country.

When she isn’t working at Bridal Bliss, Emily is busy working as a personal stylist through Tog+Porter and planning workshops for the Oregon Medical Association.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys spending time with her friends, watching UCLA games and exploring all that Portland has to offer!

Katie Watson

Katie has grown up and lived in the Portland Metro area her whole life. She attended the University of Oregon, where she received a degree in Journalism with a focus of Advertising.

Post-college, Katie has spent her time finding a love for event planning and building her own path to success.

Katie currently works as Nora’s office assistant, making sure no details are overlooked and to help provide Bridal Bliss brides with their perfect wedding day.

When Katie is not assisting at Bridal Bliss, she spends her time working as a handbag connoisseur at Portland’s Ellington Handbags and as a Social Media and Event Planning Intern with CRAVE Portland.

In her free time, Katie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, as well as spending as much time outdoors as she can.

Katy Haley

Katy’s passion for event planning began at an early age. Growing up in Portland with a family that loves to throw extravagant events, she obtained hands on experience from some of the best. Katy’s eye for quality and quest for perfection are just two reasons she excels at what she does.

With over ten years of event planning and hospitality experience and seven years on the Bridal Bliss team, Katy goes out of her way to ensure the satisfaction of her clients is a number one priority. She strives to develop a strategy to meet a client’s budget without sacrificing the sense of style or integrity of the event. Whether Katy is planning a simple dinner at home or a grand wedding reception, she handles all events in a professional and detailed manner.

In her free time, Katy loves spending time with her son Jackson and husband David.

Some of their favorite things are exploring the local farmers markets, going on road trips and spending time with their big families.

Katy did a fabulous job!!! We could not have done it without her. I did not feel stressed at all, she did everything that needed to be done. She kept the time line spot on and everyone had a great time. I am sooooo glad we had her!! Thank you!!!

Brenda & Doug

Kimberly Brandt

Kimberly grew up in Kansas and has been living in Portland since 2001.

Her Mid-Western roots give her a unique outlook on living the storied “Left Coast Life”. Her early career track took her into non-profits and event planning.

She also has worked as a commercial portrait photographer and it was here that she discovered her love for styling.

Even as a little girl, she didn’t act out ‘skits’ when playing with her dolls—the whole point of playing was the set up!

In addition to working as a coordinator for Bridal Bliss, Kimberly is also the CRAVE Portland City Leader.

When not working, Kimberly spends time with her scientist hubby, greyhound Lazlo and tuxedo kitty Marzipanda.

They can usually be spotted running on the trails (or, let’s be honest…shopping!) by their house.

Kimberly was just great and so easy to work with; she was organized but flexible and a great fit for a couple who wanted a fairly low-key evening. She seemed to understand us well and made everything run smoothly, while keeping to our request that there not be a lot of big events or transitions during the reception (i.e. I didn’t want to be announced, to cut the cake, etc. and she just made that happen very naturally). We couldn’t have been more thrilled!

Carrie

Krystal Kelch

Krystal Kelch joined Bridal Bliss in early 2011 shortly after she moved to Portland from southern California with her husband.

While in California, Krystal worked for four years at an elite catering company as a wedding coordinator executing all the details at hundreds of flawless weddings.

Her passion is to see dream weddings come true while providing a smooth, relaxed, and memorable day for her bride and groom.

In her free time, Krystal enjoys spending time with her husband, creative “Do It Yourself” projects, healthy cooking, outdoor activities, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Dear Krystal,

We cannot thank you enough for all that you did. You were so caring, helpful and professional. We know that there were more than a few stressful moments. It was good to look over and see that you had everything under control.

Hannah was amazed and thankful that the exact vision she had was turned into reality. It was simple, elegant and beautiful. We know you worked hard to accomplish that and your efforts were greatly appreciated.

Again, thank you so very much,

Sandra

Megan Pierce

Megan Pierce is the newest addition to our event coordination team. With four years of experience planning high end weddings, she brings the creative design to each and every wedding. Her unique taste and imaginitive vision can put a artistic twist on any theme! Megan’s attention to detail ensures that each element of every event will be executed to perfection. Her outgoing personality has done it’s fair share to connect her with some of the best vendors in the industry. This connection will be passed on directly to you, making certain you have the best vendors for your unique event!

Megan was our coordinator and was extremely helpful with coordinating the timing of the whole event as it got closer to the day, and giving us a list of things ‘to do’ so we never were behind on any deadlines.
She was great at quickly getting back to us with answers to our questions, was always on time to our meetings and we felt like we could go to her for all of our issues! I highly recommend Megan!

Lisa

Shauna Nemelka

Shauna Nemelka has been involved in weddings in one way or another for the past 20 years. She began as a pianist and vocalist for weddings and other events, and quickly fell in love with the planning and coordinating process.

Being drawn to color and design, Shauna became a certified interior decorator in 2001 and managed her own business until 2008.

Though she remained focused on both interior and wedding design, it wasn’t long before weddings dominated her time and she wanted to take her career to a new level.

Shauna joined the Bridal Bliss team in 2010 and enjoys working in Portland’s talented wedding industry.

Shauna has traveled to many parts of the world and speaks Japanese.

She graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences and a minor in Psychology. Shauna loves playing sports and experiencing all the outdoor activities Oregon has to offer with her husband and three daughters.

Shauna,
Jonathon and I would like to send our deepest thanks for all of the work you did to make our day fantastic. You are truly the most valuable vendor we used during our wedding planning process. Thank you so much for being everything this bride and groom needed, honest, reliable, timely, focused, creative and fun! Shauna—you were such an amazing asset to our wedding, we don’t know what we would have done without you!

Thank You SO Much!
Meagan

Yvonne Provines

Yvonne Provines started out working in food service and catering over 20 years ago. After graduating from college she spent the first 10 years of her professional career working in marketing as an account executive and a project manager for agencies and large technology firms around the country.

Along the way she acquired an acumen for project management, but her passion was truly rooted in creating exceptional events for friends and family.

Over the past 6 years, Yvonne has used her project management and customer service skills to develop a classic, yet detailed oriented approach towards event planning. She believes that weddings are one of the most intimate moments a couple will share and she works tirelessly to ensure it is a night to remember.

Yvonne is dedicated to making your event a warm and friendly experience and is ready to pass her creativity and planning experience along to you.

In her free time, Yvonne loves spending time with her husband and son as well as creating (and tasting!) gourmet dinners.

Yvonne,
Devin and I send our thanks for your seemingly effortless execution of our wedding celebration. Your guidance and meticulousness throughout this process have been most appreciated. The manner in which you flawlessly track so many details is truly remarkable. The fruits of your labor have created a day of memories which we shall eternally cherish.

With Gratitude,
Samantha