Perfect weather and acres of old growth trees awaited guests at yesterday’s wedding celebration for Emily and David. Held in the Pavilion at Historic Champoeg Park, the ceremony blended old and new traditions under the huppah including a Jewish circling, the seven blessings and breaking of the glass. The unity sand ritual featured a mason jar belonging to the groom’s grandmother. Following the ceremony, family and friends feasted on a buffet of homemade vegetarian specialties including three kinds of lasagna baked by the bride. The newlyweds will relax for two nights in a cozy park cabin before returning to their home in SE PDX. The groom works for UPS and the bride is completing her degree in psychology. They are planning a destination honeymoon in the fall. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Quinton … mazel tov!
Category: Brides
Wedding Outshines the Rain at Reserve Vineyards
Rain delayed the start but not the smiles at yesterday’s wedding for longtime sweethearts, Ashley and Ryan. Vows were exchanged in front of friends and four generations of family in the Pavilion at the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in Aloha, OR. The couple included a sand ritual in the celebration and presented gratitude roses to their moms and grandmas. Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing and the always popular sweets table. The newlyweds will honeymoon in Maui before returning back to work and their home in Beaverton. Ryan is in the field of microbiology and Ashley is an admin assistant at Nike. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Osborne. May the sun always shine in your hearts!
Wedding Venue Deal
Book your 2015 wedding by April 1st at the Historic Old Church in downtown PDX and get a 25% discount! The venue blends urban convenience with Victorian charm. Brides get a private dressing parlor, full use of the lower level kitchen, reception hall and, of course, the beautiful church featuring stained glass windows and famous pipe organ dating from 1883. View a real wedding. Get details on deal.
Color Fun for Bridesmaids Dresses
If you haven’t discovered it yet, here’s a fun and easy way to pick your gown colors. Try the customizing tool provided online by several design houses that lets you take a peek at both style and color. Choose from hundreds of gowns in both long and short designs and then pick your color by scrolling over the color chart (more than 60 shades on Alfred Angelo). Have fun! Click here for Alfred Angelo. Here for Watters.
Something Borrowed, Something Scuba Blue
Pantone’s lineup of colors for Spring/Summer 2015 is pretty much the same shades from 2011 with new titles. Lavender is now Lavender Herb; Honeysuckle is Strawberry Ice; Silver Cloud has become Glacier Grey … and so on. The new “En Plein” theme suggests weddings will be leaning towards the minimalist look with simple styles in soft fabrics and tranquil hues.
There will still be plenty of color bursts showing up in shoes, sashes and bridesmaids dresses. Always popular for a touch of pizazz, for example, turquoise is included in the updated palette but the color’s new moniker is Scuba Blue. For more color and style inspiration, visit me on Pinterest.
Holiday Wedding at Historic Marshall House
The Marshall House on Officer’s Row in Ft. Vancouver, WA provided an elegant venue for Brian and Elena’s holiday wedding held last Sunday. Friends and family gathered in the regal west parlor of this Queen Anne Victorian built in 1886. The ceremony included two unity rituals: a salt exchange to honor the bride’s Russian culture; and a Western Red Wood tree planting ritual in tribute to the groom being a 5th generation Vancouver resident with Native American heritage. Following the ceremony, guests were free to explore the rich history of the mansion before attending the reception at the Vancouver Hilton. The couple will honeymoon in the Spring. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Smith! May your years together be blessed with laughter and harmony. Of Interest: The Marshall House was once the home of Nobel Prize for Peace recipient and five star General George C. Marshall. Read more about the Marshall Plan Recovery Program.
Best Day Ever for Jessica and Doug
Seven year sweethearts, Jessica and Doug, exchanged vows yesterday at the West End Theater in downtown PDX. The bride walked down the aisle to Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years and the newlyweds marched out to One Republic’s Good Life. Navy, tangerine and ivory were the colors of the day. Bridesmaids wore variations of gowns in navy satin and the groomsmen looked sharp in charcoal gray suits, dark blue shirts and navy ties. Following the candlelight ceremony, guests were invited to the upstairs ballroom for cocktail hour and dinner. Special touches for the reception included a large framed seating chart hung on the brick wall outside the ballroom and custom labeled wine bottles indicating table numbers.
After a honeymoon in the Dominican Republic next week, the couple returns to their Portland home on Hayden Island. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Smedley! May the spirit of your “Best Day Ever” remain in your hearts forever.
Keeping Kids Happy at Your Wedding
The biggest challenge with having little ones in or at your wedding is keeping them entertained. Kids get understandably antsy – all that hurry up and wait! Being seen and not heard while the bridal party gets dressed, photographs get taken, guests arrive … that’s a LOT of being on your best behavior. I’ve seen all kinds of attempted “wedding kid control” over the years. The BEST solution? Keep them occupied. If you don’t have the luxury of a relative or friend who can be a Mary Poppins on site; provide age appropriate activities so they can entertain themselves. Books, puzzles, hand-held games, disposable camera, mini-water bottle, clear gummy worms … items that are noise and mess free. Putting it all in a customized tote makes it portable and special. MyLovingTree from Portland, OR makes adorable canvas bags with lots of custom features. In addition to personalized names, you can select skin tone, hair color and outfit. Lots of options for bridal party gifts, too. Check them out on Etsy.
Have a Haunted Honeymoon
It’s Halloween season – a perfect time to explore haunted digs for your honeymoon. Haunted Rooms.com provides a listing of the best in domestic creep options. Choose from castles, lighthouses, plantations, traditional hotels and a variety of asylums. Some of the facilities offer tours to enhance the chill factor. The Crescent Hotel (shown here) escorts you to the morgue of this former hospital where you might catch a glimpse of the infamous Dr. Baker who experimented on his patients. Lodging ghosts across the country range from scorned lovers in the lobby to monks in the attic. There’s even a “hand of mystery” in Chicago. If you book the bridal suite at Thornewood Castle in WA, be prepared to share it with the former lady of the house who has reportedly been seen looking lovingly out at the garden. The user friendly website allows you to search hotels by city or state. View if you dare!
A Plum Perfect Autumn Wedding
Clear skies, a lush garden setting, bridesmaids in plum satin and groomsmen in gray … what a lovely wedding celebration last Saturday at one of my favorite PDX venues, Leach Botanical Gardens. Teirnie and Zach exchanged vows under the courtyard arbor during the 4:00 ceremony. Truly a family affair; the bride was presented to the groom by her uncle, her five year old son, Beckham, participated in the unity sand ritual and the groom’s mother, Linda, made all the exquisite flower arrangements in the theme colors of plum, magenta and orange. DIY extra nice touch: Bridesmaids were gifted with a memento frosted glass vase to keep their bouquet fresh. Guests were treated to music by No Talk Tunes while enjoying a delicious dinner buffet and took home a gift of Pure Wildflower Honey compliments of the bride and groom (and the bees of Leach Gardens). Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Hemelstrand! May all your days together be as lovely as the energy of Saturday’s celebration.
NOTE: Kudos to Linda Hemelstrand for recovering from a zero hour accident with style. She sliced off the tip of her finger while working on the wedding flowers and had to go to ER the day before the wedding!
A FESTIVE HEART 