9.8.2012 ~ Willamette Wine Wedding

 *Wedding by Ashley

Chelsey and Kyle had chosen Oregon as the destination spot for their wedding, and chose Willamette Valley Vineyards as their venue.  WVV has stunning views and some amazing places for pictures.  This wedding had so many amazing details (if you know me, you know I love the details). 

To start off, Chelsey had made a handkerchief for her soon-to-be new mother-in-law.  The sentiment and love behind this gesture touched my heart, and was an amazing way to honor Kyle's mom.  It wasn't just the handkerchief, or that she had gotten her "something" as a thank you, it was all of that combined with the sweet and thoughtful words she had put on it.


When the bridesmaids showed up, I was instantly in love with the jewelry that one of them was wearing.  I asked her where she got it, and she told me that Lisa for Clara Beau Jewelry had made all of the matching sets just for the wedding!  I still love them just as much today as when I first saw them.  The jewelry was definitely "stop you in your tracks and ask about it" gorgeous. 

Even with being from out of state, Chelsey and Kyle still were able to pull off an amazing amount of DIY details such as these stunning cork balls and the branded wood box centerpieces.  She always had such great vision, and everything came together so beautifully.  She was even sweet enough to give us a few of the cork balls, and we display them proudly at our loft in Salem for all to see!  At every event we've ever taken them to, at least a handful of people have asked to take pictures of them!

The sweet sentiments continued on in the day with a special remembrance in their program for loved ones that couldn't be there in person at the wedding.  During the ceremony, Chelsey and Kyle performed a wine ceremony in which they blended two wines, resembling their two lives joining as one.  This was a perfect ceremony for the wedding being held at a winery and vineyard venue! 

Part of the decorations on the cake were family heirloom brooches.  This was one of my favorite parts!  Instead of renting some gorgeous "cake bling," or having to buy something, they incorporated these brooches.  And where was the cake to go?  On a custom wine cork board Chelsey and Kyle had made of course, on top of a wine barrel! 

The food was fantastic, the wine-ever flowing, and the party lasted well into the night with great music and dancing.  And the person who captured it all?  Evrim of Evrim Icoz Photography.  This was our first time working with him - and we can't wait to work with him again.  His energy is infectious (yet professional of course).  He seemed to never have less than three cameras on him at a time, and worked non-stop from the moment he arrived until the moment he left.  Plus, he knows how to have fun while he's working!  We shared so many laughs that day, and I learned he is an excellent dancer!  To top it all off, his talent is breathtaking.  Going over the images of the day helped to bring back all of the memories and the details, because he captured them all.  Thank you Evrim for capturing Chelsey and Kyle's day so beautifully for them.  I know they will cherish these forever!  Thank you for being so amazing to work with!

Venue: Willamette Valley Vineyards

Coordination: Stargazer Weddings

Photography: Evrim Icoz Photography

Catering: Willaby's Catering

Cake: Lamb's Market

Flowers: Lamb's Market

Jewelry: Lisa for Clara Beau Jewelry

DJ: NW Mobile DJ Service

Officiant: Lisa Scott

Rentals: SHE Designs Events

Transportation: Blue Star

8.19.2012 ~ Youngberg Hill: Destination "I Do"

*Wedding by Ashley*

I am SO excited to finally share the details for Jordan and Alison's 8.19.2012 wedding!  They were both from out of state, and fell in love with everything about Youngberg Hill from what they could see online...so they decided to have a destination wedding here in Oregon!  They invited all of their most cherished loved ones to join them in the celebration.  I worked with Alison and Jordan with full planning assistance, and loved helping them find all of the vendors that would make their day perfect and fulfill their vision.  I didn't meet them until the day before the wedding, but I felt like I'd known them for years by the time we met!  I was so excited to finally meet them, and I was even more excited to share in the joy of their wedding with them and their guests.  Plus, it was great to watch them as they experienced Youngberg for the first time!  Nicolette and her crew take such great care of their clients - and were a total blast to work with.  They were so helpful, and always had smiles on their faces.  We love working out there!  Plus, that view is simply breathtaking!  Oh, and endless supplies of good wine too!

Most of their guests stayed at the Grand Hotel in Salem.  We organized, packaged, and delivered little welcome bags to the hotel for their guests - complete with Oregon information, wedding itinerary, and local grown hazelnuts covered in chocolate!  We love the Grand Hotel - they take great care of their clients, and delivered each bag to the guests as they arrived.  What a great way to say thanks for coming!

Alison looked stunning.  The first time I saw her I got teary.  It wasn't just the dress, and the hair, and the makeup, and the accessories...it was all of that combined with her beaming personality and overflowing love for Jordan.  She loves Jordan SO much, it showed in every ounce of her being all day long.  That type of love and joy is infectious!  She had amazing Jimmy Choo shoes and her makeup and hair was by the talented team at Face Body Beauty - we love all those ladies!

Alison had a really good idea of the vision and look she wanted for their wedding, and we knew just the vendors to make it happen!  Denice of Distinctive Designs make all of the bouquets, centerpieces (pears included), and decorated the aisle.

Rentals came from lots of amazing places such as Barclay Event Rentals (chuppah), Crossroads Fine Linens (overlays), and the rest (including the amazing food), came from Willaby's Catering and Event Design. We love Jean and her crew!  And to top it all off, Jordan's own sister made the wedding cake - what a special gift!
 

This wedding was also deep with Jewish tradition.  I love traditions, and I loved the programs that they designed that explained all of the traditions, and their meanings.  They signed a Ketubah, got married under a chuppah, circled three times, exchanged rings, Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings), breaking of the glass, and the Yichud!  The Ketubah expresses the idea that marriage is a partnership based in love and commitment.  This is an intimate setting with family, and is usually displayed in the couple's home after the wedding.  The chuppah is a wedding canopy held up by four poles.  It symbolizes the new home that Alison and Jordan are building together.  There are no walls in this new home, encouraging the couple to follow Abraham and Sarah, whose tent was always open to guests.  The chuppah also had the tallis (prayer shawl) of Jordan's grandfather.  After arriving at the chuppah, the couple circles each other three times to symbolize their unity as they begin their life together.  The rings used during the ceremony were Jordan's grandparents, who wore the bands when they were married in 1939.  These very special rings have been used in many family weddings such as Jordan's parents and sister.  Sheva Brachot (Seven Blessings) offers thanks for 1) the fruit of the vine, 2) the creation of the world, 3) the creation of humanity, 4) the wisdom, intelligence, and free will with which every person is endowed, 5) the joy and happiness of Zion, 6) the love between the bride and groom, and 7) a wish for the couple's delight, cheer, love, harmony, peace, and companionship in their life together.  The breaking of the glass has many interpretations, one of which is a symbol of how fragile life and love can be.  The glass is broken to protect the marriage with the implied prayer, "as this glass shatters, so may your marriage never break."  The final ceremony tradition was Yichud.  Immediately following the ceremony the couple has an opportunity to spend a few minute's in each other's company.  Yichud means "alone together," and it gives the couple the opportunity to share privately the power and importance of this moment in their lives. 

During the ceremony they had an extremely talented string quartet, Duo Con Brio.  This was our first time working with them, and we hope to work with them A LOT in the future.  Not only talented, but highly professional as well.  Kevin from NW Mobile DJ Service was also there and helped the event run smoothly, and kept the party going long into the night.  Jordan and Alison had taken a dance lesson from a local professional, and their dance was amazing!  It was like out of a movie...the twirls, the dips, the kiss at the end....*swoon.*  Oh, and the bride? Also talented in playing the clarinet and belly dancing!  She played a song during the cocktail hour, and did a belly dance later in the reception. 

So many fun, amazing memories from this couple and this wedding.  Thank you to all of the vendors, and thank you Alison and Jordan! 

 

P.S. Jordan, you picked out one GORGEOUS ring for your wife!

 



*Photos by Brittany Wong of 5th and 59th Photography.

6.30.2012 ~ Destination: Pacheco Ranch Winery, California

*Wedding by Bailey*

Emily’s wedding planning journey began last fall when I was spending Thanksgiving with her family in Corvallis. This was the first time I met both Emily and her then fiancé, Tola. Because the family was together for the holiday from all parts of the west coast, Emily and her mother Diane had planned a day to go wedding dress shopping. I was excited to be invited along (much more excited than they even knew), because of course I love everything to do with weddings! After spending the majority of the day at one bridal shop, Emily was pretty sure she had found the right dress but we decided to stop at just one more place for fun. We found a store in downtown Salem called Simply Grand Bridal. We were looking around but many of the gowns were too fancy for Emily’s style. One of the ladies working in the shop gave us a small piece of advice that turned into a grand idea! She suggested that if we weren’t finding any of the bridal gowns to be the right pick, to check out the bridesmaids dresses for comparison. We browsed the dresses intended for bridesmaids, but found a dress that was almost exactly what Emily had imagined. Emily tried the dress on and we both knew that we had found the dress! It was perfect, the only thing that needed to be changed was the color, at the time Emily was wearing an ORANGE dress!

And so began the wedding planning journey. Emily and Tola were married June 30, 2012 at Pacheco Ranch Winery in Novato, California. Deb Rowland, who both lives at and runs Pacheco Ranch with her husband Herb, is the most wonderful, caring, and easy-going person to work with. She made hosting a wedding at Pacheco not only easy, but so much fun. Deb allowed us to starting preparing for the Saturday event a week in advance, letting us stop by to plan layouts, store beverages in the barn, and even cut extra grape vines to make decorations out of. 

Emily and Tola chose to get married in Novato, California so that Emily’s grandparents, who live there, would be able to attend the celebration - making it a destination wedding for all the other guests. Actually, wherever Emily and Tola would have chosen would have been turned into a destination because they had guests invited from 9 different countries! Tola was born and raised in Sweden, and met Emily while they were both studying abroad in Korea. The couple now lives in San Diego, but had guests from Sweden, China, France, Canada, and England all attend their California destination wedding. Since their guests had traveled such long distances, Emily and Tola really tried to make their wedding a giant celebration for everyone to enjoy.

Not only does Pacheco Ranch have a beautiful outdoor space where both the ceremony and reception were held, but Deb and Herb also open up their gorgeous Victorian home for the wedding party to spend the morning getting ready. The girls take over an upstairs bedroom and bathroom that is beautifully decorated with antique furniture, while the guys take the downstairs sunroom and patio where they can hang out on deck chairs and relax in the shade. While the bridal party was spending the morning getting ready, a group of Emily’s family helped transform the ranch into an elegant outdoor wedding. Emily’s Aunt Priscilla put together all of the flowers for the day including centerpieces, aisle decorations, boutonnieres, and bouquets. Forks and Fingers Catering were also tremendously helpful in setting up all the tables and chairs and making sure everything went smoothly (not to mention their food was amazing later in the night). We rented sound equipment from Corporate Media Systems for both the ceremony and reception and their staff made it so simple for me (not a techy) to use the equipment and they also were so accommodating letting us return the equipment the next day rather than pick it up at wee hours of the morning (a request of the groom).

Emily and Tola kept it traditional by waiting to see each other until Emily was walking down the aisle. We had to load Emily and her bridesmaids in a car and drive them behind a tree to be sure that Tola and the groomsmen would not see them. The ceremony included a special thanks to both families which made it heartfelt and unique. Following the ceremony, Forks and Fingers served delicious appetizers and poured glasses of Pacheco Ranch wine for the guests while Emily and Tola took pictures around the ranch with photographer David Woodfin, a local up-and-coming photography student. Tola’s best man and brother, Nil, made a speech to be remembered (or forgotten after some drinks) by having the guests cheers in all of the different forms of countries represented at the wedding. All of the guests were invited to make toasts so that everyone was included in the celebration. One of my very favorite parts of the entire wedding was a surprise flash dance for Emily. Her mom Diane planned the whole thing in advance by emailing all of the guests and sending them an instructional video to learn a line dance. We all surprised Emily with the dance, and she was truly surprised to see all of her guests break out in a synchronized dance! Tola joked with me before the wedding about how much Europeans love to drink wine and dance, but he wasn’t kidding! Bottles of Pacheco Ranch wine were served at every table but before the night was through Deb opened up the wine cellar to bring out more of her famous wine. The dancing began early in the evening and ran late into the night. Deb was so happy with the party that she let it continue until everyone’s dancing shoes were worn out for the night.

I know I could go on and on and on about this wonderful day...Emily and Tola make an amazing couple and I’m so happy I was a part of their big day. Thank you to Emily and Tola for sharing the day with me and thank you to Pacheco Ranch Winery for providing such an amazing venue!

7.23.2011 ~ Wisconsin Wedding

This wedding has a REALLY personal story to it - and I'm SO happy that I finally have some time to write about it!  Jace and Lacey were married back in July of 2011 (yes, we're still trying to catch up on our blog posts).  My husband and Jace first met back in 2006 when they both joined the National Guard and went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.  They were assigned as "battle buddies," which means (whether they liked each other or not), they were stuck with each other through all of Basic Training.  They were to help each other, push each other when one would want to give up, and all around be a good support for each other.  Well, luckily it turns out these two got along pretty well, and had similar life values, morals, and life ambitions.  They stayed in touch through the years - and eventually both were deployed at near similar times.  My husband, Mike, deployed to Afghanistan, and Jace deployed to Iraq.  There was a few months of overlap, but they continued to stay in touch throughout their deployments.

This is where Lacey and I become more acquainted.  We had talked here and there over the years, but it was over the mutual life challenge of having our men deployed that really brought us together.  We'd write, message, text, call, and however else we could communicate - we would.  Since my husband had deployed sooner than her (at the time, fiance), she came to me for advice, guidance, and "reality."  For her, it was helpful to hear the truth from someone who had just gone through "this" or "that" stage of deployment.  For me, it was helpful to show strength and be there for someone, when I myself was leaning on her just as equally (although she probably didn't know it).  Through both deployments, challenges, late nights, lots of prayers, and God's grace - our  men came home....which meant it was time for Lacey and Jace to GET MARRIED!  They live in Wisconsin, so Mike and I flew to Wisconsin for the wedding!  It was my first time seeing this part of the world, and the first time ACTUALLY meeting Lacey!  I felt like we've known each other our whole lives - and I was so blessed to be a part of their day, and meet their amazing families and friends.  So....now time for wedding details!

As mentioned before, Lacey and I talked A LOT during the deployment - which was the time in which she was planning her wedding!  I learned that weddings in Wisconsin do things differently than on the west coast, but I loved learning about their traditions.  We'll get to this more later.  :)

They got married at the local little First Baptist Church in Medford, Wisconsin by a long time family friend and pastor, Luke Hatfield.  We had to drive 3 hours from the airport to get to this little town - but I loved the close community feel!  The ceremony was early afternoon, with the reception occurring later in the evening.  This is one of the differences about west coast weddings where they happen "all at once."  The afternoon ceremony allows for family to go home, change if they'd like, rest, and then come back a few hours later for dinner and dancing at the reception.  And I don't just mean 2 hours of dancing, I mean ALL NIGHT of dancing!  The reception went from 5 until well past midnight!  What was amazing was that everyone stays - the whole reception.  People just love hanging out, meeting the other guests, celebrating with the bride and groom - it was SO much fun!  We made some great friends too(yes, that's YOU Melissa & Luke). 

For this wedding, I was more of a "personal assistant."  I got to spend the whole day with Lacey, tending to her needs, making sure things ran on time, running errands, etc.  Considering our visit in general was so short, I loved the chance to get to spend so much time with Lacey, on such an important day.  Lacey did her own makeup, and got her hair done at Encore Hair Studio.  I remember seeing her for the first time in her wedding dress (helping her lace it up), and I started to get teary-eyed.  She looked so stunning, and I know how long they had been waiting for this day to come.  They'd been dating since Jace first entered the army YEARS ago...and "today" was finally here.  She had bought her dress from Charlotte's Bridal and it couldn't have been more perfect for her!  The flowers were from Thomas Floral.  My husband drove Jace, and I drove Lacey so they could have their "first look" at a local park.  It started to rain a little - but that wasn't going to stop us!  It was fun running this "errand" with my husband, texting back and forth, seeing where the other person was, making sure Jace was in position but couldn't see Lacey yet...

The photographer, James, of James Stokes Photography was great to work with! We emailed back and forth prior to the wedding, making sure that all of the important images (the special, non-typical ones) were captured by special request of Lacey and Jace.  Hanging out with James was like hanging out with family! 

After the sentimental ceremony with musicians (friends of the bride and groom, Kevin and Jessica), it was time for bridal party pictures!  Now, usually this can be just "something" that needs to get done - but the couple had picked out the most gorgeous farm I'd ever seen.  It was like out of a movie.  So much history, the rock foundations from 100's of years ago....it was breathtaking.  After a few pictures with Mike and I, we headed off to the reception to make sure it was all set before the guests would arrive.  I know Lacey had been working on a lot of personal details and her friend Julee was helping with all of the decor.  When I saw the reception hall at the Simek Center, I was blown away. When you first walk in, your entryway is lined with their love story.  A 3-D love story with stations, pictures, letters, personal items, you name it.  As you walk along, each "station" has a story about how they met, their first job together, the first date, the deployment, the proposal....the WHOLE story from when they met until today.  What a great way to greet your guests!  Then, as you enter the actual hall, they had white fabric draping the ceiling, lights everywhere, the most stunning birdcage for their cards, a "love notes" section instead of a guest book, and the list goes on and on.  I love details and this wedding was overflowing with personal touches!  The Simek Center not only was the reception site, but they also took care of the bartending, catering, cheesecake (yes, cheesecake - since that's how Jace proposed), rental items, and lots more!

Something else that was unique was that children are a big focus point at the reception.  The whole party starts off with an hour or so of events for kids.  The DJ, Dream Productions by Scott Woller, did such a great job of keeping the kids entertained with things from hula-hoop competitions to trivia to dance-offs.  It was hilarious!  He kept the party going all night, well past midnight!  Part of the reception is where the whole bridal party is announced, make a "tunnel," and then the bride and groom walk underneath the tunnel. 

Their wedding favors for their guests were mini bottles of homemade wine.  That's right - wine!  There were tons of flavors to choose from too: raspberry, blueberry, and lots more!  We got a few bottles to take home (and let me tell you...it was yummy)!  The best man (Luke, mentioned previously) had the best, best man speech - full with a plaque of the "story" for the groom!  There were so many great memories to the day, I simply can't write about them all - but I think you get the idea.

Jace and Lacey - Mike and I can't thank you enough for not only being a part of our lives, but allowing us to share your day with you.  It was a trip to remember forever, to celebrate the union of friends that we'll have for a lifetime.  We wish you two continued love and blessings - and can't wait to see you again!