Portland Wedding Coordinator

{ Meet and Greet } Join us at The Bridal Loft open house - March 14, 2012

Have you met our family at The Bridal Loft yet? I am grateful to have had the "Lofties"'s friendship, camaraderie, and business support since I joined in June of 2002. We are doing our yearly open house to welcome the upcoming 2012 and 2013 wedding clients, as well as renew friendships / make new ones in the community of artists, artisans, and designers that make up Portland's wedding businesses.

Please join us on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 from 4pm to 8pm and enjoy a fun evening out with the wedding professionals of The Bridal Loft, Portland’s original bridal collective. Light hors d’oeuvres and wine will be served as you view the 2012 collections from August Veils and beadALEX, as well as getting your opportunity to meet in person with:

Bridal beauty educator Katherine Sealy of Event Cosmetics

Wedding planner Emee Pumarega of EJP Events (that's me!)

Photographer Paul Rich

Calligrapher Alesia Zorn

The cinematography team of Scott and Amanda Shama of Ambient Sky Couture Wedding Films

Master seamstress Kim Trickey of Sewing Solutions

and designer Andrea Hoyt of August Veils

Bring your wedding questions and be ready to enjoy the atmosphere of The Bridal Loft. We’ll see you there!

RSVP here for best service.

Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Holland Studios, Holland Studios, Holland Studios, Craig Strong, The Bridal Loft, Craig Strong

{Bridal Show Recap} Bravo! Wedding Affair Spring 2010

Last Sunday, we visited with The Bridal Loft as they sponsored a themed room (The Queen Marie Ballroom at the Embassy Suites Portland Downtown) in the Bravo! Wedding Affair. The theme was "Gentlemen Prefer Brides": vintage-Hollywood glamour with decor provided by Royce's Prop Shop and floral by Event Floral.

Other rooms featured themes of gardens/nature, travel, autumn colors,Wine Country and Columbia Gorge weddings, and retro whimsy.

Here's a photo album of some choice shots from the event. Enjoy!

{Portland Bridal Shows} Upcoming wedding showcases in Portland

The bridal show season kicked off in earnest for 2010 with last month's Art of Weddings, Seattle Wedding Show, Central Oregon Wedding Showcase, and Portland Bridal Show.

Bridal show season is not over yet, though. Today we're at the Bravo! Wedding Affair at the Embassy Suites Portland Downtown which continues until 4 o'clock today. Come on down and see the loveliness!  Here's a shot from The Bridal Loft-sponsored vintage-Hollywood vignette in the Queen Marie Ballroom, entitled "Gentlemen Prefer Brides".

More informative and useful bridal shows to visit in the Portland Area:

Weddings at the Beach - also Today!February 20, 2010 - Seaside Convention Center

NW Wedding Scoop - Saturday, Feb 20th @ Salem Conference Center;
Saturday, Feb 27th @ Portland City Center Courtyard Marriott.
EJP Events will be moderating the "Attire and Beauty" panel.

Bridgeport Village Bridal Show - Bridgeport Village Shopping Center - Sunday, February 28, 2010

NW Vintage Bridal Show: Beautiful and Sustainable - Queen Anne Victorian Mansion - February 27 & 28, 2010 

Greater Vancouver WA Bridal Show - The Hilton Vancouver Hotel - Saturday, March 13, 2010

Perfect Wedding Guide Show - The Heathman Hotel Portland - Saturday, March 20, 2010

Tomorrow, we'll be posting a roundup of tips for attending these bridal shows, so stay tuned!

From Willamette Week: Win a Space-Themed Wedding at the Space Room Lounge

 We loved this little blurb in Willamette Week about the Space Room Lounge's contest to give away a free wedding: 

MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN: The Space Room, the Hawthorne Boulevard Stumble Zone’s recently remodeled shrine to drunken retro-futurism, is giving away a wedding at the bar, including a licensed officiate, photography, invitations and free appetizers for up to 50 guests, to the couple who write the best 200-word essay on why they want a space-themed wedding. Even at recession wedding prices, this deal’s probably worth $5,000. The deadline to enter is Sunday, Nov. 15. Spaceroomlounge.com/wedding-contest

via wweek.com

We checked out the website, and if you win, you'd have to use the prize and get married by March 2010.  For the right Portland couple, this might be perfect! Are you thinking of entering? Tell us!

Let's toast to Cinco de Mayo! (with a Margarita and Mexican Martini recipe)

Even though Cinco de Mayo is a minor regional holiday in Mexico proper, its significance in the US is that of a major cultural celebration similar to St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, or Chinese Lunar New Year¹. Don't confuse Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, with Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16th), however.  The 5th of May marks the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, where Mexican forces defeated French invaders seeking to install a French emperor of Mexico. 

What does any of this have to do with Portland weddings? I just want to acknowledge the all-important Mexican-American contribution to the summer wedding menu: the Margarita. No matter what food is on the menu, a freshly-squeezed, hand-shaken Margarita lends an easy festivity to any wedding.

In honor of the holiday this week, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite Margarita recipes from Texas, as well as one of my favorite variants, the Mexican Martini. For both recipes, all your juices should be fresh-squeezed, and the tequila should be light or Silver. (I recommend Herradura or Patron.)

Portland Indie Wine Festival this weekend - May 1-2, 2009

   In Portland we love to shop local, independent, and handcrafted, in everything from our handbags to dresses to food. I find this especially true when clients come to us to plan a wedding; there's no better way to show out-of-town guests a taste of the Northwest than by featuring local crafts and foods.

So when I heard that the 5th Annual Portland Indie Wine Festival was right around the corner, starting tomorrow and going through May 2, I thought, Wow! What better way to offer your guests a taste of the Northwest than by introducing them to wines that they won't be able to get anywhere else.

I had the pleasure of tasting the Three Angels Primitivo a couple of weeks ago at the Hotel Vintage Plaza grand re-opening, and if that one wine is any indication of the quality of the Portland Indie Wine Festival overall, the event will definitely be worth attending.

(Photo from indiewinefestival.com website)

Sneak peek: Bling's the Thing!

If you are engaged in the Portland area, you do not want to miss The Bravo! Wedding Affair at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland, this Sunday, February 22, 2009 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Get tickets here, or keep reading for a sneak peek into what EJP Events, The Bridal Loft, and the rest of the "Bling's the Thing" team have planned for attendees!

The Bravo Wedding Affair is a unique, interactive wedding show where seven wedding coordinators take over the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland for a day and transform each event space into a themed wedding.  From "Dusk after Sunset" by Soiree Special Events, to "Renaissance Romance" by Sweet Dreams Bridal Consultants, to our own "Bling's the Thing" coordinated by EJP Events, as well as six others, the coordinators assemble crack teams of wedding vendors and compete to create vignettes to inspire and excite. It's like "Iron Chef" for wedding planners! (Seriously - we have from midnight until 10am to transform our room. Find out if we make it or not!)

"Bling's the Thing" will be located on the Mezzanine level in the Colonel Lindberg Ballroom.  Featuring decorator/designer Royce's Prop Shop, floral by Event Floral, music from Paradox Productions, a fashion show debuting the Love, June Bridal spring 2009 collection, hair and makeup from Event Cosmetics and Fada Salon, aestheics from Soleil Spa, veils from August Veils, alterations info from expert seamstress Sewing Solutions, photography by David Barss, videography from Bigler Productions, cake sampling from La Joconde, and catering/drinks from Crave Catering -- "Bling's the Thing" reads like a "Who's Who" of Portland weddings. Don't miss it - we can't wait to see you there.

Image from Nicole Green Photographer.

Art of Weddings 2009 - a swankier kind of bridal show!

We are so excited to be invited back to participate in The Art of Weddings, a boutique bridal show happening on Thursday, January 8, 2009 from 5-8pm at LUXE Autohaus. Last year, it was held at the very swanky Secret Society Ballroom, and this year's installment promises to be even more innovative and interesting!  The Art of Weddings team has enlisted the help of the CRAVE! Portland team -- you know, the gals behind the extremely fun shopping parties? -- to promote the event, and it looks to be even bigger and better this year.

Some of the highlights of the show's offerings:

• Couture bridal fashion show featuring hand-made gowns from Kate Towers, Amai Unmei, Garnish, Lucia Apparel and men's suits by Duchess Clothier
• Food by Culinary Artistry and Wine by Duck Pond Cellars
• Bridal SWAG bags with goodies from participating vendors
• Chocolate tasting with Missionary Chocolates
• Try new bridal makeup and hair by Madi
• Bridal photo shoot with Jasmine Photography
• $100 off custom wedding invitations by 1st Comes Love for any wedding booked at this event!
• Grand Bridal Raffle featuring amazing prizes: 1 hour engagement session with website and $50 print credit from Jasmine Photography (value $300), Custom Invitation Package from 1st Comes Love ($275 value). All proceeds benefit Go Red for Women.

Stay tuned here for all kinds of news and buzz about the show.  You can even win tickets over at Simply Chic Weddings.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Holiday VIP deals from Dosha SalonSpa

I know lots of Portlanders like to hit Dosha for the manis, pedis, waxing and such, especially around bridal time.  Here 's a great tip:  If you attend one of their holiday parties in December, you receive a complimentary VIP card for 10% off services pretty much all year round.

This year it also looks like they're offering 20% off gift certificates if you bring in a Toys for Tots donation.  Wonderful!

Divine Designs Sample Sale time again!

We received this email from Cindy Rosen at Oregon ABC:

"Divine Designs Bridal Boutique is pleased to announce our Designer Sample Day - An exclusive 2 day event on
May 16th and 17th...
Designers' samples by Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Elizabeth Fillmore, Amsale, Anne Barge, and much more."

Click below for the full ad and address: