Portland Wedding Coordinator

Vintage and tweed styled inspiration shoot - with a little shot of velvet

I often have the opportunity to work with some really fun public events around Portland. This year I've been involved with the Portland Tweed Ride organizers' group and had the opportunity to help them produce some promotional media for their event, starting with a Save the Date card. It seemed like a great way to do some vintage and tweed inspiration for a possible wedding style board. With the way velvet is trending for 2018, I thought it would fun to throw a bit of that in too.

 

We were able to secure the wonderful Evrim Icoz Wedding Photography to shoot the photos, and Event Cosmetics to handle the hair and makeup. Nea Posey, one of Katherine Sealy's Event Cosmetics clients, and Jeanie Whitten-Andrews, who had worked with Evrim before, stepped up as models. Event Cosmetics also secured the indoor venue, Oregon Historical Society, for us. Luckily, I owned a great deal of the props and attire in my personal collection, so it wasn't hard to put together the shoot!

 

A quick stop by Elephants Deli for some bread, Champagne (actually it was Cremant de Bourgogne -- a more affordable alternative to having Champagne from the actual region of Champagne) and glassware; and also Gifford's Flowers for some blooms to adorn the vintage bikes, and we were all set. I hope you enjoy the photos and our vision! And of course, I hope you'll join us on the ride on April 8th, 2018. Or just use these photos as an inspiration stepping stone to your own engagement, elopement, or wedding style.

 

Photography: Evrim Icoz

Models: Nea Posey and Jeanie Whitten-Andrews

Planning and Production: EJP Events

Hair and Makeup: Event Cosmetics at Da:Da Hair

Locations: Oregon Historical Society; and South Park Blocks; Portland, Oregon

Floral: Gifford's Flowers

Catering: Elephants Deli

1973 Raleigh Sports and 1973 Free Spirit Bicycles: Private collection, Emilynn J. Pumarega

Picnic Blanket: Yakima Camp Blanket in Blue Heather by Pendelton Woolen Mills

Clothing on Nea: Model's own

Clothing on Jeanie: Tweed vest from Gap via ebay; Pussycat bow blouse, Argyle socks, and tweed trousers from Uniqlo. Pink velvet accordion pleat skirt from Target. Flat cap from London Fog; all courtesy EJP private collection

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Portland Wedding Coordinator: Vintage and tweed styled inspiration shoot - with a little shot of velvet

{ Photo of the Day } McMenamins Edgefield April Wedding

Photo: Photobystinson.com

Congratulations to Cassie and Brad on #brassie17! This wedding is extra special to me, as it involves many people who I'm lucky to know personally. It's always fun to get to do a wedding with friends. Cassie and Brad were married in the Ballroom at McMenamins Edgefield on a lovely spring April day in the Troutdale/Columbia River Gorge area, Oregon. 

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{ Photo of the Day } A Portland Art Museum outdoor sculpture garden wedding

Today's photo comes is from the 2007 archives! Altura Studio captured this beautiful outdoor reception at the Portland Art Museum sculpture garden. I loved how the platinum lamour table linens contrasted with the bright colors of the fall flowers and the existing art. Very excited to read that the PAM will be adding a fantastic new art pavilion in this location in the next couple of years, but it's a little bittersweet to say farewell to this unique outdoor urban wedding location. Catering: Vibrant Table, Flowers, Geranium Lake.

 

Where wedding websites fall short

Photo credit: Madeline Ball, licensed by Creative Commons

Newly engaged? If you've started planning, that likely means heading to the computer. What you’ll come across are many websites that provide some of the same things a coordinator does: a to-do list, a list of vendors, and hundreds of articles about anything and everything wedding related. If you're not sure if wedding coordinator is in your budget, or you want to take on the planning yourself, these websites are amazing resources. However, there are several things a website can’t do:

1. Tailor a plan unique to you and your partner. A coordinator can sit with you and your partner—and your families if they are involved—and go over each individual detail of what you would (and really wouldn’t) like to see on your big day.
2. Give you advice from years of experience. A wedding coordinator that has been at this for a while has seen a lot of weddings, and this means they can pass all of this knowledge along to you as a bride or groom.
3. Provide day-of coordination. This is one thing that couples often forget. While some feel they can handle the preparation ahead of time, it’s easy to overlook how many things need managing on the big day. Hiring a coordinator means someone is assigned to this, and you and your family and friends can focus on enjoying yourselves.

If you have experience with planning your wedding over wedding websites, good or bad, let us know in the comments! 

-- Malia Robinson-Exo and Emee Pumarega, May 18, 2016

 

 

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Cool Photobooth Additions and Alternatives {What can I have instead of a photobooth?}

(Yes, this is what your coordinators look like after about 12 hours on site :-)! Image courtesy Evrim Icoz Photography)

The wedding photobooth used to be a fun novelty; now it seems like a wedding must-have, along with regular photography and mini-desserts. So common now, that we're often asked,

"What can I add to my wedding to entertain guests along with, or instead of, a photobooth?"

We are definitely still big fans of the photobooth because not only is it amusing, it serves as a different kind of wedding documentation and also as a party favor. But here are a few ideas if you want to supplement the wedding day with entertainment or amusements that are a little different and sure to be remembered:

GIFbooth: Do you love GIFs on tumblr? Or the fancy cinemagraphs that get passed around every Fashion Week? Animated GIFs (Graphics Interchange Files) are made using a special videocamera setup that translates the captured video or still frames into a moving photo. These can be downloaded from a wedding website after the wedding, and make a fun momento, similar to a flipbook. Among others, GIFFF Booth and Limelight Photo can provide these services.

View more after the cut:

{ Wedding Wednesday } What's inspiring me today...

Here's what's inspiring me today:

 

Clockwise, from top left: (click the links to go to the full awesomeness)

Maptotes. What a wonderful guest favor or hotel amenity gift for your out-of-towners! They do custom work too, just visit maptote.com

The Barr Mansion in Austin, TX - Just realizing that this May, it will be FIFTEEN YEARS that I have been at EJP Events. The thought has been at the back of my mind for a while, but stumbling across this Barr Mansion (where I coordinated my very first wedding as an independent planner) wedding on Green Wedding Shoes, really made things hit home. I am so grateful for every wedding I have had the honor of working with, and so grateful for all the many service providers who have supported me and my sometimes wacky ideas. I'll be posting more thoughts with the hashtag #ejp15 and I invite anyone who has thoughts and memories to post with the #ejp15 on any social network -- past brides especially -- or, please email me and send in your memories. Photo by The Nichols via Green Wedding Shoes.

These bell jars / cloches - Just loving the way they set off the florals and details for this science-themed wedding. Photo by The Nichols via Green Wedding Shoes.

Tiny tacos. Who wouldn't love a tiny taco! Why not try one for your wedding cocktail hour, or late night snacks, perhaps with a signature margarita? Photo via the Beverly Hills Hotel Instagram feed.

It is most definitely spring, and this Apartment Therapy post shows us some innovative ways to bring spring into your home, and I got some great ideas for unusual ways to arrange flowers at a wedding as well!

Check out the back detail on this Anna Campbell gown, via the Everthine Bridal Instagram feed. (I just love Instagram as a place to see ideas and inspiration - it's almost eclipsed Pinterest for me.)

Candy kebabs. I want one! Perfect for a wedding favor or a kids' table idea. Photo by Brooke Stapleton via The Perfect Palette.

What's inspiring you today?

You might also like:

Mad about Macarons

An Oregon Garden Wedding Inspiration for a Stylish Manhattan Bride

Barr Mansion Wedding by Kim Maguire Photography

everthine bridal boutique

Austin Wedding at Barr Mansion from Francis Joseph Photography

{ Wedding Design } What's inspiring me today...

{ Wedding Design } What's inspiring me today...

Here's what's been inspiring me today:

Clockwise, from top left:

DIY honeycomb shelving, on Green Wedding Shoes, photo by Jihan Cerda

Mon Voir Calligraphy, featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper. Just love this whimsical style! Photo by Jenna Rainey, the calligrapher.

7 Ways to Add Visual Height to A Room, via Apartment Therapy. Written for residential, but a lot of the tips, especially the one about drapes, apply to events and weddings as well. Photo by Le Belle Photographie

A darling ceremony at House on Metolius, photo by Jessica Watson Photography.

DIY Gem Place Card Holders on Ruffled Blog. Looks pretty easy! And love the subtle geometric touches, right in line with our predictions for 2014 wedding trends.

And finally, the glorious colors from the Oh Joy! Collection from Target. This garden party photo shoot has colors that I just want to swim in. Joy Cho's taste, as always, is impeccable. Photos by Laure Joliet

Hope you enjoy!

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{ Happy St. Patrick's Day! } Dormae and Brian at Bridal Veil Lakes in the Columbia River Gorge

From Emee: It's so very easy to blog about what's going on around town in the world of Portland weddings -- however, I'm making more of an effort to go back and blog our own weddings that we have coordinated and planned in the past, under the tagline { Real Weddings }. Some will be little snippets, some will be full features -- but my goal by the end of this year, is for our { Real Weddings } tag to be as helpful to Portland couples as possible, full of as many real venue and wedding ideas, and providing inspiration and information to all.

In honor of St. Patrick's day, today's little glimpse is one of our favorite weddings that we coordinated at Bridal Veil Lakes. This Columbia River Gorge wedding included a Celtic handfasting ceremony to reflect the groom's Irish heritage, AND Filipino traditions to reflect the bride's. TOO AWESOME.

Thank you to Scott McNamara for the photos.

Above: Dormae and Brian's Celtic-inspired handfasting.

Read more about Irish wedding traditions over at Green Wedding Shoes.

In the Filipino tradition, the ceremony often involves many extended family members called sponsors, and three important rites are used:

• An exchange of thirteen coins representing the promise of the couple to support and provide for one another and the family.
• A veil, historically symbolizing being clothed in the love of Christ, but in non-denominational weddings, more often interpreted as a symbol of the couple's home and safe haven in each other.
• A cord, wrapped around the couple's shoulders, to symbolize the strong bond between the married couple.

        For Filipino weddings that take place in a church, there is also normally a candle lighting. You can read more about Filipino wedding traditions at MyBarong.com.

Above: the Filipino veil and cord ceremony.

Below: Officiant Lisa Kristen-Scott is seen here, presiding over the couple's exchange of coins.

 

Bridal Veil Lakes, as always, is a gorgeous venue.
We've coordinated tons of weddings there and always love it.

Are you incorporating any cultural traditions in your wedding ceremony? Do share with us in the comments!

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What's the difference between an Inspiration Board, a Mood Board, and a Palette?

 

Photo courtesy Craig Mitchelldyer

Early in wedding planning, even before the gown or the venue is chosen, most of you are thinking about look and feel. When you close your eyes and picture yourself entering the venue on your big day, what do you see? What flowers are you holding? What colors are surrounding you?

It's a big choice and the heart of wedding design, and it can be overwhelming. Equally confusing can be the many options you have for gathering your ideas in one place. You've probably heard about mood boards and inspiration boards, palettes and swatches, but what is what?

A mood board is the broadest tool used early on to help you determine the most general ideas about look and feel of the wedding. Not limited to actual wedding services, you might pull in photographs, videos, songs, words, and even poetry that evokes the mood you want to set for your special event. I really love the mood boards over at The Wedding and Event Institute Blog, here's one example:

An inspiration board is the next building block of creating your wedding design. Many of you may have started a Pinterest account and it's a great way to easily create inspiration out of your collected pins.

Once you have set the mood of your wedding, use an inspiration board to collect specific photographs of actual flowers, invitations, linens, stages, mandaps or huppahs, ceremony backdrop, room layout, and so on. Lots of folks interchange the terms mood board and inspiration board, but I feel like the inspiration board is a more specific tool.

An inspiration board can also be tweaked to become a story board later on - necessary for design-intensive weddings. A story board is just that: a detailed board that tells the event's story from start to finish, from the actual color scheme and entry points to the venue, to the lighting settings and tablescape. These depict final choices and elements. Most of the time, we accomplish the same thing at EJP Events by writing a detailed setup narrative, but in some cases, a story board is definitely needed.

A palette is just a selection of possible colors for the event. This is a great way to communicate to your vendors so they are all on the same page and using the correct warmth, hue, and saturation as they produce your wedding attire, linens, tablescape, and flowers. I love the palette tools over at ColourLovers:

Finally, a swatch is a sample of a design item, usually a textile/fabric that you use as a sample of the texture and color you would like to see. It is the physical version of the digital palette.

Thanks for reading this post! You might also like this post about 5 tools to help you choose a color palette for your wedding.

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2014 Geranium Lake Dream Wedding - Contest Entry

We are thrilled to be chosen by Geranium Lake Flowers again this year as one of Portland's best wedding professionals and to help judge their Geranium Lake Dream Wedding Pinterest Contest. Please read below for the exact details on how to enter your Pinterest board in the juried contest - it's not a drawing!

via geraniumlakeblog.weebly.com

YES! It's happening again!  This weekend at the Portland Bridal Show we launched our search for 2014's most fabulous wedding board on Pinterest.  

Here's how to enter to WIN $1000 TOWARDS YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS!

You must be getting married in 2014 (if you're a 2015 bride,  check back next year!)

Follow us on Pinterest {Emee says: Why not follow Emee's pinterest while you're at it? :-D}

Create your own Pinterest board and title it “Geranium Lake Dream Wedding”

Re-pin to your board a minimum of 3 images that inspired you from our website

IMPORTANT: Continue to curate your board from any source until your dream wedding look is complete and simply amazing.  Your board should not be limited to flowers only.  Feel free to pin whatever has inspired you, including your dress, invitations - and whatever else rocks your world. This is NOT A DRAWING. Your board will be judged against other couples' boards so it's important that your board be complete, cohesive, and gorgeous.  The boards will be judged by the best Portland wedding professionals so make it count!

Finally, email a link to your board to natalie@geraniumlake.com

We will accept submissions accept through February 28th and the winner will be announced in March.

Good luck!

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