Author: Emee Pumarega

{ Real Weddings } Erika and Lionel’s Wedding at The Grotto and The Nines

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
  Portland-outdoor-wedding-the-grotto
Erika and Lionel came up to Portland from sunny LA to have a subtly-Hello Kitty-themed wedding at the The Grotto with reception at The Nines Hotel. As soon as she said “Hello Kitty” you know I was already SO THERE for everything. I was also super excited to help them combine Erika’s Mexican cultural and family traditions with Lionel’s Filipino heritage. Some of these traditions were expressed in the traditional Filipino Catholic ceremony, complete with veil, cord, and coins ceremonies; and in having a cumbia band at the reception. All in all, it was an exciting, whirlwind day with lots of love, great food, and dancing; and we were so lucky to be there to help with it.
Many thanks to Evrim Icoz Photography for sending these wonderful photos. For the full gallery on Facebook, please visit Evrim Icoz Photography.
View all the photos after the cut by clicking “Continue Reading” below.

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Happy New Year! Time to send Save-the-Dates!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Now that the holiday rush is dying down, it's time to send save-the-dates for your 2016 wedding!

Normally, Save-the-Date cards or emails are sent about six months before the wedding, although they can go as early as one year in advance. This means you should design and order them about seven or eight months before the wedding to give you time to print, address, and send. Invitations are sent eight to twelve weeks before the wedding, so order four to six months out.

Do you have to send save-the-dates? No, there is no etiquette requirement for these, but they are highly recommended if you have more than 30 guests coming (where you couldn't just get the news out by word of mouth), and if there are a lot of out-of-towners who will travel in order to attend. This way they can get a heads-up on the date, so they can make arrangements to request time off work, to make travel plans, and in many cases, save up for the trip!

What goes into a Save-the-Date? The only required items are your names, the date, and city of the wedding. If you know your venue, and if you have a wedding website, it's a good idea go ahead and list that too, even if every last detail isn't fleshed out yet. Sure it's great if you know your overall design, but the save-the-date doesn't have to match exactly to what you decide to do down the road with the print invitation — it's OK for it to just be in the same general design family or color. Remember, it's just a save-the-date to give folks a heads-up – not all planning needs to be completed, so try not to stress!

Here are some great ideas in several styles:

Stately_statement-save_the_date-sarah_hawkins_designs laser-cut-save-the-date-wedding save-the-date-wedding

#1 can be personalized to your specific location. We love the laser cut design of #2! And #3 is a coaster and super catchy and lighthearted – would be great for a casual or semi-formal wedding in the outdoors. All examples above come from Wedding Paper Divas.

Save the dates can also be sent over email as well. Make sure to include all the same information – name, date, city location, and your wedding website.

Our friends at Wedding Paper Divas are offering a 25% sale off your save-the-dates if you use our coupon code WEDO2016. Just click this link and it'll take you right to the sale.

Looking for great local sources for your save-the-dates and invitations? Try Puddle Jumpin' Cards, The Card Bar, or The Wedding Cottage.

Happy save-the-date hunting, and Happy New Year 2016!

(for more information about our affiliate partners, please read our FTC disclosure on this page)

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Blog Roundup: What Corporate Events Can Learn From Wedding Planners

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

 

Spot the meeting planner vs. the wedding planner.

Do wedding planners have anything to offer corporate events? Is the experience that a wedding planner brings to weddings valuable, when staring down the barrel of a large, multi-day, multi-track, executive-level conference?

BizBash, Etouches, WilsonWest and Meetings+Events Magazine, some of the top voices in our industry, all say a resounding YES.

I present the following readings to you that remind us all that for high-level events, whether they have a social or corporate focus, there is always a “bride” (a VIP or group of VIPs), and the details always matter.

Raise the Bar on Your Next Event by Thinking Like a Wedding Planner – Meetings+Events Magazine

What Can a Wedding Planner Teach Us About Strategic Event Planning – WilsonWest

10 Lessons Event Pros Can Learn From Weddings – BizBash

Weddings and Corporate Events: Not So Different After All – See more at: http://blog.etouches.com/tips-and-tools/best-practices/weddings-and-corporate-events-not-so-different-after-all/#sthash.Yqql1fGo.dpuf

Weddings and Corporate Events: Not So Different After All – eTouches

 

Weddings and Corporate Events: Not So Different After All – See more at: http://blog.etouches.com/tips-and-tools/best-practices/weddings-and-corporate-events-not-so-different-after-all/#sthash.Yqql1fGo.dpuf
What Can a Wedding Planner Teach Us About Strategic Event Planning? – See more at: http://www.wilsonwest.com/what-can-a-wedding-planner-teach-us-about-strategic-event-planning-2/#sthash.xjG4uAiC.dpuf
What Can a Wedding Planner Teach Us About Strategic Event Planning? – See more at: http://www.wilsonwest.com/what-can-a-wedding-planner-teach-us-about-strategic-event-planning-2/#sthash.xjG4uAiC.dpuf
What Can a Wedding Planner Teach Us About Strategic Event Planning? – See more at: http://www.wilsonwest.com/what-can-a-wedding-planner-teach-us-about-strategic-event-planning-2/#sthash.xjG4uAiC.dpuf

The net-net? Don’t conflate wedding planning skills with frivolous knowledge – the skill set is very similar; the major difference is where the money comes from. A veteran wedding planner is merciless with budgets – a skill prized in corporate circles. Someone who knows how to soothe ruffled feathers during the most over-the-top family dramas is the diplomat you want when tensions run high in a conference committee. And an onsite wedding whiz who can think on their feet and handle a million guest and VIP requests simultaneously with aplomb can be a valuable contributor to a corporate event team.

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

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Photo-booth-for-weddings(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:

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Wedding Gown Preservation Services in Portland, Oregon

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

As the summer wanes, and our clients return from honeymoons, we receive a lot of inquiries about what to do with the wedding dress or sari.

EJP Events is an authorized dealer for the Wedding Gown Preservation Company, and we have had great results with them. You don't have to have had your wedding coordinated by us to take advantage of this service.

The gowns are expertly cleaned and wrinkles removed. Repairs can be done and additional items such as veil, train, and shoes can be cleaned and included in the box underneath a divider, in their own individual acid=free archival boxes.

Here is an example photo of a gown after the cleaning and archiving process in its archival storage box: Gown-preservation-box

If you are interested in having your gown preserved and you can make it to our location in Portland, Oregon, email info@ejpevents.com and we'll take care of you!

 

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{ Featured in Portland Bride and Groom } Real Weddings – Erica and Rohan

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Been meaning to blog about this one for a while! I was so pleased to pick up the most recent issue of Portland Bride and Groom magazine to find one of our weddings from last summer featured.

castaway portland wedding planner

Photos courtesy Stark Photography

Erica and Rohan planned a traditional church ceremony at First Presbyterian Church, followed by a surprise Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) ceremony, called a poruwa, at their reception location of Castaway. They chose a multitude of wonderful details, from the vintage double decker bus to take guests from church to reception, to the modern geometric details of the wedding cake from AK Cake Design. For a full vendor list and all the photos, follow the link to the magazine article. There’s even a video from Moving Pictures!

Thank you again, Erica and Rohan, for letting us be a part of such a big day, and many thanks to Portland Bride and Groom for featuring such a unique wedding.

 

 

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