Mad about Macarons

Les-petits-macarons

Book cover photo courtesy Les Petits Macarons website.

Macaron Day 2013 just passed, and it just reminded me how much I love these little cookies and how fun they are to offer at weddings. Whether they are used in a wedding cake, as wedding favors, or in guest welcome bags, macarons are a delightful little addition to a Portland wedding weekend. BONUS: Many versions of macarons are almond-based, and are often flourless or gluten-free. Check with your baker.

Ellybevents-macarons-wedding-planner-wedding-planning

Wedding favor photo courtesy EllyB Events on Instagram

 

Macarons-by-mimi-macaron-wedding-cakeMacaron tower wedding cake photo courtesy Macarons by Mimi

 

Laduree-new-york-macarons

Ladurée Storefront on Madison Avenue, NYC, photo courtesy Allan Zepeda

Paper-source-macaron-stationeryMacaron stationery / Wedding thank you notes photo courtesy Paper Source

A few Portland, Oregon locations where you can find French macarons for your wedding:

Nuvrei Bakery

Papa Haydn

Elephants Delicatessen

Pix Patisserie

Are you using macarons in any way for your upcoming wedding? Please comment or share a photo with us! info@ejpevents.com

 

Continue reading “Mad about Macarons”

Putting the local spirit in your wedding

Portland Oregon local liquor and spirits for weddings
The Portland Wedding Coordinator blog contains party and event planning content that discusses the legal and responsible use of alcoholic beverages for events. This blog is not intended for a minor audience. If you are under 21, please click away. Read our full policies here.

I had the opportunity to visit with a catering company owner, and we started chatting about the popular requests for locally-sourced food items on wedding menus.

So why not booze?  I’ve noticed many wedding bars stocked with Grey Goose, Absolut, Maker’s Mark, and the like… all very well and good, but with all the amazing distilleries we have right here in the Portland area, why miss this opportunity?

Here’s a list of local distilleries just to get you started, I’m sure there are more.  If you think of one that I haven’t mentioned, please add it to the comments! We urge you to drink responsibly and observe all alcohol safety laws at your event.

Eastside Distilling (co-owned by our friend Lenny Gotter at Studio 98, who has contributed many a photo to The Portland Wedding Coordinator)

Clear Creek Distillery

New Deal Vodka

House Spirits, makers of Aviator Gin and Medoyeff Vodka

Bendistillery

Rogue House of Spirits

Integrity Spirits

Indio Spirits

Subrosa Spirits

McMenamins Edgefield (and other McMenamins locations)

Updated for 2013. Incorrect info? Please email emee@ejpevents.co with any corrections. A version of this blog post appeared on The Portland Wedding Coordinator in November 2008.

via weddingcoordinator.typepad.com

Gluten-free beer tasting tonight at Belmont Station

Gluten-free-vegfamilycomImage from VegFamily.

Gluten-free is a hot topic around Portland weddings and events these days, as many people are eliminating this protein from their diet either for better health, or because they have been diagnosed with an intolerance. Whatever the reason, it's great to have options so you can accommodate those important friends and guests who are going this route.

So it's so great that tonight at Portland's lovely Belmont Station, one of my favorite places to get beer, there's a tasting where you can try every single gluten-free beer available in Oregon.From their newsletter:

THURSDAY JUNE 7  5 – 7PM GLUTEN FREE BEER TASTING. Taste every Gluten Free Beer available in Oregon, from Portland's own Harvester & Omission, plus all 3 New Planet Beers, Lakefront New Grist, Redbridge, Bard's Tale, and imports from Green's, St. Peter's and Estrella.  (FYI: In the case of Estrella and Omission there is some debate about whether they can be called Gluten Free but they are very low parts per million gluten, thus meeting stringent guidelines)  A brewer from Harvester and some of the distributor/brand reps will be present. 

If you've been wondering what gluten-free beer options are like, you'll definitely want to be there!

Are you eliminating gluten from your diet and wondering what to do with menu items at the wedding, such as cake, alcohol, and so forth? What creative ideas have you come up with? Any caterers or cake bakers you just love? Feel free to leave a comment.

Sweet treats and a cupcake truck – from Hungry Heart Cupcakes

Portland-cupcake-truck-hungry-heart

This is being written on Saturday night, and I am at the office doing my 2011 taxes. I just want everyone to share in my misery. Happily, there was one cheerful beam through the gloom of paperwork, and that was the super-nice Jax of Hungry Heart Cupcakes taking the time to stop by with a box of samples. It was really great to finally meet her and to hear about the fun and different service she is offering to wedding clients.

For one thing, Jax has a truck. A cupcake truck named Chomps. Just saying these words gets me pretty giddy. She will drive this truck to your location and be a cupcake fairy goddess of love, handing out cupcake treats to your wedding guests. She can also add on a freezer and ice cream novelties, so your guests can enjoy Bomb Pops, Dreamsicles, and Choco Tacos along with the cupcakey goodness.

Portland-mobile-cupcake-food-truck-cart

Photo via Hungry Heart Cupcakes website.

(DISCLAIMERS: 1) I just ate two of the samples in quick succession, a Saigon Cinnamon cake with Horchata frosting, and the other one was a Dark Chocolate Cacao Nib cake with Dulce de Leche Sea Salt frosting. So maybe blame the giddy on the sugar. 2) She did provide these samples free of charge to me, but otherwise, I have not been compensated in any way for this blog mention. Happy, FTC? All right, let's continue…)

The other neat and different thing about Hungry Heart Cupcakes is their use of offbeat flavorings like cardamom and horchata in the cakes and frostings, as well as their daring flavor combos. A quick glance at the upcoming menu revealed flavors like bourbon apple, apricot brie, and even prosciutto melon. Jax says in a few weeks there will also be gluten-free versions. Can't wait!

Keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks because I've been so busy assisting clients find their perfect wedding teams, and sometimes that means tasting a lot of cake, pie and cookies. I'll be sure to report my findings.

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

Wedding-planning-services-portland
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

From Oregon Bride Magazine – “The cutest wedding favors” – A Loterìa-inspired wedding favor

Did you catch our feature in the most recent Oregon Bride Magazine? We were asked to put together a unique favor with uniquely Northwestern local ingredients and design. Working with Roopal Shah of 1st Comes Love, we had a ton of fun creating this Loteria-inspired wedding favor with a tattoo/rock-n-roll twist.

Chocolate-wedding-favor-heart

“Put a spin on the usual symbol of love with these chocolates in the shape of a bleeding heart, brushed in 23K gold leaf from Alma Chocolate. The Mexican Loteria design spices up the 100% recyclable package. Produced by Emee Pumarega of EJP Events (503.284.6756; ejpevents.com); graphic design by Roopal Shah of 1st Comes Love. $14 each; $5 with less expensive Alma truffles. (Photo by Jeremy Dunham)”

via www.orbridemag.com