Wedding Planning Archives - Page 15 of 35

{Destination Weddings 101} Traveling with a wedding gown

Posted on 21 February, 201512 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

Although the bulk of outdoor Oregon weddings have not yet begun, winter lovebirds are still heading out to beachy climates to get married. The question of how to pack your wedding gown comes up a lot!

Always check with your airline first for specific packing restrictions. Here are some tips from one of our gown specialists:

"You will not be able to use the standard length bridal gown bag as carry on luggage. It is too long, and too easily torn. Place your gown inside an FAA-approved garment bag instead. For instance, US Airways states that wedding gowns must be in garment bags no longer than 54" long. You are then expected to fold that bag in half to fit it into the overhead compartment. If you are lucky, the flight attendant might allow you to hang the garment bag in the first class closet (cross your fingers that your flight attendant has a soft spot for brides). But don't count on it.

It is not only your wedding gown that you should make plans for – your accessories are also very important. Pack your shoes, headpiece/veil/or tiara, and other accoutrements into a carry-on bag. With all the limitations these days, you may have to ask your partner to take your bag as their one carry-on item (remember, you also have the garment bag). Another option is to pack your gown and accessories together into one carry-on bag. I know it is terrible to think of cramming your beloved dress into a tiny bag, but you will need to have it professionally pressed when you arrive at your destination anyway. Be sure to keep your wedding jewelry in your purse."

If you have a wedding planner or coordinator, you could ask them to make arrangements to have your gown pressed or steamed (the seamstress will look at each item's fabric type, and decide the best way). In Portland, we do this through our partners at The Bridal Loft. If you are heading straight to your wedding location from the airport, your destination wedding planner or coordinator should offer the service of meeting you on your arrival day at the airport and getting the bridal gown, bridesmaids gowns, tuxedos or suits from you at that time and taking them to be pressed or steamed.

When and how do we sign our Oregon marriage license?

Posted on 20 February, 201512 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

via awesomethingsaregoodforyou.tumblr.com

Here's a question I get asked quite a bit: when and how do you sign the marriage license? I've seen it done a number of ways.

(First though, make sure you go in person to the county office and pick up your marriage license within 3 and 60 days before the wedding! You can start the process online in Multnomah County, but you both still must go in person to pick it up, with valid ID. More about that here.)

You will have given the county clerk $60 and your personal information, and signed your names to a triplicate form. The license is then given to you to wait until the day of the wedding when your witnesses will print their names, your officiant will sign it and add his or her contact information, and make the license legally binding.

There's also a commemorative license. This is the "pretty" certificate that is included along with your marriage license, and you will want to also have your witnesses, officiant, and yourselves sign this too. It's just for looks though, and is NOT proof of legal marriage. (It is fun to get your witnesses and officiant to sign that one too, and to flash it on your honeymoon, in hopes of getting freebies 🙂

So, again, when does all this happen? If you don't mind not having the photographer there, you can cheat a little and get it out of the way by signing everything the night before the wedding. Usually your officiant and witnesses are present at the rehearsal dinner, so this makes things really easy. This is a little unorthodox though, since you are technically now married the day before the wedding. However, it does make for one less thing to worry about on the day of.

The next option is to pre-fill out all the paperwork and witness names, and let the officiant sign on the day of. This way you are still officially executing the document on the actual day of your wedding, but it still cuts down on the paperwork and poring-over-fine-print part.

The final option is still the most traditional; gather your 2 adult witnesses and officiant on the day of the wedding, either right before you walk down the aisle in the dressing room, or right after, and do the form filling and formal signing with your photographer present. Just make sure to decide where in the schedule this will fall, and that the witnesses know, and pick a good location with a table and light where all this can take place. With the triplicate form and the commemorative license, it can amount to about 10-15 minutes of careful paperwork and can take up to 20-25 minutes out of the wedding day schedule.

And that's it! Just make sure that your officiant does MAIL the license back to the county within the following week. That final step ensures that your marriage is recorded by the government and you can have your happily ever after recognized in the eyes of the law as well as your family and friends.

{ Portland Wedding Venues } Planner’s Roundup – 5 sites that allow outside catering

Posted on 26 January, 201512 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

For so many couples, the food is the THE most important part of the wedding celebration. I often hear from them: "The food HAS to be good"…"We like the Portland food scene and want to integrate it into our wedding"…"We want to give our guests a taste of Portland and the Pacific Northwest". Often, they already have a caterer in mind when they start their venue search, and are challenged when they keep running into venues that have strict exclusive lists.

That got me to thinking. What Portland wedding and event venues allow outside catering? Here are just a few. Know any others? Please share in the comments below!

The Red Rose Ballroom – We've recently done several weddings at this very sweet space on NE Alberta St with great results. This vintage 1920's ballroom can hold up to 200 guests at round tables and features gorgeous finished hardwood floors to dance the night away, a stage for your DJ or band, a built-in bar, and a sound system. There's even a mezzanine level for guests to use during cocktails or just for relaxing and watching the party.

The Eliot Center – The Eliot Center is the "fellowship hall" aspect of the downtown First Unitarian Church. Not only are they able to seat up to 160 in their conference center for a reception, the adjoining Historic Eliot Chapel can seat up to 250 in a beautiful, elegant chapel setting for a wedding ceremony. They allow self-catering, outside caterers, and alcohol service in accordance with their policies.

Multnomah Arts Center – Located in SW Portland just a few minutes from downtown, the MAC is a Portland Parks and Recreation community center venue with a large auditorium and stage for indoor wedding ceremonies that can be changed over to a reception during a cocktail hour. Mingle areas include a dance studio and an outdoor plaza, which can also be used for ceremonies. All rental rooms, including the auditorium stage, and bathrooms are ADA-accessible and air-conditioned. In addition, most spaces have free Wi-Fi access.

The Glenn and Viola Walters Arts and Cultural Center is near and dear to our hearts, as one of our favorite recent weddings just took place there. The site features a large auditorium for ceremony and reception, downstairs classrooms to use as changing areas, a ground-floor lobby and an upstairs art gallery where guests can mingle during a room changeover. The kitchen facility is well-appointed and convenient for self-catering or your own caterer. The outdoor plaza can also be used for ceremonies.

The Laurelhurst Club – A 100-year-old property adjoining Laurelhurst park in SE Portland, this venue features an historic ballroom, mezzanine bar, kitchen facilities, bride's and grooms rooms, and outdoor ceremony lawn.

NW Events & Environments – By far the largest open catering venue we have seen, NW Events & Environments can accommodate 650 in a banquet setting and over 1000 if using multiple rooms in a reception-style flow. They do not allow outside alcohol, and kitchen facilities may have limitations.

Thanks for reading – if you found this post about Portland wedding and event venues helpful, you might also like:

Also if you found this helpful, please Like, Share, Comment, Plus or do whatever you do! Happy Monday!

originally posted December 2013, updated January 25, 2015

1st Ever Bridal Sample Sale

Posted on 5 June, 201412 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

We have been fans of Lena Medoyeff's natural-silk gown shop on NW 23rd for just about ever. And to hear that they are having their first ever bridal sample sale? Woohoo! It's next week, June 12, 13, and 14. Definitely check it out! For more info, go to lenadress.com.

via us2.campaign-archive2.com

{ Real Weddings } Jeanne and Korash at Zenith Vineyards

Posted on 22 May, 201412 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

For today's EJP Events real wedding, we look back at Jeanne and Korash's celebration at Zenith Vineyards in Salem, Oregon. The couple found us by searching the web, all the way from NYC, although Korash's family is based in Salem; so a family-friendly celebration in the heart of Willamette Valley wine country fit the bill.

We loved helping Jeanne and Korash find their wedding location, their wedding photographer David Barss, choose flowers and menu options with Vibrant Table and Vibrant Flowers, and helped them select music from the Ramsey Embick Trio through Northwest Artist Management. Bright oranges met with the warm ivory tones of the venue and were used throughout the wedding, especially in the whimsical guest book table decorations that we helped assemble.

Many thanks to David Barss Photographer for sharing these lovely photos.

Cake from Helen Bernhard Bakery.

Other Real Weddings blogposts by Portland wedding planner EJP Events you may be interested in:

Curtis and Sarah at Mt. Tabor Park and the Ace Hotel

Thalia and Conor at World Forestry Center

Dormae and Brian at Bridal Veil Lakes

Don’t forget about beautiful indoor weddings in Portland

Posted on 18 May, 201412 April, 2018 by Emee Pumarega

The recent sunny May weather reminds us we are moving closer and closer to summer wedding season. But of course, we had a huge rain shower last night as well. Outdoor weddings and ceremonies are always big in Portland and throughout Oregon. But for various reasons, not everyone wants an outdoor wedding. Maybe they don’t want the stress of thinking about a weather back up. Perhaps they’re looking for a more formal design. Perhaps they want dancing and a huge band until midnight, which would get you in trouble with the neighbors (and the law) at an outdoor wedding. So this week’s post is dedicated to a short roundup of some gorgeous indoor wedding locations in Portland, so you can get married in style all year long.

All weddings coordinated by EJP Events. If you have any questions about these locations, or any of the other hundreds of wedding venues we’ve worked, please shoot us an email!

Many thanks to Craig Mitchelldyer, Robert McNary, Holland Studios, Fritz Photography, and Jessica Shepard for providing the photos.