Tag: wedding planning

Make it a White Friday instead, and set your wedding planning intentions

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Black-friday-shopping-wedding
Photo by tshein on flickr, used with Creative Commons License.

Wait! Before you make one more Black Friday purchase, stop for a minute! If you’re recently engaged and hoping to have your wedding in 2012, why not take a little time this holiday weekend to set your intentions around what’s really important for your celebration? A little pre-planning before the plunge of wedding shopping can go a long way.

1. Have your families met yet? Ideally, your families will meet before the wedding day. Figure out a way to make this happen if it hasn’t already.

2. Have you set your budget yet? There are many budget planning tools online, or you can email me with the subject line “I read your 11/25 blog” and I’ll send you the one I use for my full-service clients — free!

3. Have you started on your guest list? Your budget will give you an idea of how many guests you can have. It’s not a perfect rule of thumb, but just to get you started, consider on the casual end (in the Portland, Oregon area), a budget of $50-100 per person; then, a more elaborate celebration will have a budget from $100-500 per person. Reducing your guest list is the easiest way to reduce your budget.

(Of course, all you really need is your intended and the witnesses, but these guidelines should work for anyone hoping to host a celebration with more than a dinner-party number of guests and some kind of food, drink, and entertainment.)

Another way to think about budget is to consider a favorite restaurant whose food you would love to have at your wedding. What did you pay per person the last time you went there on a date and had appetizers, dinner, and a few drinks? Take that number and double it (in order to budget 50% on catering and 50% on the other things like planning, venue rental, entertainment, documentation, printing, etc) and that can be a rough budget for you.

4. Have you discussed your shared vision with your fiance(e)? On The 2000 Dollar Wedding Blog, Sara Cotner discusses how she and her fiance “started with the end in mind”. No matter what your wedding budget might be, this is great advice.

So take a few moments during this holiday weekend to be thankful for this exciting time, and to set your intentions and get your wedding planning started right. Who knows–maybe eliminating one Black Friday impulse purchase will allow you to get something you really hoped for for the wedding.

A version of this article originally ran on The Portland Wedding Coordinator on November 27, 2009.

BarStocker – the iPhone app that calculates liquor needs for your party or wedding

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Many of our clients are in turnkey venues where they can provide their own caterer and bar. But figuring out how much liquor, beer, and wine to order is always a challenge. Order too much and it's a bit of a waste. Order too little and you risk running out during the event, and having to send a wedding party member to the nearest 7-11.

EJP Events is pleased to unveil our own iPhone app to tackle this continuing problem. Based on an algorithm developed over our 13 years in the event planning, catering, hotel, and wedding planning businesses, BarStocker will save you time and prevent a waste of money or alcohol by helping you figure the perfect amount to order.

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Customize your order based on length of party in hours, time of year, types of alcohol being served, and how much your guests like to party :-)  It's available right now on the iTunes store. Please let me know what you think!

Rooftop weddings and wedding venues in Portland

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

Want an outdoor venue but don’t want to stray too far from the Portland city center? Consider a rooftop venue as your very own urban serenity. Rooftop venues serve as your private panorama to a breathtaking view of Rose City. Portland’s rooftop venues offer your guests a first hand glimpse of the visual treasures of Portland. Rooftop venues provide a modern, romantic atmosphere for your wedding and Portland’s rooftop venues are among the best! Three Portland rooftop locations include Hotel deLuxe, Embassy Suites Portland Downtown and DeSoto Rooftop Terrace.

Hotel deLuxe is known for its old Hollywood style elegance. While they have an indoor meeting facility, they also have a rooftop space available for your outdoor wedding. This venue is perfect for any glamorous bride!

Rooftop Wedding at Hotel Deluxe by Kate Kelly
Photo credit: Kate Kelly Photography

Embassy Suites Portland Downtown is located in the heart of Rose City. This historic venue is surrounded by Portland’s city lights and an excellent choice for a night time wedding.

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Photo courtesy Embassy Suites Portland on Facebook

DeSoto Rooftop Terrace is an intimate venue nestled in Portland’s ambiance of the Pearl District. This modern venue has rustic elements which creates a fashionable urban style.

Rooftop Wedding at DeSoto Rooftop Terrace by Evrim Icoz Portland Photographer

Photo credit Evrim Icoz Photography

Rooftop venues are a fun and trendy place to tie the knot. However, they are much more rare than other outdoor venues, therefore be sure to book your ideal venue in advance. Additional logistics to consider; most rooftop venues need tenting and additional decor in order to create your wedding vision. In some cases, they do not have an indoor component or have very limited indoor amenities.

We like rooftop venues because they can be a “blank slate” for design, meaning that they can transform to fit your ideal wedding style. Additionally, if the rooftop belongs to a hotel, then you have the added convenience of hotel amenities. Specifically in Portland, you can enjoy city attractions, outdoor views and be within close proximity to lodging. Hotel rooftop venues are a great option if your guest list consists of a large amount of out of town guests.

Booking the perfect rooftop venue is the first step in planning your unique wedding. A rooftop wedding is a chic alternative to the ordinary outdoor wedding. Imagine yourself surrounded by the beautiful Portland skyline as you dance beneath the stars and toast among the clouds. Cheers!

– Lauren Gilbertson, edited by Emee Pumarega

{Wedding Planning Tips} Five commonly-forgotten items at the wedding

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

No, not the marriage license or rings, but still there are a few items that people always seem to forget. Take care of these now and make your life a lot easier.

1. A place to put cards that are given as gifts. Whether you use a customized cardbox, or just a nice glass fishbowl, have a secure place for guests to put their cards so they don’t fall under the gift table or blow away.

2. A good guest book pen. Make sure it does not smear easily and has acid-free, archival quality ink.

3.  Someone to handle final payments and tips or gratiuities. Most payments are due before the day of your wedding, but there may be last minute changes, overtime, or just a tip for the hairstylist that would be best if payment is given the day of. Don’t be in charge of this though — hand this task over to the best man or the wedding planner.

4.  A vase or vases to display the bride’s and bridesmaids’ bouquets.

5.  To go boxes for leftover food and cake. Many counties have health department restrictions on food that can be taken away after it has been left out for a period of time, so check with your caterer about what happens to leftovers and whether or not you will need to provide the containers.

Have you been the member of a wedding party? Can you think of any items you forgot or wish you had? Please post your comments below for the Portland Wedding Coordinator.

 

Photo: Powers Studios. A version of this post originally appeared on this blog in May 2010. 

{ Discoveries } Hi-Fi Weddings, a blog about love and music

Posted on by Emee Pumarega
Hi-fi-weddings-music-djs-first-dance-songs

We have to give a shout-out to Hi Fi Weddings, a blog we've just discovered. I know how important music is to our clients — over half of the brides and grooms we talk to say that music and dancing are the most important part of their party.

Hi Fi Weddings celebrates the music that you choose for your wedding in great detail, from posts about real weddings and the music they used, to music-themed invitations, fun favors and gifts, and just about anything music.

The great thing too is that the blog covers far more than your typical Top 40 and mainstream wedding music choices. As a music lover who rarely finds compatriots in musical taste, nay not even of the spousal variety ("What, you don't want Morrissey's cover of Moon River for our first dance?"), I highly appreciate that Ashley, the editor, has put together several playlist suggestions for your wedding featuring everything from Otis Redding to Devendra Banhart. Play on!

Mojuba Wedding Day Survival Kit – a more chic emergency kit!

Posted on by Emee Pumarega

We’ve been meaning to blog about these cute emergency kits from Mojuba Weddings forever…

 

via www.mymojuba.com

We love the chic styles for man or woman, the reusability, and convenient travel sizes. At ~$165 the kit may feel like a splurge, but you could register for one on wishpot.com, or think of it as an addition to your handbag collection.

At any rate, do make sure your coordinator or helper is prepared with a stash of little things for the big day.  Some helpful lists here.