I’m guessing that her notecards and gift papers would make fantastic bridesmaid gifts, or inspirational starting points for invitations, wedding themes, etc.

Here’s the painting she created for our special day:

and here is one of the recent pieces she created while in Bali:

are some samples of her other work:

Check out all the details about her new venture in paper goods here.

And I was shocked and delighted to discover that we are still getting about 250 hits a day on the site. Wow. Welcome.

I remember what it was like when I would spend  hours surfing wedding blogs looking for ideas and inspiration. I hope that you’ve found some of our ideas helpful.

Please feel free to comment with any questions you have- we had so much fun planning our special day and we would be delighted to help others facing similar big, wonderful decisions.

Happy surfing, and have a wonderful wedding!

And what’s out there is perfectly LOVELY. We’ll start with food.

Caramel apples on leaves on wooden trays… they’re centerpiece, favor and snack rolled into one.

Mashed sweet potatoes always make me think of fall… But add ribs and you’ve got a surprisingly elegant comfort food oriented meal.

We did family style for our wedding, and there are so many beautiful ways to present food that way. How about whole roasted cornish game hens?

appetizers of tomato soup with grilled cheese triangles?

oooh. Or make it butternut squash soup and have the triangles be garlic naan to make for a multicultural splash.

Fall vegetable crudite shooters could be fun…

And, of course, a little spiked cider:

Love the silver cider mugs. Are those little cinnamon cookies?

Autumn is a time of canning and pickling. Are there fun things to do with pickled vegetables?

Check out the cool table cards tied to the chairs with orange ribbon…and the beautiful family style serving of the vegetables…

mmmm… porkloin. So easy, so flavorful and versatile, and so pretty to display family style!

First of all, the GrooveBomb. Andy, you are the BOMB and you made our bachelor party a night to remember. The Groovebomb rents out for parties and events all year (except when its at BurningMan). You should totally check it out for your next landmark birthday blowout.

Next, Owen Carey, who’s beautiful photos are coming soon. I have worked with Owen for almost a decade- he is an extraordinary theatrical and special events photographer. He also does headshots, family portraits and some weddings. If you need a professional photo of you that really looks like you, only better, he’s the guy you want.

Laura Widener (aka PastryGirl), who was the former pastry chef at Higgins and at SouthPark (and who is also an amazing stage manager) made all of the mini cupcakes for the wedding, and she loves creative and unusual flavor combinations. She also does full-on wedding cakes that are extraordinary. I’ve eaten her cakes at at least 6 different weddings and every one has been (almost) too pretty to eat.

Need something tailored and don’t have a friend in Vietnam to give you a helping hand? We really like the service we got at the European Master Tailor. For bespoke suits made here in Portland, we don’t think you can do better than Seyta at Duchess.

And if you are looking for your own fairlyand forest spot to get married, we can’t recommend Horning’s Hideout highly enough. It was beautiful, very reasonable, Bob was GREAT to work with and, as you can see from the pictures, the spot just has tons of great “scope for the imagination.”

Rocks. Oh, the rocks. We got our river rocks for our placecards/favors from these guys, and they were an absolute hoot. They also have a geologist’s wonderland of landscaping rocks, from honest to god thundereggs and petrified wood to all different kinds of slate, shale, etc.

Raspberries came from the “you-pick” place out at Sauvie Island Farms- they were great, just check to see what’s ripe and blooming before you head out there!

Seafood for the Ahi stacks and the butter fish came from the folks at Pacific Seafood Company. Super fresh and really great.

Gales Meadow Farm provided gobs of organic greens and other veggies for the salad, and Rene and Annie are just exactly the kind of local organic farmer folk we felt proud to support.

And the crackers to accompany the cheese “wedding cake” were arranged by Hollyanna’s dad’s partner Robert, who reps for 34 Degrees. I especially love the black pepper ones and the rosemary ones. They paired so well with the Morbier! I don’t think I can ever go back to stupid Carr’s water crackers after my transformative 34 Degrees experience.

Those awesome peacock earrings came from Redux, my favorite accessories place in Portland, right across from the Doug Fir on Burnside.

The wedding rings came from the Titanium Knights (god I love Etsy!)

And last, but by no means least, Flora Bowley, who painted this amazing image of our day:

You can check out some of her other work or contact her about creating a work of art to commemorate your special day at her website.

Where to begin….

How about in the ladies lounge?

Shhhh…. Flora’s taking a nap.

Meanwhile, here’s what the space look liked before we tackled it:

Rehearsing in the field the day before…

Then the preparations began…

There were a few last minute dishes to be done in the stream….

Mocha was worn out before the ceremony even started…

Kira helped get the tables laid out…

Morgan worked on alcohol (his speciality). The bright blue one we found in a cocktail book- it was called Windex, but we called it “Peacocktail.”

Each table was put together to have a mix of styles for glasses and dishes and silverware. It ended up looking like this:

The hurricane glasses of soups made beautiful centerpieces strung out like jewels along the tables. My dad made the tree trunk trivets, and they turned out beautifully!

The ceremony was set up under the tree…

When people first arrived, they got to find their rock from the table…

The rocks were painted by over a dozen of our friends and family. Each one was unique. On the back of the rock were people’s table assignments.

I was in the tent getting ready…

…while the cocktail hour was kicking off up under the trees…

After about an hour, everyone was feely buzzy and we were finally ready to start the ceremony.

our wedding party was busy finding their right places in line…

Morgan’s mom Debi and my son Jack got things started by laying the wedding table. Mocha helped.

We had a little fun with the audience by starting with the traditional wedding march and then scratching over to Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.” Morgan was a trooper and held the boom box up in true Say Anything style.

We asked each set of parents to come down the aisle and leave something on the wedding table that symbolized their contribution to our relationship. Here’s Jim and Christina (Morgan’s dad and stepmom) just finishing their bit:

Our bride and groomspeople filtered down the aisle, each dropping off something for the table…

and ended up looking something like this:

Groomspeople

Bridefolk.

I tiptoed up behind everyone (but we fooled them by having the bridal party look the other way)…

Then the ceremony began…

It was bright! Thus the parasol…

Look how beautiful my sister and my sister-in-law look!

Owen snapped some pictures…

We took a moment to be with each other

before the ceremony began, while our community was asked to share their own advice and commitments with us on little cards we had scattered on their seats…

Then we made a commitment to Jack…

And to each other…

Then we exchanged rings…

And then, thanks to the powers “invested” in him by “the internet,” Ben pronounced us husband and wife…

There may have been some kissing involved….

Afterwards, there was much rejoicing:

With many beautiful people…

And some beautiful critters…

Flora got started on her painting…

People snuck a peek at what the menu had in store…

We toasted the day with soups…

savored ahi mango avocado stacks…

(with wonton crisps fried in coconut oil)

Then dived into the main course (although without the pig… poor sad piggy)

Later there were some toasts….

And then cupcakes…

And more drinking…

And then these guys….

Got the dancing started…

Tapwater led a little drum line through the crowd…

And little by little people trickled away into the night.

Some folks stayed and joined us beside the campfire…

In the morning was the aftermath…

The peahens snuck down to the ladies lounge to see what all the fuss was about…

A good time was had by all….

First of all, the weekend was extraordinary. The work was backbreaking at times, but it was incredibly worth it to be so surrounded by these amazing people we have the privilege of calling friends and family.

And you don’t need to take our word for it- all weekend long people would come up to me and say (with this look of joy, shock and delight on their face) “You have the most AMAZING friends” or “You have the most WONDERFUL family.”

And you don’t know the half of it.

Kira and Carson collectively logged more than 20 hours in various cars and vans picking up pigs and boxes and linens and dishes and food and… well you get the idea.

My dad spent all day Saturday finding the perfect sized logs and cutting them into inch high disks, sanding them for hours to perfect smoothness and then lacquering them to make perfect woodland trivets for the table.

Morgan’s dad spent something like 14 hours in the kitchen working with a rotating band of our friends to prep all the food that got served.

My mom, my Aunt Francy, Morgan’s Aunt Robin and my Grandma Kay transformed  a few peacock feathers, flowers from Mom’s garden (and the local garden store) into beautiful bouquets and corsages ( a mere hour before the wedding took place).

Our friends Manny and Ryan leaped into the fray when it became apparrent that more help was required to get plates cleared of tables and the next round of food out to the tables.

Nina’s husband Mike and my friend Ian put together playa tech benches to scatter around the grounds for extra seating.

Kira, Flora and Zoey created a beautiful odalisque tent for the ladies of the  wedding party to get ready in. Draped in fabric and open to the ferns and creek, it was a place of calm in the eye of the last minute chaos.

Rocket, our burner friend from L.A., was a lifesaver- running last minute errands, doing last minute food prep, and most importantly, providing a welcoming and soothing listening ear as various members of the wedding party released their anxiety and excitement in preparation for the day.

Morgan’s mom took charge of making our decoration plan happen when Morgan and I got called away to deal with other crises.

Jaime stepped in when we learned that Bob (the owner of the property) would prefer that we didn’t dig a big hole in the ground to hold our central pole for the lights. He created a stand for the pole the was super stable and didn’t leave a dent in the surrounding ground. Jaime’s friend Ken came over to help when Jaime realized it was more than a one person job.

Briana and Troy spent a week making gorgeous soups that became the centerpieces of the tables, scattered like jewels in hurricane glasses across the tables.

Natalie, Amy, Cynthia and Patrick came through with an amazing keg of beer that literally brought the party to life.

And Morgan’s stepmom Christina, and his step brothers Chris and Nick (and their dates Gracie and Emily) dropped everything when we realized our servers were going to be 5 hours late to finish prepping the food and helped  preparing it for transport so that Morgan’s dad could get ready for the ceremony.

And then after the dancing was over and the boxes were hauled away…

there was 15 hours of dish washing that would not have been nearly as pleasant without the generous assistance of Carson’s fiancee Melissa and Morgan’s mom.

I could go on and on and on, and still probably not record all the various ways that our friends and family helped to make the wedding extraordinary.

So. Was it worth it?

Well, we had people pull us aside again and again to tell us that it was the most personal, fun, and wonderful wedding they had ever been to in their lives.

Morgan and I couldn’t stop laughing, couldn’t stop crying, couldn’t stop hugging people.

People asked us if the wedding met our expectations. We had to admit that it had far exceeded our expectations.

Some favorite moments:

We had asked our wedding party to each bring something to place on the wedding table that symbolized their contribution to our relationship. When Jaime placed Harold, our plastic hoot owl, on the table, a range of giggles erupted from the audience and a slew of uncomfortable questions came from my family later about what, exactly the significance of the owl was. I refused to explain. It was hilarious.

When Jack pulled the rings out of his pocket, he looked so proud to have a position of responsibility in the wedding. And he looked so dapper in his suit!

When I put the ring on Morgan’s finger and for the first time ever it slid right on without catching.

When Ben, our “officiant” said that by the power invested in him by the internet he  pronounced us husband and wife…

The giant wedding party huggle that we suddenly had right after the ceremony was over.

Seeing everybody get settled at their tables and start sampling the soups and the salads that we had been planning for so long.

How beautiful the peacocktail (a bright blue concoction with some very high proof vodka Rich from Integrity had distilled especially for us) looked in the vintage champagne coupes we had collected.

The gracefulness with which everybody adjusted to the fact that our pig had not survived the process of being cooked in the ground (an event which was quickly shorthanded to just “PIG FAIL.”)

The incredibly eloquent toasts given by Carson, Holly and Ileah- funny and sweet and insightful and wonderful.

Dancing our first dance to the first version of True Colors to ever be played on Steel Drum, Marimba and Stand up Bass.

Watching Michael Buchino leap into spinning hoedown action, inspiring a giant pile of people to create a big square dancing swirl of folk when Tapwater let out a little country twang.

Realizing we would never get everyone to sit back down for the cheese course and instead just whacking big chunks out of the cheeses and handing them back through the crowd with handfuls of crackers.

Tapwater starting an impromptu drum march through the reception that turned into a congo line.

Watching Flora’s painting take shape, and getting to watch as she builds the bottom layers of a painting we will keep for the rest of our lives.

Sitting around the campfire with the folks who decided to camp with us, passing around bottles of mead and seeing a ring of happy, sated faces of our favorite people sharing our wedding night with us.

Waking up the next morning in the ladies tent with friends coming in to hug us and say hello before they slipped away back to our lives…

There’s more. And pictures, I promise. But right now I just want to say to all of you: THANK YOU. You gave us an absolutely extraordinary weekend. We are so grateful to  you!

Friday: Our Sauvie trip has been moved from 1 pm to 5 pm for better flower picking conditions. Call me 503.413.9825 for details if you wanna join us.

9 pm Friday: We’re going to collect people at C Bar to celebrate Morgan’s birthday in a low key way. Come join us for a drink if you like!

Saturday. Disc Golf. Horning’s hideout. Starting 2 ish? Come throw silly discs into a silly goal thingy. Call Sat morning to secure an exact time ish.

Sunday: Wedding Party- if you can be on site by 3 pm that would be great. We’ve got some pre-wedding pics to take with you.

Everyone- a reminder that camping is available Sunday night so there’s no need to drive home if you’re wrecked!

Well, here’s the plan of events and activities, along with who’s invited to join us at the various things. We can’t wait to see you!

Friday Day

1:00 pm Ladies of the wedding party, out of town guests (and anyone who has the day off) are invited to join us for a trip to the Sauvie Island Farms to pick flowers for bridesmaid bouquets and boutonnieres plus fresh raspberries to go with the cheese course. We’ll meet at our house at 1 pm and head out from there. If you haven’t been to Sauvie to pick your own produce, I highly recommend it. The drive is GORGEOUS and Friday will be perfect weather for it (sunny, not too hot). Here’s the map to the farm.

Friday Night

Morgan and Kira’s Birthday. Celebrations to be decided, most likely happening out at Horning’s Hideout. Everyone’s invited. Check the blog Thursday for details.

Saturday Day

All: Disc golf at Horning’s Hideout. Come join us for their 18 hole disc golf course. OR head in to the Willamette Valley for wine tastings in Newberg, Forest Grove and etc.

Food Committee: Cooking and prepping wedding food.

Decoration Committee: Make bouquets and boutonnieres. Collect ferns and peacock feathers.

5:00 pm Wedding Rehearsal at Horning’s Hideout. Invited: The wedding party and parents of the bride and groom. We’ll test run the ceremony, test the sound cues, freak out, melt down, then end up with tape in our hair and even less idea than when we started how its all going to turn out. You know, a rehearsal.

6:30 pm Rehearsal Dinner at Horning’s Hideout. Invited: The wedding party and all out of town guests. Morgan’s dad Jim is preparing Short Ribs and other deliciousness for our rehearsal dinner under the picnic structure at Horning’s. YUM.

9:00 pm Cheesy Wedding Music Dance Party out at Horning’s. You know all that stuff you always have to dance to at weddings? YMCA? Lady in Red? The entire pop catalog from 1984? Black Eyed Peas? Yeah we’re going to dance our little booties off to all that stuff the day before the wedding (get it out of our system!). Who’s invited: EVERYBODY

You are also cordially invited to camp out with us at Horning’s (less driving for the wedding day, right?!?) It costs $4 a person to camp. Bring your camp gear and your wedding clothes.

Note for the girls: We will have a “ladies lounge” set up out there where you can dress/prep in privacy and comfort, with mirrors, beauty essentials, and warm water for washing. Just ’cause we’re in the woods don’t mean you can’t look all pretty y’all.

Sunday Morning

Decoration Committee: Get the wedding site prepped, lit, and decorated. 20 boxes of dishes. 16 strings of twinkly lights with vietnamese fairy balls. 10 tables, table clothes, table runners. A dozen chinese lanterns… you get the drift.

Food Committee: Finish the wedding food, transport it to the wedding site, get it into the chiller/warmer. Set up prep tent.

Saturday Afternoon

3:00 pm Wedding party gets cleaned up and dressed for the wedding.
Showers. Champagne. Nerves. Chakra realignment. You know. The usual.

4:45 pm You all start to arrive out at Horning’s. There’s plenty of parking, but the last bit of road is SUPER downhill and curvy. Leave early and take your time.

5:00 pm You are in your places with bright shining faces. Trisha rides in on a deer. Magic ensues. Some people cry. Some people laugh. Some people squirm in their seats and wait for the mushy stuff to be over.

5:30 pm Cocktail Hour.

Lemongrass Ginger Cocktail
Pomegranate Lime Gin Fizz,
Classic Champagne Cocktail
Lemonade
Beer

Fresh Tortilla Chips with Mango Jicama Salsa
Pear, Tangerine, and Blue Raspberry Jellybellies

6:30 pm Dinner

First Course

Quartet of Soup Shots from Briana and Troy
roasted pepper and tomato with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika
beet with horseradish, dill and crème fraiche
carrot and orange lentil with indian spices
vichyssoise with watercress

Ken’s Artisan Bread

Honey Thyme Compound Butter

Second Course

Ahi Mango Avocado Stacks
Arugula Salad with Grilled Pears, Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts
Wild Rice Salad with Almonds, Scallions and Craisins

Third Course

Traditional Hawaiian whole Kalua Pig
Bacon-wrapped Chicken Breasts with Cippolini Onion Marmalade
Hawaiian Baked Butterfish
Roasted Sweet and Savory Potatoes
Grilled Seasonal Veggies

Fourth Course

Cheese Course “Wedding Cake” with Morbier, Cablanca and Cambozola
Fresh Sauvie Island Raspberries
Trio of Mini Cupcakes from PastryGirl:
Marionberry Sage
Vanilla
Cardamom Spice

8:30 pm-ish Dancing with Tapwater under the Stars

Midnight: Wait, who are you again???