You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Horning’s Hideout’ tag.
Despite our focus on a “DIY” and very personal wedding aesthetic, there were some amazing people who helped us create this event that we would like to give a post wedding shout out to.
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.
Caution, wedding porn ahead. So, here’s the story of the wedding as told through the lenses of friends and family. The gorgeous Owen Carey professional pics are still to come- but this will be a great start for all of you who have been begging for pics.
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….
As the wedding weekend approaches, you may be asking yourself, “Gee, all these fun people are gathering this weekend for Morgan and Trisha’s wedding. I wonder what fun things they will be doing that I also could do.”
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???
Morgan took a bunch of these while he was out there recently. Thought you might get a kick out of seeing them. My gosh its easy to forget how beautiful they really are. And then you see them in the flesh and you get struck once more- how did the universe manage to make such a perfect marriage of elegance and pure nature? Of briliant showiness and perfect camouflage?
Crazy.
Anyway, enjoy.
This one’s an albino peacock butt. Only one shade paler than my butt would be if you could see it. (aren’t you glad you can’t?)
Here he is from the front. You can’t actually see him so well…he’s so white he basicly burns out the lens from the camera phone.
Here’s a cute little woodpile peacock. You think he’s headed to do the chores? Nah. I think he’s headed to have a vodka gimlet.
This one is a hitchhiking peacock, on the road again, just trying to get here by June cause he hears there’s gonna be a great party.
Speaking of, how do you plan to get here? And where do you plan to stay? There’s camping and RV hook ups at Horning’s hideout itself, and we encourage you to come hang out with us for the whole weekend. Camping’s $4 per night per person. Pretty good deal.
If you can come out at least for Saturday night, we’d love it. We’re gonna have a great big pre-wedding party Saturday night. Should be a blast.
If you are the sort that prefers things like temperature control and showers (but an RV is not your style) then we’ve got some rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn nearby and Morgan gets a great Friends and Family discount at any Marriott hotel (cause he works for Marriott). So let us know what you are thinking of doing, accomodation wise, and we’ll get you all sorted out.
Trisha and Morgan Get Married 