sunday picnic...

Weather & travel plans permitting, please join us for a picnic at Laurelhurst Park on Sunday, September 13th at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Please bring food & drink to enjoy, and feel free call us with any questions. details are in image below...

items...

invitations...

RSVP

...just a friendly reminder for you to send back your rsvp card for our wedding. if you live outside of the country, if that little postcard has wandered away somewhere, or if it is just more convenient, you can click here to respond. if you will be able to attend, please choose one of the following entree choices:

-Free Range Beef Entree
-Wild Caught Fish Entree
-Organic & Local Vegetarian Entree

...if you are bringing a guest or your family, please include everyone's full name along with their entree choice.

hotwire...

here are some package deals and flights that I found through hotwire.com. the searches were for september 9th through september 14th...

Flight from SYR to PDX  plus 5 nights at Hotel Fifty downtown for $534 

roundtrip flight only for $295

Flight from ROC to PDX  plus 5 nights at Hotel Fifty downtown for $526 

roundtrip flight only for $295

Flight from JFK to PDX  plus 5 nights at Hotel Fifty downtown for $514 

roundtrip flight only for $283

Flight from OGG to PDX  plus 5 nights at Hotel Fifty downtown for $680 

roundtrip flight only for $449

Flight from TUC to PDX  plus 5 nights at Hotel Fifty downtown for $440 

roundtrip flight only for $263

personally, i would stick with the downtown hotels. let me know if you have any questions about the hotels or locations. 

mcmenamin's hotel rooms...

McMenamins White Eagle Rock -n- Roll Hotel   

$50 weeknights, $60 weekend nights. Nestled in North Portland's industrial neighborhood, the legendary White Eagle Cafe and Rock 'n' Roll Hotel echoes with tall tales of resident spirits, poker games, and Shanghai tunnels, as it has since its opening in 1905. Today the place is known for its vintage charm and nightly rock 'n' roll shows. 

*McMenamin's are in historical buildings that have been converted into pubs, hotel rooms, cafe's, and other spaces. Many hotel rooms have shared bathrooms. If this is a concern, please call their front desk to clarify.

*I'm not too familiar with the North Portland neighborhood, so you may want to do a bit of research, or just call the hotel and inquire.

McMenamins Kennedy School  

$109 queen room. Lodging rooms at the Kennedy School  include queen beds as well as a private bathroom, and telephone. Guests may enjoy complimentary use of the saltwater soaking pool and free admission to the movie theater.

*This is the place where we are planning on having our pre-wedding shindig. Check out this post for details on the space.

visiting...

travelportland.com

this is a great website that has information on hotel deals, arts & entertainment, events, dining, and much more

visit this link to download a portland travel guide

definitely check this out...a lot of great info

stay...

jupiter hotel $76 per night

hip converted 'motel style' hotel in se portland. hotel jupiter houses the doug fir, a popular music venue. so if you want easy access to concerts and you don't mind more of a party atmosphere, check it out....

the nines $189 per night

modern luxury hotel in downtown portland. the nines has super easy train and streetcar access, and is situated in the heart of the city center.

ace hotel $125 per night

hipster hotel in downtown portland. super fun and awesome location if you want to be downtown. the ace hotel has a breakfast/ lunch deli, a coffee house, and restaurant.

marriott residence inn $159 per night

if you are looking for a suite-style option with a kitchenette. se portland. great train access. not so much on the walking.

craigslist vacation rentals

all areas, range of prices and accommodation options

vrbo (vacation rentals by owner)

all areas, range of prices and accommodation options

your address...

please send me your mailing addresses, so i can send you a fancy little piece of mail...

...you can send it in an email here.

photo by Pete McArthur

my gown...

my gown arrived today from new york and it is absolutely beautiful. it is quite an amazing addition to my current wardrobe, but i have to admit that it looks a bit out of place hanging in the dark closet of our current sublet. i feel like it should live outside, hanging in the sunshine, and able to enjoy the breeze. 

wedding shoes, take two...

after all of the searching, i regret to say that i've made the decision to ditch the teal pumps. boo. they were just too uncomfortable, and i am not sure that they would have done any good in guiding me down the staircase on the big day. anyhow, check out my new shoes by Lumiani ...they're quite snazzy. They are also on sale and they have a few more colors if you are in the market for some super fun shoes. xo

suits for the groomsmen...

This is the suit that Vesa has chosen for the groomsmen to wear. We would greatly appreciate if you could find some time in the coming days to go and have your measurements taken and pass them on to us so we can get the order in.

Vesa will be contacting you with all of the ordering information, as well as info on the accessories. Thanks so much.We can't wait to have all of you guys here!

rentals and rates...

Here is some updated rental info...I will be posting more listings soon. xo

Taylor House

SE Portland

3 bedroom house. $240 per night

Ranch house

SE Portland

3 bedroom house. $210 per night

Ace hotel

Downtown Portland

Queen bedrooms start at $105 per night

Jupiter Hotel

SE Portland

Advanced booking for Queen room starts at $76 per night

our music...

Nat Hulskamp will be playing flamenco guitar for our ceremony and cocktail hour, and his band will be joining him later in the evening to perform at our reception. He is amazingly talented and we are super excited to have him play at our wedding. You can check out his website here, and go here to hear samples of his music.

boutonnieres on etsy...

Black & Gold Peacock Wedding Boutonniere by ekaminsk

Peacock Wedding Boutonniere by ekaminsk

Peacock Pin by whichgoose

Peacock Wedding Boutonnieres by ekaminsk

Woodland Boutonniere by lfinkles

our ceremony officiant...

Yehudah Winter was raised Jewish and, in his spiritual explorations, has lived in a Zen Buddhist  monastery, studied Aikido, Yoga, and Tai Chi, and been a frequent participant in the Native American sweat lodge. Since 1977, he has performed weddings of almost every combination, employing his experience, openness, and creativity in each one. After working a decade as a hospice and oncology nurse, he decided to devote himself to helping people with every type of life transition from birth to death.

www.yourpersonalceremony.com

wedding cake...

It took about 5 seconds to decide on The Bakery Bar to make our wedding cake. One slice will make your whole trip to Portland worthwhile. So come and eat cake. Here are the flavor descriptions...

Sour Cream Citrus Poppy Seed Cake layered with raspberry curd and covered in vanilla buttercream

Coconut Cake layered with vanilla pastry cream or chocolate truffle filling and covered in coconut buttercream

Orange Olive Oil Cake layered with dark chocolate mousse and covered in honey buttercream

Carrot Five Spice Cake layered with cream cheese-brown sugar filling and covered in orange buttercream

Lemon Cake layered with lemon curd and covered in vanilla buttercream

Banana Bourbon Cake layered with chocolate-bourbon mousse and covered in brown sugar buttercream

Devil's Food Cake layered with espresso-chocolate truffle filling and covered in coffee buttercream 

White Vanilla Butter Cake layered with lemon-lime curd and covered in raspberry buttercream 

our space, booked...

The I can't even begin to express how ecstatic I am to have this space to celebrate our marriage. We will have both he ceremony and reception here at The Armory at Portland Center Stage...

  

Photos on flickr

spaces...

As the search expands, it seems that we are gravitating more towards spaces closer to home for the reception site. There is a wealth of gallery and creative spaces downtown and in the Pearl District of Portland. Here's a peek at a few spaces we will be looking at in the next week....AIA, The Lawrence Gallery, The Cleaners at Ace Hotel

floral and bouquets...

Pre-wedding Celebration...

Vesa and I thought that we would get everyone together on the Thursday  before the wedding to go out to this great place here in Portland. So if you are planning to arrive before Friday, here's a peek at the place...

McMenamins  Kennedy School  is actually an old school converted into this super interesting space...they have an outdoor heated saltwater soaking pool, a movie theater where you actually can eat a meal and have a glass of wine while you watch a movie, little bars like the 'detention (cigar) bar', a courtyard restaurant with an outdoor fireplace, a brewery, and plenty of good live music. And if anyone is really feeling like going all out on your  trip to Portland, Kennedy School also has hotel rooms. 

wedding shoes...

they are here! now all i have to figure out is the location...and the catering, the cake, the invitations, the band, dress alterations...you know, just the small things. xo

suits, anyone?

suits by H&M. $150

Jade Howe's 'Personal Jesus' suit. $250

suit by Paul Smith. found for under $200 at Simons. 

check out this blog for more info.

found...

I  just found these shoes...in my size...for 35 dollars.

variations...

Thank you to my search party...these shoes are a total pain in the #@*! But I do want them anyways...big surprise, I know. So after studying one of the lovely peacock feathers (courtesy of the lovely Sandra), I've decided it best to expand my options a bit by pulling the colors from the eye of the feathers. Not too sure about the gold, though. 

feathers and beads...

I spotted this funky peacock feather 'bouquet' this morning on the front porch of a little import shop on Hawthorne. Fun fun.

so beautiful...

After a beautiful day touring some Willamette Valley Vineyards with our friends Amelia & Oliver, we were guided to this beauty, Vista Hills Vineyards & Winery. The views from this place are breathtaking, the grounds are lush and dynamic, and the wine is fantastic. The building itself is a sort of modern rustic, and has all sorts of interesting features, like my favorite, an outdoor fireplace (seen in the top right hand photo). If everything works out, logistically, this will be where we have our wedding...

Vacation rentals discounts...

I spoke with Clare, the booking agent at Historic Hawthorne Rentals today. She informed me that if my guests choose to rent their properties, the security deposit will be reduced to $50, and if multiple properties are rented, she would give an all around discount on the nightly rate. 

She also reminded me to book them asap. They are being booked faster as we are getting closer to the date...most of these are already reserved through July and some of August. As of now, here are the 2+ bedroom rentals that are available

Hawthorne duplex

Hawthorne Ranch House 3 bedroom

Taylor House 3 bedroom

more portland rentals...

This 3 BR house is $125 per night...$42 per couple per night

This 3 BR house is $175 per night...$58 per couple per night

This 3 BR Townhouse is $125 per night...$42 per couple per night

This awesome 3 BR is $225 per night...$75 per couple per night

This 3 BR house is $150 per night...$50 per couple per night