Intimate Portland Wedding

Any time a wedding from Gene Pease lands in our inbox, we know we’re in for quite the treat. Emma and Mike’s wedding is one of the sweetest we’ve seen so far — it was so touching to see all the surprises Emma had in store for Mike throughout the wedding day, like passing around his most loved dessert during the reception and walking down the aisle to his favorite song!

From the bride, Emma: Overall, we just really wanted it to feel comfortable and relaxed. We stuck to things we naturally gravitated towards and things that reflected what we like–using antique books and scrabble tiles in our table settings, embracing non-traditional programs and choosing our (okay, my) favorite flowers. We wanted it to feel soft and romantic, but didn’t want to limit ourselves to only a few select colors. The main colors were gray and navy blue, accented with green, soft yellow, cream and soft pink.

One DIY project I took on was making confetti to put into little envelopes onto the back of our programs for people to toss as we walked down the aisle post-vows. I found the idea on Pinterest and went to Home Depot to get dozens of paint samples in a variety of colors I liked. I bought some hole punches in various sizes and then went to town! It was an easy project to do while watching TV. The other main DIY thing we did was work with my little brother who is an extremely talented graphic designer to create most of our wedding stationary. He did a fantastic job and was able to create exactly what we wanted! After he created the design files, we found this awesome site, Catprint.com that does quality printing very affordably! They also send you a physical proof before you submit your final print order, so you know exactly what it will look and feel like before making that massive print order!

One of my favorite moments was right after we said our vows, we went off by ourselves for a few minutes before we took group pictures to just reflect on that fact that, hey, we just got married! This was advice from our dear friend and Mike’s long-time mentor Ryan Blanck who got ordained so he could marry us. I would share this advice with any and everyone! Most of the wedding my husband Mike and I planned together, but I wanted to save a few surprises for him on the wedding day. One of those had to do with our wedding cake. When he cut into our cake and saw that it was Funfetti (his favorite flavor) the look on his face was priceless! I also surprised him with a late night snack of warm chocolate chip cookies and mini glasses of milk for everyone–that’s his favorite dessert of all time!

What advice do you have, if any, for brides planning their wedding day now? Remember what’s important! Weddings can make people go a special kind of crazy, so try to stay grounded and remember why you’re doing this: to share your love and commitment with all your friends and family. Your floral arrangements and the passed appetizers don’t mean a thing if you lose sight of that. Also, on a practical level, ask for help! When people offer to help you, they generally mean it. Being as prepared and relaxed as possible is so important when juggling all the responsibilities of being a bride leading up to the wedding, but when the big day comes, a Day-Of Coordinator will be the best money you spend–I promise! I am an organized, borderline-Type A person, and I was so grateful to leave any mishaps or questions to someone else for the day!

See Also

A Bold Berry-Colored Vallejo Wedding

Wedding Music:
Processional: “Fix You,” Coldplay
First Dance: “When She Comes Around,” Ben Rector

Wedding Location: Portland, OR / Photographer: Geneoh / Wedding Venue: West End Theater / Floral Design and Candy Bar: Punch Floral / Wedding Dress: Dessy Destination / Veil and Alterations: Vicki Nelson / Hair: Perry Jackman / Make-up: Katie York / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Bill Levkoff / Suits: Men’s Wearhouse / Caterer: Premiere Catering / Baker: Le Cookie Monkey / Day Of Coordination: Your Perfect Bridesmaid / Ceremony Music: Collage Trio / Save the Dates/Programs/Escort Cards: Jonathan Rush / Wedding Invitations: Minted / Videographer: Lance Watts