Woodsy Portland Wedding

When summer turns to fall, we can’t think of a more beautiful place to exchange vows than the scenic Pacific Northwest. Seana and Brian married each other in Portland, Oregon, and infused their wedding day with nods to the 1920s via vintage furniture, mercury glass, and a vintage-inspired wedding gown. With Hazelwood Photo behind the camera, Pearl and Roses Wedding Planning tackling day-of coordination, and Swoon Floral in charge of floral design, this is one for the books!

From the bride, Seana: I knew that I wanted the wedding outside since the Northwest is so beautiful in the summer. My husband grew up in the country just near where we were married. The venue we found was perfect and I wanted it to feel as though everything in the wedding was naturally there. Since we had a lot of people coming out of town who had never been to Portland, I wanted the day to feel very local and natural. It was also 1920s inspired with touches like the vintage furniture, the mercury glass centerpieces, and the vintage lace from my dress which we found from a flea market in Paris.

I knew I didn’t want one certain color, so the color scheme was simply summer colors. My maid-of-honor wore a bright red-orange, a bridesmaid wore lavender, the other chartreuse, and my flower girl a greenish-blue. All the dresses were made with gathered silk chiffon with satin underlay which were light and flow-y in the open air setting. My mother who is fashion designer not only made my dress but also all the wedding party dresses and her own dress. I’m so lucky she’s my mom! Another handmade element was the letterpressed invites I designed and printed. The save the date, invite, and thank you card each had the color of a bridesmaid dress.

My priority was to use local and in season flowers. My florist at Swoon did such awesome work. Each bridesmaid carried bouquets matching their dress; my bouquet was a collection of all the colors. These included red-orange dahlias, cool water roses (lavender), maiden-hair ferns, blackberries, light pink ranunculus, and lemons in the centerpieces. I’m originally from California, so I figured blackberries are the perfect Northwest summer fruit and lemon is the perfect California summer fruit [in my opinion ;)].

See Also

Intimate La Valencia Hotel Wedding Editorial with a Garden Luxe Feel

Any advice for couples planning their weddings now? Of course plenty of time is ideal, but I underestimated how all the last minute details tend to add up at the end. Get everything done early if possible, such as gathering music and table arrangements. Even if you don’t have all the RSVPs yet, you can still get a rough draft going. The more you do early, the less you have to do last minute. I was also lucky to have my mother and godmother help with the planning such as calling hotels, transportation, and helping with table seatings. You won’t be able to do everything, accept help when offered!

Wedding Music:
Bridesmaid Processional: “Catch,” The Cure
Bride’s Processional and Recessional: “Somebody to Love,” Queen
We also had a traditional Assyrian song and dance when the wedding party enters the reception. I am half-Assyrian and it was important to bring some of those traditions to the wedding.
First Dance: “Hard-Headed Woman,” Cat Stevens
My two-year old flower girl who is also my niece got so excited that we were dancing, she famously crashed our first dance. It was so cute and hilarious!