There are so many ways to make a wedding pop; color being a huge category in that pop scenario (and one of my favorites). It can take a wedding to a whole new level of fresh and modern, just ask this Portland affair designed by Bridal Bliss. Mint, coral, chevron, it’s all there and mingling beautifully. See for yourself with all the images by Bryan Rupp sitting pretty in the full gallery.
From the Bride…Because it was a Summer wedding, our goal was to keep it light and fun and fresh, with hints of “us” everywhere. For the ceremony, I had the vision of creating a colorful ribbon back-drop that would serve as the inspiration for the first floor. Thanks to my mom’s countless hours of searching for just the right ribbons, and my step-dads design abilities, we created a ceremony back drop that doubled as our photo-booth back drop. From the ribbons came several “colorful” details. The bridesmaids, with their grey j.crew dresses, wore shoes in the color of their choice. The florist matched the satin ribbon around their bouquet with their shoe color…to me, any little pop of color like that just made the day more fun and unique. The flower girls wore bright colored sparkly shoes, and the ring bearers each wore different colored Vans and bow ties/suspenders. We used the colorful ribbons to drape the cocktail reception tables, rather than any sort of floral pieces.
For the dinner reception area on the second floor, I wanted to have a simple color scheme that played well with the natural light and the summer-time feel. I found different schemes in the shades of coral, mint and grey and thought that it was the perfect combination for YU. We kept the reception area clean, using light grey linens, with bright pops of coral for the floral pieces, and tiffany blue napkins. The lighting team brought in some vintage bulbs that were draped from the high ceilings. We were able to take this old industrial space and match it with old and new pieces.
Our shared love for live music wound up helping to develop a lot of the little details that made the day unique to us. Dinner tables were each named after the concerts we have seen together – with table numbers being album covers. Place cards, made by my step-dad, were small little sketched retro-looking cassettes with the band name (table name). Instead of a formal guest book, we invited guests to sign vinyls of some of the shows we had gone to. Joey e-mailed our favorite concert venue, asking for any of the concert posters from shows we had seen there. They found all 20-something posters, which we used as additional decor in places like the stairwell leading up to the dinner reception. We wanted guests to enjoy our music at the wedding as much as we do when we go to shows, so we included both a classic 70’s band and a modern DJ into our festivities. The Fun Bus and DJ Gemo took turns keeping our guests out on that floor until the very last minute. A must-have was glow sticks…and lots of them! We go to enough shows to know that everyone loves a glow stick around their neck when they dance, so we threw out hundreds throughout the reception.
It was also important for us to incorporate Washington, D.C. and Portland into our wedding day, along with our families and pasts. We had met in D.C. and fallen in love there, and here we were in Portland getting married and celebrating with all of our closest friends and family. Our specialty cocktail was the Gin Ricky, which was recently named Washington’s “Official Cocktail,” with original Oregon beers served like Widmer and Full Sail. We had VooDoo Donuts (a Portland staple) as a late night snack. I found an artist on Etsy who designed a pair of Toms for me to wear after dinner – with each shoe having iconic images of Portland and D.C. painted on. We used my Grandpa’s old 1952 Chevy car to transport the groomsmen in, and an old school bus from my dads old construction business, to transport the bridesmaids in. Joey found different suspenders that represented each groomsmen and their interests, and gave those to the guys as a gift. We gave all the bridesmaids champagne glasses that were made with beads wrapped around the stem that matched their shoes/jewelry color, for toasting.
The wedding was perfect, all the way up until to the last dance with all of our favorite people. It truly represented our love for each other, and our adventurous, lively spirits. One of our favorite parts of the night was when our photographer asked if we wanted to go up onto the roof of the building. Joey had spotted it from Google Earth countless times and was adamant about figuring out a way to get up there during the reception. Thankfully, we had an adventurous photographer who was willing to climb some ladders and get up to the top with us. We were able to watch the sunset from the roof, overlooking Portland. It was the perfect way to capture the unique day that we were in the midst of.
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Photography: Bryan Rupp | Event Planner: Bridal Bliss | Floral Design: Zest Floral Design | Ceremony + Reception Venue: YU Contemporary | Caterer: Art of Catering | Ceremony Music: Classical Revolution | Dessert Display: One Divine Party | Lighting: Greenlight Creative | DJ: DJ Gemo | Band: The Fun Bus | Photo Booth: Happymatic | Transportation: RAZ Transportation | Hair: Powder Inc., | Wedding Dress: Modern Trousseau via Anna’s Bridal | Shoes: Kate Spade | Jewerly: Rent the Runway | Bridesmaids: J.Crew | Groom + Groomsmen Tux: Vera Wang for Mens Warehouse | Flower Girl Dresses: Target | Flower Girl Shoes: J.Crew