Southern heritage, Pacific charm, and lakeside loves – this hometown merriment is as cozy as it gets. For these Mississippi residents traveled to the Bride’s home state to make it official in a celebration of family, friends, and elegance that speaks volumes from Lauren Liddell. It’s organic yet refined, romantic yet natural and it’s the type of celebration we’re happy to house in The Vault!
From the Bride… Mike and I live and work in Mississippi, but when we got engaged we knew we wanted to get married in my home state of Oregon. I had been to a wedding many years earlier at Bridal Veil Lakes and knew I wanted to get married there. We researched loads of venues, but none captured everything that is wonderful about the northwest quite like Bridal Veil, located just outside Portland in the Columbia Gorge.
Since many of our guests traveled a long distance for the celebration, we wanted to make sure the weekend was stress free by providing welcome bags and a variety of activities. In true Portland tradition, the food was the highlight of the weekend. The rehearsal dinner menu featured paella and warm banana-cream cheese malassadas, while the reception menu featured beef brisket with smoky BBQ sauce, white cheddar grits, and banana pudding, served family style, a nod to the groom’s southern heritage. Our guests are still raving about the food.
Getting married in the Pacific Northwest, we were lucky enough to have an outdoor venue with loads of natural beauty. Because of that, I wanted a very organic, simple look. We wanted a very intimate feel since many of our guests had travelled far, so dinner was served family style and the tables were full of candlelight.
All paper elements at the ceremony and reception were DIY. I’m lucky to have many talented friends who designed the signage and did the calligraphy for the escort cards. Other DIY elements included the escort card display, the photo booth background, the POP letters at the popcorn station, and the floral monograms over the dance floor.
Being surrounded by friends and family, ages 3 to 93, breaking it down on the dance floor at the end of the night. My dad broke out in Gangnam Style halfway through the night and got the whole crowd dancing. A synchronized dance to Abba’s Dancing Queen may have also went down.
Photography: Lauren Liddell | Event Planning: Luxe Event Productions | Floral Design: Form & Line Design | Wedding Dress: Marisa Bridals | Cake: Lamb's Thriftway | Stationary: Ariel Lee | Shoes: BHLDN | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Love Lane | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Joanna August | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Amsale | Catering: The Lamb's Table | Makeup: Portland Makeup Hair | Hair: Portland Makeup Hair | DJ: Jeremy Daw | Groomsmen's Attire: Kinkade's Fine Clothing | Wedding Venue: Bridal Veil Lakes | Dress Boutique: The Bridal Path | Favours: Flying Bee Ranch | Getting Ready Location: The Nines Hotel | Musician : Nate Botsford | Rentals: Something Borrowed Portland | Second Shooter: Simply Splendid