Nov 5, 2013

Updates and Winter Bucket Lists

Well, hello there!  It’s been about…oh…5 months since we’ve last posted anything on this blog.  I guess you can say it was a very eventful 2013 wedding season and summer.  Between our 13 Hitched in the Hood weddings, diving into our second year of the party and specialty event rental business with Riverhood Rentals  and maintaining a freelance digital account manager role for a former agency client – it’s been a doozy!  Lots more to come on this and the next update will be a recap of all of our beautiful 2013 weddings.

We are enjoying just a tiny bit of “down time” if that’s what you can call it.  Fall is absolutely the best – slipping into my favorite hoodie or flannel, lighting the first fire in the fireplace, pumpkin everything, dramatic landscape colors, tall boots, and a time to recharge the batteries from a hectic (but fun) summer!  It seems like you don’t have long before winter sets in and the hustle and bustle of the holidays takes over.

As much as I love the Fall we are also looking forward to our winter time this year in particular.  We are ready for some serious nesting!  That’s right folks…we are expecting our first child in March 2014 (a little girl!).  It’s really perfect timing for me to get a little extra rest in the bitter winter months while I’m working on the final months of growing this little bean.  And in the Spring…a fresh start and a new baby!  Not to mention it gives us about four months to adapt to parenthood and get into a routine before our summer starts again.  I recently made up a winter bucket list since I barely got to scratch one thing off my summer bucket list (other than explore the Lewis River – which was AMAZING!) and wanted to share it.  I always find if you put it out there you are more motivated to do it and see it through.  Here it goes:

Winter Bucket List/Goals

(I’m happy to say I’ve already been scratching things off my list like crazy)

1) Paint and get baby nursery ready and make all artwork for the room

2) Complete a baby registry – DONE

3) Sign up for Lynda classes/tutorials – for Adobe CS5

4) Go to the library – DONE! (been about four times already; first time in the HR Library ever in three years!)

5) Finish reading Dave Ramsey’s Financial Makeover book – DONE

6) Write out our family financial plan – in progress

7) Close on FL property – DONE!   This might be the most exciting update yet!  After 3 1/2 years of holding onto my FL property (just barely) we finally were approved for a short sale and closed on 10/31.  Thank you God!

8) List apartment/studio on Air BNB

9) Schedule meeting with accountant

10) Have a holiday party

11) Make Thanksgiving dinner (including the turkey!) and have a beautifully decorated table

12) Buy snowshoes and use them!  (I think I’ve modified this one to borrow snowshoes and use them all the time.  Since I can’t snowboard this year I need to find alternative exercise up in the wintery woods)

13) Update the Hitched in the Hood and Riverhood Rentals sites

14) Go on a (warm!) vacation – BOOKED!

15) Have all Christmas shopping done by Cyber Monday – in progress

16) Sort, organize and make photo albums with YEARS of loose photos and 1,000’s of digitial photos (that need printed).  – This one is a huge task!

17) Make and decorate Christmas goodies and give them away!

18) Cut down our Christmas tree – (in the woods) – and decorate it and the mantle

19) Volunteer with a local charity over the holidays or sponsor an angel tree family for Christmas

20) Send out New Year’s/Holiday cards

21) Do a wintery maternity/family photoshoot

I have several more I’d love to accomplish but I think this list will be more than enough to fill any “extra” time we have this winter. One thing that doesn’t even need to go on this list…it just needs to happen is more blogging.  Luckily I have Sara to assist with this as well so we can continue to bring wedding inspiration to our readers.

It’s good to be back!  What’s on your winter bucket list?

May 29, 2013

Happy 3rd Anniversary – to us!

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary – hooray!  The last three  years have been quite an adventure.  We got married in Hood River, OR as a destination wedding (living in FL at the time)…little did we know that only three short months later we would be living in this beautiful place.  In fact, we spent the five days of our honeymoon laying by the pool dreaming about living in Hood River (where we’d just been married) and devising a plan to do just that.

We even said as a part of our ceremony, “they have invited you to this beautiful place on the Columbia River Gorge b/c during their time together they have come here on days like today, humbled and awed by their surrounding and God’s creation.  They wanted to share with you its beauty b/c this is one of the places their hearts have made a home.”  And literally we physically made it our home just three months later!

If I could relive one day for the rest of my life (a Groundhog day scenario) it would be our wedding day.  The only word I have for it is magical!  My favorite parts were the ceremony and just having everyone we loved all together in one of our favorite places on Earth.  Here is where I insert my wedding planner advice.  These are the reasons it was so awesome:

1) B/c we didn’t have to worry about a thing come wedding day.  I’m not only saying this b/c I’m a planner but do yourself a favor and hire a wedding planner!  Or in my case just have the most amazing friends on the planet (who are also pro planners) and let them give you the gift of enjoying every minute of your day from the time you wake up until you are waving goodbye to your guests.  I literally woke up completely calm, cool and collected and drank champagne with my feet up.  Another favorite part about our day was walking into our venue and everything being EXACTLY as we envisioned actually even better b/c my trusted friends made sure everything was perfect.  This could be a planner or friend but people don’t try to do it yourself.

2) Don’t forget about the ceremony.  Keith and I wrote out our entire script so our officiant/friend, Chris just had to read it.  We made it personal, included our guests and loved ones and personally wrote our vows to each other and didn’t hear them until that very moment.  The only part of the ceremony we didn’t write was a reflection by our officiant about us.  I ask people in a Q&A when they want to hire me to prioritize several items for me including food/drinks, decor, logistics/flow, ceremony and do you know what…ceremony is always way down the list after food/drink, decor, etc.  Get your priorities straight people and put your heart into the very reason you are there!

Hood River Wedding

Hood River Wedding

 

3) HIRE A VIDEOGRAPHER!  It’s so hard to convince people of that before hand b/c they think that the photos are enough and their buddy with a Flip cam can go around (probably while drunk) and get a bunch of footage.  Wrong!  I absolutely LOVE our wedding photos and I think Gabe and Boone  did an amazing job capturing the essence of our ceremony but I was literally in la-la land standing up there and don’t remember a thing…only thinking “this is awesome” and feeling like Keith and I were the only ones there standing at the edge of the Earth.  I would love to sit here today on my anniversary and play back our day…especially the ceremony.  Trust me…I ask everyone afterward if they wish they had a wedding video and the answer is always yes!

 Hood River Wedding

Hood River Wedding

4) Don’t get so caught up in the details that you forget to enjoy yourself.  It’s hard for me to say this b/c I’m a wedding planner and LOVE all the little details – but leave it to your planner on your big day.  I’m sure you’ll work hard to gather all your little details, design and DIY your decor, etc. but once the day gets there – LET IT GO!  So what if your paper flowers get wet and are now bleeding all over the grass or that your tapered candles keep blowing out every 15 seconds b/c let’s face it…this is the Gorge and it’s blowing like crazy.  I thought everything about my day was perfect…I’m sure if I look back and really think hard about it I can see little things that I swore were missing from “the scene”…that one little thing I had collected or that the chalkboard chalk was the wrong color but those aren’t the things I will remember about my day.

Oh…sitting here looking back through our photos makes me so excited for this upcoming wedding season.  The wedding day is just the beginning of a major adventure and I’m so fortunate to get to be a part of that for so many people.  For us our wedding day was the start of a major life shift from FL to OR to reunite with our wedding destination and throw down some roots in Hood River – and it’s been an ongoing adventure ever since.  I won’t say it’s always been rainbows and unicorns but it’s maybe even better!

 

May 28, 2013

Meet HNH Bride & Groom: Erin & Kevin’s Rustic Urban Wedding

2013 wedding season is in full swing here in Hood River! When this next couple first came to us I knew they would be the ideal Hitched in the Hood client – b/c of their love affair for good food, wine & beer and their aesthetic style! We actually met at Boda’s Kitchen and enjoyed one of the best tastings I’ve ever been a part of…their wedding menu (complete with cheese course) is going to be insane!

 

Their wedding is going to be equal parts urban and rustic – surrounded by the Ruins at Springhouse Cellars with reclaimed barnwood tables, striped table runners and lots of copper accents. I’m so excited for this look – it feels unique and very Kevin and Erin…not just a remake of someone else’s Pinterest board.

 

We caught up with Erin and Kevin to give you a little more detail about them, why they choose Hood River for their wedding and where they drew inspiration for their big day.

 

Hood River Wedding
 

Where do you currently live?

 

San Francisco, CA

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

 

Erin works as a physical therapist in an outpatient private practice, and Kevin works as an implementation manager for an international payment service provider. We share a cozy apartment in San Francisco where we cook dinner to jazz music, drink homebrewed beer, and ride our bikes around the city whenever the weather is nice.

 

How did you meet?

 

It’s kind of a long story in terms of time – we actually met in 2002 during our Freshman year of college, when we lived in the same dorm at UCSB. We had the same circle of friends all throughout our time in Santa Barbara, but for some reason we never really connected. Then, a few years after college in 2009, Erin was living in San Francisco and sharing an apartment with Greg and Kim, two of Erin and Kevin’s mutual friends from college. Kevin, living in Portland, OR at the time, was travelling to San Francisco a lot for work, and would call Greg or Kim whenever he was in town to catch up. Erin would typically tag along for dinner or drinks, and it wasn’t too long before Kevin was calling Erin whenever he was in town for work (Greg and Kim who?). After several dates in San Francisco and many texts, phone calls, and online chats, we began a long distance relationship.

 

Details on your engagement?

 

It was July 4th, 2012. We had just gotten home from spending the day out in the sunshine with friends, and little did Erin know that Kevin had been carrying the ring around with him for almost a month now, trying to find the perfect time and place to pop the question. Well, Kevin had decided that the “perfect time” really did not exist, and he did not want to wait any longer to propose to Erin and begin the next part of their life together. So, Kevin completely surprised Erin and asked her to marry him right there in their kitchen – which is actually the perfect place, considering how much we both love cooking and eating. She of course said yes right away!

 

Why did you select the Gorge and/or your specific Venue as your wedding location?

 

Hood River is one of Kevin’s favorite places, and once he took Erin there it quickly became one of her favorite places as well. We both love good food, beer and wine – and Hood River has plenty of all of them in one stunning location! We knew we wanted to do a destination wedding, and with its amazing scenery, outdoor activities, delicious food, as well as several breweries and wineries, we felt like it would make a great destination for our friends and family to visit. Also, since our relationship started out while Kevin was living in Portland, we have a lot of good memories here, and Oregon in general will always be special to us for that reason.

 

Do you have any special memories here?

 

Less than a year into our relationship, we stopped in Hood River on our way back to Portland after our first trip up to the Gorge (in Washington) for a concert. It was also our first camping trip together and we both had such an amazing time. We stopped at Double Mountain Brewery for some amazing pizza and relived the trip – it was such a nice moment sitting together, realizing we were happy just being with each other, whether it was stuck in a car together for a 4 and a half hour drive, or sharing a delicious meal on a beautiful day.
 

Copper and Striped Details
 

Where are you drawing inspiration from for your wedding?

 

When we started planning we really had no idea what we wanted out of our day other than a dinner party with amazing food (and cheese…we knew we would have cheese). Erin of course started scouring Pinterest, and together we pretty quickly realized that we wanted a more rustic feel, but still something a little elegant as well (like any good dinner party should be). Also, Erin has a love affair with stripes, so we had to find some way to work those in to the decor!

 

What is your wedding color palette?

 

Light pinks and peaches, cobalt blue, and copper

 

Please tell us three words to describe your wedding day.

 

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!

 

What are you most looking forward to on your wedding day?

 

Spending a whole day surrounded by love with our closest friends and family. And of course eating, drinking, dancing and celebrating!
 

Hood River Engagement Session

 

Woohoo!  I better get busy spray painting vases copper for this uber fab affair…stay tuned for more photos and wedding day details from Erin & Kevin’s day.

 

Apr 10, 2013

Meet HNH Bride & Bride: Jenn & Jen’s Vibrant Vineyard Wedding

We are getting ready to kick off our Hitched in the Hood wedding season just inside of two months!  First up – two gals with the same name who’ve fallen in love and are getting married on June 8th, 2013 at the Gorge Crest Vineyards.  These two are a hoot – I love the relaxed, laid back and totally FUN nature of this wedding.  Can’t bust out all the little awesome details right now but some fun surprises are in store including a pretty rad getaway car and a special champagne toast!

 

Random tidbits about these two Jenn’s:

-Wedding colors were inspired by Jen’s VW thing, which is a teal color and matches her custom Bark stand up paddle board.

-Jenn loves cake and since they couldn’t decide on just one flavor, there will be lots of amazing cupcakes at the reception thanks to Frosted in Hood River.

-Like a lot of folks who are into outdoor sports, Jen loves her GoPro. They aren’t hiring a wedding videographer, but are tempted to equip a few members of our bridal party with some GoPro’s – what could be more Gorge-wedding than that?!

-They both love Mexican food and are excited about the custom menu that Cork and Bottle Catering has created for them, which includes a swanky taco bar – not your average food truck fare by any means!

-Because Washington state voters approved same-sex marriage last fall, and they are getting married on the Washington side of the Gorge, they plan to sign their Washington state marriage license as part of their wedding ceremony. They are eternally grateful to everyone who voted to make this moment legally possible! Woohoo!

IMG_1691

Image on the left: engagement overlooking Mt. Hood; Image on the right: brand new matching rings!

How did you two meet?

We met over 10 years ago in Seattle, since we’re part of similar social circles. However, while we thought highly of each other, we were living separate lives and never shared more than a passing hello. Then at the wedding of a mutual friend, we were able to sit down and talk about many things we share in common. At the end of the night we parted and went our separate ways. Months passed before we saw each other again at a social gathering. This time, we made plans to get together for brunch. That brunch turned into an all-day date. We’ve been sharing dreams and scheming about our future ever since!

How/where did you get engaged?

Jen has a cabin down in Hood River and last October we went down for a weekend get-away. Unbeknownst to the other Jenn, she had a ring and was planning to propose. Saturday, we packed a picnic and took a hike to a ridge overlooking Hood River, the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams. This spot is special to Jen, as it is where she has made all her major life decisions. It is at that place that she proposed to Jenn. Of course, the answer was YES!

Why did you choose Hood River/Gorge area for your wedding?

Hood River is important to both of us because it is a beautiful place that has a lot of the activities each of us love to do – skiing, hiking, biking, swimming, SUP and for Jen, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Jen has been windsurfing in the area since her teens. It also reminds each of us of aspects of our native California – the rolling hills, wineries, breweries, fruit orchards and farm-to-table experience. We chose Gorge Crest because of the amazing view of the Gorge and Mt. Hood, as well as the well-appointed indoor event facility.

What are you most looking forward to about your big day?

Being surrounded by everyone we love and who loves us all at once! We feel completely blessed to be in each other’s lives and are excited to explore new adventures together. Our friends and family mean the world to us, so we are thrilled so many of them can join us to celebrate.

 

Their wedding colors are inspired by the ocean and Jen’s teal VW Thing!  There will be lots of seaglass blues and greens and some purple hues mixed in.  The theme for this wedding is both relaxed and a ton of fun – reflecting these dynamic gals personalities. Check out their inspiration board.  Can’t wait to share this wedding with you in the near future – this is going to be so much fun!

 

Jenn-+-Jen-Inspiration-board-for-web

 

Apr 1, 2013

Building Authentic Relationships and Encouraging Others

 

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a very powerful conference called Making Things Happen in NC.  It’s been a conference I’ve wanted to attend for quite some time after following Lara Casey and Emily Ley and their daily doses of inspiration and encouragement for the last couple of years.  I’m still working through all the “stuff” that came up for me at the conference and the areas that have really challenged me to think and act differently.  I’ll share them over the next few weeks but I think the one that really came to the surface for me last week was building authentic relationships and encouraging others.

 

making-things-happen-conference-2

Speaking of authentic relationships and people that encourage – this picture makes my heart happy

 

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. This quote became a very powerful one for me.    At the conference they asked us to list the 5 people we spend the most time with.  Now…this doesn’t necessarily mean the people you physically spend the most time with but the people that really take up the most head space for you.  Most people would probably say spouse, significant other, children, parents, etc. – and hopefully those are all positive people in your life (I’m truly lucky that they are in my life!).  But…we all almost always have someone on this list that isn’t necessarily positive and uplifting.  It could be a boss or co-worker that sucks the energy right out of us every single work day, a friend that has betrayed us, it could even be someone on Facebook that continuously spues out negative propaganda.  You know who that person is, right?  We all have them…that person on Facebook or Twitter that’s constantly putting out nasty grams.  It could even be someone you compare yourself to in your life or in your business.  Sometimes that person can take up a lot of head space for you and take you away from truly enjoying your own life, work, business.

 

preview_large

 

This is where this exercise became powerful for me…I will admit – when I really thought of my 5 there were at least two that really don’t serve me in any positive way.  I had to think about it for a while – why do I hold onto them? why do I continue to let them add negativity into my life?  why do I allow them to take up valuable head space for me when I could be giving that space to someone that is authentic, real and that encourages me?  Well, this week I wrote down this list again and deleted them – crossed them right off my list.  Not only that – I’m working on gutting my Facebook and Twitter feeds…getting rid of all those negative Nelly’s and filling them back up with the positive Polly’s.  I like how Nancy Ray said it, “I want to be more intentional about spending quality time with quality people”

I wrote down a goal for myself this year and that is to make one new authentic and lasting friendship.  This might not sound like much and may seem easy to do but I think it’s hard to find these days.  I’ve always considered myself a person that has a million friends, makes friends easily and never met a stranger.  I’m also very fortunate to have an amazing group of friends across the miles from every stage of my life.  But I think based on my list of 5 I have some work to do with who I’m giving my head space to and now that I’ve got some room on my list I’m ready to fill it back up with authentic friendships whether new or old!

Last week Keith and I experienced something that has been the most significant moment in our entire marriage so far.  Something that was truly tragic but at the same time so deeply profound and moving.  This experience has provided an opportunity for growth, a lesson, a choice in how we decide to react to it.   It’s definitely taught us that life is precious and entirely too short and we need to live the best life we can now.  Sorry to be somewhat cryptic but still processing through it all and I’m sure there will be more to come on it.  However, the event’s of last week really helped solidify the need for only authentic relationships in my life and surrounding myself with only those that lift me up but also to really be that for other people. This can really come in all forms.

Last week in the midst of heartache, tears and deep reflection came this beauty below in my mailbox.  Are you kidding me?!?!  How beautiful is this and how meaningful those two words are to me right now.  This puppy is from Jacin from Lovely Little Details – a source of encouragement for me since I started this little blog.  She and I started blogging just about the same time about three years ago during our own wedding planning process.  We quickly became blogger friends and watched each other on a very similar journey from full time jobs to wedding planning businesses and so much more.  This girl has been on fire every since – she’s amazing!  We had the pleasure of meeting about two years ago in San Francisco over margaritas – boy how we’ve changed and grown since that meeting.  All the while Jacin has been commenting on my silly little blog posts, liking my Facebook and Twitter posts and sending me little notes and instant messages of encouragement along the way.  She is a perfect example of encouraging others – I know I’m not the only one that got this beautifully framed print last week – she spread love all over with this small but powerful gesture!  And it spoke to me at just the right time (and Jacin…little did you know that coming off the MTH Conference they asked us how we felt and my one word was STILL! – you read my mind)

 

photo

 

So…that leads me to another goal of mine this year – to encourage someone every day.  Like I said, this can come in many forms.  This can be as simple as commenting on someone’s Facebook status, blog post or Instagram photo.  That seems funny but I’ve had folks that follow me that I’ve never met before but I feel like they are cheering me on, supporting me, encouraging me.  You never know when you could say or do something that could help lift someone’s spirits.  And doesn’t it make you feel good when you can bring a smile to someone’s face?  It does me and sometimes it helps lift me up when I’m needing a little boost.

 

lara-casey-making-things-happen-encourage

 

Thank you Miss Lara Casey for this reminder – head over to her blog and take the challenge  yourself to encourage others daily. Can you imagine if we all did this?

Who are you going to encourage this week?

Ok – I’m off…ready to start a fresh new week and ready to encourage.