Mar 19, 2013

Thank you Friends!

I just want to thank all of my clients – past, present and future – and all my friends and fellow wedding vendor community for nominating us for Best New Vendor for the Oregon Bride Magazine’s Best of 2013!  What a huge honor!

 

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We are in the top 3 and that’s good enough for me but there is still voting now open to only the wedding community – we’ve won either way b/c you helped us get here.  So thank you again for your encouragement and support!

We are hoping to get the magazine to feature an additional region on next year’s voting –  for the Gorge.  We have so many amazing vendors out here and they seem to be under represented on this year’s list.  These are the friends that have really helped us and supported us in our new venture, Riverhood Rentals.  These are the fabulous folks on this list – who work tirelessly all summer to bring couples wedding dreams to life in the most beautiful region of this lovely state (in my opinion!).  We’ll see what happens but it’s worth a try.

Thank you again – we are really feeling the love!

 

Feb 28, 2013

Real Wedding: Handcrafted Hood River Valley Wedding

This Hood River Valley wedding is just precious – handcrafted down to the very last detail.  And ready for this… the groom…yes, the GROOM designed and created the bride’s bouquet (and it’s fabulous)!  The backdrop of the Hood River Valley is the best in the country (but I guess I’m a little biased) and this private residence really showcased her finest parts!

I love the style in which Allegra Villella captured every last detail and special moment of this adorable wedding!

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

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Hood River Valley Wedding

 

These little lockets with a sweet and personal message are perfect for bridesamaids gifts!

 

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Such a powerful moment!

 

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Hood River Valley Wedding

 

One of my favorite things on the wedding day…the first look!

 

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Hello…will you look at that gorgeous bouquet!  Made by the GROOM for his bride…love it!

 

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That’s a good looking bridal party…the mismatch Mod Cloth bridesmaids dresses = adorable!

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

I always encourage couples to take the time to really think about making their ceremony personal and adding very meaningful and memorable touches…this one is precious.  As part of the ceremony, their mothers planted a tree with soil from both of their homes.  Great idea!

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Ahhh, where else can you find this view?!?  Hood River wedding are the best!

 

Hood River Valley Wedding

 

Hood River Valley Weddings

 

Hood River Valley Weddings

 

A homemade ice cream stand (made by the bride & groom, of course)…

 

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Hood River Valley Weddings

 

Weddings like this remind me why we got married and eventually moved to Hood River!  Thank you to Allegra Villella for sharing this lovely Hood River Valley wedding with us.

 

Vendors:

Venue – Fir Mountain Ranch

Wedding Coordinator: Bonnie Hadley

Photographer: Allegra Villella

Caterer: Generous friends from the couple’s hometown church / Janet Clark and team

Florals: Groom made bridal bouquet; friends put together the rest

Details: Handcrafted by bride and groom

 

Feb 18, 2013

Meet HNH Bride & Groom: Chrissy & Justin Romantic Rustic Ranch Wedding

 

I’m so excited to announce a new feature on the blog that will introduce our Hitched in the Hood wedding couples.  Learn why they decided to get married in the Gorge, their wedding day vision and what inspires them.

 
Today I’d like you to meet these two adorable sweethearts – Chrissy & Justin.  How cute are they?!?!  We are over the moon excited about their romantic rustic ranch wedding in Trout Lake, WA this July 4th weekend.

 
How did you two meet?
 
Love at first sight is what we like to call it. Justin and I met at a bar back in 2009, Yes, a bar!!! I really wanted to just relax that evening, but it was my best friends last weekend out before she got married. So I pulled myself together and decided to go out on the town. Justin was out and about with his buddy after a Washington State University football game, celebrating the big win. We just happened to be at the same bar that night and when our eyes met it was “game over”. It was this special moment that was filled with very few words and a chemistry we both never thought was possible. From 2009 until now we have been completely inseparable and spending much of our time traveling, mountain biking, hiking our butts off, and exploring the world together.

 

Tell us a little bit about your engagement.

On June 5th, 2012 we were on a trip together in Maui, celebrating Justin passing his CFA. It was there, during a romantic dinner overlooking the beach that Justin asked me to marry him.

 


Where do you currently live?

Justin and I live in downtown Seattle. Justin works as a Assistant Portfolio Manager and I work in Marketing at Nordstrom. We have now been together for over 3 years. Justin grew up in a small town called Trout Lake Wa, where our wedding will be held on his family Ranch, and I grew up in Marysville WA.
Why did you select the Gorge and  your specific venue as your wedding location?

We will actually be getting married on Justin’s family ranch in Trout Lake WA. We decided to get married there as its one of the places we both feel relaxed and at home. Plus the beauty of Mount Adams is just the icing on the cake. Our backdrop of our ceremony will take your breath away.

We have so many special memories in the Gorge. Justin and I spend lots of time in Trout Lake and in the Gorge area. We mountain bike, hike, fish, cross country ski and much more together. We love this area, and cannot wait to share it with our friends and family.

 

Give us three words to describe your day:

Beautiful, Rustic, Romantic

 

Where are you drawing inspiration from for your wedding?

I actually have been pinning a lot on pinterest, as well as stalking the Style me Pretty website. However I have taken many images from both places and placed them in a more focused inspirational board.

 

 

 

What is your wedding color palette?

Rose, blush, gold, and Ivory.

 

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

Marrying my best friend in the entire world!!! I cannot wait to start this new chapter of husband and wife together. Sharing this moment with our friends and family will be unforgettable and memorable.

 

 

Congrats Chrissy & Justin – we can’t wait to help make your wedding day dreams come to life!

Feb 8, 2013

2013 – You’re Mine!

Wow, it’s been over three months since my last post (why do I feel like that sounds like an AA meeting?!?!).  Well, that’s going to change b/c this year I’m going to do more of what I love and what fires me up…and I really like blogging about things that make me happy!

It’s time to get a little personal! Our businesses have been seeing some wonderful growth lately and it’s exciting and scary all at the same time.  There are times I feel overwhelmed and anxious about it – but really…why? What is there to be afraid of? Failure? Success?  It seems so silly that now that I’ve finally started my own businees and doing what I want to do and what I’m passionate about that I should be scared of it.  Let’s just recap for a minute what’s happened in the last two and a half years.

 

 

Starting in May 2010 – today…got married (to my fabulous husband), quit a good paying (good benefits) corporate job after 10 years with the same company and good potential for future advancement, moved cross country from Florida to Oregon to start living my dreams (leaving behind lots of amazing friends), left a house in Florida that potentially faced short sale or foreclosure (still have it by the way and still in the same situation), landed in Hood River, OR!, started a new job in Oregon, lost a new job in Oregon, have lived in and had to move from fives houses in two years, started a wedding/event planning & party and event rental business in Oregon, and have faced several other personal battles and road bumps along the way.

Phew…I’m tired just reading that and trying to imagine how I got through it all.  But the point is that I did and that all of those decisions and life altering situations were hard…really hard and took a lot of strength and courage.  And it’s been so worth it to get where we are today.  So…if I can do that, how hard is it to finally be doing what I love, being where I love and being with who I love – what is the fear in that?

 

 

I’m committed to doing more of what I love and what fires me up in 2013.  I recently had the amazing pleasure of taking the Making Things Happen webinar and it has me amped up and ready to continue following my dreams and pushing the limits!  Two years ago my motto was “a year from now you will have wished you started today.”  And I did…and I got there…and now I’m ready to continue the journey and start all over again. My word for 2o13 is – MOMENTUM and INTENTION (ok, that’s two words but they are both so good and relevant).

Momentum b/c I feel I’ve already put the wheels in motion, come this far and can’t stop now.  Now is the time to really make things happen!, do a whole lot more of what fires me up and makes me happy and live my life with intention.  Ahh, there’s that word – INTENTION!  Intention b/c this year I will do what matters and forget the rest.  I will let go of the things and people that don’t serve me, stop worrying about everything and focus on what matters.

 

 

I loved Gina Zeidler’s  post today on Making Things Happen – about getting to the core of what matters and motivates you.  She says “this is where it all starts…In my book, this is the pivotal point to grow your business from. Start from the heart, your core, your REAL life. Then build from here.”

I’ve always loved Richard Branson…I feel like he really gets this way of thinking and living and doing a lot of what “fires him up”.  Just a little quote from an article I read today on his LinkedIn page, “there is no real difference between work and play – it’s all living.”

I agree Gina and Richard!  Time to make 2013 my bitch!  Change is a comin’…time to get real, face my fears and look honestly at myself and my businesses and MAKE WHAT MATTERS HAPPEN.

 

Find your free template here 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov 28, 2012

And the winner is…

Lauren!

A big congrats to Lauren our free styled engagement session winner.  Lauren & CW will be getting married next June at the Mt. Hood Organic Farms.  We really loved the idea of recreating scenes from the movie Amelie (a personal favorite) for their engagement session.  Check out their submission…

When my fiance CW and I started dating three years ago, we were both awkward and very independent in our own lives, but there was a mystery to this connection I felt with him that was worth pursuing. I was hoping to capture those initial incredibly poignant feelings of uncertainty, but also that overpowering subconscious feeling to just go for it in our engagement photos. We both can identify in our own way with the movie Amelie because it is the small moments we share that our going to shape our lives together. We thought it might be extremely fun to try and recreate some of the scenes from the movie in addition to highlighting some of the small joys we like to share together. Our June wedding in the gorge will be on an orchard looking out to the mountains with our loved ones there to enjoy each other’s company. We wanted to create mini-reunions for family and friends in a place we have come to love ourselves. We’ve lived for over a year in Oregon driving and camping for two months on our way out here. It was a large risk leaving everything to move here without a plan, but like our marriage together the risk was and will be all worth it.  

Meet Lauren & CW

We met as fisheries observers working in Massachusetts. After almost a year of dating we both quit our jobs to move out to the west coast. We intentionally took our time to get out to Oregon, visiting family and friends and camping at multiple national parks and national forests along the way. He’s from Louisiana, and I grew up north of Chicago, IL. We were just lucky our paths crossed. Presently we live in Newport, Oregon. I work as a veterinarian assistant and he still works as a fisheries biologist.

Our wedding will be on June,16th at Mt. Hood Organic Farms. We originally wanted a small wedding, but at the same time it is the one time in our lives we can have all of our friends and family in one place. It’s hard to pass up that opportunity to get everyone together. Right now I’m starting on the wedding favors – I’m throwing mugs/cups for all the guests. I took ceramics nine years ago and this gives me an excuse to get back to the wheel!

We are really look forward to working with Lauren and CW to put together an engagement session that fits their personality – hopefully we’ll be able to share our inspiration board soon. Now it’s time for G.Kennedy Creative, Jen Jones Photography and I to get back to watching Amelie and brainstorming our ultimate engagement sesh!