Okay, so I’m really happy with our decision to have the wedding at the Laurelhurst Club, but last night my aunt emailed me about having it at an alpaca farm and then this morning I see these pictures of an alpaca farm wedding and, like… WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? You know how I feel about alpacas! Oh well. I guess I wouldn’t want to step in alpaca poop on my wedding day. I guess.

Okay, so I’m really happy with our decision to have the wedding at the Laurelhurst Club, but last night my aunt emailed me about having it at an alpaca farm and then this morning I see these pictures of an alpaca farm wedding and, like…

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

You know how I feel about alpacas!

Oh well. I guess I wouldn’t want to step in alpaca poop on my wedding day. I guess.

2 years ago Comments

Major Accomplishments

Jeff and I took some big, important steps today:

  1. We set up a joint account. This will make it easier for us to manage our wedding budget, and we’ll be needing a joint account anyway, what with getting married and all. For some reason, setting up a joint account made me feel very grown up. Fun!
  2. We put down on deposit on the Laurelhurst Club! This means the date is definitely September 11th. I’m so, so excited. The Laurelhurst Club is adorable. I can really envision our wedding there. It’s gonna be cutesville, for sure.
  3. We picked a setting for my ring! When Jeff proposed, he gave me a diamond in the simplest solitaire setting with the intention of having me pick a design I liked. This turned out to be really hard. It’s intense to chose a piece of jewelry that you’ll wear every day for the rest of your life! After going to SEVEN stores, we finally found the one at LaRog Jewelers. They will be getting a very nice Yelp review. They were just wonderful. It’s getting set and sized and I’ll have it back on Friday!

Phew! Big day!

2 years ago Comments

Location, Location, Location

It looks like we have our venue options narrowed down to three.

Venue #1: The North Star Ballroom

Photo via

Catherine and I went and checked out this place in person this morning. It is so totally cute. I could see having our wedding there. It felt very “us”.

Pros:

  • Cute, cute, CUTE. Oozing with vintage charm. Lots of great details, from a little balcony to throw the bouquet from, to a bar adjoining the main ballroom that might be nice for quieter conversation.
  • The world’s prettiest bridal dressing room. I know, who cares… but yeah.
  • They allow you to chose any caterer and bring your own alcohol in. This is huge, from a budget standpoint. Some of these venues require you to use their preferred vendors and that can be super spendy.
  • Located in North Portland, relatively close to home. Also, close to bars if people want to stay out after the reception.
  • Booked every Saturday all summer except… September 11th!
Cons:
  • The fee to use the space is on the high end of what we can afford.
  • The ceremony and reception would need to be in the same space, so it might require a quick change of table/chair arrangements… unless people just sit at the tables during the ceremony. Hm.
  • There is no outdoor part of the property for picture taking. There IS however a very pretty park a few blocks away where we could maybe run off to do photos…

Venue #2: The Laurelhurst Dance Club

Photo via

We’re set to go look at this place tomorrow, but Catherine and I peaked in the windows today. Not as adorable as the North Star, but could totally be done up cute. I don’t yet know their policies on food and alcohol, but I think it’s about the same as North Star.

Pros:

  • Price! It’s about $500 less than the North Star
  • Location! It’s right across the street from Laurelhurst Park, which is sooo pretty.
  • The ceremony could be done out on the lawn and and then the reception could be inside. There is a nice stone wall that would make a good ceremony backdrop, too.
  • Booked every Saturday all summer except, you guessed it, SEPTEMEBER 11!!!
Cons:
  • The decor a little dated. Not in such a great way.
  • Being in the middle of neighborhood, the festivities must end by 10pm… although we have a solution to this. I’m thinking 9:45 pm parade to the Good Foot!
  • I don’t know for sure, but I’m willing to bet the the bridal dressing room ain’t as cute.

Venue #3: Rogue Hop Farm

You know how I said we were considering doing the wedding on a hop farm? Yeah, this is the one. We have an appointment to go out there tomorrow morning and I really don’t know much yet, so it’s hard to flesh out a pros and cons list, but:

Pros:

  • It’s a hop farm!!! It’s like a vineyard, but for beer! That’s awesome!
  • I DO love the idea of an outdoor, farm-type wedding
Cons:
  • I’ve had a heck of a time getting straight answers from my contact regarding price. This does not bode well.
  • The hop harvest is on August 20, so by September the hops with be gone. Still could be pretty, though.

I’m hoping we can get the decision made by the end of the weekend. Pretty crucial.

2 years ago Comments