CAMPGROUND WEDDIN’ AT OREGON COAST

CAMPGROUND WEDDIN’ AT OREGON COAST

I just put my winter socks on as I am writing this and thinking the heat may have to go on tonight. I am not quite ready to bid adieu to Summer until I have reminisced just a little bit more about SUMMER. There is no better time to be in Portland. The weather is pure bliss. We enjoyed some lovely, quintessentially Summer days hanging out by the Willamette River, visiting Oaks Park, Manzanita, Mt. Hood, lemonade stands, barbecues with friends, flower festivals, swim lessons and so on.

I do want to share my brother in law, Lucca, and his fabulous bride, Rhonda’s Campground Wedding with you. The event took place at Barview Jetty County Campground in Tillamook County. We could not have had a more glorious day and warmer gathering of friends and family. The bride and groom really set the tone, which was casual, relaxed and fun with lots of good food and wine.

My husband and I offered to do “the cake” which evolved into a cupcake tower. Our dear friend, JoAnn Andriese, a super talented designer living in the Bay Area, was planning to do the flowers. She was unfortunately called away and unable to make it at the last minute. She already had a succulent concept going for the beach wedding so we took her ideas and reluctantly ran. I consulted her via text about purchases and concepts along the way and somehow, along with the help and inspiration of the groom’s parents, pulled it together for our dear newlyweds.

So here are some pictures of the campground wedding. Enjoy!

Cutting the Cake

Cutting the Cake

Wedding Cupcake Tower

Bride and Groom

Provided by Bayfront Bakery in Garibaldi

Provided by Bayfront Bakery in Garibaldi

More cake shots

More cake shots

Aunt Judy made a refreshing lemonade ginger punch with a frozen whirling iceberg of sliced lemons, limes and orange raspberries. We used a vintage glass punch bowl and platter.

lemonade ginger 2

Lemonade and Ginger Punch

Italian chocolates and Jordan almonds were served in a vintage silver platter. In fact we brought all of the silver serving ware from our wedding for others to use as serving dishes. My husband and I collected a lot of silverware in preparation for our wedding almost ten years ago. Weddings are always the perfect excuse to get out your silver and punch bowls!

Italian candies

And here are some pictures of the newlyweds at a scenic overlook with a stunning view of the beach:

Bouquet was made of protea, bridal blush, sedum, small pink roses, pearly everlasting, and beach grass. The bouquet was so hearty that it could have lasted for days.  So lovely with her soft gray, lacy dress.

Bouquet was made of protea, bridal blush, sedum, beach grasses, and a few pink roses.

lucca and Rhonda - the kiss STUDIO TULLIA 2

wedding bouquet STUDIO TULLIA

Pearl with ribbon and rose. She was one of the ring bearers in the wedding.

Rhonda’s dog, Pearl, with ribbon and rose. She was one of the ring bearers in the wedding.

Channeling JoAnn, we were able to somehow get the planters, bouquet and corsages done. Here is what we came up with.

Planters STUDIO TULLIA 4

orchids at wedding STUDIO TULLIA 1

orchids at wedding STUDIO TULLIA 2

Planters STUDIO TULLIA 5

It is not so hard to do this really, although I was intimidated at first. Find a silver punch bowl, urn, or other container…then place a liner, followed by dirt, then the plants, fill air pockets with more dirt, cover with Spanish moss and add shells if you want and Voila!

Hard to know where to start with all the plants and and planters.   We also used small rose plants in pots for the individual table arrangements.

Hard to know where to start with all the plants and and planters. We also used roses for the individual table arrangements.

IMG_5634

Planters STUDIO TULLIA 1

Planters STUDIO TULLIA 2

Planters STUDIO TULLIA 3

The succulents, orchids and roses we used were from Trader Joe’s and the Proteas and Bridal Blush was from Sammy’s Flowers (www.sammysflowers.com), the sedum was from my in-laws garden and (don’t tell) some pearly everlasting wild flowers and grasses were found growing by the beach. The planters were all reused existing household items like a vintage colander, a copper urn, a silver punch bowl, a Paul revere bowl, and a few other random planters. We used the mixture of silver with copper, which was a really nice blend of metals. We also added some found shells to the planters. Not too rustic and not too formal.

My dear husband made the cupcake tower out of plexiglass disks he found at a garage sale and attached them with a long threaded metal rod through the center, each tier attached by air duct adaptors! We made the cover out of natural canvas and burlap.

Here are some before shots.

cupcake tower 1

cupcake tower 2

Some foraging along a path to the beach resulted in a lovely assortment of grasses and wildflowers. We used a lot of lichen, moss and interesting branches we found also. All in all it was a fun, adventurous wedding for a great couple.

This flower was so pretty with the proteas and sedum - and the name, well, perfect.

TJ'S Succulents STUDIO TULLIA 1

Oh, I almost forgot. I made the bride and groom a custom pillow from STUDIO TULLIA. Their initials were monogrammed in slate blue over a blueberry blue ticking and accented with the same cream grosgrain ribbon found in the bridal bouquet. The colors were inspired by their wedding cake choice of blueberry cake with butter cream frosting. A momento for a beautiful day. Congratulations Lucca and Rhonda!

Monogram pillow STUDIO TULLIA 3

The bouquet STUDIO TULLIA

Monogram pillow STUDIO TULLIA 1

If you want to see more images that I used for inspiration, feel free to check out the images I collected on Pinterest: lucca and Rhonda - the kiss STUDIO TULLIA 2

Everything was Rosy

Everything was Rosy

I had a moment to myself late last June as I had dropped off the kids at the zoo with their grandparents. I had to stop at the Portland Rose Garden, despite the intermittent rain.

In retrospect I think it is best to go on a rainy day, with the fresh drops on the roses. Everything smells so sweet and fresh.  I wanted to share these before Summer fully escapes us.  Today was a grayish day and I am still really wanting Summer here in Portland.  Have a look.

Some nice elements to the garden are the outdoor ampitheatre, Lee Kelly’s stainless steel sculpture provided by the Portland Art Museum, and the wonderful bench in honor of Jesse Curry, the first President of the Portland Rose Society.

Lee Kelly sculpture

For more information about this wonderful Portland treasure:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rose_Test_Garden

JO JO AND IRISES

JO JO AND IRISES

Love it when our dear friend comes to visit.  JoJo has become quite the Auntie for the twins and if one photo could sum up who she is, it would be this one of her feet with new slippers.  Of course, I went with the bright yellow and orange ones. Fun. The kids love her.  She’s been coming up to Portland from the Bay Area since we moved about 5 years ago and has even come up to take an intensive Portland Flower School course to become a certified florist.

We visited a few venues while she was here that were  loaded with flowers: The IRIS FESTIVAL and CYRSTAL SPRINGS GARDEN.

I had always thought the IRIS to be a bit frivolous.  I mean how many more purple irises does one need in this world? They seem to grow by the 10’s, 100’s even just in my neighborhood alone.  Well, I have been educated. The Iris Festival exposed me to  hundreds of irises and I now have  an appreciation for this charismatic and prolific bud.  Just the names alone: Polished Manners, Again and Again, Spiced Custard, Ever Cool, Let’s Elope…inspire want. These kind of events feel so quintessentially OREGON. The festival runs through the end of May.

To top it off, it was Mother’s Day weekend. You can pick up a unique iris specimen for $15-$25.  The real fun is with the cut flowers that are $6 for a dozen. Jo was in her element and gathered up enough irises to make a beautiful arrangement for me, my mother in law and my mother, not to mention a corsage for my mother to wear to church.

WOODEN SHOE TULIP FESTIVAL in Woodburn, OR

WOODEN SHOE TULIP FESTIVAL in Woodburn, OR

Here are some pictures to give you a sense of the variety and quantity of tulips available at this farm.  A great place to research which bulbs to order as well as a fun outing for you and/or your family.  Lots of old-fashioned rides, slides, face painting. The festival started this past weekend and lasts for a month.  It is hard to see in these pictures the stunning view of Mount Hood still totally covered in snow this time of year.  This is the kind of event you do with your kids that makes you feel good about moving to Oregon.

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