Greetings, friends! Today we’re gonna pretend it’s not Monday. Yes, we’re at work. Yes, our to-do list is miles long. But we’re gonna live like it’s Friday and we’ve got a decadent wedding shoot to help with our mission. Infused with vintage details, this Oregon wedding shoot shot by Diana Sell Photography , is just pure pleasure.  Could I love the flower hair piece more?  No.  It’s amazing.  And that CAKE!  Yum.  Clearly, our fabulous Oregon wedding vendors worked their talented tails off to bring us the very best in wedding inspiration.  Thank you!!!

Hair Stylist: CinemaStylist | Floral Designer: It’s All Arranged, Fleurie: fashion inspired flowers | Reception Venue: Bella Via | Dress Designer: Claire La Faye | Cake Designer: Pastrygirl | Makeup Artist: Blush Premier Makeup | Shoes: Figgie Shoes | Jewelry: MiaDonna & Company | Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Este’s Men’s Clothing |  Photography:  Diana Sell Photography

I want to take a little moment to talk to my dear florists that visit this little wedding blog. Darlings, send me your submissions! I’ve found that submissions from florists are INCREDIBLE and chalk full of details. Just like today’s rustic wedding submitted by Sarah, the Portland based wedding florist from The Green Dandelion. With all the rustic trimmings this Portland wedding is ALMOST as sweet and endearing as the DIY bride herself!  Mandee is just a doll and I thoroughly enjoyed her interview so I wanted to share every last detail with all of you!

Where to begin? I’m Mandee, wife to Ryan, and I will tell you from the beginning, we love people. That was the driving force behind every piece of our wedding. We didn’t want to plan a wedding that was all about us. We wanted to have an event that celebrated all of the people that had played a role in bringing us to this incredible place in our lives. And it was just that.

We got married at a place called Five Rock Ranch. Our family flew in from out of town a week early and we spent the entire week at the ranch, enjoying time together, celebrating life and love, and specifically celebrating the legacy of our grandparents’ and parents’ marriages.

Favorite Memory: Sometimes Ryan and I get so caught up in loving other people, we forget to take the time to truly invest in one another. Early on the morning of our wedding, the pastor who married us and his wife (good friends of ours) came to us and said, “Today will go by in a flash. You will be surrounded by people you love and amidst all the celebration, actual time to connect will be sparse.” They encouraged us to take 15 minutes that morning before all the craziness started, to take a walk around the ranch together, and just breathe in the moment. It was such an incredibly sacred time together that I will absolutely never forget.

Advice to Brides: Amidst the details, remember the reason for all the planning. Love your fiancé well and give him grace – most likely he hasn’t been dreaming of your wedding day since he was a little girl. Hire a coordinator so that your mom can just enjoy being the mother of the bride. Keep perspective. Remember to eat. Enjoy.

Personal Touches:

1. I rode in on a horse. It was a surprise to everyone except our wedding coordinator and the photographers. My dad is a rancher at heart and he absolutely loved this picturesque surprise.
2. My last name was “Spotts” and I was very sad to see it go. As a kind of celebration of my family and my name, Ryan let me incorporate “spots” into our wedding in a variety of tasteful ways. My personal favorite was that all of his groomsmen wore spotted socks.
3. Our guest book was a canvas with a tree printed on it. Everyone left ink thumbprints as the leaves on the tree.
4. We wanted the wedding to be laid back…so everyone dressed casual, we ate bacon burgers, watermelon and killer cupcakes, and we brought our cowboy boots for dancing. We actual had someone teach line dancing to anyone who wanted to learn.

DIY Projects:

1. I made fabric flowers for the bridesmaids to clip in their hair.
2. We made our programs into fans to keep people cool on the day of the wedding.
3. The location didn’t have a dance floor outside, so my dad built one from scratch. It was a fairly simple floor plan, but it was a huge hit and not having to rent one saved us a lot of money.
4. We made a CD of all our favorite music for our guests. We bought cardboard cases to assemble ourselves and then pasted a personal “thank you” from us on the inside of the case. We tied each one with ribbon and stamped a “spotted” heart in the corner.
5. We used plastic silverware, but wanted to make it look a little bit nicer, so we wrapped each set in a colored napkin and tied it with twine.

Venue and Food – 5 Rock Ranch, 5rockranch.com  |  Flowers – The Green Dandelion |  Photographers – Joliphotographie |  Cupcakes – K’s cakes n’ cookies  |  Invitations, Programs, Guest Book Canvas – Ryan Wilmot, W Design  |  Video – Bunit Prooductions

Debbie and Keith’s wedding today is an awesome burst of purple wedding inspiration. Debbie has a lovely little wedding blog and thus is no stranger to the wide world of weddings. And her lovely outdoor Oregon wedding is gorgeous proof of her impeccable wedding style. From her striking purple shoes to the delicate lavender floral arrangements – Debbie drizzled her theme color throughout her day in perfect moderation and flare.  All captured by the lens of an artistic professional.  Gabriel Boone’s photography today could have easily been an advertisement for the state of Oregon.  It’s breathtaking countryside seems like the perfect backdrop for a quaint rustic wedding.  I need a vacation people!!!

Getting Ready Pad: Lakecliff Bed & Breakfast
Venue: Gorge Crest Vineyards
Desserts: The Tart Lady (Market Gourmet)
Keith’s Custom Shoes: Converse
Catering: Blossoms Hood River
Music: THE FLASHDANCE

Watching the story of Haylie and Ross’ wedding through Rachel’s lens is a real treat. She conveyed the cute story of their day perfectly. I loved the simple, down-to-earth feel of this Portland real wedding. As I read Haylie’s story, I felt she spoke for so many brides out there who just want a simple, personalized day without pressure from the wedding industry. I feel for many brides since I think A LOT of them go into it with this mentality but get run over by the bridal train somewhere along the way (and end up wearing a tiara or something. ug!).

Also, even though you can throw down an amazing event – it can be stressful. And Haylie’s honesty in that regard was refreshing.

You ask how we enjoyed planning the wedding. The blunt answer is that, on the whole, we hated it. Even though we tried to make the process as simple as possible there was still a ton of pressure and stress associated with planning our wedding. But we were lucky to have a ton of people to help us, and we had fun coming up with some of the details, like the haiku cards, our choice of “getaway car,” and my husband’s outfit (didn’t he look great?). And the day itself was really lovely. Here are some favorite moments:

• Early in the morning on the day we got married we met up with some friends and family at a local high school and played a brisk round of Ultimate Frisbee before whisking off to get ready. Although I made an epic catch, the groom’s team still won.

• As we were leaving the temple to get to the reception we realized that my husband’s family had taken his keys and we had to bum a ride with our videographer.

• As we were taking pictures in the park a herd of red dress-wearing, alcohol-imbibing, adventure-having men and women descended on us. Our pictures with them are some of our favorite from the whole day.

• Having so many people we loved in the same room.

• Waiting for our getaway car, the Portland Streetcar, to come pick us up, and then stepping inside and having the doors close behind us. Also, the way none of the riders on the streetcar seemed to notice )

However, I think our favorite moment of the whole day was when the catering staff complimented us for being one of the most laid-back and easy-going couples they’d every worked for. For us, that was really what it was all about.

Honest and cute. It’s a great combination.

Haylie and Ross’ Vendor List:
Venue: Ceremony – Portland LDS Temple; Reception – The Ecotrust Building
Wedding Dress: Borrowed from and designed by the bride’s cousin, Orange sweater from J. Crew
Shoes: Ruche
Wedding Hair and Makeup: Dosha Spa and Salon (an Aveda Salon)
Menswear: Nordstrom and J.Crew
Caterer: Culinary Artistry
Invitations: Designed by Erin Jane Johnson
Florist: Lavish
Photography: Rachel Thurston

I’m not going to lie to you guys. I have some seriously wicked real weddings coming up this week. You should prepare yourselves. It’s good alright….

AND I’m not starting if off slow, let’s get right into an adorable Portland real wedding shot by the amazing Rachel Thurston. No joke, this wedding is utter cuteness. I mean, I usually try not to put a million shots of just the couple in my post (although I typically fail) but this time it was SO HARD to edit out shots. They were ALL cute. Bah!

I loved the honesty of the story of this wedding as well. The wedding industry can be pushy and uninspiring at times (which is why La Belle Bride started btw!) but you CAN make your wedding personalized and void of those crazy traditions you may dislike…

Here’s our bride, Haylie, with her story:

I recently rediscovered this text message that I sent to Erin Johnson, our invitation designer: “…as for the tone I’m thinking vintage, rural industry, if that makes sense. Train tracks and steel bridges in the country. ‘Stand By Me’ without the leeches and adolescence. Know what I mean?”

I have never been “Wedding Girl,” so when my husband and I got engaged we didn’t want to get sucked too far into the industry. We still wanted a beautiful wedding, though. Navigating a course between those two goals was probably our biggest wedding-planning challenge.
Our wedding vibe was inspired by a Fourth of July hike we took along a disused railroad track on the Salmonberry River. We crossed rusting steel bridges that had been built in the 1920s and found snakes and lizards and old railway ties. It was a fabulous day, and I wanted our wedding to have that kind of a vintage industrial feel. Our general colors (very general!) were Terra Cotta, Rosemary and Cream.

It was also important to us that our wedding be as eco-friendly as possible, and we wanted to show off our beloved Portland. Our venue was perfect for both goals: the Ecotrust Center is located in an old renovated warehouse and is dedicated to preserving the Northwest’s natural resources. It also has a beautiful view of the Portland skyline and has a streetcar stop in front of it, which we hoped would encourage people to use public transportation. We had hors d’oeuvres and handmade sodas on the deck followed by dinner in the exposed brick conference room.


We got very lucky with our vendors. Our caterer (who is also dedicated to using sustainable practices), our photographer and videographer, and our florist were all fabulous. In interviewing vendors we were basically looking for people who didn’t strike us as too “wedding-y.” We wanted to work with people who realized that our reception was just a celebration, not the Most. Important. Thing. We. Would. Ever. Do. It took a while, but we definitely found those vendors.

More from Haylie and Ross’ day later on today!