Central Oregon is home to what I think are some of the most naturally beautiful venues in Oregon. They definitely have a feel of country, but a sense of elegance that could fit a city girl at heart’s style. When I was growing up, we’d go visit my Grandparents in Bend, Oregon a few times a year. I loved how even in the middle of winter the air was dry and crisp. Though I’ve heard last year it rained more than normal, usually they’re laughing at our rainfall, as it’s warm and sunny almost all of the summer and even most of the year! I’ve been dying to share this venue with you for months and can’t wait for you to learn more about Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte, Oregon. Enjoy!

Champagne: How would you describe your ideal client?

Brasada Ranch: Our ideal client is one that is looking for an elegant, beautiful , and relaxing weekend destination spot in Central Oregon.

Champagne: Do you have weddings year round?

Brasada Ranch: Yes, and Brasada Ranch is a perfect spot to celebrate all the seasons.

Champagne: How many guests can your event venue accommodate?

Brasada Ranch: Brasada Ranch has a variety of unique spaces that cater to select numbers of guests. Although we have held weddings for 300+ guests, our largest space does nicely with 40-150 guests.

Champagne: How many can you accommodate overnight? 

Brasada Ranch: Up to 100 guests.  Our accommodations are privately, wholly owned elegant ranch cabins and we act as a rental management company for them.

Champagne: What amenities can you provide for the wedding guests?

Brasada Ranch: Brasada Ranch lodging guests have access to our private Athletic Club and 18-hole Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy designed golf course, as well as our on site restaurant, the Blue Olive, and the Equestrian Center.

Champagne: What is your favorite part of central oregon weddings?

Brasada Ranch: Our favorite part of Central Oregon weddings is the scenery. We are surrounded with beauty year-round and it is a perfect destination spot to relax and enjoy all the activities that Central Oregon has to offer.

Champagne: Is there anything else you’d like for our readers to know?

Brasada Ranch: To learn more about Brasada Ranch, please visit our website http://www.brasada.com

Champagne: Make sure to take a look at their website, as it’s full of more details and virtual tours! Thank you, Brasada Ranch, for taking the time to tell us more about your gorgeous venue!

Cheers,

Mandi, Rachelle & the Champagne Team

P.S. It’s National Pay it Forward day! When you do something for someone there’s a good chance they’ll do something for someone else. If not, at least you’ve done a good deed for someone! Tis’ the season to spread the love!

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend! I find it hard to believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! It seems like just yesterday it was June 1st, when it was raining buckets and we were picking up Lucie, our French intern, from the airport! Lucie was here for 5 months and over her time here she was able to see the differences between Oregon weddings and French weddings. Below you’ll find a post Lucie wrote about French weddings and a few pictures! It was such a pleasure to have Lucie with us and since she headed home to France on Halloween, the house hasn’t been the same! Thank you Lucie for being a part of our team this summer and for all your hard work! Enjoy!

Hi everyone! This is Lucie, Champagne’s intern from France!
Today I want to talk to you about French weddings and how different they are from what I have experienced here in Oregon…
A few things to know about French weddings are that there is a maid of honor and a best man, called “witnesses”, but there are no bridesmaids or groomsmen.
A French wedding usually starts like an American wedding. Everyone gets pretty and ready; the bride gets her hair and make-up done and gets nervous and excited about seeing her future husband. Then it gets a little different as comes the formal moment when all family and friends join the bride and groom at the city hall for the signage of their marriage license in front of the mayor. From now on, they are legally recognized as husband and wife.

The couple can choose to have a more romantic ceremony at church after going to the city hall, which is more traditional. I am not 100% sure, but I think having a ceremony in a different location is not an option. I do not know anyone who got married on the beach or in a vineyard, nor have I heard about people doing so.
After the ceremony, guests invited to the reception stick around while formal family pictures are taken (since the reception and the ceremony are hosted in two different places, every guest to the ceremony is not necessarily invited to the reception, which is nice to narrow down the guest list!). Formal photos of the couple alone are usually taken a few days before the wedding or earlier that day, so guests don’t have to wait forever between the ceremony and the party.

As guests go from place to place (city hall to church to reception site), a “procession” forms following the bride and groom. This procession is usually very noticeable to outside people as it is either a parade of guests walking the streets or a parade of decorated cars honking like crazy. This is a very fun and memorable part of the French wedding.
Once everyone gets to the reception, the cocktail hour begins, which is a full hour that the bride and groom enjoy with their guests, and that we call “the honor wine” (“vin d’honneur”). Then comes dinner, which is usually plated and takes about three hours. Games are initiated by the DJ or family and friends in between courses, keeping everyone entertained. One of my aunts is really good with words and she likes to write poems or put new words to a song for a special occasion. Therefore, at my sister’s wedding, my family and I sang my sister’s favorite song only with words that addressed her and her husband. That, along with other activities set up by other guests, added a special touch to their wedding and created unique memories.

The French wedding cake is quite different from the American 3-tier cake. It is a mountain of cream puffs put together with caramel. It is very yummy, and it looks like this:
http://www.lepapillonpatisserie.com/images/larger/wedding_croquembouche1.jpg

After dinner, first dances happen, and the dance floor is open to everyone. Since reception venues are usually rented for the weekend, the party can go on until 5 am or later for the unweary ones, and the bride and groom are one of the last to leave. It is quite common that everyone comes back the next day to enjoy a brunch with the bride and groom, allowing everyone to get together, remember the wedding, tell funny stories from the night before, play games and have some more fun!

Now, my favorite thing about weddings is something that applies to every wedding: the moment before the bride and groom see each other for the first time on their wedding day. Seeing the beautiful bride in her beautiful dress get all nervous and excited to see her groom and spend the rest of her life with him, and then witness that sparkle when they actually see each other is priceless. To me it is a very magical moment that shows all the love two people can have for each other, and it’s beautiful.
Do you know any other way to celebrate weddings?

Happy planning,
Lucie

Cheers,
Mandi, Rachelle & the Champagne Team

Here’s what’s been happening the last few days!

Darren and I got married on Saturday and have spent the last few days enjoying being married and attempting to get all of the gifts put away! The wedding was more amazing than we could have ever imagined! A huge thank you to Danielle of Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination for setting everything up and making sure the day went smoothly, as well as all the other vendors that truly made it a dream come true!! I’ll be posting more details and pictures soon! Here are a few links to some wedding sneak peaks on Yasmin’s blog, Laura’s blog, and Bridal portraits on Annelie’s Blog

Rachelle found out on Monday, that she and her husband, Donny, are having a BOY!!!! We are so extremely excited for them!! I can only imagine how much fun it’s been for the grandparents to finally be able to buy things for Baby Bell!! More details to come soon!

We recently got a comment asking when we will be completing the blog segment on Bend/ Central Oregon vendors. We are sorry for the delay and will be finishing up the posts in December! Please feel free to email us questions in the meantime!

We’re off to enjoy Thanksgiving with our families, but wanted to check in and let you know what’s been going on over at Champagne!

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with much relaxation, love, laughter and delicious food… not to mention MUCH dessert!! : ) We are so thankful to be doing what we love every day and for our amazing clients!! We wish you a wonderful holiday and look forward to talking to you soon!!

Cheers,

Mandi, Rachelle, & the Champagne team

Hello everyone!

I know you don’t hear from me very often, so Mandi and I thought it would be fun to share some of our more personal details with our readers! While Mandi has been busy planning the wedding of her dreams, my husband and I have been growing our family! That’s right, I’m going to have a baby in April! I managed to wade through the nausea and headaches all summer and we’re now 20 weeks along! While I won’t be sharing any of the details of parenthood that I’m certain nobody wants to hear, I will let you all know the fun details!

Now that my belly is showing, I’ve found that the most popular question I get is if we want to find out the gender of Baby Bell—Are you kidding!!?? I’m a planner! Haha! We are SO SO SO excited to be able to finally put a name to him or her! We don’t have a preference either way! We’re so thrilled to have a baby in general, but we do want to know what to call him or her! It’s been really strange calling it “baby” for so long! In a week we have the ultrasound that tells all—we can hardly wait! However, to my luck, we have another VERY exciting event this coming weekend—Mandi and Darren’s wedding!!! So I’m letting that be the forefront of my thoughts right now as I’m also SO EXCITED for them : ) It’s going to be a beautiful day!

Another common question I’ve heard is whether I’ll be taking time off… I don’t think there is such a thing for people who own a business or who love their job as much as I do!!! However, I will be taking a modified version of “maternity leave”. April, May, and June will be wedding-less for me, although all my other aspects of my job will still be in full swing! I’ll be working with my 2011 clients, meeting with people, bookkeeping, managing, and focusing in on the clients that I already have. Also, I’m so lucky to have a family that is EAGER [let me tell you—my mom and sister are SO READY to have a little baby in their arms] and ready to help out, especially during the wedding season! Baby’s arrival was actually planned [believe it or not!] and I’m really excited that the timing will work out perfectly with wedding season… while I’m a realist and know that nothing can REALLY prepare you for the day when you come home and have a baby in your arms, I’m looking forward to having those few months to ease into my role as mommy and wedding planner! I’m so grateful to Mandi and our excellent team at Champagne, I wouldn’t be able to have this luxury without them!

Thanks all for reading! Have a wonderful week!

Cheers,

Rachelle

Please join us NEXT THURSDAY, November 11th, 2010 for the wedding event of the season!

Eat. Drink. Marry! is a unique event for engaged couples to meet and see the work of local “hand picked” vendors.  The evening is designed to inspire, educate & ENJOY in a quaint, cozy environment.

Unlike a bridal show, the vendors will showcase their work by their contribution to the event – an intimate & interactive approach to wedding planning. Guests will have the opportunity to mingle with the vendors, while enjoying the ambience, good food, wine & beer, music & treats!

Location: Mahar’s Pub [352 B Avenue, Lake Oswego, Oregon]
Time: 6-9pm
Pre-register online: http://eatdrinkmarrylo.com/
Save $3 on your tickets and use our special promo code: champagne5

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

Cheers,
Rachelle, Mandi and the Champagne team