Cannon Beach…it’s much like Pleasantville to me! So calm and peaceful! Filled with so many cute shops, delicious candy stores, yummy seafood and beautiful views! This might have something to do with why Jen and Nick picked to have their destination wedding on the Oregon Coast in Cannon Beach! Jen and Nick were living in Kentucky, but Nick had come to Washington for a business trip and he and Jen had decided to drive down the coast and visit Cannon Beach. They fell in love with the location and when trying to pick the perfect destination for their guests, from all over the United States, to travel for their wedding celebration, it soon became obvious- they wanted to share this sweet little town called Cannon Beach with their closest Family and Friends! A place they plan to come back and visit often. A place that marks a few major stepping stones in their life together!

A destination wedding doesn’t have to be somewhere tropical to be intimate and gorgeous!

They got married on what was quite possibly the most wet days of the summer! This, however, did not stop them from having their ceremony at Ecola State Park, overlooking the beautiful coast! It was absolutely breathtaking! Each guest had a white umbrella and as Jen walked down the aisle it stopped raining, but then it started to sprinkle and everyone’s umbrella’s popped up- it was picture perfect! The officiant mentioned how life isn’t always perfect, but when times are troubled and it starts to rain, you always have each other, your family and friends to make sure you’re covered. While those weren’t his exact words, what he said at that moment made the rain seemed as though it had been planned and moments later the rain stopped… for a few minutes! There were so many amazing pictures that we had a really hard time narrowing it down… enjoy!!

Date: September 18, 2010
Weather: Morning sun with afternoon wind and rain
Location: Cannon Beach, Oregon

The amazing team of vendors:
Destination wedding planning: Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination
Photographer: Soul Mates Photo
Ceremony Venue: Ecola State Park
Reception Venue: Surfsand Resort
Officiant: Carroll Myers, Pastor
Invitation Designer: Wedding Paper Divas
Catering: Surfsand Resort
Florist: Francoise Weeks Florist
Cake: BelLisamo
Wedding dress: Victoria Sdoukos Couture, Boutique Victoria, Chicago, Illinois
Bridal accessories: Victoria Sdoukos Couture, Boutique Victoria, Chicago, Illinois
Bridesmaid’s apparel and accessories:  BCBG
Groom and groomsmen apparel and accessories: Mens Wearhouse
Hair and make-up: Face Body Beauty
DJ: Event Team Entertainment
Transportation: Sundial Travel  & North Coast Limo Service 503.338. 8525
Dance instruction: n/a
Favors: Candy Buffet designed and assembled by Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination- Candy from The Picnic Basket and The Sweet Factory
Rings: Shane Co
Rentals:  The Party Pros
Linens: BBJ Linens

Photos by Soul Mates Photo

Tipsy Tuesday: When planning to get married on the Oregon Coast or in a State Park, make sure to apply to get a permit before making your plans. Many parks and beaches along the coast have changed their policies in the last year on having events. Some aren’t allowing them at all! Luckily we were able to get a permit for Ecola State Park, but there are very strict rules that go along with it! Ask a planner how to get more information!

Happy planning!!

Cheers,

The Champagne Team

PS Melissa with Soul Mates Photo is currently booking Boudoir sessions!! The perfect gift for your boyfriend, Husband-to-be, Anniversary or just because! Check out details here!!

Planning your wedding is supposed to be fun, exciting, and enjoyable! I think every bride has her moments of stress, after all there are so many decisions to be made and often times it’s not just about what you want, it’s about what your fiance wants and potentially your family and friends are pressuring decisions as well!

There’s a common misconception that wedding planners are only for the rich, but the thing is, wedding planners can save you money and much headache, as they often get discounts from vendors that they then pass along to their clients and can also save you from making a bad decision when it comes to booking a vendor with a bad reputation or purchasing diy projects when buying the item already made may be more cost effective! They can help you decipher the large world of wedding vendors and helping you find the right match for your budget, personality and style!

At Champagne we offer a large range of packages from full service planning to day of service and anything in between! One of our most popular packages is our Month of! Our Month of package allows you to ask us questions through out the entire planning process, not to mention we offer free vendor suggestions! We want all of our clients to have the most enjoyable planning process possible, regardless of the package they pick!

Why do we say EVERYONE needs at least a Day of/Month of planner?

No, it’s not because it’s what we do and we want people to hire us! As I mentioned in yesterdays post even a planner needs a Day of planner to be able to make sure everything runs smoothly. You may be extremely organized, but who is going to make sure the centerpieces are on the table, that the DJ knows where to set up, the favors are placed where you wanted, that the guest book is out, that the photographer is running on schedule, that the caterer knows to have the food ready a little later because the ceremony ran late? Who’s going to let the DJ know you’re ready for toasts or make sure there’s never a lull in the events?

You’ve spent hours, months, possibly years planning this one day that marks a huge milestone in your life! You want to be able to share it with your closest family and friends and you want everyone to be able to enjoy the day!

No matter how much you’re spending on your wedding, it’s relevant to how much money you have and you want to make sure everything you’ve planned comes together as you had planned and is stress free and fun! Having a day of/month of planner allows you to relax and enjoy not only the day of your wedding, but also the days and weeks leading up to it!

A few of the many things we do to make sure your day is amazing:
We meet to go over all the details for your wedding about a month to two weeks before your wedding
Look over your contracts
Put together a timeline
Confirm vendors and make sure they are all on the same page for the timeline
Set up/clean up
Troubleshoot any issues that may come up
Set out favors, guest book, etc
Help keep everyone on timeline for the day and let vendors know when the timeline has shifted
Act as point person for wedding party, family, vendors and guests
Bring a fully stocked Emergency Kit

We are there to make sure that you, your fiancé, parents, wedding party, vendors and guests have the best most stress free day possible!

Below are a few photos from a photo shoot we did last year with Honeysuckle Photography to portray what often happens when you don’t have a professional wedding planner there on your wedding day!

Vendors who contributed to the shoot:
Photography: Honeysuckle Photography
Location: Elk Cove Vineyards
Attire: Cocoon Silk
Rentals: The Party Place
Flowers: Blum Design in Flowers
Models: Emma Pelett
Coordination: Champagne Wedding & Event Coordination

Enjoy!

Don’t let this be you, let us do the dirty work!

Not sure a wedding planner is for you? Want to know more information? Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to set up a complimentary consultation! We can’t wait to get to know more about you and your wedding plans!!

Cheers,

The Champagne Team

Oh, the day of tricks and teasing! I remember when I was growing up my mom and our neighbor used to call each other every year with some ridiculous story! My sister used to call and tell my parents she was pregnant… It’s amazing how easy it is to fall for things when you don’t remember what day it is or you get caught up in the moment or you don’t want to hurt their feelings if it is real! I have fallen for my fair share, including the post on LivingBridal today! It seemed like such an awesome concept that I didn’t even read what the deal was!! Here’s to hoping the deal was the April Fools and the website is really going to launch!
Here’s to hoping you don’t get fooled! Happy Friday!

Over the next few weeks we will be blogging some real weddings, a feature on Evrim Icoz Photography, our weekly Tipsy Tuesday, an update on Baby Hendricks, some contests and more… stay tuned!

Recent features:
Luminous Wedding Photography by Jen Hecht featured a few photos from a recent photo shoot we did with her for a local book, which will becoming out soon! View the post here!

Yasmin Khajavi Photography is our current featured photographer of the month! She posted a few photos here! Make sure to come check out her work- it’ll be up til April 15th!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Here’s to hoping the sun comes out to play!
Happy Planning!

Cheers,

The Champagne Team

Portland, Oregon wedding planners- serving Portland, Central Oregon, Oregon Coast, Columbia Gorge and Destinations all over the world.

Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) today to set up your complimentary consultation!

Tipsy Tuesday #5:

When searching for your wedding vendors:

1) Pick no more than 3 of your favorites to meet with in each category to start. If you don’t feel like one of those are the right match, make a list of pros/cons and then go back to the drawing board from there! Picking too many vendors to meet with in each category can make the decisions overwhelming.

2) Ask your planner, friends, family and co-workers if they have any suggestions for vendors.

3) When looking on Google and other planning resources, many times vendors are alphabetized or ranked for various reasons, don’t stop with the first at the list, make sure you choose people to meet with that you feel meet your style, personality and budget!

Happy Planning!

Cheers,

Mandi, Rachelle & the Champagne team

Thinking about hiring a wedding planner? Contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) today to set up your complimentary consultation!

We are currently featuring Yasmin Khajavi‘s photographs in our office space! Schedule your appointment today to come check it out!

Just last week we had the honor of being featured on Alt Blu‘s Small Business Success story segment! If you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about how Champagne came about, please check out the story and if you’re looking for a fabulous company to help you with your branding, marketing and more, make sure to get to know Elena and Riley of Alt Blu!!

A HUGE thank you to Alt Blu for featuring us and to each and every one of our clients, family and friends that continue to support us! We are so grateful for each and every one of you! You help us do what we love, every day!!

Cheers,

Mandi, Rachelle & the Champagne team

Thinking about hiring a wedding planner? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) today to set up your complimentary consultation!

We are currently featuring Yasmin Khajavi‘s photographs in our office space! Schedule your appointment today to come check it out!