You all pretty much know how and why we at Style Me Pretty do what we do … and when we started the Little Black Book (of Very Important Vendors) we hoped we were furthering our cause. So, when we saw today’s featured wedding from Paul Rich, and we read the bride’s story, we knew we had hit a home run! It’s the kind of story that makes us feel so proud of what we do!
Kylene (today’s bride) wrote … We are so excited!! I have been a long time reader of Style Me Pretty, long before I was even engaged. The style and inspiration I found on the site matched so closely with my dream day. The Little Black Book feature was also such a help as I trusted the recommendations I found there, saving me tons of time and energy. I am absolutely thrilled to share our wedding with other Style Me Pretty readers!
The wedding…..Literally within a week of getting engaged, my groom and I had excitedly finalized many of the important wedding decisions including the location, the day, and the caterer. It was easy, as we both knew exactly what the day was about—celebrating with our family and friends. We wanted the day to feel inviting and relaxed, and most importantly wanted our guests to truly enjoy themselves. In a sense we wanted them to feel like they were at a big, fancy picnic! It also helped that I’m a bit of a wedding blog fanatic and have been reading blogs and magazines for years just waiting for my day!
It was so easy to picture our perfect wedding day thanks to so many of the inspiration boards and real weddings I had been swooning over on wedding blogs like Style Me Pretty. We chose Kruger’s Farm, a small farm we adore, for both the ceremony and reception as Jacob and I had spent many afternoons there picking berries, taking hay rides, and strolling through pumpkin patches. The farm provided all the elements we were looking for: a quaint farm house to spend the morning in, a century old oak tree to have the ceremony under, flower fields and berry patches for guests to wander through, and a large field to accommodate our lawn games.
We wanted our wedding to be very personal and meaningful and planned and arranged the majority of the elements ourselves. My mother, who passed away 5 years ago from breast cancer, was an amazingly talented and whimsical decorator and florist. As a child I spent my days in her flower shop making bouquets out of dried up flowers from the floor so it was very important to me to design and make many of the details myself. I designed and printed all the invitations and paper products; created little details like cocktail flags and a personalized coloring book for the kids; used vintage table cloths for the tables and a collection of new and antique dessert platters for the dessert bar which had mini cupcakes, tarts, and cakes; and sewed a floral backdrop for our Polaroid guest book and personalized labels into all the wedding attire. With the help of several important women in my life, we also made all the floral arrangements and bouquets with flowers ordered online and hydrangeas and roses from my grandmother’s garden. The whole affair was a true labor of love as I found meaningful ways to incorporate my mom’s spirit in our day. I also wore earrings and a bracelet from her vintage jewelry collection and shared several other pieces with my aunts and grandmother. Attached to my bouquet was a locket with her picture. Many of our guests remarked at how the wedding celebration was “so us,” exactly what Jacob and I had hoped for.
Most importantly, our wedding day did end up being so much fun! My bridesmaids and I arrived on a tractor driven by Farmer Don, the farm owner, and the over 20 children had a hay ride after the ceremony and then their own play area. Our adult guests enjoyed cocktails on the lawn while playing croquet, bocce ball, horseshoes and cornhole. It was a blast to see people actually playing on the lawn! Our friend’s soul/R&B/funk band, Excellent Gentlemen , also played late in the night. There wasn’t one detail I’d change!
Our guests were able to enjoy many of the farm’s specialties including boysenberry jam favors, homemade farm salad dressing and honey in their out of town gift bags, and blueberries to pick right off the vine as they walked from the old oak tree to the field for the celebration. To carry on the picnic theme, and celebrate my Texas upbringing, we feasted on cedar plank salmon grilled on site, BBQ brisket, potato salad, and a slew of other picnic worthy treats from Vibrant Table Catering and Events . It was delicious!
And this is the part of Kylene’s story that we loved …
When it came time to select our photographer I instantly turned to the Little Black Book on the Style Me Pretty site. From months of reading the blog, I knew that SMP fit my wedding style. It was such a helpful way to narrow down my choices. I called up Paul Rich Studio and quickly had a meeting with Paul and Holly. The Little Black Book was spot on! In fact, I signed a contract with Paul Rich right then, before meeting with anyone else, as I knew it was a perfect match. Paul and Holly Rich were so warm and personal but also extremely professional. They understood the personal elements of my wedding and ensured me they would capture every detail. They also work as a team and could offer double the coverage. I am so impressed with how their photos captured the feel of our day. They’re dreamy in my opinion! Thank you Little Black Book!
Thanks Kylene & Jacob … and Paul and Holly! For us, this is what it’s all about !!
PS: Just a quick postscript to the details that Kylene shared with us today. The wedding location, Kruger’s Farm & Market is located on Sauvie Island, 12 miles from downtown Portland at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. It is owned by “Farmer Don” who writes: I own and operate an eighty acre farm … visit my farm and you’ll find a busy farm store, u-pick berries, u-cut flowers {you can cut your own wedding flowers!} concerts, weddings, birthday parties and a wonderful pastoral place to dream away a summer day.
We also noticed that right now Kruger’s has farm-raised Christmas trees, baskets, jams and jellies and 20% off everything in their store! Wish we lived near Portland!!