Now for the examples of wedding makeup, hair, styling and accessories by Austie Eckley!

Do you know any other great places to find antique wedding jewelry?  Leave us a comment and let us know!

Imagine this.  You reach into your mailbox and pull out a stack of envelopes.  As you walk away, you flip through each one expectantly… bill, bill, coupon, bill… and then, there it is.

A card.  A real, live handwritten note in a gorgeous envelope, addressed to you.  You haven’t even opened it, but already your day is better.  Because someone thought of you, and sent you something beautiful.

That moment is what Ecru is all about.

I love this welcome note from Ecru: Modern Stationer.  That describes me to a T every day I walk out to our mailbox.  I’m always hoping for something personal.  The minute I see an envelope with a handwritten address, I get excited because I know chances are good it means something fun.  It always makes my day when I receive a card, invitation or letter.  I hope snail mail never goes away, because there’s just something magical about it.  The fact that Ecru recognizes this and strives to promote it makes me love them.  Fortunately, Ecru isn’t just all talk.  They’ve got game, too!  With an incredible supply of beautiful cards and invitations, Ecru is a perfect place to find save the date cards, bridal shower invitations, wedding invitations and thank you cards.  For assistance with etiquette, wording and guidance in finding the perfect selection for your wedding, visit their store by Tanner Springs Park or make an appointment with owner, LeAnn Dolan.  You’ll have the opportunity to browse their sample albums and ask questions.  Ecru carries invitations from many of the top designers in the business, including:

Smock • Hello Lucky • Dauphine Press • Birch Crane & Co.
William Arthur • Prentiss Douthit • Cielo Blu BT Elements
Chloe B • Carlson Craft

Here are a few examples of wedding invitations and Save the Date cards from Ecru:

Red wedding invitations with flower detail.

Orange, light green and tan wedding invitations with leaves and flowers.

Yellow wedding invitations.  Flowers and leaves are a popular theme!

Green wedding invitations.  I like the stamped look of the daisy invitation on the left.

Blue-green wedding invitations with black details.

Blue Save the Date cards and wedding invitations.

Pink wedding invitations with formal script and pink blossoms.

Have fun picking out the perfect cards and invitations for your wedding.  Your guests will love receiving these beautiful notes in the mail!

Lace hairpiece: Etsy’s Stitch From The Heart

Dress and shoes by Anthropologie.  Bird necklace found at Adorn512.bigcartel.com.

Dress by Lovely Melody Clothing on Etsy.  1940′s style linen hat by Sanchia845 on Etsy.

Sea Satin shoes by Badgley Mischka.

Shoes from goodbyefolk on Etsy.

Message Garlands:
String up paper hearts or fabric flags and set out a few pens.  They’ll serve several purposes: [1] It will make a great wedding decoration and [2] Your wedding guests can leave you messages of love, encouragement, advice and best wishes.  [3] You can take it home and hang it on your own wall as a reminder of your celebration of love!

Block Prints:
Decorate your reception tables with these easy block prints.  Simply choose any scrapbook paper you love and print simple words like those you see in the photo below on them, then glue them to blocks of wood.  For a similar idea, try attaching photos of you and your fiance to the wood blocks, then adding letter stickers to spell out words like love.

Leaf & Heart Clips:
Attach paper cutouts of leaves and hearts (or any other shapes you want) to clothespins or other small clips.  You can use them to close your party favor bags or clip them to small sticks as cupcake toppers.  They also make great seating card and table number holders.

Paper Ball Ornaments:
Cut out 20 circles from various scrapbook papers, score the paper circles in three equal lengths forming a triangle shape (see the photo below), then fold along the score marks and glue all 20 circles together to make these ball ornaments.  Use them as centerpieces at your reception tables or clip a stiff paper to the top and they can double as table numbers.  Don’t forget to add a ribbon at the top if you want to hang them from tents, arbors, patio covers, trees or any other place you can think of.

Matchbook Mints:
These are super easy to make.  You can churn out a bunch in a short time and they’re easy on the wallet!  Simply cut out a rectangular piece of fun card stock or scrapbook paper, score it, fold it and staple the individually wrapped mints inside.  Cut or tear one end for added pizzazz.  Use them as party favors or write names and table numbers on them to double as seating cards.  You could also add quotes or a special message from the couple just by running the paper through the printer before you cut out the rectangles.

Have any do-it-yourself wedding decorations you would like to share?  Send ideas and photos to info@artofweddingspdx.com.

I am a dress designer specializing in wedding gowns.  I’ve been working as a designer for about 12 years, and bridal has become my special mission.  It really chose me — my first wedding gowns were for friends who despaired that there was nothing out there for them in traditional “gown-town.”  Since then I’ve discovered that it’s a niche that really suits my sensibilities.  I like to get fancy, and that bit of drama seems just right for a special garment like a wedding dress.

A wedding is a special event.  I love that more and more brides are trying to plan thoughtful celebrations, and that the dress is part of that.  A bride who chooses one of my dresses knows that the vision for it came from the heart and not a corporate workroom.  It’s not a knockoff or a trend — I want all of my dresses to be timeless.  And, of course, my hands literally touch every dress I sell.  I think (I hope!) that authenticity comes through; it’s the most important thing about the way I work.

- Excerpts from an Etsy Featured Seller interview

Look here to check out the rest of her interview as one of Etsy’s featured sellers!  She answers questions like “What’s the most important question a couple should ask their wedding vendor?” and “What’s the most memorable custom item you’ve created for a wedding?”  Portland brides are extremely lucky to have Elizabeth Dye’s creativity and passion for handcrafted wedding dresses at their fingertips.  Her salty-sweet nature shines through her dresses, as they are soft and feminine, but with a little dash and attitude.  Feel free to drool over her 2012 bridal collection below, but don’t get any on the dresses!

Shop for Elizabeth Dye’s 2012 bridal collection on Etsy or at The English Dept.
Also visit The English Dept.’s blog for inspiring real weddings and other great wedding ideas.

The English Dept. is an intimate boutique located in downtown Portland’s West End.  The shop focuses on special dresses, unique jewelry and accessories, and an exquisite bridal collection.

Scroll down to take a virtual tour of this beautiful garden wedding site!

Navarra Gardens‘ beautiful park-like setting with well-manicured, green lawns.

Gorgeous riverside wedding site.

Another stretch of river at Navarra Gardens.

One of the arbor choices for the ceremony location.

Another arbor option for the ceremony site.

An example of the beautiful landscaped gardens at Navarra Gardens.

This wedding site has plenty of locations for wedding portraits.

Like this grape arbor.

Or this pond surrounded by the beauty of the northwest.

This is another water feature available for great photo opportunities.

This is a pretty arbor bench!

They have dance floors available for use.

Use this stage for a ceremony site, dancing, bouquet toss – you name it!

They have plenty of space for these 6 ft. tables that seat 10 people each.

Don’t forget the tent for rain or shade!

It has given me the perspective of the bride working with vendors. I can see how quickly as a bride you can feel like you are turning into a crazy person. I have tried my best to not over delegate what I want to them but I think as brides we get nervous that our vision won’t turn out. I totally understand, but I also realized through this to trust these professionals. Tell them as much info about what you are looking to achieve as possible and then let them do their thing! I know it can be hard for a lot of brides but if you hire the right folks you can rest assured. Remember any of the vendors on this blog/site are highly recommended. I have worked with many of them either at an event I was photographing, at The Art of Weddings or for my own wedding day! We don’t write about just anyone on here, only the best in Oregon!

Here is the list of folks I called on to help me pull my vision together. A huge thank you to each of you! Can’t wait to see it all come together! Photos soon!

Photography: Kate Kelly Photography

Flowers: Lisa of Bloomsberry Floral

Jewelry: Annette of Stella & Dot

Veil & alterations: Andrea of August Veils at the Bridal Loft

Make-up & hair: Nicole Wagner of Powder Inc.

Hair cut/color: Many Zelinka at Ginger Salon

Cupcakes: Cupcake Jones

Officiant: Marky of Custom Ceremonies

Ceremony/Reception Site: Hotel Modera & Nel Centro

fliptography™: dance, get freaky, sign, kiss your date—whatever—in front of a camera for seven seconds. in a minute and a half, have a flipbook of your performance in-hand.

Give your wedding guests a fun activity to do at your reception.  This is a great alternative to a traditional photo booth.  Instead of a few static images, you and your guests get 60 super-fast pictures printed and assembled into a flipbook in less than 2 minutes.  It’s like handing your guests a short video of their time at your reception.  You can hire Fliptography for your wedding starting at $300/hr.  Take a look at the video below for an example of how it works.  Although it’s not a wedding, the premise is the same.

In addition to being at your event, Fliptography also offers studio sessions with books as low as $3 per book, so get creative and use a flipbook as reception table decorations.  Book a session with Fliptography to capture you and your fiance sharing special messages written or drawn on paper, chalkboard, Etch A Sketch, etc.  Dance, be silly, reenact the proposal, make up funny scenarios of life after you’re married or make it a game and act out scenes from your favorite movies, then ask guests to name the movie.  The possibilities are endless!  Just use your imagination and have fun with it.

Other ideas?  Share them with us.  We’d love to hear what you come up with!

Gluten-Free Wedding Cakes:
You dream it.  They’ll make it!  Be sure to create a list of your favorite flavors and enjoy them all at a tasting session to decide which one’s your favorite.

Gluten-Free Cupcakes (Pictured below left to right):
Black & White, Mocha Latte, Lemon Meringue, Strawberry Shortcake, PB&J, Snickerdoodle.
Weddings requiring dessert for more than 75 people receive a complimentary tasting session, while tastings for smaller weddings require a $25 fee.

Other tasty treats – all gluten-free (Pictured below):
Cake Balls, Cinnamon Rolls, Scones and Assorted Bar Treats.

What’s the best gluten-free dessert you’ve ever had?  Was it as good as desserts containing gluten?  Let us know!