Meet Elizabeth.

My new friend Elizabeth rocks. We met recently at an alumni event for our high school, and it’s crazy that we didn’t know each other before, because she and I totally click. Elizabeth has her own wedding coordination business, Elizabeth Ann Events. I talked with her recently for her two cents on wedding coordination and what she loves about her job.

“I loved planning my own wedding and I think weddings are such beautiful, mysterious events,” she told me. That’s what led her to wedding coordination, and she loves that they’re happy events with time-tested traditions and lots of excitement.

We met up at one of my new favorite Portland haunts, Lovejoy Bakers — I couldn’t help myself in there with all that yummy light. We had lots of fun.

Elizabeth’s advice on whether to hire a wedding coordinator is this: they can save you money and a whole lot of stress. “I can help brides find good vendors in a certain price range, as well as saving guests, the wedding party and parents a lot of heartache.”

Elizabeth wore these red shoes when we met — and on her own wedding day a couple of years ago! I knew we must have been kindred spirits, since I wore red shoes (reminiscent of Dorothy’s from The Wizard of Oz) on my own wedding day.

Elizabeth offers day-of wedding planning (the most popular choice), consultation plans and full-service wedding coordination. If you’re interested in working with someone I trust, feel free to get ahold of her through her Web site (click here). Thanks, Elizabeth, for being so classy and fun to photograph!