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!