The Art of Weddings

It’s the time of year when wedding planning is on the brain, which means it’s also the season for bridal shows. I go to a few each year to stay up on the trends and to meet my fellow wedding vendors and The Art of Weddings in Portland is a fun one because it’s so small. I went late last week armed with my camera so I could share what I found — some really beautiful stuff, plus the itch to plan my own all over again. Check it out.

The girls running Punch are not only effortlessly cool, the vintage details at their booth drew me right in from the front door of the show. If their weddings look anything like their booth, these are the people to talk to. Below, part of their table featured Miss Zumstein Cakes & Desserts (so cute!)

To say that I have a girl crush on Sarah Seven would be a bit of an understatement. She’s cute, she’s peppy and her designs are absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous. If I was a little savvier back when I got married, she would have been my go-to gal. Sarah specializes in one-of-a-kind, limited run and custom order gowns and dresses, plus special occasion wear.

The Armory building (home to Portland Center Stage) was such a perfect spot for this show — I love the lobby there and how open everything is.

Sometimes, wedding cakes are really beautiful and taste like cardboard. Sometimes, they’re delicious and they look like crap. None of the cakes at this show had either of those scenarios happening. I think if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say the super-perfect creations at Allison Kelleher’s Cake Design were stunning — below is vanilla raspberry and it was absolutely mouth-watering.

Below left was a close runner-up for me, plus the definite hands-down winner for cutest business name: Le Cookie Monkey. Amber Darrington from Le Cookie Monkey was so sweet and seemed like she’d be a complete delight to work with. The photo below on the right is some flower arrangements by Studio del Fiore, which did really cute stuff at the wedding show and seemed really versatile.

I also wanted to mention Duchess Clothier, whose hipster suit combos would be perfect for just about every Portland groom I know (check out their cool vintage frame display below right) and Westcoast Event Productions, who had several tables around the show set up in awe-inspiring colors and linens and dishes that all made me swoon.

Thanks for coming along to the wedding show with me! I know some of you are planning weddings and I thought it’d be helpful to see what sort of cool vendors there are. My biggest recommendation to you brides is to find vendors you get along with and want to spend time with — that’s what I’ve found is key for a real chemistry (and some new friends!) while you’re planning that wonderful wedding.