This past weekend we drove down to Portland to take care of wedding business. It was a most productive and fun trip. We are about five months out at this point, and things are picking up steam.

We drove down early Friday morning (we had the day off thanks to Good Friday) as our first appointment was at noon. We met with our photographer to get to know each other and to discuss what sort of feel we wanted from our wedding photos. We both liked him and felt comfortable that he would be shooting our wedding.

Later we did a tasting at Portland Style Cheesecake where we picked out the flavors we wanted and put down a deposit to reserve their services. I've designed the cake myself, keeping it simple but tying it in to the somewhat loose theme we've got going on for the reception. I'd put up my sketch here, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

On Saturday we met with our coordinator from the Edgefield to have a look at the space and discuss the questions we had about various things. I think we've got a clearer idea now about the way things will run and the time line for the wedding itself. So good progress there.

Later that day we met with the guy that will be catering the Friday Night Welcome Dinner. He had prepared a miniature version of his proposed menu for us and it was all incredibly tasty. Including some of the best baked beans I've ever had.

We have also contracted with the woman who will be making our wedding rings. She made the rings for our friends Will and Jalene (if you click the link you can see their rings). I've designed my own, and Irene is having something similar to Jalene's in finish but with a unique design. We are very excited about them.

I'm working on the invitations and we'll probably send them out in a couple of months so we can start to get an idea about how many people will be coming. If you haven't booked your hotel yet we still have five rooms available at McMenamin's (make sure to say you are with the Matern/Broman wedding as the rest of the hotel is booked solid). And as ever, there are still plenty of rooms at the Sheraton. See the About Hotels page for more information.

That's all for now.

Labels: ken, planning

Hello and welcome to the brand new HappyWeddingBlog.com. I was never entirely happy with the last design. I think this one is much better. All the information is still here, plus I've added some.

Like a tentative Schedule. This will be filled in more completely as we get things sorted out. We've got a trip down to Portland at the end of March to take care of wedding business, so there should be more information when we get back.

Also, if you haven't RSVPed yet and would like to, click on the RSVP link above.

And one last reminder about hotels: McMenamin's is very nearly full, so if you are hoping to stay there, you better get on it.

Let me know what you think of the redesign (if you like it, of course, if you don't kindly keep it to yourself… kidding!). You can do so by clicking on the Contact Us link above.

Labels: journal_entry, planning, web site

I know updates have been thin on the ground around these parts but that's just because not a lot of movement has been happening on the planing front. This is mostly because at this point not a lot has to be happening right now. That will change soon.

It looks like the Friday night "Welcome" dinner has finally been nailed down. We're calling it a "Welcome" dinner because there will be no rehearsing going on and everyone is invited. It will be a picnic at Blue Lake park and should be lot's of fun.

On a more practical note, our room block at McMenamin's is filling up fast (and might be full all ready, by the time you read this), so if you think you want to stay there I'd jump on it sooner rather than later. Keep in mind we still have a block of rooms at the Sheraton, so if The Edgefield is full give them a call.

We've got a trip down to Portland planned in March to finalize some more plans so stay tuned.

Also, this web site will soon be completely redesigned, I've never been happy with it the way it stands now. But that will most likely have to wait till after we get back from Mexico!

Did I mention we are going to Mexico for our friends Jalene and Will's wedding? We are. You can congratulate them when you see them in August at our wedding. Just ask and I will be happy to point them out to you if you haven't met them.

That's all for now.

Labels: journal_entry, ken, planning

We were down in Portland again this weekend to do some wedding stuff. We stayed at the Edgefield and had a grand time in the wine tasting room where you can sample many of their wines for a few bucks. Even picked up a few bottles for our selves.

Also, we had breakfast at the very tasty St. Honoré Boulangerie on Knob Hill in Portland proper. Outstanding pasteries and good coffee. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, be sure to check it out.

Labels: eating, journal_entry, ken, planning, portland

Some of you may have noticed the RSVP link up at the top of the page. I just wanted to mention that if you know your coming for sure, you can go ahead and RSVP at any time.

You will, of course, still receive an invitation when the time comes, so no worries there.

Labels: ken, planning

What amazes me about this whole wedding thing is how far in advance everything must be done. Here we are just under a year out from the weeding and we've all ready locked down the place for the reception and the Sunday brunch, and will, within the next few weeks, have the rehearsal dinner spot picked as well.

The next big thing on the list was photographers. Now I did a bit of research online for photographers in the Portland area and looked at a lot of web sites. I found one woman whose style I really liked, and who was priced appropriately so I sent her site to Irene and dropped a line to the photographer to see if she was available for our date. She got back to me on a Friday saying she was, and by Monday when I wrote back to her she'd been snatched out from under us.

Which sent me back to the web. After a lot more searching I found another photographer I liked and wasn't priced outrageously so I contacted them and secured them right away.

The problem is most photographers wanted to charge way to much for services we don't even want. And then wanted to charge even more for a disc of the original files (which is all I want).

And here's some advice for wedding photographers:

1. Put your prices on your web site. If I have to contact you to get a price list, I skip right on by.

and these last two are advice for all web designers:

2. DO NOT put any damn music on your web site! DO NOT! I listen to my own music when I search and I don't need your cheesy ass love songs blaring out of my speakers at full volume. This actually applies to all web sites every where. If you want to put music on your site, it should be an option the user has to actively set. It's just common courtesy.

3. DO NOT resize my browser window. I've got it at the size I want it and I don't want you messing with that.

Ok, end of rant.

Labels: ken, planning

The "Save the Date" cards have been sent out and you should all be receiving them soon, if you haven't all ready.

Click the link to the left for some important information about the hotels, and check back here often for all the latest information.

Labels: ken, planning

That's the date. The wedding itself will take place at the Edgefield in Troutdale, OR (about 20 minutes outside of Portland). We are very excited that we were able to get the place that we wanted. For more information on the Edgefield, click here.

We will be sending out Save The Date Cards very soon, so be on the lookout for those. After they've gone out I'll put a pdf version up on the site in case you misplace yours. Invitations will follow eventually.

Check back soon for important information on booking your room. Keep in mind that it's going to be labor day weekend, so you'll want to book early.

Update: If you would like to see some photos of the Edgefield, click here.

Labels: ken, planning