“The trends have been strongly leaning towards a green and organic look and feel. Brides have been really interested in creating something geniune, natural, local and organic.” Says Anna Koptuich, wedding coordinator at Old Town Florist in Portland. To create these nature inspired bouquets, she says, couples can add blossoming branches, fruits, berries, sticks, vegetables, foliage and even herbs into the mix, depending on seasonal availability. Brides also have started to personalize their bouquets by incorporating a non-floral piece of their own, such as a handkerchief or a grandmother’s brooch or pearl pin.

“No Matter the season, all brides want something elegant and gorgeous, with that personal touch to make them each a little different and extra-special,” Koptuich says.

Explore the latest trends in everything from flowers  and rings to invitations and music. A great Pearl District Wedding guide.

Guide for Brides 2008 - advertising section
The Oregonian’s 2008 Guide for Brides offers up fresh ideas to help make your special day spectacular. Look inside for features from flowers to gowns — plus, tips for well-dressed groomsmen.

Our wedding flowers were featured in an insert on January 12th 2008 issue of the Oregonian.

A sweet bouquet of yellow cymbidium orchids and yellow ranunculers. A monochromatic and sophisticated style….nothing fussy, just pure sunshine. This bouquet is perfect for a late afternoon or early evening wedding. Available year round.

Kanani Pearl Spa is an intimate day spa that can be the perfect location for bridal shower or a gathering of friends.  The Spa has four treatment rooms plus a steam and shower.  There also is a Sanctuary area where groups gather for sharing wine and fine appetizers of their choosing.  Because of our intimate size we can handle groups up to eight people so half can enjoy treatments while the other have use the steam and enjoy the beauty of the spa where four waterfalls and the scents of the islands make for a transformative experience.   

The owner came to Portland from Maui and brought some of the finest spa ingredients with her: bamboo and lemongrass body scrubs, papaya and pineapple body polish, coffee and macadamia nut body exfoliations plus lomilomi massage, the traditional therapeutic massage of Hawaii that integrates more of a flow and use of the forearms to soothe, relax, and heal.  Facial products include Epicuren, Naturopathica, and Sea-Flora - the finest in skin care available, anywhere! The spa can be rented for a two hour minimum for groups and the experienced staff will care for your every need including catering of foods and wines from Whole Food Market.  For more information call Kanani Pearl Spa at 503 242 5500 or visit their website at www.kananipearl.com.

Urban modern wedding bouquets: monochromatic, clean and elegant. In the heart of the Pearl, where elegance and high style modern weddings are a popular trend, a bridal bouquet of all lime green cymbidium orchids is a perfect fit. Keeping it green using the most gorgeous lady slipper orchids, green hyperium berries and lime green spider mums, with a touch of copper ribbon would be a stunning choice for any bride or bridesmaid in a high style urban wedding.

Old Town Florist Weddings is featured in the Winter edition of Portland Bride and Groom. Designed by our wedding coordinater, Anna Koptiuch, and photographed by Steven Scardina. Pick up a copy at any Albertson’s, Safeway, Fred Meyer Zupans, Riches, major bookstores or wedding show. Look for our upcoming feature in Oregon Bride.

White flowers typically represent elegance and simplicity, qualities that our wedding coordinator, Anna Koptiuch sought to retain while adding a woodland feel to this centerpiece. To do so, she filled a birch-bark-wrapped container with orchids, White Avalanche roses, white Japhet orchids, white ranunculus, white lisianthus, snow berry and dusty miller. The Boutonnieres of white dendrobium orchid with dusty miller and white ranunculus perpetuate the sense of Old World Charm.

Old Town Florist has been voted by viewers of Citysearch the best Portland Florist for 2 years in a row! We were also voted the best place in Portland for wedding flowers last year. Thanks for all that have voted in the past, but the voting for 2008 is taking place right now. Please visit citysearch here and support your favorite florist.

FritzPhoto offers the adventuresome bride an unforgettable record of their wedding day.  We are artists ourselves, and take pride in creating work that is creative, unusual, and very personal.  We are also professional photojournalists.  Our ability to capture the decisive little moments of your day creates photographs that are a delight and surprise to view—over and over again.

If you are planning an unusual wedding in the Portland area, or a destination wedding anywhere in the world, we’d like to hear from you.  While our calendar is frequently full, we can often make room for an enticingly unusual wedding.  We travel regularly to all corners of the world, and would be happy to document your special day with one-of-a-kind photographs. 

We also enjoy working with young adults a great deal.  If you are planning a bar or bat mitzvah, our combination of creative portraits and professional photojournalism will capture this special occasion as only we can.

FritzPhoto also creates award-winning portraits.  We travel to wherever you are, working on location to create beautiful portraiture.  Whether high school seniors, young children, or mature artists, we have many years’ experience in both putting you at ease, and in creating images that say more about you than the average studio portrait could.

We have a lot of fun with what we do, and it shows in every picture we take.  We also enjoy creating custom-designed books of all sorts, DVDs, flash slideshows, cards, and more.  We tell our customers: If you can imagine it, we can make it. 

Pictures speak louder than words: visit our websites and blog to see a lot more of what Fritz can do: 

www.fritzphoto.com

www.fritzphoto.com/art

www.fritzphoto.blogspot.com

The Heathman Hotel - Portland’s Historic Landmark Hotel, a great place to host your wedding and reception!

One of the “World’s Best Places to Stay” says Conde Nast Traveler. One of the “500 Best Hotels in the World” according to Travel +Leisure. AAA has awarded it 4 Diamonds for 23 consecutive years. The acclaimed Heathman Hotel is situated in the heart of Portland, Oregon’s Financial and Cultural Districts. This sophisticated boutique hotel offers luxurious accommodations and award-winning service – a refreshing blend of Portland history and modern hospitality. From its renowned Heathman Restaurant with Chef Phillippe Boulot, a James Beard Award for Excellence winner, to its remarkable art collection, The Heathman Hotel is a Portland landmark, a place “Where Service is Still an Art.”

Determining and setting your budget is probably not the aspect of your wedding you’ve been dreaming of since grade school. You may see your floral budget as the biggest nemesis between you and your wedding flowers. If you plan wisely, however, you should have enough money to create the floral theme of your desires. On average, you should plan on spending about 8% of your overall budget on wedding flowers. This will include the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and any ceremony and reception decor.

How much will your wedding flowers end up costing? We work with all kinds of budgets, no wedding is too small or too large.  You can modify many floral elements to determine the actual amount you will spend on your wedding flowers. Many factors such as whether or not the flowers you choose are in season in your area, the size, number and complexity of the arrangements, and the location of the ceremony and reception all influence your final estimate.

We offer free consultations to discuss your floral ideas.