Wish Upon A Wedding

Have you heard of Wish Upon A Wedding?  They are America’s only wedding wish granting organization that produces weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing life-threatening illness.  There are currently 12 established chapters across the U.S. with one in Seattle and hopefully soon in Portland.

As a young breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed shortly after my own wedding this organization hits very close to home.  Visit Wish Upon A Wedding to learn more about a worthy cause and give a gift of love by supporting a couple with their wedding wish.  

Floral promotion good through March 31, 2010

Creations by Ly offers an essential service to make your wedding vision come to life: floral design that brings imagination and creativity to your bouquet, boutonnieres and all the other remarkable flowers that frame your day.

Designs can be bold, sexy, classic, romantic—or a combination of these. Every arrangement by Creations by Ly's founder, Nadia Ly, and her experienced staff go far beyond the tired designs of weddings past, and fuse elegance, creativity and sensibility to make your event bloom. Tell us how you envision your wedding, and we'll tell you how to stylize it. A glamorous wedding may have all peonies — even if you didn't know the name of this decadent flower. Or maybe your chosen palate colors pair perfectly as rosebuds. You may not know what to expect, but our innovative thinking and personalized attention mean we find your unique floral combination. Creations by Ly wants your wedding to be a work of art; a tapestry of breathtaking flowers.

Book any of our services before March 31, 2010 and receive a complimentary bridal bouquet ($150 value). Offer not valid for current clients and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions.

Press Release: WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™

Portland, Oregon – January 21, 2010 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Creations by Ly, Inc. has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Creations by Ly, Inc. is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Creations by Ly, Inc. is among the very best within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.

For more information, please visit at www.creationsbyly.com.

About Face with Nicole Wagner

Meet Nicole Wagner, make up artist extraordinaire! She's one of the most sought after wedding make up artist in Portland. Lucky me (and my brides) have had the pleasure of working her. Read on to learn more about Nicole and what drives her. Then schedule your consultation and witness her magic.

CBL: How did you get started?

Nicole: I was born with an artistic talent and have been drawing faces since I was a little girl. I became interested in make up around age 15 and began working on my sisters faces, and their friends around 18. After I had my first daughter I decided to embrace my passion for make up as a freelance artist so I could stay home with her. I went to school and took Freelance fashion and bridal hair/make up program. I worked for MAC Cosmetics for a bit and then took off on my own. I've been working with brides for 4 years now and love every minute of it!

CBL: What inspires you?
Nicole: Hmm. Everything. Mostly Color. Color combinations, no matter how subtle or bold just thrill me. Make up is really about putting the right colors in the right places to bring out the most beautiful YOU!

CBL: What makes you different from the other make-up artists?

Nicole: I think every artist has something special to offer. I think I have a great eye for beauty and because I have a natural talent for drawing faces, I have just brought that talent to a 3D canvas. I am VERY reliable and I will respond quickly to all your emails and questions...when planning a wedding you want vendors who are on top of things and will make your life EASIER not harder. ;)

CBL: What advice do you have to offer brides looking for a make-up artist?

Nicole: Make sure you see images of their work and not just a few but LOTS. Anyone can provide 2 or 3 pictures of great make up...but are they consistent? Do they do great make up ALL the time? And make sure you see BRIDES.. .not just fashion or editorial because it's completely different.

CBL: Tell us an interesting fact about you.

Nicole: Well, I don't work on Sundays. I have a very strong faith and Sundays are a very important day to me. I made a promise 12 years ago when I got baptized that I would never work on Sundays. Though I get a lot of requests for Sunday weddings, I have never said yes.

To see more of Nicole's work visit: http://www.nicolewagnermakeup.com/

Find us on Facebook and Become a Fan

The next person to become our 150th fan will receive a $50 gift certificate towards any of our services which includes planning and coordination, floral design, custom invitations or specialty linens. Hurry up! Find us on Facebook, Become a Fan and claim your gift certificate.

Sophany & Chuck's Engagement

Sophany and Chuck took their engagement photos in and around Portland's eastside industrial area with cool and funky chic backdrops that compliment the couple's sense of style. Their 2-day wedding extravagaza includes a Cambodian/Thai ceremony at the parents' home and reception for 700 guests at Legin Restaurant in SE Portland. We're looking forward to turning an aged banquet room into a sophisticated chic event.

Photos courtesy of Kevin Meyers Photography

Lindsay + Ethan = Industrial Chic

Everything was in place nearly a year ahead of Lindsay and Ethan’s wedding date. We had worked to bring their contemporary wedding vision to reality. But there’s one element not even a wedding planner can control: the weather.

While Labor Day weekend in Portland is typically mild—and often even sunny—the same weekend in 2009 was a gloomy forecast of persistent rain and cooler temperatures. As the rain set in the week prior, it became evident that the back-up plan of using heaters and tents to make the outdoor rooftop space in the Pearl District work for the ceremony and reception was, well, drippy.

The next move was a bold element that a wedding planner can control: A new plan. This meant finding an entirely new venue within a week of the wedding date. By tapping into insider knowledge of non-traditional spaces in Portland’s Pearl District that would allow outside catering, we showed Lindsay and Ethan a stunning building that was negotiated with its property owners to rent out for the big day—which, by this time, was a mere two days away. Though the venue changed, the bride and groom’s delight and love of the space did not.

The Fitzgibbon Glass Building turned out to be the perfect combination of urban and unique that they went looking for during the initial planning. In fact, the top floor of this newly-remodeled building, an open industrial loft, made for stunning photos with a commanding view of the Fremont Bridge. The storm on the big day was insignificant as the bride, groom and guests basked in the indoor glow of the picture-perfect Fitzgibbon Glass Building.

Our luxe matte satin linens were complimented with rentals from The Party Pros. Guests bathed in the aroma of white oriental lily and curly willow arrangements designed by East West Floral Arts as they dined on scrumptious culinary feast by Simpatica, and danced the night away with Chad Dowling Productions.

Photos courtesy of FS Photography