Brittany and Kevin really wanted to create a winter wonderland wedding with white snow, pine cones, crystallized branches etc…it was really pretty. The colors were blue, chocolate and ivory so they used a lot of linens in the wedding colors. A beautiful couple.

I love love love this wedding but to tell the truth I wasn’t too excited about it when I initially met with the bride. When she said she wanted to use only baby breath- I almost turned her down. But, she showed me some photos of ideas and well…….we ran with it! Elyce let me do what I wanted. I am really proud of it and the bride and her family were awesome. This wedding was at Five Pines Lodge in Sisters, the DJ was Dave Star and the pies were done by Sisters Bakery! The magnificent Photography by Kimberly Kay Photography.

This bride has such a beautiful smile! Katie and Adam wanted to keep things really organic and simple except for the flowers which were a burst of color……..we used salmon zinnias, chocolate and red hypericum berry, yellow billy balls, green hydrange, bright blue delphinium and confetti roses.  The ceremony was at Five Pines Lodge, the ceremony was out on the patio area and then the reception followed indoors. Thank you Armijo Designs ( www.kellyarmijo.com ) for these great pics!

This was such a pretty wedding and  very out of the ordinary. This bride and groom had a “all guest” rehearsal dinner on the 24th, a private 28 person wedding ceremony and family dinner on the 25th and then an “all guest” party-reception. The rehearsal dinner was at Broken Top where we used brigh colors using green hydrangea, orange roses and orchids-very nice. The private wedding and reception was at Inn of the 7th Mountain Resort where we used colors in green and ivory using green roses, green hydrangea, white hydrangea, white berries and callas.

Venue: Inn of the 7th Mt. Resort

Photographer: Armijo Designs

Lighting: Audio Visions Plus

Cake: The Sweet Tooth

Flowers: Blue Daffodil Flowers

I want to encourage all 2013 brides to get your vendors booked! It is not too early. For the 2012 season my June is close to booked, July and August are booked solid and September is almost there.  For 2013 weddings, here is the booking criteria:

1. 500.00 deposit paid to get on the calendar! I will only be taking 1 wedding per day. This deposit goes toward your flowers.
2. I have a 2000.00 minimum for 2013.
3. I do not do partial weddings….. In other words, you can’t book me just for bouquets and boutonierres. I only do weddings where 100% of the flowers are done by Blue Daffodil.

The vendors you will want to book a year in advance are your Venue, Photographer, Florist and DJ.  My plan is to have a calendar on my website here shortly where my clients will be able to see available dates verses booked dates. This should make things a little easier-Sara

I am trying hard to focus my blogs around Central Oregon Weddings and information that will be helpful to brides while showcasing my work and other local vendors……..so, this week it will be venues! Central Oregon has quite a few but they are all quite different. I will try to give you a list of all of them with my own personal thoughts and of courses, my favorites!

• River Run Event Center at Eagle Crest: This facility is spotless. I like it because you can bring in all your own vendors, except food-this facility now requires you to cater through Eagle Crest. There is a beautiful view and deck over the river, a fireplace and tons of windows.

• Faith, Hope and Charity: This venue is a ways out (between Terrebonne and Sisters)…but worth the drive. FH&C and just gorgeous for your outside wedding. There are lawns, pavered areas, a huge pond, views of the cascades and an amazing house that is yours to use when booking this venue. The house is big enough for the whole wedding party and Cindy, the facilitator here is awesome. You do have to have a wedding planner to book here. I like tent weddings here because it can be windy and sunny but either way it will be a hit. Again, you will bring all your own vendors to this venue.

• Hollinshead Barn & Aspen Hall: These are booked via Bend Park and Rec and are for smaller weddings. I tend to favor Aspen Hall as Hollinshead is smaller and right next to a dog park. Aspen Hall has a pond, bridge, beautiful views and a deck and lawn great for ceremonies. Both of these venues do remain open to the public as “parks” during your event. You would bring in all your own vendors to both of these spaces.

• Longhollow Ranch: Longhollow is a huge barn with a deck front and grass area. Also on the property are horses, a large flower garden, original homestead-now a gift shop, a small house for use by the bride and wedding party, lots of grassy areas. If you want an indoor wedding it will need to be smaller, otherwise you can spread out everywhere! The barn makes a great space for dancing. Longhollow is located between Sisters and Redmond and you would bring your own vendors. **porta pottie required here.

• Five Pines Lodge: This venue is great for indoor and outdoor, big or small. The style here is rich and touch rustic. Indoors there are fireplaces, a beautiful entry way and gorgeous bathrooms. Any style wedding would work here and the outdoor space is great with grassy areas, bridge, wildflowers and pavered areas. The spa here is fabulous and the food is really good!

• Black Butte Ranch: Every wedding I have ever done here has been outside. The ceremony usually in front of the aspens and lake with the reception following on the decks. This is a nice venue and I have heard that the food is really good. I can vouch that the wait staff is great- Amy is the contact. This is a great destination spot as there is rental homes available, pools, golf and lots for kids to do.

• Sunriver Resort: The great hall is fabulous and can house a very large wedding! But, you don’t have to be inside here. There are two lawns for ceremonies and two different tent areas. There are also lots of smaller rooms and locations for intimate weddings and groups. The staff here is top notch- Kelli or Todd are the event coordinators here and are so great to work with! I have heard the food is great. Again, a great destination wedding spot. There is golf, pools, bike rentals, kids clubhouse. I like best that this venue is just easy…it is so beautiful, you can’t go wrong.

• Inn of the 7th Mt. Resort: A great destination wedding spot also- love that there are both winter and summer family activities here including golf, pools, trails, mini market on site, restaurant on site, mini golf or ice skating. There are several options here for large to small weddings from the large ballroom to a tent in the summer. The style here is elegant with a rustic  accent. The food is good here and the guests find it easy to maneuver around. Sabrina is the Director of Events here and is there from start to finish!

• Brasada Ranch: I love this venue also because it is more on the elegant side but with rustic touches.  There is  a lovely building (the Barn), with gorgeous views and a lot of local landscape elements.  It is a ways from town but again worth the drive (between Bend and Prineville). You can use the areas outside too for the ceremony and/or reception. There are pavered areas, grassy areas and an overall high end feel-fabulous!

• Pronghorn: This venue just makes things easy! A very rich and elegant decor here doesn’t require alot of decor. There are decks, grass or pavered areas here but most of the wedding I have done here are smaller-100 or so people. But, I know you can do larger weddings here also. The food and staff here are great. Carrie is the Event Coordinator here and is great to work with. Also, a ways from town….about 8 miles from the Bend Airport, beautiful views and drive.

You can rent a wide array of items: tables, chairs, linens, tents etc….BUT, you can also rental a lot of the detail items like: candles, candelabras, lanterns, vases, mason jars, shepherd hooks, tiki torches, lighting, solar powered lights for lawns, trees, shrubs and vintage furniture. The list goes on and on, when I meet with brides I often hear ” I bought votive holders and vases”. Don’t do that! It is so much more cost effective to rent these items because really, what are you going to do with those 30 vases after the wedding? I know I myself try to work green-I rent out all my vases and containers (amongst other things). After they are used and then they come back to me, get washed and used again!

There are several business here that carry rentals:

Set in your way rentals

Obrien Events

Incredible Events

Feather and Flea Vintage Rentals

Cascade Gardens

Central Event Rentals

I love making boutonnieres for weddings………besides the bridal bouquet, of course. They are one of my favorite things to make, I try to encourage my brides to let the bouts be a surprise. Not only is it fun to wrap the stems with different items like leather, twine, grasses, fabric, burlap, wire etc, I love to use unique flowers and embellishments. Some great flowers for bouts that hold up well and won’t wilt are: succulents, billy balls, thistle, berries, anenome, ranuncula, freesia etc. My favorite embellishments are paper flowers, buttons, feathers, bear grass and jewels.

These are just a few I have done, photography by Kimberly Kay Photography, Heirloom Images Photography, Kimberly Teichrow Photography-all in Central Oregon:

I love to do western, country, rustic or country chic weddings! I recently received a horse for Valentines Day (yes- a horse), I love riding and have wanted to get back into it for years. So, my very thoughtful significant other leased me a horse. So, I have been riding at least once a week and am loving  it! It has also renewed my interest in the western themed wedding.

Below is a photo of flowers in cowboy boots, taken at Brasada Ranch in Central Oregon. The other items on the tables were wood boxes with fresh flowers, candles, red bandanna’s as napkins,  plates, flatware and stemware rented from Set in Your Way Rentals and of course what kind of favor is appropriate for a western wedding? S’mores of course! The s’mores were done by Ceylon Blu and were really packaged cute.

Autumn and Damon were married in the Tower Theater! Their guests sat as the audience, then the ceremony was at the front of the stage with the curtain closed. After the ceremony the curtain opened to the reception on the stage-awesome! The centerpieces consisted of tall branches, flowers and hanging crystals, along with tabletop candelabras with crystals. Very very pretty.