The Colony St. Johns Portland Wedding | Kalin + Alison

A: We wanted our day to reflect us-so we didn’t want it to be stuffy, but we still wanted it to be nice.  It was also important that our guests, many of whom travelled far to join us, enjoyed themselves.  We picked the venue in part because it had an East Coast/New England feel to it so it combined a little of Alison’s East Coast roots in Kalin’s home state.  It was large enough to accommodate our guest list without being too grand.  Nadia did an amazing job decorating the venue with flowers.  We had a wine barrel dessert table since we enjoy visiting wineries.  The color palette for the flowers was natural, neutral colors and the blue table cloths and dresses and suits were chosen since blue is one of our favorite colors and looked nice in the July sun.  We incorporated Alison’s Catholic faith by getting married at St. Patrick in NW Portland.

A: The church was beautiful on its own so we let its natural beauty shine through.  The venue was decorated using neutral flowers which Nadia beautifully selected after Alison and Nadia discussed her visions for the day and color preferences.  Alison bought a Mrs. and Mr. sign for the sweetheart table, and we used corks from bottles of wine we shared together and with friends to hold table name cards.  We also used corks from the winery where Kalin proposed, Vista Hills.  Alison and Kalin worked together to purposefully place friends and family in a seating arrangement based on personalities and were happy to hear that many enjoyed the company of their table mates.  We used framed pictures of our engagement session to decorate the lobby/entrance area as well as a custom made sign with our names and wedding date. We also had a photo album with pictures from our engagement session for guests to look through before or after they signed our guestbook. Our friend Dianne created the name cards and ceremony programs for us.

A: The flowers were gorgeous thanks to Nadia.  She and Alison met to discuss color schemes and visions for the floral arrangements.  Alison and Kalin wanted natural greens on the tables and in the sconces and could not have been happier with how it all turned out.  The bouquets were gorgeous mixes of whites, greens and a little hint of purple which complemented the colors of the day.

A: We personalized the day by cutting corks from bottles we shared together (some just the two of us, others with us and friends) and used them to hold the table setting name cards.  We also used corks from the winery where we got engaged, formerly Vista Hills.  We had a welcome sign with our names on it surrounded by framed pictures from our engagement session photoshoot. We also had an album with pictures from our engagement session on the table with our guest book.  We used a double decker bus for transportation since I (the bride) was born in England.  We also had our DJ play a song with bagpipes during dinner since both of us have Scottish roots.  Many of the songs we requested in advance had special meaning to us and/or our friends.  Kalin purposefully selected each song played for the entrances of our wedding party.  Kalin arranged to have late night pizzas delivered to the venue which was a popular add to the day.  Our desserts were amazing and we were so glad Hungry Hero agreed to add our wedding to their busy day sine initially we weren’t sure if they would be able to add us since they had several weddings already booked. Some of our favorite parts of our wedding day were seeing each other for the first time in Cathedral Park, seeing all of our guests having such a great time on the dance floor, and looking out from our table together to see a room filled with people we love.

A: (Alison) Alison chose her dress after first buying one in Portland and then looking at other options on social media.  After seeing a dress with bold brown underneath of white lace, Alison decided she wanted something similar, but a little more subdued.  During a visit back to her home state of Maryland, she suggested her mom go with her to a bridal salon she’d found online knowing that her mom was a little sad to have missed the opportunity to dress shop more with her in Portland (they’d gone once when Alison and Kalin were first engaged, but didn’t find a dress).  After trying on a number of dresses, Alison spotted her dress with a champagne color lining.  It seemed very non-traditional that day, but Alison loved the way the liner made the white lace pop and she decided that was her dress.  Alison wore sparkly shoes underneath.  Kalin, learning very quickly, asked Alison what she wanted him to wear and she described blue suits for him and his groomsmen.  Kalin’s friend had worn a similar suit for his wedding, so Kalin showed Alison some options and together they selected his attire.  Kalin picked out his bow tie and pocket scarf on his own for him and his groomsmen.

A: We met while both working in DC through a mutual friend.  It turns out we had more than one friend in common and we bumped into each other on several occasions because of friends and fate.  Eventually, after becoming friends, we started dating.  Alison drove with Kalin from the East Coast to Oregon when he moved to focus on his new company and the two dated long distance for what seemed like a very long time.  After many plane tickets, Alison moved to Oregon to be with Kalin.  Kalin proposed at their favorite winery the weekend after Alison’s birthday.  The winery had a tasting table set up for two, but because she just celebrated her birthday, Alison thought it was for that.  Little did she know Kalin had a ring in his pocket and would propose to her later that day.  He also arranged for a group of friends to meet them at one of their favorite Portland spots to celebrate.

A: Our most anticipated moment of our special day was our first look.  Seeing each other for the first time and then walking around as we had a few photos taken before our ceremony gave us time to pause together and take in the happiest day of our lives.  Each time we look at the photographs from our first look and the moments immediately afterwards we’re reminded of that time and the wonderful memories pour in.

A: Our advice would be to try to not worry about the little details and just enjoy the day and the days leading up to it.  We also highly recommend having a planner or day of planner like Nadia Ly to help and having an amazing photographer like Deyla Huss. Both met with us multiple times and created schedules of the day so that when the day came we didn’t have to worry about what was going on when since they had helped us plan beforehand.