Southern Weddings

Some of Amy’s favorite details: Flowers, food, and the venue all tied together with the local/fresh/seasonal/organic feeling, family style dinner, S’mores, wedding cake, and fruit buffet by the bonfire, traditional Klezmer band, escort card display on an antique drying rack (pinned with baby clothespins and ribbon) DIY table numbers, and white eyelet tablecloths! I loved it all!

Vendors:  Caterer & Cake: {Marche}  We HEART Marche. They’re arguably the best restaurant in Eugene. The
main selling point is that they are very into
fresh/local/seasonal/organic food, and that was how we wanted the whole
wedding to be. Both the food and the service were impeccable. We
decided to serve the food family-style to enhance the warm, sharing,
social mood we were hoping for. One of my favorite details was the
lemonade table we had pre-ceremony; Photographer: {Joseph Milton Photography} Nothing but raves! We didn’t find anyone in Eugene who matched what we
were looking for, so we turned to Portland. I’m so glad we did; Venue (Ceremony & Reception): {Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm} The options for venues that had what we were looking for were
relatively limited locally. We struck gold with the farm, as it was at
the same time both a blank slate and also a breathtaking setting; Florist: {Passionflower} By far my favorite detail of the wedding. Flowers were my top priority
(I hear each bride has her “splurge”), and I can’t say enough about how
well they executed my vision. Because Passionflower, like Marche, is
all about the fresh/local/seasonal/organic, I had very little idea what
the flowers would actually look like before that day. This was a huge
leap of faith for me (to relinquish specific control of my most
important detail), but they hit the spot exactly. The flowers had a
gorgeous wildflowery, loose rustic feel to them—and all of the
arrangements had some kind of fruit (mostly green blueberries). I loved
my bouquet so much that I didn’t put it down the whole night, even when
people kindly offered to put it away for me so I could have my hands
back!; Ceremony Musicians: {Michael Isaacson}/{University of Oregon Ensemble} Andy’s father is a renowned composer of Jewish music, and he wrote an
original ceremony to music for us. It was such an incredible honor to
have such a unique and personal service. I had heard it dozens of times
before the wedding as he was writing it, but hearing it performed live
that day blew me away. I treasure the recording we had made just as
much as our photos. The service was played by graduate students from
the U of O music department and conducted by Andy’s cousin; Reception Music: {Shawn’s Kugel} We imported a Klezmer band from Seattle; Invitations and other stationery: {Heather Jeany}; Dress: {Casablanca}; Bridesmaids Dresses: {Lynn Lugo}; Beauty: Family friend from Omaha; Officiants: My childhood Rabbi and Cantor from Omaha

Some DIY Projects:

• Out of Town gift bags: Lots of locally made products and info
• Jelly jar candles with gingham ribbon and river rocks
• Programs ({Heather Jeany} printed the covers, I designed, printed and bound the rest).
• Table #s
• “Reserved for….” signs for ceremony for grandparents
• Homemade cookies for rehearsal dinner (instead of groom’s cake) (Editor’s note: Amy baked the entire wedding week… the cookies were amazing!)

For more, be sure to check out Amy’s {BLOG} and her adorable new {ETSY SHOP}!

What was the design inspiration for your wedding?  The setting.  Our venue was a Christmas tree farm on the banks of the Willamette River that really captured the rustic, natural, down-to-earth feeling that we love about Oregon.  Since most of our guests traveled to be with us (and many had never seen our part of the country), we were especially excited to showcase our home in all its glory!
Favorite design element of your big day: As many elements as possible were local, seasonal, and organic.  We carried this theme throughout the event, from the Out of Town bags to the flowers to the food.
Describe your wedding cake: Very simple white butter cream with a blue fondant ribbon at the base of each layer and some fresh flowers.  The flavor was vanilla with lemon curd.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was:  The antique drying rack escort card display, the eyelet table linens, the pre-ceremony lemonade table, the Klezmer band, the family-style dinner, the bonfire with s’mores.  I can’t pick just one.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?  Planning on my own.  We were relatively new to the area when we got engaged, and I knew when we chose to have the wedding here that I would be making a lot of decisions without friends or family around.  I was able to find ways to make it easier—the Internet was an amazing resource, of course.  I video-chatted with my Mom (she’s in Nebraska) the first time I tried my dress on.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?  Hearing the music that Andy’s father composed for our ceremony being played live.
Scariest moment?  Realizing that bugs had started crawling up my train while we were taking pictures.  Luckily, Lara was there to be my personal insect remover!
Funniest moment? My dad’s toast.  He’s usually a pretty quiet guy, especially to people who don’t know him, but he had everyone roaring in laughter!
The most unexpected event on our wedding day was:  In Jewish tradition, it’s an honor to entertain the bride and groom.  After we made our grand entrance and did the hora (celebratory dance), our friends sat us on chairs in the middle of the dance floor and put on an impromptu show for us!  They were doing magic tricks, break dancing, headstands, chicken fights, dancing, and juggling.  There was such a feeling of pure joy and festivity in those moments.

Three adjectives that describe the day are: euphoric, warm, “us”.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding?  Donate your floral arrangements to a hospital, nursing home, or hospice.
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration.  Many people told me us it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to.  I can’t think of a better compliment!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?  We’re both looking forward to finishing graduate school.  Our parents are looking forward to grandkids, and remind us daily!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Isaacson!  We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Written with love by Lara Casey