It’s pretty hard not to love these people…
“We are all a little weird and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” -Dr. Seuss
The Wedding Party. Made up of special individuals who’ve embraced our weirdness, impacted our lives, and stayed in touch through the years — despite distance or busy schedules.
They also photograph extremely well.
The city of roses, bridges and pretentious hipsters with waxed mustache tips.
If you are from out of town and have a few days to kill, I have put together a brief list of places to stay, things to eat, drink and some local activities. Enjoy!
Fancy Schmancy
1) Ace Hotel. Quirky hotel walking distance to the wedding venue: https://www.acehotel.com/portland
2) The Nines. Great rooftop restaurant and bar overlooking Portland. Also close to the wedding venue:
3) McMenamins Crystal Hotel Totally weird Portland Hotel right next to the wedding venue.
Regular People Hotels
1) The Society Hotel. A funky old building converted from a 19th century sailors lodging. From shared rooms to private suites. Short cab ride or longer walk to the wedding venue.
http://thesocietyhotel.com/accommodations/
2)Econolodge City Center. A place to stay for 90 bucks! Close to the wedding venue
https://www.choicehotels.com/oregon/portland/econo-lodge-hotels/or149?source=gyxt
3) Bluebird Guesthouse. Very cool spot for very reasonable prices. A bit further from the wedding venue (10-15 minutes by car), but a near neighborhood to explore.
http://www.bluebirdguesthouse.com
4) Downtown Value Inn. Straightforward lodging. Close to the wedding venue
http://www.downtownvalueinn.com
1) Screen Door- Amazing fried chicken brunch. http://screendoorrestaurant.com
2) Irving Street Kitchen- Classic Portland Restaurant. http://www.irvingstreetkitchen.com
3) Pine Street Market- A hipster food court with lots of tasty options. http://www.pinestreetpdx.com
4)Ken’s Artisan Pizza. Good Pizza. http://kensartisan.com/pizza/
5) Ava Genes. Best Italian in Portland http://www.avagenes.com/#contact-info
6) Bunk Sandwiches. Great Sandos! Nice lunch spot, they also have concerts hear for some reason. http://www.bunksandwiches.com/aazauihs9x8uoa7iqpsqf21bfyun3r
1) Bit House Saloon. Fancy Cocktails with bartenders who will offer to ‘make you something special’. http://www.bithousesaloon.com/#drink-together
2) Loyal Legion. A classic beer hall with way too many beer choices. Good place to try the local brews. http://loyallegionpdx.com
3) Century Bar. A funky cool sports bar. http://centurybarpdx.com
4) Digapony. Classic looking old bar in downtown Portland. DJ’s spin records most nights. http://digaponyportland.com/about/
1) Forest Park- At 5,157 acres, Portland’s Forest Park is one of the largest urban forest in the United States! http://www.forestparkconservancy.org/forest-park/
2) Multnomah Falls- A great hike 30 mins outside of Portland with amazing views and great falls. http://www.oregon.com/attractions/multnomah_falls
3) Powells Books. One of the coolest bookstores of all times with over 1 million books! http://www.powells.com/locations/powells-city-of-books
4) Portland Zoo- Fantastic for the kids, a great zoo with tons to see! http://www.oregonzoo.org
5) OMSI- A great science museum with lots of hands on stuff for the kids! http://omsi.edu
6) Peddle Brew Tour. A giant bike tour of Portland breweries! https://www.brewgrouppdx.com/brewcycle
Angeles Crest Highway, California
Dustin took some rad photos of Thomas and I along the Angeles Crest Highway.
Check out D’s website for more visual goodies:
http://dustin-wooten.squarespace.com/
“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” -Dr. Seuss
❤
-Bon
The dream of the ’90s is alive…
This is a question I’ve heard from more than one person, so I figured a quick explanation of our ceremony location decision was in order.
As many of you know, Thomas and I met while living/teaching abroad in Seoul, South Korea. When we decided to move back to the States together, we were torn about where to settle. Thomas was interested in Portland since it’s only a 2 hour drive from his hometown of Eugene. I was interested in moving to a place with warm temperatures, ocean, sunshine, and a thriving job market (since I craved a career switch from teaching ESL). After talking things over and weighing our options, we agreed to try out the great state of California.
For the past three years we’ve been soaking up sun in Pasadena and couldn’t be happier about how the greater Los Angeles area has finally begun to feel like home.
Thomas proposed to me in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL during a vacation where he met my close friends and family for the first time.
Post-proposal, we had our work cut out for us when it came to choosing where to have the wedding ceremony.
We toyed with the idea of a tropical destination wedding in Costa Rica or Mexico. We considered Los Angeles. We contemplated having two separate weddings in each of our hometowns. We thought about eloping.
After lots of debate and a neck and neck tournament of Rock, Paper, Scissors — we finally agreed on Portland for the following reasons:
*Bonus*
It’s the inspiration for the brilliant show Portlandia (let’s keep things weird, people).
After a healthy amount of hunting around online for Portland venues, Thomas and I agreed that the Gerding Theatre at the Armory seemed the obvious choice.
The historic armory-turned-theatre marries Thomas’ love of history and his childhood fascination with guns with my own former-thespian, passionate admiration for all that is theatre/music/dance/performing arts.
Plus, it’s beautiful to boot!
To my friends & family making the trip out to the West Coast from the East: I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Anyway, that’s enough for now.
Consider your “Why Portland?” query answered.
🙂
-Bon
bonny and thomas 