Visit us in the Asian Showcase.  Come and get your hair and make-up done by Evolution Hair Design and Studio Luxe.  Take some fun photobooth shots with Limelight.  Check out the dragon ice sculpture from Wynter Ice Sculpture and fabulous lighting design by Hollywood Lighting.  And if you need photography to capture all the precious moments be sure to say hello to Erica with Erica Hartman Photography!

What type of music does Stolen Sweets specialize in?
We play primarily hot pre-war swing jazz from the ‘20s and ‘30s, with a New-Orleans inflection, inspired by the inimitable Boswell Sisters. But, lately, we’ve also been inspired by rockabilly, Western swing, doo-wop, Hawaiian music and Cajun tunes. We like to mix it up and keep things fresh.

Who are the members of Stolen Sweets? Are they members of any other groups?
The Sweets are comprised of vocalists Erin Sutherland, Lara Michell, and Jen Bernard, who also plays flute. On guitar and vocals are David Langenes and Pete Krebs. Keith Brush plays the doghouse bass. EVERY member of The Stolen Sweets is in other bands, so scheduling band practice is QUITE the challenge. We like to joke that we’re the “Fleetwood Mac” of traditional jazz. We’re all lead singers and we all play in different bands.

Do you only perform at weddings?
Nope! We play ALL types of gigs, from swanky jazz clubs to old historic theaters to outdoors festivals. But we love weddings. It’s an honor to participate in such a festive and happy occasion.

On average, how many weddings does The Stolen Sweets perform at?
It really varies from year to year, but we usually average between 6-12 weddings each year. Two of the Sweets also play for the ceremony group The Ariel Consort chamber ensemble, so couples have the benefit of discounted ceremony music if they hire the Sweets for their reception. It’s super convenient to have all your music needs taken care of on one simple contract.

What advice do you have to offer couples considering live music for their wedding?
This may sound trite, but think outside the box! Portland is an incredibly rich musical city, and there’s no substitute for the energy of live music. There is an ensemble out there that’s the right fit for your taste and budget. As a booking agent and owner of the House of Cards Music, I can take all your taste factors and budget into account, and help you find the perfect ensemble/group for your festivities. The right band can add heaps of style to your festivities and make it memorable for years to come.

Tell us an interesting fact about the group.
The Stolen Sweets had the incredible honor of playing New Orleans’ legendary “Preservation Hall” and were the first vocal ensemble to headline there! This was a dream come true for all of us, and we’ll never forget the experience. We consider New Orleans to be our “home away from home”. Our dream is to live there for the winter months and eat nothing but gumbo for every meal!

They have 2 albums available for purchase with audio samples of each songs.  Or you can see them live at upcoming performances.

Who was the visionary behind The Allison and what was the inspiration?
Ken and Joan Austin (seven generations of family in Newberg and owners of A-Dec, a leader in dental equipment and supply) developed The Allison with the intent to provide a social center, or a living room for the Willamette Valley. The original vision was to provide a very small inn but with Oregon wine country rapidly becoming a travel destination for wine and food lovers, the need to increase the size and scope of our property became evident.

Is the Allison considered a destination venue? How so?
It is considered a destination venue as we are not only in the heart of an amazing wine and food growing region (including over 200 wineries within twenty minutes of our front door), but we also have the best spa in the Pacific Northwest. These two focus areas alone can fill many days with activities and relaxation.

What makes The Allison unique in its own right?
The Allison in a Gold LEED certified property with a strong commitment to regionally sustainable practices, all without any sacrifices for our guests. It is the only property of its kind in Oregon’s wine country; we are committed to a world class quality of service without losing our core desire to provide genuine and caring service. Our event facilities are extensive (much larger than one would expect from an 85 room property) and allow us many options to best serve our guests. Our many gardens and outside gathering spaces provide multiple possibilities for weddings and other social gatherings. We have no “extra” charges that most resorts impose on their guests; no resort fees, complimentary valet, in-room snacks, and wifi.

Any advice on what helps to make events at The Allison effortless?
The Allison Inn & Spa is situated on 35 acres, with our outdoor ceremony and optional reception gardens being separate from any of the indoor event space. It has shown to be extremely helpful to have a wedding coordinator and the designated catering manager at each event location in order to ensure that planned activities are on cue. We do require that all wedding bookings secure at minimum “day of wedding coordination services” that include the following duties:
• Assist with all aspects of coordinating the ceremony and ceremony rehearsal
• Prepare an accurate timeline for the event day
• Coordinate the bridal party on the event day
• Work with DJ or band to ensure proper timing

In the time leading up to the wedding, a coordinator is most useful to a venue when all wedding details are communicated in a timely manner and all at once (rather than various pieces of information over an extended period of time).

Tell us an interesting fact.We host anywhere from eight to fourteen weddings per year; weddings are reserved at one per weekend, offering a very exclusive celebration for the couple, their family and friends. There are no wedding packages or instructions to select from generic menu options. Each wedding is tailored to fulfill our brides and grooms unique vision.

photos courtesy: Fritz Photo, Holland Studios, Soul Mates Photo and JustLuxe

photos courtesy Aaron Buck Photography

What inspires the team?
Only the best is good enough. We want clients to say, “I am so happy I chose Art of Catering—the event was flawless.”

Do you have a signature style? What makes Art of Catering unique?
We are able to work with a variety of cuisines. Our signature is fresh, local food, freshly prepared and cooked on-site for your guests.

Why Art of Catering?
Clients come to us when they want an exemplary food experience and a higher level of service. For example, we do not use farm-raised salmon. We only offer wild salmon, but also offer Pacific sea bass and halibut. All of our meats, fish and produce are locally sourced whenever possible. Our chefs and the variety of our menus are amazing. We provide a level of service—and staff our events—so that guests don’t need to go to the bar — we are constantly passing and “topping off” guests’ wine glasses.

Any advice to offer prospects looking for a caterer?
Determine what is most important to you for the event. Is it price, service, quality of food, or décor?

What catering trends are you seeing?
Local, sustainable and fresh! We are also seeing guests become more adventuresome. We just composed a menu with Elk Tenderloin and Buffalo Ribeye served with an Octopus salad.

What makes catering an event effortless?
We are very lucky to have great vendors and wedding coordinators in Portland! We meet internally every week to go over our upcoming events. We go over every possible detail in advance to make sure the event execution is seamless, efficient and worry-free for our clients!

Favorite venues?
Portland Art Museum, Portland Center Stage, Castaway, Pure Space, Leftbank Annex, The DeSoto Rooftop Terrace, Ecotrust Terrace, YU, Domaine Margelle.

Tell us an interesting fact.
We LOVE Contemporary Art and working with Artists. The art pieces we have at our gallery space is a reflection of that passion. Stop by and check it out.

photos courtesy: Aisha Harley Photography, Atelier Pictures, Evrim Icoz Photography and Paul Rich Studio

image source: Brides

An invitation is more than just a piece of paper that is thrown away. It is the first impression that defines your event and is received by your closest family and friends, to ask them to share in one of the most memorable celebrations of your life.

What is Moetic?
Moetic is a word we just made up. Sort of a combination of of the words ‘movement’ and ‘poetic.’

What was the inspiration behind the name?
Our goal with each of our films is to tell a story that moves people to some sort of emotion. So when we started throwing out words that defined us, we ended up just taking a couple that we liked and meshing them together.

Do you have a signature style?
We would say we’re of the more modern style. Breaking it down into 2 categories, the older style, which I think (unfortunately) a lot of people still think about when they think about wedding videos, is more reactionary – pointing the camera at the action and reacting to it. Not much in the way of story-telling.

Our style, and the style which a lot of the top cinematographers in the industry are creating, is more story-telling-centric.

We aim to anticipate and capture the action in a highly-cinematic way without giving our couple a lot of direction. Instead of reacting to the action, we anticipate it in order to capture multiple, unique angles and shots throughout the day. The couple looks natural and the footage looks like a movie.

The key for us in all of this is really getting to know each of our couples very well. While every wedding has the same essential script, each couples’ personality is different and that’s what makes each of our films so unique and intriguing.

Why Moetic?
We all have a passion for using film as a means to telling stories and we love getting to know each of our couples so that each film is unique to them.

This means all four of us putting a lot of energy and effort into getting to know the couples we work with and allowing them to get to know us.  We love showing up at their wedding feeling like we are friends, rather than a vendor they hired. This makes it so they can truly be themselves on their most important day, not feeling nervous around us or the camera.

If you dare to be so bold – who would you hire to capture your personal event?There are so many great wedding cinematographers out there, so this is tough.

We would look for someone who was willing to invest in us.  Sure there were a lot of details in each of our weddings but we’d want to find someone who was willing to get to know us, so they could capture what was unique to us and not just the details of our day.  I think we’d like to work with someone we could see ourselves hanging out with, someone we could become friends with.

Tell us an interesting fact.
Moetic is a team of Ryan Welch, Ryan Rossman, Susan Welch and Brittany Rossman. Yep, 2 Ryan’s. You either need to be named Ryan or married to one to work for us.
Last summer we did back-to-back Same Day Edits in different states.  After a Friday wedding in San Francisco, we charged our batteries, cleared card, slept for 2 hours, then boarded a plane to Seattle, and went right into another one! We like working under pressure!

During the re-design we were in temporary blackout mode so we have lots to catch up on.   In brief, a couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to participate in Skamania Lodge’s Bridal Open House.  Here’s a snapshot of our tablescape design featuring our floral design and blossom linen in black and white with white iridescent napkins.  White chivari chairs and glass beaded rim chargers are from Peter Corvallis Productions.

Photo courtesy of Sikora Photography - thanks Tom!