Portland transplants Allison and Dan are understandably smitten with their new home – and when it came time to plan their wedding, they wanted to share their love of the Pacific Northwest with their mostly East Coast guest list.
And did they ever! Crafting a full-on wedding weekend capturing both the natural grandeur and urban charm of the area, this Jewish wedding has it all: trees, bold colors, and of course Portland’s trademark quirky character at full strength.
We’re absolutely in love with Allison and Dan’s outdoor chuppah set in a clearing amidst Hoyt Arboretum’s lush evergreens, made of dark, natural wood and adorned with a canopy of greenery and roses in hues of white, soft oranges and corals – don’t miss it in the wonderful images by Kate Holt Photography!
Read on for all the details of this very special day in the bride’s own words!
How We Met
Allison, the bride: We met for our first date on June 9, 2017. Dan had just moved back to New Jersey from Oklahoma and Allison was living in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks to Jeff and Anna Fineberg (Dan’s brother and sister-in-law), Dan was dog-sitting Josie Beagle. We both swiped right and, after a few conversations, made a date to meet up for iced coffee. After meeting up, we sat on a bench talking outside of the Benjamin Franklin museum for a few hours. A Philadelphia resident came up and asked when the wedding would be; we still need to locate him to let him know he might be in the running for best man! In late 2018, we moved in together in New Jersey and then in January 2020, across the country to Portland, OR with our cat Zoë.
Since moving to Portland, we have braved a pandemic, job changes, a lot of hard work, nearby fires, a few snow storms, and a flood!
Our Engagement Story: Allison’s maternal grandmother (Renée, also known as Grandma Nay) always valued the finer things in life. In fact, Grandma Nay instructed two year old Allison to ask for rubies, diamonds, and pearls when someone asked her what she wanted as a gift even though at that point, Allison was more focused on toys and puppies! Grandma Nay passed away in August of 2020 and Allison was gifted grandma’s engagement ring. While they didn’t have the same style, Allison was excited to use her grandmother’s center stone in her own engagement ring.
Allison grew up knowing that her mother and father had designed their engagement ring, so always envisioned a custom ring in for her own engagement. Instead of leaving anything to chance, when she and Dan began talking about marriage, Allison worked with a jeweler from Philadelphia and was involved in the entire ring design process, making her dream of a custom engagement ring a reality! In addition to Nay’s center stone being a key element in the design, Allison also included baguettes from Grandma Nay’s ring in her wedding band. We were engaged on October 7, 2021, when the ring came in the mail via FedEx. The package was opened and, in the kitchen in our PJs and exercise clothes, the ring was immediately placed on Allison’s finger. And while it wasn’t exactly a cover of a magazine moment, (Dan had just gotten through with a strenuous bike ride) it was the perfect engagement and 100% true to us!
A Pacific Northwest Wedding
This wedding was designed to highlight a truly Pacific Northwest Vibe combining a love of trees and nature with bold color choices and an urban flare. Dan and Allison grew up on the East Coast but fell in love with the PNW when they visited friends in Portland and knew they wanted to create a wedding that featured both the lush towering evergreen forests and the quirky urban vibe Portland is famous for. Choosing a small clearing in the middle of Hoyt Arboretum for their solemn ceremony, they honored traditions steeped in their Jewish Ashkenazi heritage including an intimate ketubah signing, vows exchanged under the chuppah, and the seven blessings, or sheva brachot.
Since this was a destination and travel wedding for their entire guestlist, guest entertainment was also a primary focus for Dan and Allison. Using the skill of Morgan, from MH Events, an entire weekend of events was planned ranging from an intimate private Shabbat dinner for immediate family on Friday evening, to a more casual Saturday evening welcome drinks and Tapas at Tope, the rooftop restaurant of one of Portland’s urban boutique hotels The Hoxton. Dan and Allison also shared a final post-wedding brunch on Monday after the Sunday wedding-day festivities as a final farewell to their guests.
As self-proclaimed introverts, Allison and Dan also took time out of their wedding schedule to ensure they got to have one-on-one time in between the major events, including sharing their first dance as husband and wife privately in the brightly decorated The Evergreen Reception Hall while their guests enjoyed a cocktail hour at the infamous Loyal Legion pub next door. Transitioning from this quiet, private moment, to being swept skyward, held aloft in chairs by guests circling and dancing around them during the famous hora created another juxtaposition perfectly fitting for the bold choices of this wedding day.
Garden Meets Forest
Allison’s vision for her ceremony was a bright, budding garden amid a towering PNW forest. To execute this vision, Morgan of MH Events designed paired a ceremony with wooden chairs and white cushions on either side of a naked isle, carpeted only in the needles of the giant fir and redwood trees of the arboretum. The chuppah was also of a dark, natural wood, but adorned with a canopy of greenery and roses in hues of white, soft oranges and corals and accented with white hydrangea and tall dahlias at the head and end of the aisle.
The florals were just the perfect touch of color within the textured bows of the evergreens, and the light filtering down in the late afternoon took on an angelic glow as Allison encircled Dan in the Ashkenazi tradition symbolically creating a new family circle as they entered into their marriage. The garden and nature theme continued through to the reception decor where circles of greenery and garlands of carnations hung suspended from the ceiling, and long, oak farm tables were adorned with yellow, coral, white and orange floral centerpieces alternating with tapered candles in oranges and pink hues.
Textured votives cast warm soft light reflected in the gold and porcelain table settings and linen napkins in knot-folds, prepped for guest arrival. Signage was scripted on dark semi-translucent boards framed in bold Ruscus greenery that also wound its way along the staircase leading from the private lounge down to the main reception hall where Allison and Dan would make their grand entrance. Dan and Allison also love a little levity, so in addition to their sophisticated decor and elegant custom signage, they also had heart-shaped sunglasses available for all their guests alongside a sign which read “Our Future is so Bright, You Gotta Wear Shades” and one of their signature cocktails was names “Zoe’s Purrfect Paloma” in honor of their feline family member.
Invitation
Our invitations were designed by Letters and Dust. The materials chosen were rich in color and texture, drawing on the deep greens of our ceremony location.
Hair + Makeup
Allison chose Blossom and Beauty for her wedding day stylist as she wanted minimalist makeup but wanted to look flawless and Blossom and Beauty are masters in the natural glam look!
Dress & Suit
Bringing an East Coast love of all things high fashion to the PNW vibes, Allison and Dan’s selection of attire for their wedding day brought a bespoke elegance to the day. Dan selected his colorful Dolce and Gabbana shoes with understated floral designs and paired this with a custom-made suit from Mario’s in the most stunning deep Teal that seemed almost iridescent in the sunlight. Allison selected her gown from the Oregon boutique True Society by The White Dress. Opting for an elegant A-Line from Essense of Australia with a curving neckline and detachable sleeves, Allison customized this with a heart-shaped cutout of fabric from her mother’s own wedding dress.
For jewelry, Allison chose pearls, polished, but in their natural form and mirrored this in her wedding-day boots complete with mother-of-pearl inlay in the heel. Foregoing a traditional bridal party, Allison didn’t have bridesmaids, but in the morning of her wedding when she was getting ready, Allison had a handful of her closest family and friends. They each were gifted a comfy tye-died sweatpants and sweatshirt combo to relax in until donning their dresses, another nod to Portland’s weird and wonderful vibe.
Ceremony & Chuppah
For their ceremony, Dan and Allison chose to honor their heritage and included many traditions unique to their Jewish faith. A ketubah signing and badeken were preformed before the couple walked to the chuppah and Allison encircled Dan while Bo, from John Ross Music sang and played guitar. This was the couple’s favorite moment of the ceremony, Allison circling Dan while soft, golden light filtered through the branches of the towering evergreens to fall on her veil.
Vows were exchanged under the chuppah which was selected for its natural dark wood and adorned with fresh florals of cream and coral and topped with delicate handwoven linen. The sheva brachot or seven blessings were read both in English and Hebrew. Their ceremony ended with the breaking of the glass, and Allison and Dan retreated to enjoy yichud.
Dan and Allison celebrated a lively rendition of the hora upon entering their reception space and kicked off the party portion of the evening late into the night until the lights were turned down low and by candlelight, the couple led their guests in a final blessing.
Dan and Allison chose a modern ketubah with a geometric design cut into it as a frame by Ketubahome.
Our music choice
Bo from John Ross Music played acoustic guitar and sang for Allison and Dan’s ceremony, and a DJ was used for their reception celebrations.
Flowers
For her bouquet, Allison’s talented florist, Jordan of Blum Floral Design, chose white garden roses and pops of coral and salmon ranunculus alongside impressive pale pink peonies. Dan’s boutonniere was a cream ranunculus which stood out against the rest of the family’s coral- hued boutonnieres. The impressive reception floral instillations included massive circles of greenery and garlands of carnations which hung suspended from the ceiling. Long, oak farm tables were adorned with yellow, coral, white and orange floral centerpieces alternating with tapered candles in oranges and pink hues.
Textured votives cast warm soft light reflected in the gold and porcelain table settings from Arden Event Collective and linen napkins in knot-folds were placed at each place setting, ready for guest’s arrival. Jordan framed Allison and Dan’s reception signage in bold Ruscus greenery that also wound its way along the staircase leading from the private lounge down to the main reception hall where Allison and Dan would make their grand entrance.
Photographer and videographer
Allison and Dan met their photographer Kate of Kate Holt Photography after entering an engagement session give-away and winning a complimentary “adventure” session. Kate runs these giveaways in the off-season when she is looking to try out new and exciting engagement session locations and was thrilled to have Allison and Dan who, although they dressed in impressive East Coast fashion, were enthusiastic about exploring a new location in the Columbia River Gorge.
After spending a long evening together exploring the Gorge at sunset, Allison and Dan knew they could have no on else as their wedding photographer and hired Kate and her husband Dom to be a part of photographing their entire weekend of festivities. Dan really clicked with Dom especially as the two shared a similar humor, and Kate’s professionalism, creative eye and attention to detail fit Allison’s type A personality.
Allison and Dan also chose to have their wedding day documented by the very talented Lauren of Love Bug Pictures. Allison and Dan really appreciated how Lauren documents her couple’s love story in a completely custom and unique way, really taking time to get to know them on a deeper, personal level and incorporating their personalities into the final edits of their engagement and wedding day video.
Food and cake
The gourmet fare Allison and Dan selected for their wedding meal by The Hive Catering included a fresh salad to start, followed by hazelnut pesto chicken, pan-seared wild Pacific salmon with chimichurri, lemon garlic orzo, grilled asparagus, roasted root vegetables and roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic toum. For dessert, Allison and Dan had mini pies in flavors of marionberry, lemon vanilla bean, brown butter pecan, peanut butter chocolate, banana cream with salted caramel, and bourbon peach.
Celebrating their cat Zoe, signature cocktails included an Old Fashioned and Zoe’s Purrfect Paloma Love Potion made from tequila, grapefruit, and lime juice, simple syrup, and soda water garnished with grapefruit. The open bar also featured local craft beers from 10 Barrel Brewing Company, a Blackberry Cidar, Gigantic Brewing’s LP Stout as well as red, white, and rose wines from Coopers Hall and a selection of other craft cocktails made to order.
Allison and Dan’s impressive 3-tiered wedding cake by Dream Cakes was a piece of art all to itself. Each layer had its own flavor: White butter cake, lemon, and chocolate and the buttercream frosting was hand-painted in a marbled teal with gilded edges. Setting off this masterpiece was a bed of brightly colored delicate poppies, ranunculus and roses.
Advice to couples currently planning their wedding
We would say, hire an amazing team! Using Morgan from MH Events as our planner and using her advice when selecting our vendor team made ALL the difference in the world for Dan and I. There are so many decisions that lead up to a wedding day that it’s easy to get “decision fatigue” and having a planner you trust to help make those decisions easy is beyond valuable! I can’t imagine planning our wedding without Morgan and her team, so our advice to other couples is get an incredible planner, it’s so worth it!
ALLISON & DAN’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Kate Holt Photography
Videography – Love Bug Pictures
Venue – The Evergreen
Ceremony venue – Hoyt Arboretum
Planner – MH Events
Ketubah – Ketubahome
Bride’s dress – Essense of Australia found at True Society by The White Dress
Groom’s attire – Mario’s
Hair + Makeup – Blossom and Beauty
Flowers – Blum Floral Design
Acoustic guitar & DJ – John Ross Music
Catering – The Hive Catering
Cake – Dream Cakes
Rentals – Arden Event Collective
Stationery/Invitation – Letters and Dust
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.