Venue Feature: The Orchard Hood River, featuring our vendor loves 💕

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!  I’d like to introduce to you some incredibly important people in my life. . . drumroll please. . . my favorite vendors at my home venue! It hurts a little to say this because there are SO MANY fabulous vendors I get to work with that are outside this list, but these are the folks that go beyond “friendor” status… this is my gorge wedding family! So feast your eyes on all these beautiful collaborations with some of the absolute BEST in the biz. 

First and foremost - The Orchard and its people. 

You guys, 10/10. And I’m not exaggerating. If you haven’t seen this stunner IRL yet, picture this. . . Two giant, perfectly manicured lawns, adorned with seasonally progressive flowers and shrubs, planted intentionally and by design, by a former florist and the venue’s owner. You have the lawns, and at the end of each lawn you have BOTH mountains — Mt Hood rising out of the south and Mt. Adams rising out of the north. It’s next-level.

Then you have literally every meticulous detail to make your get-married-in-the-middle-of-an-orchard dreams come true. A beautiful pavilion with dark barnwood tables and chairs, onsite catering, an awesome outside bar, plenty of wine barrels for your cocktail hour and floral arrangements, romantic evening lighting. . . the list goes on! Wandering the orchards makes for truly magical photo opp that captures the beauty of the day forever.

But I have to stop there to tell you this. . . The people behind the scenes here are equally amazing and thoughtful. From your site tour with Hillary, to your planning process and day of support from Heather and Lydia, to the catering staff that not only planted the gardens but will make sure your glass stays full — this place is THE REAL DEAL. A turn-key, well oiled, dreamy dream dream wedding machine, ready for you to come in and customize every little detail to make it YOURS. This is the kind of team that thinks of things before you do, makes sure everything that needs to get done magically does, and will make for the most stress-free day possible.

Now, for the other fabulous folks I love to work with at the Orchard:

Catering. Celilo. Delicious from cocktail hour through dessert. If you haven’t heard of Celio Restaurant in Hood River, let me fill you in on a little secret here. . . (whispers) It’s tops. Chef Ben’s ethos for growing, preparing and cooking the freshest local food he can get his hands on is woven through every dish. And talk about food prepared with love — you can literally taste it.

Music and Entertainment. Ryan + Crew at Gorge Wedding Music! Not only is this guy GOOD PEOPLE, but he’s so flippin talented. Trained professional musician turned wedding DJ, Ryan can supply a number of arrangement options to perform during your ceremony through cocktail hour, and finish out the night with a rockin’ dance party. As one of my dear friends, I cannot rave enough about how kind he is, how well he communicates and how he is able to flex and bend with the photogs and planner if we get off timeline. 

Makeup. Miss Tablitha Colie on the brushes, folks! This woman is not messing around when it comes to quality of products and making you the most beautiful REAL version of yourself! From natural looking make-up to bridal glam, Tabitha curates a beautiful experience for her brides and is always done.on.time! Seeing her smile when I walk into the bridal suite always kicks off a wedding day in the best way. 

Hair. Subhadra Katz and her fabulous team at Subi Salon. It’s always impressive to see a group of women working diligently to make another group of women absolutely beautiful. Side note: Subi is my personal hairdresser!

Florals. Let’s hear it in the back for Miss Blaire at Trellis in Bingen! Good grief, this woman works her tail off, and holy, does it pay off. Her bouquets are always stunning, arches are gorgeous and incredibly creative and she never looks over all the details in between. Not to forget, there’s always a smile plastered to her face and a hustle in her step. A Queen, fa’sho.

Cake. Paula at Windflower Cakes has to be the hardest working baker in the Hood River Valley —  Her delicious work is at nearly every event I shoot! I “try so hard” not to eat dessert every fri/sat/sun, but she makes it real difficult to turn down. Talk about quality ingredients meets creative baking flavor mastery. . . and they’re always beautiful too. 

Video. Husband and Wife team, Krysta + Nick are the real deal. Professional from start to finish and have great vibes, these two will get the shot AND share in the creative process. Can’t wait to collaborate with them again!

The Fotobus Co.: Last but not least, we have to take a minute to toot our own horn (see what we did there?!) The Fotobus has made countless trips to the Orchard and has two AMAZING parking options, depending on the flow of your event. If you want a fun keepsake for your wedding guests, an untraditional touch, or just a super FUN activity for your guests, hit us up and we can get you on the calendar for one of our sweet VW buses. 

And, if you need a photog to capture the joy, love and FUN of your day at the Orchard… you won’t have to twist my arm! I’d love to get to know you and your vision. Get in touch here <3