MAKENNA & KYLE

Oct 15

october 15, 2023

This wedding was truly the sweetest wedding to end your season on. Not only was the groom an old friend of mine (and the bride a new friend, too!), but it was such a lovely day filled with so, so much joy and beauty. I loved every second of it. Makenna and Kyle had the vision of a clean and sophisticated, but laid-back wedding, which pretty much describes who they are as people, too! The biggest priority was to truly be in the moment and live in the joy of the day. I can confidently say that their wedding was nothing short of the most joyful celebration for the beginning of their marriage!

Makenna and Kyle had a simplistically beautiful, October wedding at The Evergreen in Portland, Oregon. If you have ever seen this venue (check out the pictures below!), you know it speaks for itself. It is such a stunning location that they really didn’t need to add much to it! Their ceremony and reception were both held in the same main space of The Evergreen, so we performed a flip during cocktail hour while all the guests headed downstairs to Loyal Legion to enjoy a few drinks. Once the flip was complete, we invited everyone back upstairs to enjoy delicious Hawaiian food, hilarious (yet tear-jerking) toasts and an epic dance party!

There are so many unique perks to having your wedding at a Portland venue. At the Evergreen, they are able to reserve half the bar at Loyal Legion (just below the venue space) for cocktail hour. It is such a beautiful, fun space and creates the ideal situation when a flip is required! My other favorite thing about getting married in Portland is all the fun places to take photos. As you’ll see below, they have stunning photos in front of the venue, in the bar, on the streets and at a beautiful park just minutes away. You can’t ask for more diverse locations than that! Despite every stunning aspect of their day, my absolute favorite part was getting to see a dear friend marry the love of his life. I may have shed a few tears, but who can blame you when you were 33 weeks pregnant? Again, I would not have wanted to end my first full wedding season any other way!

“Samantha was my husband and I’s day-of wedding coordinator and we could not have been happier with how she seamlessly brought our day to life! Throughout my planning process leading up to the big day, Samantha was extremely helpful and responsive with any questions I had and gave me helpful guidance based on her professional experience of knowing “what works” when planning things like floor layouts, timelines, checklists, etc. After the initial bookings I made with each of our vendors, Samantha took on almost all communication with the vendors after that point to ensure everyone was prepared for the day and on the same page. This was a major stress reliever for us as it was one less thing we had to coordinate. I’m sure every bride experiences some feelings of “I don’t know how the day is ever going to come together and flow so effortlessly,” but Samantha worked wonders at ensuring everything happened on schedule, every tablescape was set and piece of decor was in the right place. I truly was able to sit back all day and be present, trusting that Samantha knew my vision and would execute set up and communication with the team perfectly. If you are on the fence about hiring Samantha Rose Events for your big day, I can assure you that her calm energy, hard work, expertise, attention to detail and punctual communication are so worth it! We could not have pulled off our wedding without her!” - Makenna & Kyle Wicklander