Emy + Dave’s Midsummer Inspired Wedding at House on Metolius

One of the best parts of being a wedding planner is learning new traditions and really learning how to capture a couple's personality in their wedding day. Emy and Dave are extremely free-spirited and laid back, and they wanted their wedding to reflect how much they love being with their people. One of their favorite books is The Art of Gathering, which challenges the traditional norm of gatherings. Inside the book, the author emphasizes a human-centered approach to gathering, which truly changed our perspective on events! As we worked with them, we continued to go back to the belief that you should "be a guest at your own wedding."

See the feature in Oregon Bride Magazine

bringing in meaningful traditions

Emy and Dave wanted full planning to make sure everything was taken care of, and the weekend was smooth sailing. The two knew what they wanted and knew they would need help with vendors and logistics to make this vision come to life. As we worked with them over the year of planning, we got to really know the couple so well. Their vision was for an intimate and colorful affair that embraced the outdoors while also focusing on celebrating two families coming together.

Emy is a Swedish citizen, and it was very important to tie her Swedish culture into the wedding day. The couple spent the summer of 2019 in Sweden, getting to know Emy's side of the family better, and they connected to her roots.

As we started planning, we decided to incorporate the tradition of Swedish Midsummer festivals. During this event, everyone makes a flower crown. The tradition says that if you wear your crown throughout the night and go to sleep with it under your pillow, your true love will come to you. When guests arrived, they were greeted with greenery crowns and were able to add some fresh blooms to make their own. It was such a unique guest experience!

They also had a special Swedish song sung by Emy's mother. Emy explains: "My mom sang one of our favorite Swedish "snapps" songs, which is called Helan Gar. It loosely translates to "bottoms up" or "drink the whole thing."

An Intimate Outdoor Wedding at House on Metolius

The reception was all about fun, from games and ice breakers to a mobile hot tub! They even had a Kubb tournament (a Swedish lawn game), which got all the guests competing together. Their venue, House On Metolius, was the perfect choice for this summer wedding. This private retreat sits on two-hundred acres of private land and sits along the Metolius River. You get the incredible forest views and the convenience of having accommodations on-site to make it a complete wedding weekend.

The couple was engaged while kayaking down the McKenzie River, so it was especially meaningful to have a river view during their ceremony. Colorful wildflowers were used throughout the day, from a beautiful arch at their ceremony to Emy's organic bouquet filled with sunflowers, berries, peonies, and handpicked wildflowers. As an ode to the 4th of July, their friend placed the Star Spangled Banner for their recessional.

After enjoying dinner and dancing with guests, the two wanted to do something special - and jump into the river together! It was one of the best parts of the weekend, and really just showed how adventure-loving this couple is! They loved it so much they jumped back in - without their clothing! Emy changed into a gorgeous white jumpsuit for the reception and danced the night away.

On the weekend of the wedding, it was all hands on deck for three days to pull off an epic weekend getaway for this couple. Our team camped along the Metolius and was in the heart of the action! We plan weddings for adventurous couples and commit to making each wedding a unique experience for our couples.

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