There’s no place like home. Ariel, like Dorthy in The Wizard of Oz, believed this to be true. So, when it came time for her and her fiancé, Shawdon, to choose a destination for their wedding, Ariel’s beloved home state of Oregon was their first choice.

“Both of us live far away from our families and our loved ones are scattered across the country, so we knew no matter where we chose, the majority of our guests would need to travel to attend,” the couple explains.

Knowing Oregon well, the bride thought the perfect place to marry would be in the Mt.Hood / Hood River area, and the couple got to venue hunting. Although they couldn’t personally attend venue tours or vendor meetings, Ariel and Shawdon enlisted the help of the bride’s parents who were locals to stand in the couple’s place.

“We emailed, talked on the phone, and Skyped. It was also helpful to send them pictures so they know what our vision was,” the bride says. 

The couple was able to recruit a number of talented, responsive vendors who would play a vital role in carrying out their vision. In addition, several of their family members jumped in to help – making DIY customized details.

“My family made homemade jams for the wedding favors,” Ariel says. “My sister laser-cut our wedding cake topper and table numbers.”

Also, the Mother of the groom made customized hangers for the whole wedding party, the flower girl basket, and the ring bearer pillow. Shawdon designed the couple’s save-the-dates, and they made all of their own signage with a template from Etsy and gold frames collected from various thrift shops.

With the fun projects underway, the couple’s next challenge would be the hardest: travel logistics. Ariel and Shawdon made sure their guests were aware that they needed a car rental to drive to the destination about an hour away from the airport. (Public transportation/ridesharing options were not available.) 

“Given that, we rented a school bus for our guests to get to and from the venue,” the couple says. “We also encouraged people to carpool and helped arrange rides for people who were traveling around the same time.”

Finally, once every detail smoothed out, Ariel and Shawdon could sit back and enjoy their perfectly tailored destination Oregon wedding!

“We loved that our wedding was somewhere we had a personal connection to and can’t imagine getting married anywhere else,” the couple says.

Vendors: Photographer: Deyla Huss Photography; Event Planner: Cassandra Cass Coordinating; Floral Designer: Bella Bloom; Event Venue: Mt. Hood Organic Farms; Cake: Windflower Cakes; Videography: Candy Glass Productions; DJ: NW Mobile DJ Service; Caterer: Cultivate Catering; Bride’s Shoes: Sam Edelman; Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero; Dress Store: Blue Sky Bridal; Makeup Artist: Blossom & Beauty