Unique Wedding Event Design in the Pacific Northwest | Getting Hitched
Photo by Cast + Forge Photography
I’ll be honest: we did ZERO research about wedding designers. We must’ve known they were a thing, but they weren’t on our radar with the budget we had to execute this micro wedding. When we walked into our venue tour at Union/Pine in Portland, Oregon, we were greeted by their venue co-manager, Cassy, who also happened to run her own event design business: Ashwood Design Co. She showed us some proposals she was currently executing for existing clients and we fell in love. Cassy is much more than just a graphic designer - she pours cement to make signs, carves wood into items like candle sticks, lasers text on leather, and so much more! She also sets everything up/breaks everything down for you day-of and coordinates with other vendors, acting as a pseudo-coordinator. Here’s how we landed on our unique wedding event design in the Pacific Northwest.
Unique Wedding Event Design in the Pacific Northwest
Photo by Cast + Forge Photography
One of the first things I (Kathryn) observed is the fact that Cassy and I have very different natures - she remains cool, calm, and collected, even when working against a fast-approaching deadline, and I am absolutely worry-riddled and Type A, working in my dozens of master documents and Excel sheets! Towards the end of the process, she gave me some incredibly kind words of reassurance, and throughout the process helped me navigate some difficult scenarios and was always there as a listening ear and advice giver.
Initial moodboard created by Ashwood Design Co.
The overall process kicked off with a design questionnaire to help Cassy capture our desires, then we had our first design meeting where we chatted through ideas and vibes. Cassy delivered our moodboard first (pictured above) just to make sure we were going in the right direction, then delivered our initial design proposal shortly afterwards. We then picked our florist and Cassy set up a call for all of us to chat through our vision and specific floral needs. We met with our caterer and coordinated who was handling which rentals through the main rental company (we have to give honorable mentions to Arden Event Collective & Great Jones NW in this post - these are the awesome rental companies who are providing the foundation for our event). And through many back-and-forth emails, we perfected our vision with Cassy and added on new design items here and there as we discovered what we needed over time. She was incredibly willing and eager to help with each new item, and each new delivery from her was stunning!
Photo by Cast + Forge Photography
While the journey to putting the finishing touches on our designs wasn’t super linear or on a firmed up timeline, Cassy stayed in touch and helped me understand how it all worked so I could relax a bit. And boy, did she deliver! Her design concepts and overall vision completely captured who we are - the best version of us as a couple. She shared that this was her goal from the beginning and emphasized how it’s more important to her to make an event that is realistic and celebrates the couple’s story, rather than spending lots of money just to spend it. This is one of the many reasons we love her approach. We also adore her earthy, natural design style, her slew of many talents (that we could never possess!), and her pragmatic, sensible outlook.
On the big day, Cassy went above and beyond, clipping some fall leaves early in the morning (an extra thoughtful design touch we hadn’t discussed prior, a true testament to her attention to detail and love & care for her clients), swapping out napkin colors last minute when the rentals arrived and weren’t quite right, and staying beyond her anticipated exit time to make sure our event went off without a hitch.
We cannot wait to showcase all of Cassy’s remarkable work in Reels and TikToks to be posted throughout late October into early November.
Photo by Cast + Forge Photography
Here’s a few of the questions we asked Cassy in the beginning:
Do you also set up / break down for us or do we only receive the design work?
Can you work within our more limited budget?
How many meetings will we have and what is the general timeline of execution?
Overall, we feel super grateful to have Cassy in our corner and know that our event will go off without a hitch thanks to her! Because of our decision to hire a designer paired with a DJ/MC, we were able to bypass a Day-Of Coordinator and Wedding Planner, saving thousands of extra dollars. If you haven’t heard of wedding designers before, I urge you to look into their work, interview a few to find the right fit for you, and if you’re on the West Coast, consider Cassy - she won’t let you down. :)
Vendor Rec:
Ashwood Design Co.
@ashwooddesignco on Instagram
www.ashwooddesignco.com
About the Couple
We’re Jared and Kathryn - Olympia, Washington natives that have dated since April 2013 (a whole decade in, baby!) and have lived together a majority of those years as well. Jared is launching into his career in IT, and Kathryn is the owner of a freelance content marketing agency serving clients across the country. Together we’re tech nerds, Pacific Northwest travelers, the ultimate foodies, and drag show lovers. We’re so excited to share our wedding journey with you + hope to provide some insight that helps you along the way!
