The Bride on her White Bicycle

The bride rode a white beribboned bicycle in her white wedding dress as the guests rode behind on the 50+ bikes borrowed from the people of Ketchum, Idaho.  Local Portlanders, Kelli and Ross Segelken arrived on separate bikes then pedaled to the reception, as one, on a tandem.

Riding Tandem from wedding to Reception

Many of us ride our bikes to work or to meet up with friends, but how many of us would consider riding bikes to our wedding ceremony and reception? OK, maybe we know of a few ladies in Portland that would, but how many of them could convince all of their wedding guests to do the same? Well, Kelli and Ross did just that on their wedding day.

Kelli looked lovely as she rode down the “aisle” in a wedding dress hand painted by her mother Sharon. Kelli and Ross were followed by supportive family and friends as they cruised down the dirt trail together on bicycles decorated with colorful ribbons and flowers.

Taking the concept of going green on their wedding day to a whole new level, the ceremony and reception were held outside where the beautiful landscape created natural decorations, minimizing their waste and consumption. They gathered flowers from fields near the wedding site, made hand painted signs that directed guests and looked to their friends and family to help with the cooking, baking and photography. Guests were given Tree In A Box wedding favors at the reception, giving them an opportunity to take back with them a piece of nature and one that will surely remind them of the celebration of love between Kelli and Ross for years to come.

This couples love for nature and for each other helped them make choices for their wedding that reflect their values and creativity. Kelli had this to say about the wedding  “The best part of the whole wedding weekend (aside from the getting married and starting the “happily ever after” part), is knowing that our wonderful friends and family got to smile and dance and enjoy getting to know each other for the beautiful people we already knew you were.”  Looking at the pictures it’s clear that this wedding was filled with joy, happiness and will be remembered by all who attended.   

written by Megan Poole

Wish Upon a Wedding is the world’s first non-profit wedding-wish-granting foundation. On the order of the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, it grants weddings to people suffering life-threatening illnesses.

Wish Upon a Wedding provides couples with the opportunity to share their special day without having to worry about the many costs and troubles that go along with their existing illness. Just launched in January 2010, they already have over a dozen chapters around the United States; Portland, Oregon’s chapter is designated for all those within a 300-mile radius, who may need this amazing gift.

On Monday June 28^th, Wish Upon a Wedding Portland Chapter held its launch party. As people began to fill up a conference room of the Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, you could feel the vibrant energy all around you.  The room was extravagantly decorated in shades of blue and an excellent duo was singing in the back corner.  It was exciting to see the number of people willing to participate in such a splendid foundation.  Not only were there individuals, curious as to what Wish Upon a Wedding entailed, but there were a number of businesses displaying their products, all of which were also sponsoring the event!

Kris, Megan and I enjoyed meeting a variety of people who were looking forward to participating with Wish Upon a Wedding by donating products and services. We met people such as: Evrim Icoz, the excellent photographer who shot the entire night; Vanessa Harris, a local caterer; Cindy Rosen, owner of Encore Events; and Cheri Hanson, director of membership for the GMIC (Green Meetings). Cheri Hanson is also the director of Sales for the Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, where she focuses on environmentalism and even used Treeinabox for Earth Day.

It was great to see how many people were eager to get involved, and it was absolutely wonderful to see how moving the actual gift of a wedding was to those individuals who had previously been granted a wedding. Wish Upon a Wedding is a phenomenal foundation that is focused on sharing the gift of love to those in need, and Treeinabox is looking forward to sharing our trees as a wedding favor for these special couples.

Written by: Adrienne Carlson

Photos taken by: Evrim Icoz

The sun was shining and the wind was light as people began to gather at the Green Dragon Bistro & Brew Pub around 4pm on Friday, June 25^th in Portland, OR. Some people were holding note pads, others were sitting in front of their computers typing away, while others just sat with a beer in hand.  As the crowd got larger you could hear a variety of conversations, some based around blogging and some not. Friday was the 3^rd annual summer kick-off for Beer and Blog and their second annual Luau Party, with an authentic roasted pig.

Beer and Blog started as a way to swap information among those other individuals within the Portland tech scene. As time moved forward, it grew into a weekly happy hour for bloggers and friends, alike. As Justin Kistner, founder of Beer and Blog stated, “Sometimes we work, sometimes we just discuss ideas but often we just hang out and have fun.” In a way Beer and Blog has become a way to celebrate the shift from the long workweek to the weekend.

As Kristine Akins and I sat waiting for the event to begin, we spent time chatting about experiences in life. I have to admit, I am blown away at how many things my boss has accomplished throughout her life. Kristine’s independently driven mentality, always looking for something new and intriguing, has certainly provided her with a number of phenomenally rewarding opportunities throughout her life.

Not long after the Luau started, we grabbed the attention of Justin Kistner. As Justin personally sat down with us to go over a few questions we had about our blogging, one conversation lead to the next, and suddenly we had a table full of about 6-8 people all engaged. Although the conversation had transitioned away from blogging, after a while, it was fascinating to listen to people interests and passions. The conversation crossed an array of topics from: the BP Oil Spill, to terrorism, to local organic gardening movements, to dwarf trees, to the hope that one day humanity will understand that we are not “individuals” but instead all interconnected.

As Kristine and I gained some knowledge of ways to improve this up and coming blog of Treeinabox, we also spent several very valuable hours conversing with mere strangers. Beer and Blog is just another way we are opening up more and more connections for Treeinabox, as well as for ourselves. It certainly is amazing what an open mindset can do for yourself and those around you! Great event for Treeinabox!!

Thanks to all!

Written by: Adrienne Carlson