Wedding Blog
The Joey wedding is still 4.5 months away, but already I’m thinking about what I would have done differently. Don’t get me wrong, I still love what we’ve done and are going to do, but it hasn’t stopped me from coming up with “what if” alternatives.
My first new idea? A school-themed wedding at McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland. Mr. Joey and I had lunch there when we were in Portland a month ago. As soon as we walked in, we both thought it would be the perfect location for a wedding.
The hotel-school is located in a neighborhood outside of downtown Portland, but not too far from it. It’s got everything you could need on site like various bars, restaurants, a brewery, a movie theater, a soaking pool, guest rooms, a gym for the reception, and a courtyard for the ceremony. I love how well they preserved the school.
It’s perfect, since Mr. Joey is a teacher who comes from a family of teachers. They have concerts on site and I was even thinking that his band, The Tailenders, could play the night before.
Think of all the school-inspired favors and decor you could incorporate into the site! You could use stacked books as centerpieces with flowers in vases. Or, as a favor, what about hitting up your Goodwill for cheap used paperbacks of your favorite titles? My Goodwill sells paperbacks for about $0.69.
Or, what about this idea for STDs from Martha Stewart? Wouldn’t they be so cute?
Ah… the fun we could have with this theme.
Have you come up with different versions of your wedding that you’ll never use?
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Share this post: If We Had to Do It Over Again - Part 1
I remember seeing a post on another blog about a school-theme for the wedding of two childhood sweethearts. They went ALL out — an antique desk for the guestbook table, chalkboards as photo props, etc.
I’ve seen school weddings too, they always turn out adorable! That venue you found looks like it would be great for a wedding!
What a cool venue? 
My fiancee and I found out our original venue was closing (it was very modern), so we had to come up with an alternate venue. Our new venue is an old historic plantation! We’ve completely switched up the style of our wedding, but I feel it was a blessing in disguise!
OooooOoh. I think one of the recently featured bios had a school themed wedding and it was adorable! I had a slight heart attack after seeing the 4.5 months to go reminder. Thanks!
There are so many mcmenamins in portland- I didn’t know one of them was an old school! how awesome! I’ll have to check that out next time we’re in town 
McMenamins turned my old school Saint Francis in Bend, Oregon into a hotel also and they do weddings there. It’s so funny to me - I was student body president and our student council room is now a bar!
@Miss Bruschetta: i loved that wedding too! i thought it was perfectly planned and coordinated.
thankfully i have time to hit on a good theme besides “awesome” haha
You choose my favorite location for a date night or night out with the ladies. The location is great and the food and drinks are yummy. Next time you are in town check out their location in Troutdale called Edgefield. We were almost married there.
That venue is awesome!
I just looked at one of the venue’s we almost chose to send someone a link and had a tinge of regret for not having our wedding there… but the space was just too small.
Oh, I was just thinking how i sort of wish we had gone for Edgefield in our wedding (I am from Portland we are having everything at a museum in Hillsboro) I love McMenamins!
@ Anna Plumb: I wanted to use Edgefield too! I went to a wedding there a while back and it was phenomenal. Too bad McMenamins would have blown our budget!
@Mia: I’ve been to Edgefield. It’s lovely. I thought the Kennedy School would be perfect for Mr.Joey’s bachelor party.
User egad did the school themed wedding, it was one of our featured bios. I truly adored her theme, and it turned out perfect from test tube to red school books!!
If I had an endless budget, I would have done an explorer themed wedding complete with compasses, sextants, charts, etc. But alas, I had to go with a more general theme…
I thought the very same thing when I ate at McMenamin’s Kennedy school. Its so cool the way they transform and give new life to old buildings.
I second the suggestion to check out egad’s wedding! She did a beautiful aqua-and-red version of the school theme inspired by the colours on looseleaf paper.
My fiancee and I keep going back and forth about what we want to do for our wedding because we just have too many themes and ideas in our heads to settle on one! We considered a Halloween masquerade, a winter wonderland, and a springtime tea party. We’ll see what we end up with!
We are having our wedding at the kennedy school in less than a month and a half and we are having a tea party meets 50’s dance hall theme in that gymnasium, but we are bringing in the school theme with detention slips for the seating cards and we wrote why they are in detention for each persons personality.
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Mrs. Joey, Seattle
Age and Occupation: 28, Project Administrator for Public Health NGO
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, High School History Teacher
Engagement Date: June 24, 2008
Wedding Date: August 2009
Venue: Eastside Catholic Chapel and Lake Union Cafe
About Me: I'm a Seattle girl through and through except for the fact that I don't drink coffee. I love my job most of the time because I get to travel and work with brilliant people who are trying to prevent Malaria. I love DIY projects of all sorts, cooking, and watching sports. I'd wear anything at Anthropologie and could spend all day on Etsy. I love to travel but shouldn't because I always get myself into unbelievable situations!
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