Anyone who visited Oregon last weekend knows that it has been unbelievably gorgeous here. Low 70s, a little breezy, and so clear that Mt. Hood looks like it’s right on the other side of northeast Portland. Of course, we’re now back to dreary, rainy low 50s, and I don’t have very high hopes of the 73-degree sunny days returning before the 18th. What does it all mean? That I need a pretty umbrella, obviously.

There are ultra-feminine rental umbrellas…

And there are pretty blue umbrellas…

There are giant umbrellas (big enough that my petite matron of honor could LIE DOWN under them)…

And there are delightful patterned umbrellas on websites with broken order forms and non-existent customer service…

But, none of them hold a candle to the perfect umbrella…

Sixteen. That’s how many venues we’ve visited this month. Seven in California, nine in Oregon. Add the thirty or so other venues that I corresponded with and didn’t visit and you have a sure-fire recipe for venue overload. But even still, I get excited when I think that somewhere amidst these candidates is our venue.