Winter Wedding: Snowflake details, Beautiful Rose Bouquet and Bagpipes!

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Since we have officially had the coldest "Spring" here in Washington State, I think it is still appropriate to post pictures from a Winter Wedding we had here at Pine River Ranch. (For all us Washingtonians know, this could have been shot last week!)

Dan and Carrie had a beautiful wedding in February and I began emailing Carrie and her photographer Kira Baron in March to begin this blog post. After dozens of email exchanges and a month or two later, I am finally able to deliver everyone some beautiful winter wedding pictures! For any of you brides who have followed along on the blog, you know that winter wedding pictures here are few and far between! We have a couple winter weddings every year, but I have only had the luck of connecting with a few photographers, so myself, Carrie and Kira are very excited to share this fun loving, laid back, yet extremely detail oriented wedding!

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Carrie has always pictured herself getting married with a snowy winter wedding, luckily Dan was also loved the crisp air and peaceful setting of fresh fallen snow. Carrie's Mom handmade knitted gloves and shawls for the bridesmaids to keep them warm as they made their way through the snowy fields and during the outdoor ceremony.

Although every detail of their wedding appeared to be perfectly planned, there were a few hiccups in the day. Carrie advices future brides to "go with the flow" and I think it was that positive attitude that made their day utterly perfect despite the hiccups. Their first look was scheduled for 1:00 and the ceremony was supposed to start at 3:00. At 2:00 Carrie found out that Dan didn't have pants with his tux! "It all worked out just fine, and somehow we were on time!" says Carrie.

The days leading up to the wedding the weather was rainy and we thought Dan and Carrie may have to set up their ceremony inside the barn, but on the day of the wedding the sun was shining and the snow held out! It was almost 50 degrees out that day which was wonderful for the guest who were seated on hay bales during the outdoor ceremony!

They also had an "open bar" before the ceremony with warm spiced cider, coffee and tea and guests could stock up on hand warmer to hold during the ceremony.

Carrie was so kind to provide me with so many details and wanted to share with future brides one of her most popular items at the wedding. Carrie went to Logo Lip Balm to make her chap sticks and told me, "You can down load ANY picture or use one of their generic pictures. I found a wintery, snowy picture of a barn style home with trees framing the barn. I thought it was the perfect gift for wintery chapped lips, (and who doesn't use chap stick!) I should've stuck a few in the changing room, because there are NONE left! $.99 per stick and the minimum order is 100 sticks. $100.00 goes a long way for a useable and thoughtful guest gift." This is their design:

The inspiration for their wedding style was very down to earth, and Carrie said the barn setting was perfect for a romantic, country, snowy wedding. Dan and Carrie were so thoughtful to their guests and to make sure everyone stayed warm during the ceremony. They bought burgundy fleece and made simple scarves to tie around the backs of chairs that doubled as decor instead of buying ribbon or renting chair covers.  Their ceremony setting had mason jars, lanterns and local natural greenery from the forest for most of the decor.

One of Carries favorite details of the wedding was the surprise bagpiper!I asked Carrie what her favorite part of the day was: Finally saying "I do" to my wonderful husband!

During their ceremony, the officiant told Dan he could now "kiss the bride" before they had exchanged the rings resulting in this laughing fit!

After the ceremony guest traveled inside to warm up with great food from the Alley Cafe, dancing and more great details!

Carrie and Dan wanted a warm, simple and romantic feel, so they made many handmade items to use as table décor that also played double duty as gifts for guests to take home. They incorporated their burgundy colors and snowflake theme with homemade jam and homemade and candied pecans inside snowflake boxes. They also wanted to give a "green" gift as well, so there were seed packets with a "something blue" flower mix and for a useful wintery gift. (See what I mean about fabulous details!)

The amazing cake was by Becky's Cakes out of East Wenatchee

BEAUTIFUL!

Vendors Dan and Carrie would like to thank:
Becky's cakes in East Wenatchee!!! (You are truly amazing! Thank you!)
Alley Café, Steve and all his staff! Our guests raved about the food, thank you!
Neil Hubbard our bagpipe player (What a perfect impact-Thank you!)
Patti Bosket with Au Natural, our flower gal! (thank you!)
And I couldn't forget Pine River Ranch (My vision! Thank you, it was perfect!)

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After the festivities were over Carrie, Dan and guests retreated to our romantic Bed and Breakfast where they could really relax and de-thaw in their private in-suite jacuzzi spas. "The next morning we woke to a fresh white blanket of silence and falling snow. It was a beautifully romantic weekend!" says Carrie

I think that about wraps it up! I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Carrie (and Dan:) for providing us with all the wonderful details to complete this blog! Hopefully this winter wedding will be inspiration for the sun to come out here for Summer! We have our first "official" summer wedding to kick of the wedding season this weekend and cannot wait to take part in another wonderful celebration!

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As always any BnB guests, Photographers, Brides, Grooms and Family who would like to share their photos with us I would love to feature them! Just send them my way to ngourlie{at}yahoo.com, oh, and leave us some comment love!