I love hearing peoples engagement stories that did not go perfectly as planned. Maybe because mine wasn't quite the story book proposal every girl dreams of, or maybe because I feel like that is the way life works. Even though it wasn't exactly what we had in mind, in the end it is always "perfect" anyways. Jen and Jason's proposal story put a smile on my face. A day hike in beautiful Alaska ended up on the "wrong path" after 3 different locals told them 3 different directions to the trailhead. They decided to trek on anyways and ended up at a very romantic location....the dump!! {with frequent bear sightings}. Jason's Mom hitchhiked out to their rescue and sent them on the right path. At the top of a beautiful clearing Jason felt the spot was right and proposed to Jen.
Inspiration for the wedding/approach to your wedding style:* We love hiking and camping and the outdoors and therefore wanted a rustic and romantic outdoor wedding in the mountains. Pine River Ranch in Leavenworth, Washington provided just the backdrop we were looking for. We spent our year of engagement planning several DIY details to personalize our day, including our invitations, table cards, centerpieces, favors, signs, a photobooth and much more. Our generous friends and family made our day that much more special and personal by donating their time and talent arranging our reception flowers, creating our sign, playing ceremony music, catching and smoking the salmon and even officiating the ceremony.
If you could tell a future bride one thing about the wedding planning or advice for the day of the wedding what would it be:* Be sure to take a moment during your wedding to stop and take it all in - it all goes by so quickly. And when your friends and family offer to help - let them!
Your favorite detail/decoration:* It's really hard to choose a favorite detail or decoration, because we worked hard on a lot of details. I surprised Jason and the groomsmen with cufflinks made from album art from his favorite band, and it was a hit!
Their photographer Jen Finch did a wonderful job of capturing the joy and happiness on their wedding day.
My favorite part of the day:* was when our photographer pulled us out of the reception to snap a few photos in the field while the lighting was perfect. Not only did those photos turn out beautiful, but taking a moment to absorb where we were and walking back upstairs to take in our friends and family enjoying themselves at our celebration was so meaningful and unforgettable.
Love this first dance picture!
The Cake:* Jason made us brownies on our first date and we much prefer them to cake so we decided to have brownies instead. We also cut our brownies with the same knife my parents cut their wedding cake with. They were so tasty, we've since learned of a few guests that stuffed extras in their purses!
After the wedding festivities were over Jen and Jason were able to retreat to one of the six private suites at Pine River Ranch and enjoy the start of a wonderful honeymoon in their romantic cabin suite complete with jacuzzi spa, river rock gas fireplace and hand made pine log bed. Not a bad way to start a long and wonderful life together, huh?
Any vendors you would like to give a shout out to??Caterer & Brownies: Ravenous Catering! The food was absolutely terrific. I still dream about the Yum Yum potatoes. Val was a great support as we changed things up during the reception - she took such good care of us and all our appetites!
Photographer: Jennifer Finch captured our day beautifully! She worked so hard and tracked down and documented every detail. We couldn't be happier with our photos, and she was such a pleasure to work with.
Flowers: Joanie at the Leavenworth Safeway was amazing! She did our ceremony flowers and worked hard to get dahlias before it was really dahlia season, and picked the perfect color rose to match our decor. I highly recommend!
Make-up: My dear friend Eden did my make-up, and it was fantastic to have her share the moments before the wedding with me.
Hair: Lucy and her friend at Shears in Leavenworth did our hair - they all turned our great!
Dress: Demetrios
DJ: DJ Chelan was very reasonable and a hoot to work with! She even purchased some of our favorite songs that she didn't already have in her library.
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