Happy New Year, Brides and Grooms First Kiss

As the clock struck midnight to ring in the New Year many of us were lucky enough to share a kiss with our loved ones. I was feeling inspired by the "midnight kiss" and decided to share a whole lot of smooches with our friends and families!  We are so blessed and thankful to have had such a wonderful 2012 and we wish you all the best in 2013. Spread the love!

 

Country Wedding at Pine River Ranch | Family Fun | Teal + Lavender | Homemade Dessert Bar | Mason Jars

We are so lucky to share another beautiful wedding with you shot by Saskia Mizushima! One of the things we constantly hear from photographers is that they could shoot a dozen weddings here at Pine River Ranch and not run out of places to shoot at, and Saskia is no exception.  The charming country details of Scott and Bri's August Wedding were wonderful inspiration for the creative and unique photos and I am thrilled to share their big day with you! 

Bri loved that she had cowboy boots on under her classy dress! Scott also wore a snap shirt and a Sword belt buckle under his very classy suit and tie!

The soft and whimsical floral bouquet from Safeway in Leavenworth is the perfect match for their style. Safeway Flowers are becoming a very highly recommended floral option from our past brides and grooms! 

We always love to see a bride in cowboy boots!

A great guestbook idea! Scott and Bri had a Polaroid camera for guests to snap photos of themselves and write the happy couple a message in their scrapbook.

Inspiration for the wedding/approach to your wedding style:*  Bri shared that: I wanted a local destination wedding (where you could drive home afterwards if you wanted but provided a reason for my relatives to fly out). And that's what we had. We stayed at Lake Wenatchee for three days. We hosted activities around town (wine tasting, rafting, putt putt golf, hiking, shopping in Leavenworth).  The bridal party stayed up the street at the Brown Family Farm and we had a spaghetti feed the night before the wedding for everyone that came into town early.  We hosted, I think fairly successfully, a really fun 3-day party!

The weather was perfect for their August Wedding! A beautiful day!

Bri and Scott work together and met several years ago with a slow courtship.  Once they got together "it was game on," says Bri. "Scott has two kids so we became a family first, bought a house second, and got married last," she shared.

Scott and Bri wrote their own vows to each other and there wasn't a dry eye in the house!

I love how they were both all smiles, all day! You could tell how happy they were to be married!

Scott and Bri filled the mason jars with coffee and wrote personal messages to all their guests! This was one of Bri's favorite details of their big day. Her Mom also made all the place settings by hand!

The toasts had everybody laughing, including Bri!
Yum!!! It doesn't matter what time of the day I work on the blog posts, I always get hungry when it comes to the dessert time! I am very fond of the "Dessert Bar" idea and think it is always a big hit with the guests, especially when the dessert options look this good! Scott's Mother helped bake some of the delicious desserts!Scott and Bri still had a traditional and beautiful wedding cake from Busy Bea's Bakery to cut! And they were nice to each other! No cake sacrificed! 
Their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. It looks like the night only got better from there! The dance floor was opened and guests danced the night away!We'll leave the night with this! Congrats you two! 

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:  Go with your gut. There is always another option if the first one doesn't quite work out.

Caterer - Ravenous Catering

DJ -  My good friend, Madison Krass

Cake -  Busy Bea's

Photographer - Saskia M

Make-Up - My friends

Dress - Benita's Bridal (Casablanca brand)

Hair - My cousin

Party Favors - fresh roasted coffee beans from locally-owned Diva Espresso

Decorations - My mom!

Flowers - Safeway in Leavenworth

Table-top plants - Safeway in Fairwood (taken care of by my Mom!)

The set up crew - my bridal party, and their significant others, and my extended family. They were awesome.

9 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Venue

First off, if you are engaged and still in the planning process, or looking for great ideas or vendors for your wedding day, you HAVE TO go to the Seattle Wedding Show! It is the largest bridal show in the West Coast and is so much fun, plus you get to see us there! This is our 3rd year participating in the Wedding Show and we see great new ideas and meet wonderful vendors every year!
If you haven't been to the Seattle Wedding Show before, I won't give away too much, but there are florists, DJs, caterers, photographers, videographers, planners, venues, invitation designers, photo booths and more! There are cake and catering samples from so many delicious and talented vendors too! Yumm! I always take at least one break a year to walk around and sample all the yummy treats and introduce myself to some vendors who we may get to work with in the future! This year the Seattle Wedding Show is at:

Washington State Convention & Trade Center

800 Convention Place, 4th Floor

Seattle, WA 98101

Saturday January 7th, 2012 from 10:00am to 5:30pm (ticket sales open at 9:30am)

Sunday January 8th, 2012 from 10:30am to 5:00pm (ticket sales open at 10:00am)

Make sure to swing by and say "Hi!"

At the Wedding Show there is a large selection of Wedding Venues.  For many brides and grooms the venue is the first thing they select for their wedding and can be quite the daunting task. We don't do things the same way as many wedding venues because this is your big day and you shouldn't be forced to use our caterers, pay our food and drink minimums and have a pre-packaged wedding just like everyone else if that's not what you want. If you want everything taken care of for you, we can make that happen for you as well with our fantastic local vendors we love to work with.  Here at Pine River Ranch, your wedding is all about you and what you want!
Question #1: What comes with my rental fee?  Many venues have a site fee, then tack on the extra expenses of tables, chairs, linens, food and drinks. At Pine River Ranch, your wedding rental fee comes with all your necessary amenities from tables and chairs to linens and flatware.

• Outside wedding venue, beautifully landscaped with rustic log arbor (Weddings can be moved inside in case of bad, or questionable weather, or if you choose to have an indoor wedding)
• Indoor reception in Historic 1944 Dairy Barn With Dance Floor.
• Beautiful photo opportunities (Nason Creek, meadows, mountains, historical barn, old farm house, small lake with waterfall)
• 2 changing suites for the wedding party with full length mirrors and sinks
• Free Attended Parking for 100+ cars.
• Up to 20 round dinner tables (8 - 10 guests per table)
• All Linens (Including Table Cloths and Cloth Napkins)
• 300 white wooden chairs for the wedding ceremony and reception
• Tables (Coffee, DJ, bridal gift & buffet table)
• Flatware (spoons, dinner forks, salad forks & knives)
• Stemware (water, wine & champagne glasses)
• Plates (Dinner, salad, roll & cake plates)
• Coffee pot & mugs
• Salt and pepper shakers
• Complete Setup, take down, and clean up
• 2 table bussers
• Coolers for beverages

Question #2: Do you have a food and drink minimum? No! Not everyone has the same vision for their wedding day, so we don't want to force you to use our caterers or drink our drinks and pay the expensive costs often times associated with in-house catering and bartending! We have had every kind of food imaginable at Pine River Ranch and we love to see people eat exactly what they love. You bring in your own food whether it is professionally catered or cooked by your friends and family. We have had everything from BBQ'd food like hamburgers and hot dogs and Pizzas cooked in wood fire grills to decadently cooked 5 course meals. As for drinks, you can provide your own as well saving you an exorbitant amount of money on your big day!
Question #3: Does the caterer include equipment or do you have to rent it?
That is a question for your caterer. We have commercial kitchen sinks, and prep tables as well as a full size walk in cooler, but we don't have the cooking equipment. If you want the cooking to be done by your friends or family, they will need to bring their own barbeques, grills etc. as well as serving and chafing dishes. Most professional caterers will provide that equipment.
Question #4: How do you charge for service people?
We do not have any additional fees or charges, the only cost is the rental fee of the venue (and that comes with all of the above amenities). Some wedding venues charge a percentage of the overall fee and others have a separate service fee that can really add up!
Question #5: Do you have any additional fees?
We do not have any of those hidden fees like a cake cutting fee, corking fee, or any of those other hidden costs.
Question #6: How many hours do I have the facility and personnel.
That depends on if you choose a 1 day or 2 day wedding package. With our 1 day wedding package you have the venue from 3 pm the day of your wedding until 11 am the next morning. With a 2 day wedding package the grounds are yours from 3 pm the day before your wedding until 11 am the morning after your wedding (example: Friday at 3 pm until Sunday at 11 am). With either package, your guests have to leave the barn by 10 pm and any guests not staying in the suites have to be off the grounds by 11 pm.
Question #7: Do you have decorations I can use?
We can show you some of the items during your wedding tour that previous weddings have left that you are more than welcome to use! We also have thousands of fairy lights that are already hung in the barn.
Question #8: What other events are taking place at the location and how do you have it scheduled?
None! You will have exclusive use of the entire 22 acres during your 1 or 2 day weddings! You don't have to worry about running into other wedding party guests or confusing your guests about going to the wrong ceremony location!
Question #9: Is there plenty of on-site parking and is there a fee?
There is plenty of parking and no fee! Our attendant will help direct parking for over 100 cars so you don't have to worry about delegating that job to one of your guests!
Asking these nine questions before booking your wedding reception venue is sure to help you find a space that suites your style! Have any more questions for us to answer? Just leave a comment and let us know, or visit our FAQs Wedding Page!
And because everything is better with a picture, enjoy!

Countryside Charm and a Beautiful Lace Ball-Gown Wedding Dress

We have migrated over onto Wordpress, sorry blogger :( But I will continue to post here for awhile so people have time to readdress their bookmarks! Plus, there is a subscription link on Wordpress so you know when the site has been updated! Our New Blog

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Molly and Josh had a beautiful wedding here in Leavenworth, Washington in July that made us feel right at home at Pine River Ranch.  Molly did most of the wedding decorations herself and the touches of the countryside in their place settings, table centerpieces and decorations filled the venue.

Many of you may remember photographer Maija Karin who shot Katie and Dereck’s Wedding that was featured last July (remember Dereck’s adorable daughter Kyah who made the cutest flower girl!) Well we have her to thank again for another stunning set of wedding pictures at Molly and Josh’s big day.

Molly’s grand entrance into the ceremony in her beautiful ball-gown style lace wedding dress was a show stopper, I won’t spoil the surprise but I’ll let you see for yourself in the pictures below!

How about this kiss for their first reveal! I think Josh liked the dress 

Maija said Molly and Josh made her job easy with the beautiful dramatic poses! Molly and Josh were all smiles the entire day!

Molly needed a little bit of help from her bridesmaids to travel through the fields and hold up her ball gown!

The fields of daisies surrounding Pine River Ranch are beautiful in the summertime and are always a brides favorite!

The bridesmaids looked great in their light green dresses and beautiful bouquets

What a fun shot!

Meet Vivy, Molly’s other best friend!

Remember last weeks grand exit from Jenny and Tom on the tandem bicycle? Well I think they have a run for their money from Molly! The guest received quite a surprise when Molly was brought to the ceremony riding Vivy the horse bareback

Molly and Josh wrote their own heartwarming vows which were so touching and unique, you could feel their deep love for each other and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!

I love the way Molly hung the flowers on the arbor and what a great first kiss!

Their love for animals made great table centerpieces at the receptionMaija caught a great shot of Molly and Josh during their toasts at the wedding ceremony.

The celebrations continued into the late hours of the night and guests waved sparklers as Molly and Josh made their exit for the night to our Bed and Breakfast at Pine River Ranch.

Is this not a great photo!?

Molly and Josh began their honeymoon in style in one of our 6 private Cabin Suites! After a long night of dancing, celebrating and enjoying every possible moment of fun a relaxing Jacuzzi Spa for 2 is just what a bride and groom need! Molly and Josh were able to flip on their romantic gas fireplace, draw a hot jacuzzi spa and begin the perfect honeymoon.  

As always, any Photographers, Brides, Grooms or Family that want to share their photos; I’d love to feature them! Send me an email to ngourlie{at}yahoo.com