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!

Real Leavenworth Weddings | Ashley and Hannes | Dusty Rose Summer Wedding

Ok, I have a confession to make...I got the wonderful photos from Kim Hayes early in the summer, and she was immediately the featured photographer on the Pine River Ranch Wedding Website because I loved her photos, but I never made a blog post for her! Sorry Kim and sorry bloggers, I have been holding back on you hiding the beautiful dusty rose and music filled wedding!

Instead of starting with the getting ready shots like I traditionally do, I started with my favorite shot first :) I love the glow of the sun sneaking in through the trees.

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Ok, now for the getting ready shot!

Kim Hayes recapped Ashley and Hannes Leavenworth wedding saying it was the first nice day of the year when Ashley and Hannes got hitched at a charming country location just outside Leavenworth. The sweet sounds of the Dusty 45’s filled the air as family and friends celebrated. It was a super awesome and amazingly beautiful day! Congratulations you guys! And a thank you to her 2nd shooter extraordinaire, Keri Pinzon, for providing her with constant support, friendship, and awesome images!!

Is this not one of the coolest shoe shots you've seen? Sums up a Leavenworth Wedding at Pine River Ranch pretty well I'd say! I loved it! (And the beautiful cake is by Busy Bea's Bakery, a Pine River Ranch favorite vendor who does tons of cakes here. Remember the fabulous vintage suitcase cake by Bea in the Penner-Jones Wedding)

I love Ashley's Alvina Valenta dress!

The Ceremony

The guest swayed along to The Dusty 45's during the ceremony

For the Grand Exit...What do you guys say, think Ashley and Hannes are avid skiiers?

The dusty rose and pink decor lit up the restored 1944 dairy barn for the reception

The Reception



Hope you enjoyed sharing Ashley and Hannes wedding day as much as we did at Pine River Ranch.

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As always any Photographers, Brides, Grooms and Family

that want to share their photos I'd love to feature them! Send me an email to ngourlie@yahoo.com

Real Leavenworth Weddings | Chad and Chelsie | Rainy Summer Day

Well I thought I would take advantage of this beautiful RAINY August day to post our wonderful wedding pictures from Chelsie and Chads unique "summer" rainy day wedding. With todays rainy forecast it just seemed fitting!

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Local Bellingham photographer Rhys Logan's experience shooting extreme sports and capturing still moments was perfect for a Pacific Northwest rain and shine wedding.

You can actually see the rain drops in this photo!

As any Washingtonian would know, rain is something you have to take into account when planning your outdoor wedding. Luckily, Chad And Chelsie were able to tie the knot outdoors as planned and retreated to the dairy barn for the reception afterwards. However, one of the great things about Pine River Ranch is with only a moments notice we can move your ceremony indoors if the beautiful Washington rain decides to visit us on your big day! A plan B is a great thing to have on your wedding day, and a staff that knows what they're doing for a smooth transition is a must!

Its important to notice here that rain or shine both Chad and Chelsie still have the beautiful glow and smiles of a couple about to get married!

This is a great shot that Chad and Chelsie can call their own! How many summer Weddings get to use umbrellas!

Rhys wanted to make sure to thank the staff at Pine River Ranch for their amazing attitudes in dealing with the rain!

Luckily, there were some "sun breaks," and only a true Washingtonian can use that term! Thankfully, the sun chose to shine during their ceremony so they were able to have a beautiful pink outdoor ceremony.

And like most couples choose to do, our newlyweds retreated to the dairy barn after the wedding for their reception.

I can't tell who is glowing more, Chelsie or the twinkle lights hung from the barn. What a great first dance photo.

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Well, I hope Chad and Chelsie can look at this rainy Washington day and think about their wonderful and unique wedding day. I'd also like to give another huge thank you to Rhys Logan for sharing his wedding photos with us.

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To any brides, grooms, photographers or family that would like to see their wedding day posted

please send your photos to: ngourlie@yahoo.com