What's Happening in Leavenworth, WA? Things to Do in Leavenworth

September is a busy month in Leavenworth, and it doesn't slow down in October either! If you are planning a trip to Pine River Ranch Bed and Breakfast, there is plenty to do besides enjoy the luxurious amenities of your private cabin suite. After filling up on a delicious homemade breakfast, delivered to the privacy of your suite, head into Leavenworth for some great activities and fun.

Leavenworth Wine Walk, September 13th, 2014

This 6 hour event is a day made in heaven for a wine loving couple! Enjoy tasting up to 60 different wines as you stroll through shops, galleries and restaurants in down town Leavenworth. Your wine walk passport also gets you a bottle tote, walking map, discount coupons and prizes. You can also relax in the town center at the Gazebo and enjoy live music throughout the day. This event is a fundraiser for the Cascade Farmlands Association which helps promote culinary and ag-tourism in North Central Washington. A win-win situation, drinking wine for a good cause!

Fee: $40 per person, or $75 for a couple

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, Sept 20th-22nd, 2014

Join thousands of people in the 24th annual Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, a celebration for the return of the salmon. The festival is a three day natural resource education event held at the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. This event is free and a great "edutainment" event. 

Autumn Leaf Festival and Parade, Sept 26th-28th, 2014

The Autumn Leaf Festival and Parade is the longest running festival in Leavenworth. There is a grand parade, live music, pie eating contests, pumpkin throwing contests and more! As with any event in Leavenworth, come hungry and thirsty because there is plenty to indulge!

 Oktoberfest, October 3-4, 10-11 & 17-18, 2014

Perhaps one of Leavenworth's biggest attractions is the world famous Oktoberfest. Join as the town of Leavenworth throws a celebration to rival that of Munich, Germany. The food is plentiful, the bratwursts are cooking and the music is playing! If you have not yet been to Leavenworth for an Oktoberfest celebration, now is the time to experience the fun!

The Long Road Home Project Passes Through Leavenworth Today

Supporting the men and women of our military has always been a cause that is near and dear to my heart so when this story passed my desk I had to share it.

A group of five veterans are cycling across country on a 90 day bike ride for the Long Road Home Project and will be stopping in Leavenworth today, Friday July 20 at 2pm. (I wish I would have gotten this story earlier to give you more notice, but it may not be too late for some of you.) The ride will take the veterans though 12 States, pedaling more than 4,200 miles to end 90 days later in Washington D.C. They are scheduled to be at the top of Stevens Pass at 12pm July 20, 2012 and have requested any kind of support they can get. They encourage local riders to accompany them at the following locations as their personal time/abilities allow:

12:00 pm        Stevens Pass

12:30 pm        Nason Creek Rest Area

2:00 pm        Arrive Leavenworth

2:30 pm        Depart Leavenworth escorted by local riders to Wenatchee

5:30 pm        Arrive Wenatchee Veteran’s Hall (504 So. Chelan Ave)

Whether you would like to join them on a bike or wave a flag on the side of the road, your support and turnout keeps them fueled and inspired for their long journey ahead.

By the end of their 90 day journey:

1,500 vets will have committed suicide.

270,000 cases of PTSD will have been reported since the inception of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

50,000 veterans will have returned home physically wounded since 2001, and

300,000 vets will spend a night on the street.

I encourage you to spend a minute or two and peek around on their website or share this post. These 5 vets are cycling to UNITE and raise awareness of the wounds left behind by war. If you would like to make a financial contribution to support the Long Road Home Project, the first $75,000 raised will go to support this years ride and any funds raised above this will go towards supporting future rides and Operation First Response, a national non-profit dedicated to serve all branches of our nation’s Wounded Heroes and their families with personal and financial needs.

Untitled from Casey Miller on Vimeo.

Outdoor Wedding at Pine River Ranch | Earthy hues & hand picked flowers

Hello world, I hope the transition into fall is treating you well. Personally, if I hear one more thing about Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks I may move to Mexico where it is summer year round! I do love the 4 different seasons that we have here in the Pacific Northwest (albeit rain always manages to sneak into each of them) but I am definitely a summer gal at heart! For that reason, I am going to continue protesting fall for as long as possible and bring you these gorgeous summer wedding I have hidden away! Meet Scott and Christa who had a beautiful outdoor wedding on one of the hottest days of the summer! It was over 100 degrees out for part of their wedding day, but they were troopers and got some wonderful photos from the grounds here by talented photographer Rhys Logan. If you've been following along, you may remember the weather was quite different last time Rhys was here for Chad and Chelsie Rainy Day August Wedding!

Scott and Christa met in Cashmere at a Wenatchee Fire game in 2008. They are both natural resource scientists that love everything about the outdoors like the natural beauty and outdoor activities of the Cascades. Since they met and fell in love along the eastern slopes of the Cascades, Pine River Ranch was the perfect place for them to get married.

The dressing suites at Pine River Ranch make it easy and fun to get ready. With separate dressing suites, each spaciously complete with floor length mirrors, vanity mirrors, sinks and couches, it is a great time to enjoy with your bridal party! If you don't want to see each other before the ceremony, you don't have to worry about accidently sneaking a peak!

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Love this shot of Christa! Glamorous! 

This is the kind of photo that makes you want to say Mmmmm. I love this light pouring in and their gazes into eachother eyes are just perfect. Inspiration for the wedding/approach to your wedding style:* Pine River Ranch and the Wenatchee basin have all the natural beauty you could ever need. That is why we tried to stick with an earthy pallet of blues and greens - we wanted everything to be simple, hand picked and regionally inspired.

Your favorite detail/decoration:* Dahlia's from a small grower/florist in East Wenatchee - with her home grown, beautiful flowers we made all the bridal bouquets, boutineers and table bouquets ourselves!

When I first saw this picture I was very confused why Rhys chose to showcase it. Look closely at Scott's jacket! He made a new friend! 

What was your favorite part of the day:* Marrying the man of my dreams!!

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:*Definitely have a two day wedding! We had a great rehearsal dinner at Pine River Ranch the night before the big day. It was so nice to have time to catch up with all our friends and family from out of town. It goes by so fast....do everything you can to stretch it out!!

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Plus, you get the spend the night in romantic cabin suites with jacuzzi spas, gas fireplaces and hand made log beds! What a relaxing way to start your wedding weekend!

Thank you Scott and Christa for choosing us to celebrate your wonderful wedding weekend! We are so glad you had such a great time and cannot wait to see you in the future for anniversary's and celebrations!

Any vendors you would like to give a shout out to??*
Caterer: Country Boys BBQ (rehearsal dinner) and Ravenous Catering (wedding) - everyone raved about the food!
Dress: I Do Bridal in Seattle (Wallingford) - Fantastic sales associates.
Cake: Busy Bea's Cakes and The Confectional (Seattle) - Best cake and cheese cake ever!
Photographer: Rhys Logan - local Eastern Washingtonian, avid outdoors man and all round nice guy. He has a great eye, awesome style and knows how to make life beautiful!

All Things Wedding: Cakes at Pine River Ranch

I am so lucky to have the privelege to take part in so many beautiful weddings, even though I am not always there on the big day, seeing the wedding pictures afterwards is so much fun. With every wedding I see I am continually amazed at the beautiful details of each brides and grooms big day. I love to see the different styles and approaches that each bride and groom take for their wedding day. Some wedding couples use the natural beauty of Pine River Ranch and enhance it with beautiful flowers and natural decorations, while some are inspired by the rustic beauty of the restored dairy barn and include home made jams, rustic lanterns and country touches in their decor. Each wedding and every detail is so unique and meaningful in it's own way to the wedding couple that it will forever be special to them. One of the main flowers in my wedding bouquet and our centerpieces were purple lupines and to this day whenever I see them it brings me back to our wedding day and puts a smile on my face.

As a tribute to the couples who have given us the privilege of being part of their wedding day I wanted to share with you some of the details that made their weddings so special.

I decided to start a new blog series throughout the summer dedicated to the details that complete the wedding day called:

All Things Weddings

So far, I have compiled pictures from weddings to include cakes, wedding dresses, rings, table centerpieces and more (kept secret to build anticipation!) and I will share these themes with you throughout the summer!

To kick start our new series All Things Weddings, we are going to start with the yummy details. Literally.

All Things Weddings, Part One: Cakes

I hope you have eaten because if not, you are going to get very hungry seeing all these amazing wedding cakes! We have had every kind of cake at Pine River Ranch from wedding cakes baked by mother-in-laws, to professionally baked cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes and pies!

I loved seeing this unique and fun bride and grooms cake! That chocolate cake looked absolutely to die for and the fun and creative grooms cake was perfect! Becky's Cakes in East Wenatchee did a great job! Robby and Alyssa's Hot Pink and Black Wedding was a beautiful event and they have been joining us for their anniversary since then!

Kellie and Josh's beautiful October Fall Wedding was highlighted by natural elements like the log rounds and pine cones that were adorned throughout the venue, including their yummy strawberry cheesecake dessert.

Dan and Carrie had an amazing Winter Wedding decorated with snowflakes and natural greenery. Their cake was made by Becky's Cakes in East Wenatchee

Matt and Ashley's Fall Wedding was a family affair. Their brown, green and cream wedding colors were perfect for the laid back couple to enhance the natural beauty of Pine River Ranch. Along with many other couples they didn't necessarily have a "traditional" wedding cake, but instead had a selection of cakes, chocolate truffles and pies made by many of their friends and family members which was a huge hit with the guests!

You may remember this cake from Chris and Ashlee's indoor wedding I posted last week. This cake was made by Busy Bea's Cakes, a favorite of many brides and grooms who get married at Pine River Ranch. This amazing cake from Busy Bea's Cakes fit perfectly into the theme of this vintage inspired wedding we had here 3 years ago.

Sage and Alex were so pleased with the way their wedding cake turned out. When I talked to Sage after the wedding she wanted to give a big thank you to her Mother-in-Law, a retired pastry chef for making their wedding cake. Sage said “It was the BEST cake ever! Carrot cake with butter cream frosting. I think everyone had 2 slices.”

I hope you enjoyed my new blog series All Things Weddings and got some inspiration for your big day! The wonderful thing about weddings today is that there is so much choice out there. Whether you want to stick to a traditional wedding or throw the guidelines out the window there are still so many personal touches that make each wedding day special and unique.

If you would like to see a specific topic for a future All Things Weddings post, just leave a comment and let me know! Thanks to all our past brides and grooms for letting me share your wedding day!

Indoor Barn Wedding at Pine River Ranch

We cordially invite you to join us for Ashlee and Christopher's May wedding atPine River Ranch!

Ashlee and Chris were married in late May at Pine River Ranch, and if you are from Washington, you know the weather has not been very cooperative this year! Normally, our weather in Leavenworth, Washington is a little nicer than our counterparts in Seattle, but this year, it doesn't matter where you are in Washington State because you're getting RAIN! The weather gods didn't exactly cooperate with us on May 21st, but Ashlee and Chris were able to get some amazing outdoor photography by local photographerGavin Seim, without umbrellas and rubber boots before they had to move their ceremony inside! (If you've been following us for awhile you may remember photographer Gavin from Gordon and Shelley's luscious green Wedding)

With 22 acres at your disposal there is plenty of room for stunning photography!

Ashlee and Chris met at Pacific Lutheran University (where they both did their undergrad) but didn't start dating until after Chris had graduated. Ashlee says, "He looked like he had just rolled out of bed the first time we met :)"  They became friends and after Chris graduated two years prior to Ashlee they kept in touch. He was in medical school, about to start his second year at UW when we started dating. And as they always say, " The rest is history!"

Ok so I'm posting a little backwards today, this was actually Ashlee and Chris's destination for their first reveal!

Luckily they were able to spend the morning getting some amazing photography because at about 1 pm the drizzle started, then turned into a downpour. Ashlee and Chris had an amazing attitude and didn't let the rain get in their way. The ceremony was moved indoors because it didn't look like the rain was going to stop! You know what they say about

Rain on your Wedding Day!

*One of Ashlees favorite parts of the day* "It was pouring rain just as people were arriving and everyone was still in such great spirits. I loved seeing our guests' smiles as they tramped through the mud and rain."

*Inspiration for the wedding/approach to your wedding style*: I love, love, love this barn. I wanted our wedding to be fun, rustic and beautiful. We had this great idea to use wine barrels as cocktail tables during the cocktail hour but it rained and no one got to see them :( Our wedding favor was homemade raspberry jam - the labels said "spread the love" and I thought it was a cute touch to go along with the barn.

Their centerpieces were in antique blue mason jars and set on rounds of wood that Ashlee's brother cut to elevate them from the tables.

The ceremony was beautiful and the Chinese lanterns that Chris and Ashlee hung overhead, in combination with the thousands of fairy lights was a beautiful setting for their wedding day.

Their grand exit as Mr. & Mrs.

Now for the really fun {and slightly embarrassing stuff} Toasts, Cake Cutting, Bouquet & Garter toss and Dancing! Let me forewarn you, this party knows how to dance!This may possibly be one of my favorite wedding cakes by Busy Bea's Cake I've seen thus far! When I saw it, I instantly fell in love! I tend to be a little more of a minimalist when it comes to wedding cakes but I think this cake has the perfect amount of glam! It was fun to see when Chris and Ashlee so lovingly shoved the beautiful cake into each others faces! 

After the official first dances the dance floor opened to everyone! Let the party begin!

I am submitting the next two photos to a wonderful website I found called Moment Junkie, they are all about REAL unscripted moments at REAL weddings! Nowadays there are so many beautiful wedding pictures from talented photographers as well as staged wedding photo shoots that sometimes people forget that a wedding isn't solely about the best cake, decorations and flowers but a gathering of people to honor and take part in a celebration of love. These pictures are priceless and look like so much fun! What a wedding is all about if you ask me!

*What was your favorite part of the day*: Dancing! I really wanted our reception to be fun and I was so happy that everyone danced. I was a little weary at first when the groomsmen picked me up but it was so fun.

*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:* Try to get most everything done before the day-of. I was definitely running around trying to make sure things were right, and were being set up and it was stressful. I wish I would have had a plan of attack for the morning of. Assigned people jobs etc. It turned out great though and I wouldn't change a thing! Except for the rain, that was a bummer.

Vendors:

Venue: Pine River Ranch
Transportation: Le Tours
Catering: Ravenous Catering ( "Dave and Val went out of their way to make sure everything was right, the food was delicious!")
Rehearsal Dinner Caterer- Smokeblossom
Hair: Heidi Angerstein from Wenatchee ("It turned out perfect. She did a great job making sure I loved it.")
DJ: Wenatchee Boys Media Productions
Photographer: Gavin Seim
Cake: Busy Bea's Cakes ("Bea couldn't have made our cake more perfect. It was beautiful and delicious and everything I wanted it to be!")

Makeup: KC Pacheo from Yakima ("She was amazing. We didn't even do a trial run!")

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As always, any BnB guest, 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