7.30.2010 Wedding ~ All You Need Is Love

My first phone conversation with Kristen was simply amazing. The conversation was easy, the laughs were plenty, and I immediately knew we had a great bride-coordinator connection. She was looking for full coordination as she was living in Nebraska, but her family was from Salem so she wanted the wedding close to home. I enjoyed working so closely with Kristen the whole time. It was more like hanging out with a close friend than it was "working."

First the location. She gave me some ideas on what she was looking for in a venue, and my mind instantly thought of Beckenridge Vineyard. When we went to tour it for the first time, her expression was priceless. It was written all over her face that this was the perfect place for them. They booked their date right away! I always love, I mean LOVE, working with the staff at Beckenridge. They are always so attentive to their clients and their guests and families. Not only that, but their venue has amazing views, a groom's room complete with a foosball table, and great options for a "plan B" should the weather decide to change - it is Oregon after all!

The wedding day started out by Kristen and her ladies having their hair and makeup done by the wonderfully talented team of Face Body Beauty. I can't say enough wonderful things

about Jennifer and her staff! They looked stunning! When they arrived at Beckenridge, Denice from Distinctive Designs was arriving with the flowers, and I have never seen a bride get so excited about their flowers before. And for good reason - look at these stunning colors! Denise consistently goes above and beyond for her clients, and I love working with her!

The ceremony was amazing thanks to Johanna of An Event to Remember. She was their officiant and made a custom ceremony to reflect Kristen and Brandon. She takes so much time to really learn about her couples and it shows! Sue Hamilton of SHE Designs provided all of the rental items needed, and I was beyond impressed with the great quality! Since Kristen and Brandon are both from the academic world, I thought their idea for centerpieces was too cute: a stack of books, each being a different stack based on a different topic or theme. They also had statistics on love placed around each table with a small vase and single flower. It looked great and it was very unique and creative!

Right after the ceremony the guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with appetizers from Reed Catering - YUM! I was thrilled with Cora from Reed Catering and the passion she has for food. I heard nothing but great things about all the food that was served that evening. Northwest Mobile DJ kept the mood going throughout the night and ensured a great party for the reception. The cake? There was enough to feed twice the amount of guests, but it was SO amazing that there were literally only about five slices left! People were coming back for thirds (maybe even fourths)! Marion of Myriad Cake Design is one of the best in the industry, as apparent by the "disappearing cake" as we called it.

I loved listening to the speeches given - they were both heart-felt and funny. The whole evening flowed and the guests had a great time. They had guests travel from all over so they had a map with stickers so people could show how far they had traveled that day to be there - another creative and unique idea! You could feel all the love the guests had for Kristen and Brandon and they enjoyed celebrating every second of their day with them. You could see how much it meant to Kristen and Brandon that their loved ones had come to celebrate with them!

Throughout the day I had the pleasure of working alongside Maalaea and Ian of I and M Photography. Wow - are they superb! They have such an amazing eye for details, as you can see in all of these pictures, and I felt like we had worked together numerous times before. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a photographer! The first time you meet with them it's obvious they love what they do!

Thank you to all the amazing vendors for helping Kristen and Brandon's wedding be so perfect and go so flawlessly. To Kristen and Brandon - thank you so much for your sweet message in your programs. It was my pleasure working for you and I wish you all the best that life has to offer! Congrats!

Marcus & Loni's Review ~ 7.17.2010

"Ashley was a godsend. From the very beginning she was always available to answer questions or give ideas. I loved that she always wanted my wedding to be the way I wanted. I never felt as if she was trying to push me into a decision and she always wanted to work with me to make sure I had the wedding that I always wanted. On the day of the wedding, if anything went wrong, and I'm sure it did, she never let on. She was flawless and my wedding would not have gone as well as it did if she wasn't there. Ashley is always friendly, always happy to see you, and always has an idea when you need one." - Loni

7.17.2010 Wedding ~ Fun and Fabulous in Philomath

Loni and Marcus were married back in July on the 17th. They had their reception at the amazing Philomath Scout Lodge in Philomath. Loni told me about this venue, one that has just started opening up to weddings and other events. It's an amazing space! I loved the fireplace, the high ceilings, the lobby area, everything! The pictures on their website don't do it justice - you just need to visit it!

Loni was such a sweet bride, I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed working with her! From day one, every time I saw an email from her I instantly smiled. Loni, Marcus, the wedding party, and her entire family were such a joy to work with! She was very easy going and the groom and wedding party were also fantastic! My assistants and I were constantly laughing and smiling along with everyone. The speeches from the two fathers brought tears to my eyes...they were so sweet and sentimental.

The lighting in the room, the candles, and sunset in the back window set a great mood for the reception. The cake was provided by Sweet Things Bakery, photography was from a family friend (Christy Turner), and the catering was provided by Olive Branch Catering out of Corvallis. They don't have a website, but their food is to die for. She only takes limited events, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll get you in touch with her! My mouth is seriously watering right now remembering how good the food was. She cuts every single piece of fruit herself...nothing is pre-packaged or frozen...everything is as fresh as it could possibly be and you can taste the difference!

The bride made all of the centerpieces, a very crafty DIY bride! The wedding party had a great time dancing, and I'm *hoping* to help Heather with her wedding next year (I LOVED her Love Story about how she was proposed to as well - Loni has a great group of friends)! Thank you Loni and Marcus (and Buddy and Branita) for allowing me to share in the memories! It was an honor!

Love Story: Lacey & Jace

The proposal:

"We both really enjoy Italian food, and we both love Olive Garden. It was December 10, 2009 (my 20th birthday). We had a huge snow storm the day before. In fact, all schools across Wisconsin (college, private, and public schools) had been shut down. Jace suggested we still take the hour and a half trip to Olive Garden, and that we still dress nicely. I didn't let the huge snow storm from the day before stop me either. I stuck it out and wore a dress...and froze! We got there safely, and the hostess took us to a tiny corner in Olive Garden. It was such a perfect setup as well. It was decorated as if it was a gazebo, the lights were dimmed, and it felt so peaceful. People were sporadically around us, but to me, it felt as if Jace and I were alone.

We ate our meal, and when we were done eating, the waitress asked if we wanted any dessert. He told me whatever I wanted to get was fine, it was my birthday. Of course I picked the chocolate cheesecake that just looked so delicious! The waitress left, and Jace excused himself to the bathroom. To me, this was normal. I figured he really did have to go to the bathroom. He came back and shortly after, our waitress had come back with the cheesecake and set it in front of me. She paused there, and I just stared at the beautiful cheesecake. I was so in awe of the drizzled chocolate that was zig zagged between the cheesecake and the plate that I hadn't even noticed the ring in the upper part by the crust. When I finally saw it, is when my memory went blur. I remember seeing Jace get up from his spot, and pull the ring out of the cake. Seeing him in his suit and tie, get down on one knee. I remember hearing a little bit of a shake to his voice, and when he asked me to marry him, I said yes! He put it on my finger, and in the background I hear a bunch of women go "awww..." I didn't even notice that the wall behind us, that had a cut out window in it, were a bunch of women who followed out waitress out to watch the proposal.

I was still in so much shock of what just happened, that I actually kept asking Jace, "Is this for real?! You serious?!" As I stared at my new gorgeous ring on my finger, I embraced him and started crying. All I could think about and say was "I'm engaged!" I called my parents to tell them the news, and my mom's response to me was "Congrats hunny, but we've known about this for awhile now. He asked your dad over Thanksgiving if he could marry you."

As deployment grew closer, and we now were a newly engaged couple, we began realizing more and more fears we had. But I felt I needed to tell him, and just as I told him before he left for basic training over 4 years ago, I needed to reassure him again. "I will wait for you, and I will be faithful to you, I love you."

Brad Paisley sings the words so perfectly, and although it's a song singing from the man to his woman, I feel like it takes the words right out my mouth. It reminds me of how much love I have had for Jace. When Jace left for basic training how I thought I loved him then, when he came back how much more I had loved him, on our 2 year anniversary...to even now our 4 year anniversary as we are apart."

'Now you're my whole life, now you're my whole world.

I just can't believe the way I feel about you,

We'll look back someday, at this moment that we're in

And I'll look at you and say

And I thought I loved you then.'

Marry You Me Inspiration Blog

Back in August the Marry You Me inspiration blog for "all things wedding, love, and sweetness" wrote about Stargazer Weddings and our contribution to the Click Chicks' 1st Annual Summer Lovin' Workshop! A lot of time went into putting together this workshop, and a lot of collaboration from numerous vendors made it successful! A few quotes from the review from Marry You Me about the two "themes" we did:

"This sweet little photo shoot has such a fresh palette of aqua blue, lemon yellow, and white. There are some great and inexpensive steal worthy tablescape ideas from this workshop...Loving this color combo so much!"

"I am loving the farm-meets-Victorian feel!"

Thank you Marry You Me for sharing our work for inspiration for future brides! If you're a bride looking for another website to check out tips, inspirations, and literally all things "wedding, love, and sweetness," check out Marry You Me!