Sarah + Colin // August 29, 2015 // Hidden Meadows // Snohomish, WA

I met Sarah for the first time in January 2015.  I had been recommended to Sarah by Susan Beaty (the mother of the bride from a 2014 wedding) to be their day of coordinator.  Sarah is a very very sweet girl and our first meeting went great.  I couldn’t wait to dive into Sarah and Colin’s wedding details!

Sarah also plans events for a living, so she knew what she wanted and how to achieve it.  Lists, spreadsheets, diagrams – I was in planner heaven!  We dove right into planning and I loved the vision Sarah had for her wedding day.  Navy and gold – one of my new found favorite color schemes, glamour, sparkle – sooooo pretty!

I first visited the venue with Sarah and three of her bridesmaids in March.  I always like to see a venue early on in the planning process, incase the couple has questions or needs ideas and advice – it really gives me a better understanding of the whole vision.  Between Sarah and her three girlfriends, they had a lot of wonderful ideas, a ton of DIY projects and a great overall vision.  I also fell in love with the space.  Rustic chic and put together well.  It has a great history as a family farm turned venue, which is HOT in the wedding industry right now.

Months of planning and meetings went by and before I knew it, Sarah and I were at our final walk through of the wedding venue.  It was a beautiful warm Tuesday evening in late August.  Sarah and I met out at the venue and finalized the last few details.  Like most summer brides, Sarah had this vision of a gorgeous sunny wedding day – however, the forecast had a different idea.  Both of our weather apps were showing 100% chance of rain.  No biggie.  The venue has a gorgeous indoor location for the ceremony, that comes with your rental (awesome), and the reception space is also covered.  Sarah was bummed, but dealing well with the idea and had her rain back-up plan in place for set-up and ceremony, if needed.  No matter what, I assured her it was going to be a beautiful day and over and above everything else she was marrying her best friend.

Rehearsal dinner was held at the Seattle Yacht Club.  Right as the rehearsal started, outside, it started to rain, so inside we went.  Rehearsal went great and I left them for the evening to celebrate.

The next morning I woke up to a very stormy Saturday.  A little bit of panic started to set in when I received a text from the maid of honor that roads were blocked by flooding and downed trees so I may want to leave early to get to the venue by 3:00 pm.  I let her know I would be there on time and everything would be fine, because truely, rain or shine, everything will be fine.

I left my house about 1:45 pm and it was a mess to get to Snohomish.  I had been watching the traffic and the backroads from my house to the venue, were still the best option.  It was definitely a trek.  I pulled into the venue parking lot an hour later and could hear the generators running.  The power was out.  I had a feeling while I was driving there that this would be the case, as the storm had definitely hit harder in Snohomish.  A moment of quiet oh no’s and deep breaths in the car and off I went. I had to remain calm to keep everyone else calm.  I was met by the father of the groom who was all smiles and just said “oh well, it will still be a great day!” Great attitude!  I also got similar smiles and sayings from the rest of the parents and family that were gathered in the ceremony space.  I asked one of them how Sarah was and as I expected, she was a little stressed.  I peeked my head into the bride’s room to let her know I was there and that I would dive right into helping finish set-up.  Things had gotten off to a rocky start with getting to the venue, power going out mid updo’s, winds not allowing for some decor to be set out, but I assured her again “everything will be just fine.”  I was so very thankful Sarah and Colin had groomsmen that were on top of it.  They had decided, when the power started flickering, to run to Home Depot and rent enough generators for the venue to have the important areas and things lit up.

I jumped in with the set-up crew, who had already done so much, and was truely impressed with Sarah’s vision.  The space was beautiful.

Pictures got off to a late start because of the weather and power outage, but finished with no problems and ahead of schedule.  The rain had let up, so Sarah and Colin were still able to get outdoor pictures and the sky was awesome for the photos.

Ceremony time was quickly approaching, but because of the weather, guests were having a hard time getting to Hidden Meadows.  We delayed the start by 30 minutes.  Right before the ceremony started, the lights came back on!  GREAT timing weather Gods.

The ceremony went beautifully and we were able to make up some of the lost time!  Guests were moved into the reception space while Sarah and Colin spent a few minutes in the grooms' room as husband and wife.

After the guests had found their table, grabbed a drink and settled in, the bridal party was announced by couple.  For the first time, Mr. and Mrs. McElroy were introduced into the reception.  They ran through a tunnel they bridal party had created.  The father of the bride gave a quick thank you and the buffet was opened.  I was impressed with catering.  Even with the challenges of cooking by generator, they provided a full and tasty meal!

Following dinner were heartfelt and hilarious toasts.  Each toast was carefully written out and you could tell this couple has a lot of love surrounding them.  After toasts, was the cake cutting (almost to pretty to cut into) and then the first dance, father-daughter dance and mother-son dance.  Three beautiful moments.

After this round of traditional items, we took a break to allow guests some time to chat, grab a drink, relax and dance, while Sarah and Colin took some extended family photos, before moving onto the bouquet and garter toss.  More than most weddings, Sarah and Colin’s single friends and family were ready for these tosses and it was quite funny to watch!

By 9:00 pm, the dance floor was back open for the guests to show off their moves and it was defintiely packed with Sarah and Colin right in the middle.  By 9:30, catering was back to work setting up the nacho bar or as Sarah had called it in planning…the drunk food bar.  How fun!

As guests left, they got to choose from different homebrew options that Sarah and Colin had made, bottled and labeled in the months leading up to the wedding.  What a special treat!  Before Sarah and Colin left, we snuck them off for some fun photos with large balloons and sparklers (not together!). So fun and entertaining to watch as Sarah and Colin posed (and laughed) – in the pouring rain.  It was in this moment, that I could really see the love they each have for one another.

At 11:00 pm, Sarah and Colin made their grand exit and the town car swept them away.  Despite the weather giving us some challenges, it was a very successful and fun event!  Each guest made the difficult and long trek to be there and each vendor worked extra hard to make sure each of us delivered an unforgettable to day to the new Mr. and Mrs. McElroy.

Congrats again Sarah and Colin!  It was a joy getting to know you both through this process and I can’t wait to watch your love and marriage grow!

VENUE// HIDDEN MEADOWS, SNOHOMISH, WA
DAY OF COORDINATION// CASSIE RENAE EVENTS, LLC
PHOTOGRAPHY// EYLANDER PHOTOGRAPHY
CATERING AND BARTENDING// TRAILS END CATERING
CAKE// ALICIA STACY – FRIEND
FLOWERS// LISA DUNTON AND KATE MCDONALD – FRIENDS
DJ// INJOY ENTERTAINMENT – DJ WAYLON
OFFICIANT// JOHN LEPTICH – FRIEND
DECORATING SERVICES// PROP GALLERY
HAIR AND MAKE-UP// FIREFLY AVEDA SALON
TRANSPORTATION// ACES CAR SERVICE