Ryan & Selah

A Garden Wedding
Bainbridge Island, Washington
We knew it was coming. When my godson came home with a beautiful young woman named Selah, we know it was coming. In fact, his mother and I began talking about garden weddings almost immediately.( Another red, black and white wedding, of course!) So when the official wedding date was set for October 10, 2010, we didn’t bat an eye. After all, MerriAnn helped me start up studio G occasions, and was my assistant coordinator for the first year I was in business as studio G. This would be a snap.


However, in February, when the date was moved up to June, there was a flurry of activity. MerriAnn, having read Jane Austen, I’m sure, thought, “One can never have too large a party.” She immediately decided the wedding would be combined with her 25th wedding anniversary, her in-laws 50th, and did I mention her middle son was graduating from high school that weekend?

MerriAnn & her husband Mark own a lovely rental cottage on their property, called The Beach Glass Cottage, so it was decided to take advantage of their lovely gardens and hold the wedding at home.






















While MerriAnn and I created a design scheme that was both garden-y and elegant and inexpensive, since there were extremely limited resources to work with; Ryan went home to Florida to work on education; and Selah to find a dress and new employment. Selah ended up ordering the dress online from China, which terrified me, but ended up being just beautiful.






My husband, Ryan’s godfather, was asked to preside over the wedding ceremony, and though he is an architect, he had been ordained by our church and has served as assistant pastor, elder and teacher at various times throughout the years.





The groom’s cousin, Andrew McDonnell, who is squandering his photographic talent by pursuing his doctorate at MIT, provided the photography for the day, along with Allison, a close family friend.

Ryan and Selah are very passionate, artistic individuals, so as you might expect some things were left to or changed at the last minute. Although they had put much thought into their ceremony, which was a combination of the Jewish and Christian tradition, and into their unique vows, they had not yet put pen to paper. I received their re-draft of their custom ceremony at about 10 pm the night of the rehearsal. Since the middle son’s graduation brunch and ceremony were the following day, so I had make time to sort that out in time for my husband to review when he arrived from the retreat at which he was teaching.

After picking up some extra beverages from the store and the graduate’s godfather from the ferry terminal, my family and I went to toast the graduate. Then I started prepping & greening vases for centerpieces & pulling aside flowers for the bouquets. After everyone had gone off to the ceremony, I spent the next 3 hours making the centerpieces and boutonnieres with the flowers they had purchased.

I saved the bouquets for MerriAnn & her sister who wanted to create them in the morning. I headed out earlier this time, after shuttling the godfather to his hotel -home by about 10. But I still had to make filling for the 100 canoli shells I had made Friday morning. Bed by 1 am this time.

Sunday I had to pick up the 3 cakes at Bainbridge Island’s Town and Country Market - one for the happy couple, one for the parent's silver anniversary, and one for the grandparent's golden anniversary. When I arrived at the house, my assistant Diane was there setting up already, the bouquets had just been finished, and the house was a flurry of activity. Even though I was supposed to be a guest for the day, I had to be who I am, and I joined the activity.

We decided the entry path was just too grey and lifeless –so I purchased some rock salt at the last minute. With it, my daughter and the groom's uncle created a monogram with butterflies ( a wedding theme) and stars (a thing the bride loves) that was a surprising and different entrée to the ceremony site.

We used lovely white wooden folding chairs from Kitsap Event Rental, who also provided the reception tables. Red petals were strewn along the ceremony aisle, and two large urns were embellished with plants, branches, and crystals.









My husband did a great job on his first wedding, giving the couple a hard time for their choice of scriptures. They had listed Song of Solomon 6:8 on their invitation and had insisted he use it in the ceremony. You think you know what it is – “I am my beloved’s and he is mine.” Right? Wrong. That is actually Song of Solomon 6:3. Here is what their verse 8 actually says, “There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.” It brought a chuckle to all, needless to say.

For all the music, they used Mike Graham, their church’s worship leader was outstanding, Poor Mike – he set up his sound equipment on top of the table where the bride had (mis)placed her vows, causing groomsmen to scramble mid-ceremony to look for them.
Tables were set with my arsenal of silver candelabras and mercury glass lanterns, plus julep cups, and an eclectic mix of red bottles and vases, laid out along black and ivory damask runners made from drapery fabric.
Uncles Dave & Guy and close family friend Michael B. were indispensable here. Who know these men were so artistic!

Since rental china was out of the budget, we chose high quality disposable goods from Smarty Had A Party, an online party store with an amazing selection of fun disposable goods.



We did rent stemware for the almond champagne purchased especially for the occasion – a favorite of the groom’s parents.





Simplify!, the caterer, who is a another family friend just starting out in the business did a nice job for her first wedding, serving an array of appetizers, antipasti, orzo grilled shrimp, and Caesar and caprese salads. In addition to the 3 small cakes and my cannolis, my mother-in-law and sister in law made several huge trays of a to-die-for tiramisu.


After lengthy toasts, and lots of laughing, talking, and dancing, Ryan and Selah were sent off with had a very smoky sparkler send off (this is why you buy the more expensive metal ones!) in the neighbor's convertible bug, complete with sign & tin cans.

It was truly a group effort, and although those of us who pitched in were tired out by all our efforts, we were blessed to be able to provide a gorgeous celebration of love and marriage for three generations.

Drew & Jessica
A Church Wedding in Gig Harbor, Washington

Its funny – this year about 90% of the weddings I designed or coordinated used a color palette in variations of black, red and white. The brides had already decided this before coming to me. I guess it was just the summer of Red, Black and White!

The last wedding I posted was picnic/homespun themed, but Jessica and Drew had a more romantic vision in mind. Ordinarily, I do the design work myself, but Jessica’s mom, Virgina, has a fair hand with floral and event design, and has helped me out with an event or two, so together we were able to create the look Jessica envisioned.

On that Saturday morning in May, Jessica’s gorgeous curly red hair was styled by Heather at Salon Vlasa (253-225-2283), who also coiffed the wedding party, and they were off to the photo shoot.

They had planned on taking their pre-wedding portraits at Silverbow Farms on the Key Peninsula, where they had picked a portion of their wedding flowers, however, it was rainy and muddy and NOT the place for Jessica’s beautiful gown to be. Providentially, the couple’s friend had just moved into a beautiful home that was graciously offered as a substitute. Adrian Busse of Studio 6 Photography, who provided all the images herein, took fabulous advantage of this lovely home -




Using various crystal chandeliers and loose crystal hung in corkscrew willow branches, they transformed the sanctuary of Community Bible Fellowship in Gig Harbor into a romantic landscape lit by the warm glow of candlelight.







Of course, it wasn’t all serious. Turns out that Drew and Jessica are kind of Star Wars Geeks. So after changing into their “Red Leader” and “Red Two” sneakers, the couple re-entered the hall, now reset for the reception, under a gauntlet of light sabers wielded by the wedding party. DJ Dennis McBroom provided the appropriate Star Wars Theme as an accompaniment.








Dinner was provided by a team of women from Community Bible Fellowship – and as another blogger I admire says, “church women can cook!” Tri tip, chicken, dangerously good potatoes, and a salad that I still crave! Proof positive that if you’re serving a wedding feast, but don’t have the budget for a caterer, there are still lots of great options out there. Although their budget was modest, Drew and Jessica were able to create a beautiful day, with the help of family and friends.






The lesson? Don’t be afraid to ask for help… it might turn out to be better than you imagined!

Wedding Planning… the Hard Way – Lesson Six
Just to be clear, I am not a “I-loved-planning-my-own-wedding-so-much-I-started-my-own-business” event planner. I have worked in meeting and event planning for both corporate and non-profit entities. However, I did learn a few things in the process, and in order to save you a bit of wedding planning grief, I share these lessons with you:

Our wedding reception took place a warm September evening on the church patio and the canopy of twinkling lights absolutely shimmered. After a simple buffet dinner, everyone, well, nearly everyone danced. I’m fairly certain my Baptist grandmother did not. It was a bit quirky by the various standards being used, certainly not flawlessly executed, but it was a memorable and charming blend of both worlds. If you ask my mother in law, she’ll tell you people are still talking about how nice it was.

Lesson Six… in the end, with even a little help and forethought, nearly every wedding works out to be a beautiful event: the happy couple is joined in marriage, families reconnect, new family bonds are forged and celebration ensues. Even the foibles and faux pas become part of the tapestry of a beautiful memory.

Wedding Planning… the Hard Way – Lessons Four and Five

Just to be clear, I am not a “I-loved-planning-my-own-wedding-so-much-I-started-my-own-business” event planner. I have worked in meeting and event planning for both corporate and non-profit entities. However, I did learn a few things in the process, and in order to save you a bit of wedding planning grief, I share these lessons with you:

In our experience, either the old folks danced to old folk music or the young hip people, such as ourselves, danced to real music. We decided that if we were going to have dancing, we wanted everyone to dance. My FH and I had actually met at and “aggie stomp” – a Cal Poly tradition where there was a band with a caller that taught traditional dances like the Cotton-Eyed Joe & the Virginia Reel. (He had a date who was 5 inches taller than my six feet, and there were about 40 women there and maybe 5 men. That I even got to speak with him was miraculous!) We decided this was a great way to incorporate “us” into the scheme of things. It also had the advantage of never having been done at a wedding in either of our circles, so it made ours unique.

Lesson Four… incorporating your “story” into your wedding makes it unique and memorable. I have many, many more examples of this. Trust me (I’m a professional) – it will make people smile when they recall your wedding, no matter how modest your budget.



Wedding Planning… the Hard Way – Lesson Five
Just to be clear, I am not a “I-loved-planning-my-own-wedding-so-much-I-started-my-own-business” event planner. I have worked in meeting and event planning for both corporate and non-profit entities. However, I did learn a few things in the process, and in order to save you a bit of wedding planning grief, I share these lessons with you:

Aside from the awful-but-generously-offered centerpieces, we had only one other décor item at the reception: the pergola that was swathed in white twinkle lights. This was unheard of 25 years ago. I was a pioneer! Please note: twinkle lights are no longer cutting edge or a new idea, neither is a 12x12 mirror tile in the center of the table. If you must use either, do find a way to make it different or personal. Strangely, I have no pictures of this, but it is a lovely romantic glow in my mind…)

Lesson Five ... think out of the box. Finding creative ways to accomplish the look you want is one of the best (and most difficult sometimes) things about designing your wedding. Please exit the “wedding” aisle of your local craft store and look beyond its shelves. I promise you will find some beautiful solutions to your design issues outside of this aisle and even outside the store.

Wedding Planning… the Hard Way – Lessons Two and Three:

Just to be clear, I am not a “I-loved-planning-my-own-wedding-so-much-I-started-my-own-business” event planner. I have worked in meeting and event planning for both corporate and non-profit entities. However, I did learn a few things in the process, and in order to save you a bit of wedding planning grief, I share these lessons with you:

Given my background and experience, I had never really seen a wedding with centerpieces at the tables, so behind the scenes my in-laws arranged to have their friend make them out of artificial flowers. They were god-awful things – super fake blue and maroon flowers of an in determinant type in orange-y brown handle baskets. I appreciated the sentiment, anyway. For the bouquets, boutonnieres, can corsages, I was informed that I certainly couldn’t afford anything more than carnations for my wedding flowers, and I made the mistake of believing it without further investigation. I gave up any thought of the dark red roses I had envisioned, and a nice woman who did freelance floral design made the personal flowers from pink, dark red, and white carnations with lots and lots of baby’s breath and leather leaf fern.

Just typing this gives me a facial tic. I’m emotionally scarred to this day… please don’t ask me to use baby’s breath, it gives me flashbacks! Must redirect…..
I just ordered beautiful peonies and David Austin Darcey and Rosalind roses for a client…. aah… OK… I’m better now.
Had I done the research, or given it any serious thought for that matter, I might have used fewer nicer flowers. I certainly would have done something else for centerpieces – perhaps a candle arrangement. Unfortunately, I just didn’t take any time to think it through and I certainly didn’t voice an opinion.


Lesson Two… do your homework. Just because “they” say it can’t be done on your budget doesn’t necessarily mean something nice can’t be done on your budget. I haven’t had a “sky’s the limit” client yet (if you’re out there CALL ME!) so finding ways to make a bride’s vision fit her budget has become a specialty of mine. I can’t do miracles, but I do take it personally when someone is told they can’t do it.


Fortunately, I was so happy to be marrying the love of my life, so it was easy to keep things in perspective. Which brings me (quickly) to:

Lesson Three… keep things in perspective. A wedding is a day or two of your life, the marriage ahead is what is really important.

Lessons in Wedding Planning...the Hard Way

Just to be clear, I am not a “I-loved-planning-my-own-wedding-so-much-I-started-my-own-business” event planner. I have worked in meeting and event planning for both corporate and non-profit entities. However, just as classroom learning experience doesn't always sink in and you have to learn it on a "field trip," I also learned a few things in the process of my planning all those years ago. In order to save you a bit of wedding planning grief, I share these lessons with you:

In my hometown, a wedding reception was pretty much cake and punch in the church fellowship hall. No other food, unless you count butter mints or Jordan almonds in pastel colors. And of course, no dancing – ever! After all, we were Baptists. My mother had stirred things up with my older sister’s Very Peach Wedding by having cheese and fruit and *gasp* decorating the fellowship hall with rented plants.


Note the the copius use of carnations and baby's breath at the VPW, not to mention the synthetic lace-like table cloth. I think all images of my peach quiana gown have thankfully been destroyed.

We decided to have my wedding at his church because its traditional dark wood pews and traditional architecture matched our color theme better than the burnt orange tones and modern design of my home church. The Orange sanctuary worked well with my sister's Very Peach Wedding, but clashed badly with my burgundy and mauve one. And those paper bells and crepe paper streamers? NOT happening at my wedding. With my fiance working in the Netherlands for the summer before our wedding, I was on my own for planning. So I merrily planned my version of an evening wedding with the reception on the church patio.

My husband’s family, however, came from a more upscale tradition. His church was founded by Dutch dairymen and his grandparents were founding members. As far as I can tell, the California-Dutch dairyman’s tradition was “I can top that wedding.” More often than not in stylish hotel ballrooms, hosted bars, and shockingly enough, dancing.

His church was much more architectually pleasing, and certainly less Peach. This was his younger sister's wedding. You'll note that there was also the use of considerably more non-carnation flowers, and a larger budget for the bride's ensemble. While she did use Peach, we bridesmaids got to wear minty green moire tafetta.

Needless to say, the future in laws were more than a little surprised at the lack of a band and a proper meal and graciously offered to pay for both.

Lesson One…. Do talk to your future in laws and find out what their expectations and ideas might be for your wedding. His parents might want to help out & they might have an idea or a connection or two that you don’t know about. A wedding is about the joining of you two, certainly, but it can be more than that. It can be the joining of two families and two (or more) traditions. Be respectful of this as you plan.

How Did I Get Here?

It’s not the first question brides or mothers of brides ask me, but they invariably ask it:

How did you get started in the wedding business?

The short answer is that it is just how I was made.

The long answer begins like this:

I can remember planning my birthday parties with my mom – always on a budget, by the way! – when I was a very little girl. I think my favorite was the “come as your favorite story book character” party I had when I was about 10. I’m not sure who I was – a princess of some sort. The “gown” was fashioned from a beautiful, lacy peignoir and silky nightgown with hoops made by my daddy from coat hangers, and I wore pink camellias in my hair from the bush that bloomed every year for my birthday. We even made a spice cake that looked like a story book - even then it was all about the details.

Fast forward to high school. My youth group at church consisted of about 3 regulars, but the college and career group was a much larger bunch of perhaps 35 people. Pastor John, my discerning youth pastor, had me pegged from the beginning: even at 16, I was a planner. He gave me the task of planning the sweetheart banquet for the older group. I planned, shopped, created and set up hte room in a pleasing arrangement, cooked (prime rib and twice baked potatoes, with a tomato and broccoli salad, as I remember it,) served and cleaned up the entire event. Once again on a tiny budget. This was the first in a long line of youth group events I would plan and execute.

While away at college, I didn’t have the opportunity to plan much of anything. Instead, I studied Animal Science, including forage crops, where I learned all about the local indigenous plants while collecting samples from the central California hillsides. I still remember things like Amaranthus retroflexus is the Latin name for pigweed. This should have been my cue to jump ship to the Ornamental Horticulture department. I might have found my inner floral designer sooner if I had, and I could hace worked on Cal Poly’s Rose Parade Float.

The other thing I learned at college, that there were very handsome men there, one of these absolutely swept me off my feet with his charm and humor and married me. Which brings me to the next big event I would plan: my wedding.

New Beginnings

I'm in the business of new beginnings, so you'd think I'd be facing this one with less trepidation. I'm a seasoned professionsal. Well schooled in my craft. Experienced...Calm ... Poised... Gracious... Unflappable.... Not! This blogging thing is daunting and terrifying. However, Celia Milton, Celebrant (celiamilton.com/blog) has encouraged, emboldened, and educated me, so here I go...

THIS is how many of you brides-to-be must be feeling with the task looming before you. Its the biggest party you've ever thrown and will ever throw for a long time (until your daughters marry!) There's only one way to go, and that's forward, so talk with a few experts (like me or Celia,) take heart, and take a deep breath... and dive in!

Let's take this journey together. Talk to me, ask me your questions, tell me your concerns, and I"ll tell you what I know, as often as I can with as much humour and grace as I can muster.