Wedding Date on Sep 23, 2017

Jon & Morgan’s Wedding StoryFirst Date: July 10th, 2014Engagement: December 31st, 2016Wedding: September 23, 2017 How did you two meet?We met on match.com! Jon had recently moved to Seattle from his home state of Connecticut, and I had just gotten back from a soul-searching solo trip to Costa Rica. After a few major fails (and some hilarious mishaps), I had fully sworn off of online dating forever, but shortly after returning to Seattle, a little voice in the back of my head kept nagging me to get back online one more time. I was able to ignore it for a few weeks until it was just too loud to drown out. I decided to give online dating one more go, with absolutely zero expectations. Jon was the first person to reach out - it felt a little fateful to be honest. He hooked me in with his Pop-A-Shot challenge (and his dashing looks, of course). We met for drinks at a patio bar overlooking Lake Union, and by our fourth date we were jumping out of an airplane together. We've been trying to top that date ever since. :) *side note - I remain undefeated at Pop-A-Shot ;)
 How did they propose?We were in Connecticut for the holiday's, visiting Jon's family. I had a hunch that he would propose while we were there, but as the end of our trip neared, I was definitely feeling antsy and to be honest, super nervous. The anticipation was killing me! It was the morning of New Years Eve 2016, and Jon's sister in law took me out for a couple of hours to get our nails done. Huge sign, I know, but I was trying not to get my hopes up too much. When we got back to the house, the whole family was there. His sister Jessica handed me one of her twin babies, Sloane, but I didn't immediately notice Sloane's shirt or the words that it read. Jon had purchased custom outfits for his two nieces and nephew, and together, they read the words "Will You Marry Me?" It took me a minute to realize what was going on, but once I did, the tears started flowing. Visibly shaking, he got down on one knee and through a puddle of happy tears I nodded yes (I was totally speechless and in shock haha). Jon said he had thought a lot about whether to do it alone or in front of family, and that ultimately (and especially with the passing of my father), he wanted me to be surrounded by as much love as possible when he asked me the most important question of his life. It was so incredibly thoughtful, and the way he did it was so genuine and so "Jon." :-)
 What did you envision your wedding being prior to planning?Prior to planning, neither of us had a very clear vision of what our wedding would look like. All we knew is that we wanted it to feel intimate, true to our personalities, and for our guests to truly feel special and thought of. Jon suggested a beach wedding which I quickly vetoed, and we also discussed having it at his fathers' gorgeous estate in Connecticut. Ultimately we decided to keep it here in the Northwest, our home (and some of the most gorgeous scenery in the country!). As soon as we got back to Seattle we had arranged to see some venues on Whidbey Island, off the coast of Washington. We found our dream venue that day, and the one September spot they had left fell on Jon’s birthday! It felt a bit like a miracle, since most venues had already been booked out for 2017, that this gorgeous, island-set farm was still available in our favorite month, September. We loved that having our wedding on Whidbey felt like mini-destination wedding, and was very full-circle, since I was also born on Whidbey Island. I was adopted as a newborn, and the opportunity to bring Jon there, along with our families and friends, to that fateful little town felt very kismet, and like another small way to honor my sweet Dad. What was your color palette and your style vision?Our vision and color palette was natural and elegant, with boho and vintage inspiration. We didn't want any colors or decor that didn't make sense or flow with our farm venue. The venue itself is already so naturally beautiful, and the coordinator provided gorgeous vintage decor and personalized signage for each wedding, so there wasn't a ton we felt the need to do as far as decorating goes, which was so great. This made it so that the budget we did have for decorations and style could go to special details that really meant a lot to us. Since the wedding was on a farm, we wanted to stick with colors that naturally go with that vibe..we had lots of greens, creams, and blush, with pops of gold and dusty rose. When searching for style inspiration, I was always drawn to weddings that were very botanical, with dimly lit ceremony's...weddings that looked super elegant and intimate but not overdone. I hope that's what we achieved, by letting the beauty of the historic farm speak for itself, and carefully choosing decor that would add a sense of personalization and uniqueness but not add clutter or overshadow what was already so naturally beautiful. 
 What unique elements or DIY details did you include? Details to honor my dad:With the passing of my dad four years ago, I wasn't sure how this day would feel to be honest. I spent lots of time thinking about the ways in which I wanted to honor him at the wedding. There was a song I heard the day before Jon proposed, called "Village," that brought me to my knees with its lyrics about losing someone you love, but they’ll always have a front row seat, right there in your heart. The song played in my head nonstop throughout the whole engagement process, and so I had the chorus put onto a gorgeous wooden sign and displayed next to the memorial table with his pictures on it. I also had a chair reserved for him in the front row where he would've sat during the ceremony. It, of course, remained empty, but I had a small sign made that read "dad," and we hung it on the back of the chair. For our first Christmas together, Jon had given me a locket with pictures of my dad inside of it. I had the locket attached to my bouquet to walk down the aisle with. Lastly, I wrote my father a love letter and had it printed on the back of the wedding programs, and we had a moment of silence for him at the beginning of the ceremony. The hardest things can also be the most precious, and I'm so thankful I had a father whose life and heart and character made it such an honor to memorialize him on the biggest day of my life. Vows: Jon and I decided to write our own vows, and in fact, we pieced together our entire ceremony from scratch. We are not religious or traditional, so it was so much fun finding and/or creating wording, poems, readings, etc. from all over, and putting together something that truly felt like it fit us perfectly. Decor:- We had gorgeous ivory scrolls with calligraphy made, and had one as the backdrop of our ceremony, with the lyrics of one of our favorite love songs. We had two more scrolls at the reception, draping off of our sweetheart table and the dessert table. I love how it added a pop of brightness to the space, and also a literary element, because of my love for music, writing and poetry. - We made our own confetti cones out of ivory textured paper, with a lace band and floral tags that read "toss me!" For the confetti, I did a mixture of square and rectangle paper in blush, cream, gold, and rose gold, as well as tiny ivory and blush faux feathers. I absolutely loved the look of the feathers in the photographs of us walking back down the aisle, and the look of them really tied in with all of the pampas grass. First dance:Jon and I were never super thrilled at the thought of doing typical first dance to a slow song. As a couple, we tend to be really goofy, so when we randomly came across a movie scene of an improvised (and very unflattering) dance to the 80's power ballad "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," we knew we had to do it. We spent a few months memorizing the moves, as well as adding a few of our own, and hoped that everyone would find it as silly, self deprecating, and fun as we did. It surprised everyone, was a total blast, and one of my most cherished memories from the day. Dogs:Our two dogs, Sawyer and Winnie, are our babies, and we couldn't imagine having our wedding without them. Winnie wore a floral garland around her neck that I had made, and Sawyer wore a blue bow-tie that matched Jon's. They had matching white leashes, and walked down the aisle with two of my young cousins. We knew having animals at the ceremony meant anything could happen, but we welcomed whatever that might bring. They were so funny and well-behaved - Winnie laid down on top of my train the whole time, and Sawyer switched between aunt Jessica's and grandpa Seymour's lap. :) They completely stole the show! Surprise tribute dance for my dad:Jon and my mom surprised me with the most special tribute to my late father. After the first dance, our DJ told me to stay on the dance floor, which was not in my notes and as I am nothing if not a planner, this really threw me haha. A song came on, and one of my uncles walked toward me and asked me to dance. Of course the waterworks started instantly, and throughout the song, 2 more of my uncles came in and took the others' place. I don't think there was a dry eye in the building. I'm so glad it was a surprise because the emotion was so genuine and raw. I still cannot look at the pictures and video of it without getting emotional. I'm so grateful for such a precious memory. 
 Tell us about your flowers, your gown, your favors, your cake, etc.Flowers:I was walking the dogs one morning and passed by a huge bush of pampas grass. I knew immediately that I wanted that to be a main floral component of the wedding. I had never seen pampas grass used in a wedding before, and I thought it would be so unique, and the creamy color and flowy texture would look great with our venue. My bouquet was a gorgeous combination of the pampas grass, roses, and eucalyptus. We had lush, eucalyptus garlands going down our long farm tables at the reception, filled in with cream and blush roses. At cocktail hour, we honored my dad by using dahlia's, his favorite flower, to adorn the bistro tables. Gown:I fell in love with two gorgeous wedding gowns, and somehow convinced myself, my fiance, and my saint of a mother that two gowns was necessary. The two gowns were polar opposite styles, but from the same designer, which gave them more of a cohesive look and feel. I found them both at Nordstrom in Seattle, made by Ines Di Santo. My ceremony gown was a champagne-colored modern ballgown. It had a flowing skirt and train, while the top was super delicate with tiny straps, nearly backless, and adorned with delicate lace appliquè's. It was so comfortable, and I truly felt like a bride in it. My reception dress was a floor-length, fitted, ivory gown with a cascading lace train that we later bustled for dancing. The top of the dress was made entirely of illusion mesh, with lace appliquè's strategically placed in the front for necessary coverage. ;) The back had a single row of white beads down the spine to simulate buttons. I had never seen anything like this gown before, and really wanted something that would be elegant but make a bold statement. Cake:Jon and I can undoubtedly be found at our favorite local bakeries every single weekend loading up on goodies, so we knew our dessert needed to match our love for all things sweet. We decided against a traditional wedding cake, and opted instead for a dessert table filled with things we love. We used 3 of our favorite local bakeries, as well as one of my very dear friends' baking skills to put together a spread of several flavors of fruit pies, cream pies, french macarons, cupcakes, and twice baked chocolate croissants. We felt like there was something for everyone this way, and our guests would also get a sampling of our very favorite Seattle-area treats. Favors: Coming up with an idea for favors was one of the hardest things to get inspiration for. I didn't want to do something that I had seen done time and time again, and I also wanted to give something thoughtful that would show our guests how much they mean to us. I can't remember where I first saw the idea of vintage handkerchiefs, but since our wedding decor had a vintage flair, I thought they would be a great idea. In order to make them even more personalized, I decided to collect authentic vintage hankies and personally hand-stitch every guests' first initial and our wedding date onto them. I loved finding hankies that made me think of a certain guest. Halfway through the process, my mom found a box full of my late grandmother's handkerchiefs. I used her handkerchiefs (with a special tag to signify it belonged to her), to give to our female guests that were related to or very close to her, which was extra special and felt like such a precious way to honor her memory. We also provided to-go boxes for food and dessert, because who doesn't love a good late night snack!? Food:Having really good food was one of the biggest priorities for us. We found an amazing caterer on Whidbey Island who sourced the majority of her ingredients locally, and who let us collaborate with her to create our entire menu from scratch! Jon and I wanted the food to feel accessible and appealing to everyone, but also be things that we personally really love. We did an homage to us growing up on opposite coasts by having lobster rolls and Dungeness crab sliders at cocktail hour, and satisfied my undying love for truffles with cavatappi truffle mac n cheese. Jon and I both have an unhealthy obsession with plantain chips, so our caterer made them from scratch to go along with our homemade guacamole and salsa bar. She really went above and beyond to create the menu of our dreams. The entire spread was amazing and so delicious, my only regret from the wedding was not making a huge to-go box of mac n cheese to eat in bed before it was all gone! 
 Describe your wedding day in your own wordsOur wedding day was an absolute dream. I'm still pinching myself, wondering if it actually happened! The entire day was just so lovely, easy, laid-back and dreamy - exactly what we wanted. I didn’t want either of us to be stressed out on our wedding day, and we miraculously managed to pull that off. There was so much hard work that went into this day, and Jon and I are both so grateful that our incredible vendors and help from friends and family made the day flow so smoothly. Of course the day goes by fast, but we felt like we were really able to be present in the moment and really enjoy each part of the wedding day. I had the most intense butterflies right before it was my turn to enter the ceremony, and walking down the aisle, seeing Jon at the end of it, was one of the most surreal and amazing moments of my life. Seeing our guests laughing and dancing together, getting to know each other and sharing stories over dinner and drinks in celebration of our love, truly meant everything to us. I keep looking at the pictures, re-living the day over and over. We wish we could re-live it every day. 
 What is one piece of advice that you could give brides-to-be?My biggest piece of advice, and what Jon and I made a point to follow is this: Don’t feel pressured have to take everyone’s advice!! Have the wedding that you and your fiancé want, not the wedding you think you're “supposed” to have!! Don't go by "the rules" or follow wedding standards just for the sake of it. The best decision we made was NOT including lots of the standard traditions that didn't actually mean anything to us (such as our opting out of bridesmaids and groomsmen), and instead only incorporating things that really spoke to us and/or that we thought would help showcase who we are as a couple. Remember, this is your day to shine!!! Don't let the "should do's" overpower what you really want. Stay true to yourself when making your wedding plans, and your guests will feel your presence and love radiating from every detail. :)