Going to the Chapel

Well we aren't technically going to a chapel, but we are getting married. :-) And we now have our venue, date and photographer secured! My goal was to have these three things locked down by the end of April, but life kind of got hectic there for awhile.

The Venue

Shaun & I luckily agree on the most important things that will make-up our wedding day, including the type of venue we are looking for. We both want the celebration to feel more like an experience than a day on the calendar for our closest friends & family. We want to have the opportunity to spend an ample amount of time with all of our guests that are coming from near and far. All of our favorite weddings that we have attended in the past accomplished this very thing. We wanted to find a place with either a rustic barn, high rafters, twinkle lights, etc. or a beautiful venue on the water that wasn't high trafficked and had an intimate feel that allows us to make the wedding our own (rather than having to follow strict rules about menus, times, decorations, etc).

After researching venue after venue, we were finally pointed in the right direction by my bestie Liz, who sent me the link for the Resort at Port Ludlow. Once we met with the wedding coordinator and completed our tour of the property, I looked at Shaun and knew we were both thinking the same thing...this place is perfect! It's a ferry ride and short drive away from Seattle and is a smaller Inn with only 37 guest rooms located right on Ludlow Bay with views of the Olympics. And to top it off, the people we are working with are extremely friendly, responsive, flexible and eager to help make our wedding day exactly how we imagine it to be.

The Date

As a lot of you know, we have jumped around from September to May to June...and have finally landed on August as our wedding month. :-) My dad is a farmer, so we had to be careful to choose a date that didn't interfere with seeding or harvest which we were, of course, more than happy to do! After finding the Resort at Port Ludlow, we knew June would be too risky being that we are going to be right on the water and it tends to get more chilly the closer to the water you get. So we decided the end of August would be perfect...and less stressful for me not having to worry as much about mother nature's crazy antics. (Not that you're ever in the clear in Washington.) So our official date is August 27, 2011!

The Photographer

The single most important thing for our wedding, besides the venue, was finding the perfect photographer. Because let's face it, after this important day/party is all said and done, the photographs are what we will have left to remember it all by when we're old and forgetful. :) Similar to the venue, we did lots and lots of research on photographers and came back to the photographer that initially caught my eye at a wedding expo I went to with Liz awhile back (secretly, before even being engaged) and that I have been following their blog ever since. Their artistic, original style is unmatched in my opinion. They are a husband and wife team who shoot with 7 different cameras, some of which use their own homemade lenses. And in addition to all of that, they are the sweetest people to work with. We are confident Heather & Jon of One Love Photo will capture all of the moments of our special day better than we could ever hope for.

And now I can relax for a little while before submerging myself in full wedding planning mode. :)