Real Wedding: Sarah & David

We were set up by a mutual acquaintance who asked David, ‘So, what are you looking for in a woman?’ To his response, ‘Someone who is professional, practices yoga, likes to cook and enjoys traveling’, she said ‘I’ve got just the woman!’. We had dinner, became friends, and fell madly in love.

We selected the area around Victor, Idaho for the wedding because of both the small town feel as well as the stunning mountain backdrop. Our invitations were inspired by the majestic Teton Mountains, and our talented graphic design friend, Jen Boyce designed them.

Describe the proposal.

A surprise weekend was on the calendar. David was to fly his own plane, so I was thinking – Montana, San Francisco… Instead, we landed at Portland International Airport and went commercial… to PARIS, FRANCE (with a TGV ride to Provence)!

It was an elaborate, sweet, thoughtful long weekend in Provence, France that included a villa, hand made ring box, old fashioned-on-one-knee proposal, a tour of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine region, cheese, wine, exploring and, of course, champagne.

Finding my wedding dress was easy. I went to a boutique in Portland Oregon with a sweet friend (for advice and for fun!), tried on 3 or 4 and picked the one that made me feel instantly like a princess.

Ironically, when I talked about my dream wedding dress I always said that it would not be strapless and I would not wear a veil. My dress was strapless and I wore a veil.

Our sweet yoga teacher honored us by being our officiant. It provided exactly the feel of love and joy that we were looking to express.

We also included into our ceremony a short 5 minute walk alone after the ceremony to have a bit of private time.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?

Hearing the words ‘Yes, you are now married’. And, most spectacularly, there was an intense rainstorm that danced around our ceremony (which was outside) and the dramatic dark clouds provided extra tension during the ceremony. Bring blue skies and sun arrived for the wedding reception.

I had orange roses and orange lily’s for the bridal bouquet. Orange Gerber Daisy’s on the tables and as accents. We also used Aspen boughs from the surrounding Aspen grove.

Someone told me while I was planning that one thing will go wrong at your wedding, and celebrate it when it does. I left my bridal bouquet sitting nicely in water during the ceremony, and when it was brought to me afterwards at the cocktail hour I just laughed

I was all about getting to have a cake tasting when we started planning the wedding. Since we had a destination wedding, we left most of the details to those who do what they do best (florists, caterers, etc.) and focused on the areas that were most important for us.

Well, I love frosting. We had a pre-wedding planning trip to Victor, Idaho and met with our sweet cake maker, Monica Siep (Jackson Cake Company), and tasted cake and frosting to my content. We choose to have a Vanilla Bean
Crème Fraiche Gateau filled with Orange Blossom Buttercream and Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache. Frosted with Orange Blossom Buttercream. On the side we had Lemon Lavender Crème Brulee served in Organic Duck Egg Shells which matched our French Bistro theme for dinner.

What advice would you give to others?

Stay close to your hubby – that’s what it’s all about after all! Don’t worry too much about what the books say – do what you WANT. Trust yourself – your friends will know it’s personal, and yours. Trust your vendors – they do what they do because they are really good at it! As well, don’t have a wedding without a wedding coordinator. It was probably the best decision we made – not only having her wise advice and ideas during the planning, but having someone else in charge of the final details so we could relax and be really present for our ceremony, each other, and for our guests.

It’s short, it’s beautiful, it’s meaningful. Have fun, laugh, breath, enjoy……