Amanda and Brad were married on August 5th, with a ceremony and reception at the Mountain Springs Lodge in Leavenworth, Washington.

Smoky Skies

As we are all aware, Mother Nature has recently reared her ugly head in several different parts of the United States. My heart breaks for all those who have been deeply affected. It’s been a rough road for so many people - I can't begin to imagine.

Here in the PNW, we have been hit pretty hard by fires and, therefore, smoke-filled skies on and off for the past 6 weeks. That was the case on Brad and Amanda’s day, but that didn’t hold them back from staging the wedding celebration they had always dreamed of. If anything, it gave them a unique element to their day and a natural light filter.

Beautiful Family

The entire group of family and friends made the day incredibly special. Amanda has two sisters (which I can identify with, being the middle of two sisters), and two lifelong best friends—and all of them brought their hilarious and goofy sides to make the day lighthearted and all-around rip roaring good time!

The boys let their exuberant personalities shine as well. One of them even got stung by a bee while we were taking pictures with the groomsmen and still managed to put on a happy face. Poor guy!

Two Dads Perform a Ceremony

It’s pretty rare and special to have one of the fathers of a couple perform the ceremony, but it adds a level of intimacy that is hard to beat. This wedding had not just one but both dads in on the ceremony, though! Amanda’s dad ended up being totally surprised when Brad’s dad, who was the main officiant, brought him in mid-ceremony. Even though he was surprised, he ended up pulling it off perfectly!

Probably the best part of the whole ceremony, though, was when Brad’s dad said, “You may kiss the bride.” They started in for the kiss, and Amanda’s dad piped up before they could get to business with, “Hold on, hold on,” which, of course, sent everyone into joyous laughter.

“Remember When”

All the toasts were beautiful, but the one from Amanda’s dad was extra special. He wrote it around the concept of creating all the “remember when” moments—all those memories that make up our life, that shape us, and that we love to reflect back on.

He spoke about the first time he got to hold his precious daughter and the emotions that filled him as well as the thoughts of the journey he was embarking on with her . . . all the way up to that very moment when he was standing there at her wedding. He said that now, they were creating a new “remember when” moment. The whole thing was a beautiful tribute to his daughter and to the new couple—and it had all of us listening to it thinking about our own “remember when” moments.

Go Cougs!

Amanda and Brad are huge Cougar fans, so the wedding had a lot of Washington State University details sprinkled throughout. They had a huge WSU Cougar emblem carved out of metal with their names and their wedding date, and their wedding colors had a Cougar flare. They sealed off their special day in style by performing the fight song during the reception while waving a huge WSU flag! I can totally relate, since I come from a family of Cougars. It’s true love. :)

My quote for this couple:

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more; that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope to give you forever." – Noah, The Notebook

Amanda & Brad, may you always give this kind of love to each other, and may your journey together be epic yet simple. I look forward to when our paths can cross again!