Tag Archives: The wedding of Brett and Carley on July 17

On an amazingly lovely day my hubby and I embarked on a weekend of wedding filled fun.  We left Seattle and headed north to catch the ferry to the lovely San Juan Islands.

Our point of destination was the lovely Roch Harbor Resort.  Carley and Brett assembled the amazing welcome bags for each family.  Our had a bottle of wine from local vintner Darby, a book by Michael Pollan, candles, matches, cards and local island info.

The next morning after a kick-ass brunch we all went on a private whale watching tour.  It took us a while but eventually we, or they, found us.  Whale watching is amazing but defiantly something that should be done with respect to the animals.

After our whale watching excursion and after the wedding rehearsal came the family BBQ on the beach.  The grooms father and step mom hosted/prepared/served this extravaganza.

Next morning the getting ready commenced-not to early thankfully.  Carley’s hair and makeup were done by the girls at the resorts Spa, and the foot rubs given by her dad-ahhhhh.

Meanwhile in a condo not to far away Brett was donning his custom suit by Hugo Boss.

And then we were off.  Basically we just went for a walk, ok a bit of a hike but it’s not like they had to be mountain goats or anything.

Not far away is an outside art museum in a large field of grass-which we made good use off.

And then there was the mausoleum which initially may sound kind of creepy but it was far from it.  And made for an amazing photo backdrop.

After all the finishing touches are done (washing of feet, picking grass out of cloths and liberal use of a lint roller) it’s wedding time.

Moments before the ceremony starts they both suddenly get a massive case of jitters.  It wasn’t the concept of getting married it was that walk down the isle in front of all those people.The ceremony was held in the Sunken Garden with Brett’s stepfather doing the honors.  Did I mention Carly tripped going down the isle in the shoes I talked her into wearing….not to self-zip it.

Tender moments minutes after.

The reception followed the cocktail hour and it was held in the Pavilion Courtyard.  Their wedding coordinator hung the paper lanterns while the matron of honor did the stones.  Clean, simple and modern was the goal.

The life ring served as a fantastic backdrop for a photobooth manned by some cousins.

I eat a lot of wedding cake and this cake was fantastic.  Designed, baked and decorated by Brett’s step-mom Donna.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  Oh butter cream frosting how I love thy.

Shortly after dinner the 3 of us headed down to the marina to watch the colors ceremony.  I’ll confess I’m not a sailor so for me it was quite the spectacle and a great photo op.  The end of the day lighting was beautiful, just beautiful.  I just loved how the kids were totally oblivious to whats going on around them.

And here is one way to clear your head after having a drink or two too many.  But in my book it’s the perfect Day-After session.

Please do not try this.  The Puget sound is around 52 degrees on a good day, hypothermia can kick in with in minutes.

At this point I should probably confess that both Carly and Brett are professional models who met on the job.  And Brett is my second-cousin-in-law.  So is Carly now.