Sara and Mike Montgomery with their officiant taking their vows at the Plateau Club
I just now slowed down long enough to take a look at my last post, and was shocked to see it was four weeks ago! I'm so sorry that I've kept you waiting so long, but I promise you I've been busy with lots of productive activities, all of which involve weddings and invitations. I've always had a commitment to post at least once a week and I promise to get back on track going forward.
I'd like to devote this post to telling you about the wedding I was lucky to coordinate Friday night (August 24) at the beautiful Plateau Club in Sammamish, WA. Yes, I said it - I returned to my roots of wedding coordinating for one very special bride, Ms. Sara Hostetter, and her groom, Mike Montgomery (pictured above). I've known Sara and her family since her father and I began working together at Children's Protective Services way back in 1985, and we've remained close family friends ever since. Sara, at the young age of 8, attended my wedding to Jim O'Donnell back in 1988 with her sister, Lisa (Hostetter now Worthington), and their parents, Eunice and Dennis Hostetter. And now, 24 years later, there I was at her wedding. Sara's dad, Dennis, was the videographer at our wedding, and her mom, Eunice, helped me out from time to time when needed at my former wedding boutique. So now it made perfect sense that I would happily agree to coordinate Sara's wedding, just like I did for her sister Lisa's wedding 14 years ago. (Back then I was a full time wedding coordinator with "Last Detail Events".) After all, it's what friends do, right?
In addition to wedding coordination services, Paper Passionista was also pleased to work with Sara and Mike on their wedding invitations. They chose a lovely ivory and champagne layered invitation with ribbon embellishment from bt elements, and it perfectly mimicked the color scheme of the bridesmaids' dresses. Here it is!
When Sara and Mike became engaged and began talking about plans for the wedding there was some discussion about having a destination wedding in Maui. But due to logistics that didn't seem feasible, so Sara and her mom, Eunice, decided to have a Hawaiian themed wedding and do it on the outdoor deck of the Plateau Club overlooking the golf course. With the gorgeous weather and the setting, it was hard to notice we weren't actually at the Diamond Course in Waileia on Maui! Timing was such that the ceremony ended right at sunset, and what a beautiful sunset it was! Sara and Mike included a sand ceremony in the festivities to keep the theme going. The entire ceremony was written by the couple and beautifully officiated by Kristin Olson of "Best Seattle Officiant", a long-time family acquaintance. The florals were luscious tropicals from TJ Blooms, lanterns lined the aisle, tiki torches and palms trimmed the front, and the "Hawaiian Wedding Song" and other selections were played masterfully by Susan Haas, harpist extraordinaire. The bride, always a knock-out, was even more gorgeous in her strapless and ruffled gown from Princess Bride Couture, with hair and makeup by Salon Maison.
Here's a full length view of the dress as Sara waits to make her entrance on the arm of her dad.
After the ceremony, Sara and Mike greeted and treated their guests to a delicious dinner reception with halibut and chicken entrees featuring Hawaiian preparations and garnishes, and toppped it off with a wedding cake that was coconut with a pineapple filling from Morfey's Cakes in Seattle. The reception's emcee and DJ for the evening was Travis of Adam's DJ Service. The Hawaiian theme was followed flawlessly from beginning to end, and Sara's mom, Eunice should be VERY proud of her execution of this exquisite wedding. As she said in a Facebook post, Sara was their dream girl so it only made sense that she should have her dream wedding. Dreamy it was, and I was just very proud to be a part of it. I want to thank my dear hubby, Jim O'Donnell, as he filled his time at the wedding clicking many photos while I was busy with my coordination duties, so I've been able to use his shots for this article. (The couple of course also had a professional photographer on hand, as this wedding coordinator emeritus would NEVER suggest to any bride to have "Uncle Jim" or "Uncle Anybody" take their precious official wedding photos. This isn't the time for amateurs!)
Here's a shot of the yummy Morfey's Hawaiian cake
I want to wish a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the new Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, and may you enjoy many long years of happiness in your new life. Mahalo for allowing Paper Passionista to share in your day!
A kiss for luck and they're on their way!
Now Paper Passionista will be back to focusing on invitations for special couples, and the next two blog posts will be about two of our new lines which have arrived this month while I've been too busy to tell you about them. Stay tuned. But for now, here a couple more photos from Friday's wedding. You'll see the proud mother and father of the bride making their exit, and big sister and hubby, Lisa and Darrin Worthington looking wonderful as they did on their wedding days 14 years ago. And we can't forget a shot of their two darling offspring, otherwise known as flower girls Alexcia and Kailee. What a great family affair it was! Cheers!!
"M.O.B. and F.O.B." Eunice and Dennis Hostetter
"Lady of Honor" and hubby, Lisa and Darrin Worthington
Lisa & Darrin's daughter's, the flower girls Alexcia (in front) followed by "KK" (Kailee)
Sara and Mike, may your cause for celebration never end so this fairy tale can end with "and they lived happily every after". The end.




