Wedding Venue Review: Tibbetts Creek Manor, An Issaquah wedding venue

Jennifer & Ivan's wedding was my first trip to Tibbetts Creek Manor in Issaquah. It is located off of I-90 and very accessible from the freeway. Tibbetts Creek Manor is a beautiful facility, which offers indoor and outdoor ceremony and reception options. This is a great option for the Pacific Northwest's unpredictable weather patterns.

The dressing areas are upstairs and private. Although they are located not far from the main entrance, the winding staircase separates the guests' entrance from the private quarters. Restrooms are located on both floors which avoids having the bride, groom and their bridal party from being seen by guests before the ceremony begins. Who wants to ruin the element of suprise?

There is ample room in the kitchen onsite. Tables, chairs, and linens are available as well. Two parking areas are also available for your guests. The site is also wheelchair accessible. For more information, please visit the Issaquah Parks and Rec department's website.

Love From High School Is Alive & Happy! (Jennifer & Ivan's Issaquah wedding)

Ivan and Jennifer married Saturday, June 20th at Tibbetts Creek Manor in beautiful Issaquah. Ivan and Jennifer connected with me after reading about me on theknot.com's message board. (A current couple that I am working with for their August wedding gave me great praise!) Just a few days after initially contacting me, I knew that this couple was going to be great to work with.

Ivan and Jennifer were high school sweethearts and have been together ever since. They've grown individually and as a couple and have shared in many special moments. Their celebration at Tibbetts Creek Manor was spectacular! They incorporated family and friends into their celebration, from the bridal party to the unity candle lighting. Once again, there was iffy weather that weekend (isn't it SUPPOSED TO BE nice in June??) but Jennifer and Ivan were prepared. They had both an outdoor and covered areas as options for their celebration. Great idea!

Luckily for us, the weather behaved and we had dry weather. The ceremony took place on the lawn, with over 120 guests in attendance. Because of the importance Jennifer's parents have been in her life, she opted to have both her mother and father escort her down the isle to present her to her groom. There were very few dry eyes all throughout the ceremony.

The guests who attended were a mixture of family and friends who had become family. Many people in attendance had known them over the years and played important roles in their formative years. There was definately a lot of love surrounding this couple!

Congratulations, again, Jenny and Ivan! May your wedding day be the day that you always look back upon with a smile.

Adam & Brandy (Mt. Vernon wedding)

Adam and Brandy married Friday, June 19th at a family friend's yard in Mt. Vernon, WA. Earlier that day it had rained but by the time it was ceremony time, the rain had stopped, the clouds parted and they were blessed with cool weather and even a few sunbreaks.

Adam and Brandy have a little one, Shawn, who's featured in the photo. He was not going to be left out of the festivities! He kept himself occupied with the flower petals thrown earlier by the flower girl. They both agreed to have a short, yet sweet ceremony which was a collaboration of Brandy's ideas and my writing. Their willingness to be flexible made all of the day's events memorable.

Congratulations, Adam & Brandy! May your marriage and your family be blessed with years of happiness.

Wedding Bells.....Again! (Ron & Stephanie from Idaho)

Have you considered renewing your wedding vows? Ron and Stephanie did! They were renewing their vows on their seventh year anniversary, at Stephanie's sister and brother-in-law's home in beautiful Snoqualmie. On their original wedding day, Stephanie's mother was not able to attend. This was a way for Stephanie to have her mother experience their wedding celebration all over again!

Stephanie incorporated different elements from her original ceremony and recreated those moments in their vow renewal ceremony. She came down the staircase to the song that was played during their wedding. Ron and Stephanie also used the unity candle ceremony just as they had before and even had programs with their wedding picture on it! They even exchanged wedding rings. It was a beautiful event!

Congratulations, Ron and Stephanie! Maybe I'll see you in another seven years. :)

Chris & Angela (Bellingham wedding couple)

Chris & Angela married on their first year anniversary back on April 22nd, 2009. Believe it or not, but "team Angela" planned this wedding in less than a month! Angela and Chris are a fun-loving couple who married in the backyard of Chris' parents home in Lynden.
Angela is another DIY bride. I think that there are many positive notes that can be made for a "do it yourself bride". For example, many brides like to be hands on in the event planning. Who knows better than you when it comes to your likes and dislikes? Angela included her husband, Chris, in the planning as well from meeting with me, their photographer Denise Lee of Hope Haven Photography (you can see her work by visiting her website www.hope-haven.net), even down to the selection of their yummy organic cupcakes!
Angela also had wonderful support from her in-laws, Tom & Joyce. Not only did they host this wedding celebration in their home but they also went above and beyond to create a picturesque venue. Tom, recently retired, brought back to life a beautiful wrought iron arch. (You can see it in the above photo.) He also did extensive work on the yard and deck.
Chris and Angela, you were wonderful to work with! May you have many happy years together.

Don & Janet (wedding couple from Marysville, WA)

Don & Janet are family friends of mine. They were married Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at a friend's home on Camano Island. It is an extra special experience for me to be able to bring two of my friends into marriage!
Don and Janet were looking to incorporate many different aspects of themselves into their celebration. They had decided to incorporate their Christian beliefs, their family heritages, and other personal touches. Don, who is of Scottish decent, and Janet, who is Native American, also dressed in traditional clothing as it pertained to their families' cultures.
We incorporated a smudging ceremony to celebrate Janet's heritage and a handfasting ceremony to celebrate Don's. Don & Janet met at our church and so they wanted their faith in God to be the foundation of their wedding. I incorporated favorite Scriptures and blessings as well. It was a very touching ceremony. They were beyond pleased with the results!
Congratulations, my friends! Many blessings to you both.

Yolanda & Jamaal (Everett, WA wedding couple)

Yolanda and Jamaal married on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at the Daughters of the American Revolution, Rainier chapter in Seattle. Yolanda was a DIY bride and planned her celebration from beginning to end. Yolanda heard of me from a website that I advertise on and hired me as their officiant a year prior.
Because of the extensive planning Yolanda did in advance, she was able to meet many of the suggested deadlines early. After her ceremony and honeymoon were done, I touched base with Yolanda to ask of any words of wisdom that she could pass down to future bridal couples. Here's what she said:
"The only tips I can think of is don't freak out about the time schedule too much. At least one member of the bridal party will be late, pictures will run late, and so forth. The DJ will mess up at least one song you selected (our intro song and mother-groom song) and the cake might not be perfect (wrong color) but everything will be fine and nobody will notice except the bride!"
Thank you, Yolanda & Jamaal. May you have many years of happiness together!