Weddingbee Blog

Deanna and Tim took a large barn and transformed it into an intimate and meaningful space for their sweet, rustic wedding.

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1. Bride’s Name: Deanna
2. Groom’s Name: Tim
3. Venue(s): Pickering Barn, Issaquah, WA
4. Wedding Date: 11/21/2009
5. Bridal Gown Designer: Mon Cheri (Rhiannon)
6. Florist: Hopper Flowers
7. Photographer: Taylor Swedberg Photography
8. Cake: New York Cupcakes & Groom’s Aunt - Fran McCoy
9. Bridesmaid Dresses: Tahari by Arthur S. Levine Crinkle Chiffon Dress in chocolate
10. Honeymoon: Maui, HI

The Story

Tim and I met at a seedy college bar near the University of Oregon campus. We bonded over the drunkeness of our friends and ended up exchanging numbers. I never thought he would call, but was pleasantly surprised when he did.  A few weeks into our relationship Tim surprised me by telling me he played minor league baseball and that he would be leaving in a few months to continue pursuing his dream. I was sad, but supportive and we both vowed we would make it work. 2 1/2 years, 3 baseball teams, countless small towns, bus trips, and airplane rides later, we were engaged.

Tim is small town boy that loves all things outdoors including fishing, hunting, hiking, and camping, while I’m a big city girl that loves a good happy hour, a night out with my girls, and cuddling up on the couch with a glass of wine and a good book. From the beginning of the wedding planning process we both knew we wanted a ceremony and reception that reflected both of our upbringings as well as us, as a couple. We wanted a country boy-meets city girl-elegant-rustic-intimate, yet 250 person-wedding.

Throughout the whole planning process I continually told Tim how excited I was to dance the night away at the reception and this is what I was most looking forward to, but when it was all said and done, the ceremony proved to be my favorite part. This was an unexpected surprise to me.

Tim and I had been together over 3 years and had lived together for a year when we got married, I really didn’t think anything would feel different, but I am so glad it did. There was something so comforting and natural about marrying Tim and finally making it official. Standing on the altar and being surrounded by everyone we love as we committed our lives to one another had so much more meaning than I ever anticipated and I am so glad we took a few moments to stop and take in everything that was happening. While the wedding and reception are important and meaningful, it was the act of marrying my best friend that resonated with me and everyone that surrounded us.

It didn’t take us long to find our venue. The Pickering Barn was exactly us… big city meets small town. A gorgeous, rustic barn surrounded by gardens, located just 9 short miles from downtown Seattle. Perfect. The barn quickly shaped the overall feel and color scheme of our wedding. The barn is a huge 2 room structure that was able to accommodate our 250 guests, but we needed to figure out a way to make it feel more intimate.

Our amazing florists suggested using a ton of candles to light the rooms, which would make them seem smaller and set the overall mood for the wedding. Our ceremony backdrop had over 100 candles and each table at the reception had 3-5 candles on it. We didn’t turn the lights on at all during our ceremony or reception. The mood was romantic, intimate, elegant, and a little bit country.

I knew I wanted lots of flowers, but I wasn’t clear on my vision. I had seen the amazing things my florist could do and decided to trust her completely. Since the bridesmaids’ dresses were chocolate, I gave her a list of colors to compliment them (reds, oranges, deep purples, etc.), and let her run with it. I am so glad I did. Had she told me ahead of time that the bouquets would have brown calla lilies I probably would have vetoed them, I am so glad I didn’t. The bouquets and centerpieces ended up tying together all of the random fall colors I had incorporated into the details.

Candy was definitely a theme throughout our wedding. When Tim and I first met, he would pick me up for a date and would always come into my apartment and head straight for my infamous candy jar. We both love sweet stuff and knew we wanted to incorporate it everywhere we possibly could. We did the obvious and had a candy buffet that incorporated my mom’s favorite, Chico sticks (yuck!), and all of our favorites from Snickers, to Laffy Taffy, to giant Pixie Sticks.

We also used candy in our centerpieces. We bought 3″ square vases from the dollar store, wrapped them in chocolate and purple ribbon and filled them up with autumn themed Dove chocolates.

Music was another big theme. On our second date Tim wrapped me up in his arms and sang “To Be With You” by Mr. Big to me. He wasn’t the worst singer, but he definitely wasn’t going to be joining a boy band anytime soon. I giggled the whole time he sang it to me and went home and told my roommate how sweet, but awkward the moment had been. That song ended up getting us through some of the toughest times in our long distance relationship. Anytime I was sad, lonely, or just needed a pick me up, Tim would bust out his off-key rendition of the song and no matter how upset I was, it always made me smile.

Even though we are both tone deaf, music has always been a huge part of our relationship and we really wanted to incorporate this into the wedding. Our ceremony programs were CD jackets that contained a CD with all of the songs that were near and dear to our relationship, family, and friends. All of the songs on the CD were played at different times throughout our wedding day. “She’s Country” by Jason Aldean was played during the bouquet toss to signify my transformation from city girl to sometimes country cowgirl. One of Tim’s dad’s favorites, “Feel Good” by James Brown was played as we had our first kiss as husband and wife. And our favorite song ever, “Free” by Zac Brown Band was played as the last song of the night and was a sweet reminder of our favorite road trip across the country we took last summer. We hand picked every single song that was played at the reception, with the help and input of Tim’s dad. It was the perfect mix to get the crowd dancing and keep them on the dance floor all night long.

The little details that included our interests and our family is what we really focused on. One of Tim’s best friends married us, Tim’s brother did a reading, and my sister said a prayer. Our nieces were flower girls and were wheeled down the aisle in Radio Flyer wagon by my best friend’s little girl. We then used a mini Radio Flyer wagon as a card box and decorated it with the same flowers that decorated the wagon in the ceremony. I wore gorgeous chocolate brown pumps during the ceremony, but quickly changed into a pair of cowboy boots Tim had given me as a gift.

Overall, the most important part of our wedding was that we took the time to appreciate the significance of the day. All the blood, sweat, and tears we had poured into the details would take care of themselves come crunch time, but we wanted to make sure that we had time to revel in the moment and really stop to appreciate that we were now husband and wife. We achieved this in little ways that nobody else noticed, but that stick out as the most important memories from our day. The moment I cherish the most and am the most grateful for was immediately following the ceremony. We had our caterer dish up two plates and deliver them and two glasses of wine to the bridal room. We went straight from walking down the aisle to the bridal room, locked the door so that we wouldn’t be interrupted, and had our first meal together as husband and wife. We were able to sit and talk, laugh and eat, and really and truly take in and cherish the significance of what we had just committed ourselves to. Not a single guest noticed that we were gone and we were able to take the time to appreciate and cherish such an amazing moment in our lives.

All photos by Taylor Swedberg Photography

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