"They experienced the unthinkable just days after the birth of their daughter. This weekend, a local couple's dream will come true. In late March, flames destroyed the Damascus-area home of Marc Petrucelli and his fiance Karen Yeager. It happened on the same day they were supposed to bring their new baby daughter home from the hospital." (fox 12 news)
A Neighboring Wedding Venue, East Fork Country Estate, could actually see the fire. After watching the Fox 12 News report and learning that the couple was engaged, the owners decided to offer the venue to them, free of charge for a wedding. Realizing weddings can still be expensive, even with the venue being free, the owners reached out to NW Wed Pro Networking Association for help.
Founder, Beverly Mason, set it in motion and word went out fast by email and Facebook. Within a few hours there were enough offers from vendors willing to donate services to make it happen. Coordination and Planning was headed up by Dream Team Events owner, Chelsea Boehler. She quickly contacted the couple and presented the offered wedding. They were overwhelmed to say the least!
Every single aspect of the wedding was donated by wedding professionals and local companies. Throughout the 6 month planning process, it was referred to as "The Dream Wedding", and that is exactly what it was.
It all came together, beginning with a Friday evening rehearsal. News channel FOX 12 was on scene to cover it for a follow up story. Interviews and video footage took place while they rehearsed. The rain held off until just after completion.
The weekend forecast was not looking promising. The morning brought rain with occasional breaks; enough to get all of the pre-ceremony photography finished. As the ceremony start time grew near it began to rain again. Not to worry, all of the guests were seated under a tent and the wedding party would be able to stand inside the gazebo.
Then as if on cue, five minutes before the ceremony time, the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. Karen (the bride) arrived to the aisle in a horse drawn carriage with her father. It was a beautiful ceremony and a magical moment for Karen & Marc as they exchanged vows. Their 2 young boys joined them in the gazebo for a Family Unity Sand ceremony just before they were pronounced Husband & Wife. Marc & Karen made their way back up the aisle to the awaiting carriage; hanging from the back of the carriage was a printed sign, "Just Married". They rode off together for more fantastic photos and video, at this point there were blue skies above.
Returning to the gazebo to sign the marriage certificate, Marc & Karen then made their way up to the balcony to be introduced by the DJ to their friends and family waiting below. The celebration continued on into the night with great food, dancing, photo booth and fun.
Congratulations to the Petrucelli Family and we wish you lots of love and happiness for many years to come.
We would like to thank the following Wedding Professional Vendors and Companies:
East Fork Country Estate - Grady & Diana Abernathy - Entire venue for rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding day. Donation of horse and carriage entrance by Special T Carriages. Donation of beer and wine for bar. Donation of service staff and bartender. On-site venue management.
Dream Team Events - Chelsea Boehler - 6 months full planning and coordination. Two coordinators for rehearsal and wedding day. Babysitting services for couple's baby. Gift of sand ceremony keepsake personalized vase. Use of guest book, unity and dessert table accessories. RSVP management.
Chef du Jour Catering - Eric Youel -
Full menu planning, prep and catering services for appetizer station and full dinner buffet. Service staff.
High Fidelity Entertainment - Craig Brown - DJ services for ceremony and reception, photo booth for reception.
Beyond The Eye - high definition full TV scale video production; arranged by Golden Era Photo.
Golden Era Photo - Donation of video crew for wedding day. Full on-site production in collaboration with Beyond the Eye DV, high definition full TV scale video production. 90-minute edited keepsake video for the couple.
Peak Light Studio - Christopher Barth - Full on site photography coverage of wedding day.
HF Photography - Heather Fitch - Second shooting photography with Peak Light Studio for wedding day.
Barclay Event Rentals - Specialty linen, napkins and chargers.
Sophisticated Floral Design - Lora Losinger - Bridal bouquets, toss bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, tossing petals, table centerpieces, guest book and bar arrangements.
Adorned in Grace - Bridal dress, underclothing, purse, garment bag.
Radiant Touch Weddings - Beverly Mason - Officiant services for rehearsal and wedding day.
Cookies, Cupcakes and More - Barb & Rick Nischalke - Cupcake tower with regular and mini-sized cupcakes, cutting size wedding cake. Design collaboration with Nylen Events & Design.
Nylen Design and Events - Chris & Cindy Nylen - Candy buffet and design. Design collaboration with Cookies, Cupcakes & More.
Bridge City Parking - Herb Eash - Parking assistance and direction. RSVP management on site.
Portland Catering Company - Wine for the bar.
4th Street Brewing Co - Raylene Ramos - Bartender; donated by East Fork Country Estate.
Hair and Makeup by Kerisa - Make up services for bride and matron of honor. Hair services for the bridal party. MUA Kerisa Martin. Blossom & Beauty.
Special T Carriage Company - T. Ritchey - Horse and carriage entrance; donated by East Fork Country Estate.
Crave Designs - Lisa - Custom made invitations and response cards.
Cloud 9 Events and Accessories - Custom handmade bridal accessories: bridal hair comb, maid of honor and flower girl hair pieces, baby headband, keepsake ring box, toss garter and keepsake garter, 2 flower girl baskets.
Sysco Portland - Donation of food items for Chef du Jour.
NW Wed Pro - Networking Association - $300 donation. Money was used to purchase: marriage license, ring re-sizing/fitting, dresses dry cleaning, photo mat for gift photo frame, decor items (dessert buffet/floral), wine for bar.
Each of you did a fantastic job and your contribution was greatly appreciated by the couple and also the owners of East Fork Country Estate.
Chelsea Boehler of Dream Team Events was invaluable to the success of this event. She worked on this for the past 6 months, gathering vendors, donations, picking up dresses, meeting with the couple and also with vendors, handling all of the guest rsvp's personally, purchasing the Unity Sand Vase and having it personalized with Marc & Karen's names and wedding date, purchasing additional items needed, setting up, tearing down, and following through. Chelsea is truly an amazing Planner & Coordinator.
Northwest Wedding Professionals are some of the most giving people! They always come together to help others and each other when needed. This wedding wasn't a contest or a promotion with advertising and promotional advantages for the vendors, it was just done out of the goodness of the heart. Thank you ALL, and Bless each and every one of you.
It will be some time before we see the final photos and video, but there have been a few "sneak peaks" posted already on Facebook pages. Take a look at HF Photography Facebook, Peak Light Studio Facebook and NW Wed Pro Facebook for the latest.
