Bridal Guide 2018 by The Quincy Valley Post-Register

The

of the Quincy Valley Post-Register 2018

Inside: Choosing the right dress, page 2 Flower power: Your perfect wedding flowers, page 3 My dream of crashing a wedding, page 7 Tips for table decor, page 8

On the cover: Local couple says “I do,” pages 4-6

Photo by Jonda Spurbeck Photography and Staci Faw

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How to get The One for your big day

f all the decisions you will make for your dream wedding to come true, finding The One to make you look and feel amazing on the big day is vital.

That’s right, finding just the perfect wedding dress.

By Jeannie Even if you alMoraga, ready have a dress Special to the in mind, the prosPost-Register pect of picking this once-in-a-lifetime dress can be both exciting and overwhelming.

Katrina Anderson, of Katrina’s Wedding Boutique in Wenatchee, said that when a brideto-be comes in for an appointment, she gives her customer a book of wedding dress photos from which to choose.

Anderson says she also asks the bride-to-be whether she is open to trying on a couple of “surprise” dresses.

Being open to these surprises may lead to the dress you love, Anderson said.

After the bride-to-be has made her choices, Anderson takes her to a fitting area, along with the chosen dresses, a longline or strapless bra and a slip so the bride-to-be will get the best fit. If the dress isn’t quite the right size, clips and pins may help adjust the fit.

If you find a strapless dress you love but worry about sagging or gapping, Anderson said the dress “needs to be taken in under the armpit, about an inch and a half down, to fix the problem.” Sewing the cups of a good bra into the dress also helps get the

best fit, she added.

Anderson said wedding dresses generally run small.

“We take measurements and get as close as we can to the size chart of the designer that’s chosen,” she said. “Nobody ever falls in the perfect category for sizing, so I’d rather err a bit on the bigger size and have it taken in later.”

Anderson said wedding dresses typically take three to four months to arrive.

vides better service and help for the bride-to-be, should problems occur.

The ads for wedding dress chains or online stores may claim low prices or no shipping fees, Anderson said, but buying from these outlets also involves higher risk of getting the dress late or the wrong dress, or receiving the dress in poor shape.

At her boutique, when the dress arrives, Anderson calls the brideto-be to make an appointment to try on the dress before taking it to a

“It can be done in less but sometimes there’s a rush charge,” she said.

If your wedding timeline is much shorter, you can still get a dress you love without the rush charges or the worry that it will not arrive in time, Anderson said.

“I’ve done a wedding in just two weeks or a month. We always have something for sale in the store too.

Sometimes you pay the seamstress a little extra to get it done quicker” to get the best fit, Anderson said.

Anderson also explained that ordering through a local store pro-

seamstress for alterations. She recommends making an appointment for alterations about three weeks ahead of the wedding date, unless the seamstress requests to have it earlier.

Anderson advised taking the dress to a seamstress who has experience working with the fragile material and beadwork of wedding dresses.

“Whoever is selling you the dress will be able to tell you who to go to,” Anderson said.

A good seamstress will know how to get the right fit for your gown, Anderson said. If the dress is a bit

too small, she may add a corset back with a modesty panel. If a gown is a bit too big, how she takes in the dress “depends on the structure of the gown and where the lace appliques and pleats are.”

“It’s super important,” Anderson said, “that whatever you wear to your alteration appointment is what you wear on your wedding day, because if you change your undergarments, it can make the whole dress fit differently.”

As part of the alterations, Anderson recommended having a bustle added to hold the train so your hands will be free during the reception.

She advised taking your sister, your mom or a bridesmaid, with you to the alterations to learn how to locate and hook the bustle.

After alterations, Anderson recommends pressing or steaming the dress before you take it home.

At home, hang the dress in its bag to keep it clean and unwrinkled until the big day.

After the wedding, have the dress cleaned by a professional, noting any spills or stains.

“As soon as you can have it cleaned afterwards, do it,” Anderson said.

Not removing food or drink spills soon can stain the material, making it tougher to clean. Anderson added that some stains are to be expected after the big day.

“We expect your dress to get dirty on the bottom because that means you had fun,” she said.

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Making the most of your flower choices

A

s you work your way through the wedding planning timeline (so many things to do!), remember to stop and smell the roses.

And the tulips, lilies and peonies.

It’s all up to you, and the choices are plentiful.

By Jeannie Ashley Ko, part Moraga, owner and floral deSpecial to the signer at The FlowPost-Register er Basket in Quincy, recommended ordering flowers for your ceremony three to six months before the big day.

“The earlier, the better,” Ko said.

This allows plenty of time to choose, order and assemble pieces.

To get the process started, Ko recommended checking out Pinterest for ideas and then bringing photos of your favorite flowers and arrangements to your florist. If you have a couple of different styles you like, Ko said, “We can pick out the things [the bride] likes best about each one and incorporate it all together.”

No matter how elaborate the centerpieces are, there’s an arrangement that needs to grab your attention first.

Hint: It’s the one you’ll be holding in your hand.

“Pick out the bridal bouquet first, and let everything else play off the style of that,” Ko said.

In terms of bridal bouquets, Ko sees a growing trend of looser, “garden-style” bouquets rather than teardrop-shaped or perfectly round styles. This more natural arrangement also means using more garden roses and peonies with looser, more open blossoms.

While bridesmaids’ bouquets tend to follow the general style of the bridal bouquet, they do not have to be identical.

“If the bride really, specifically

likes a certain flower, we can just put it in hers so it’s special and stands out,” Ko explained.

If you favor a flower that’s out of season at the time of your wedding, it may be wise to look for a similar style or color of bloom as an alternate. As Ko said, if your favorite flower is out of season, “We’ll do our best to get it in, but it’s no guarantee. And it can be expensive.” The money saved by choosing a similar, in-season flower, could be used to get more flowers in arrangements or for other wedding details.

To keep your budget in check, you may also opt to skip some traditional arrangements. Ko said arches are more popular than bigger side pieces for the altar and “the majority [of couples] don’t do centerpieces” with fresh flowers. She said some couples opt for silk flowers, candles or lanterns on tables instead, which can save you some money, particularly if you have an artsy streak and can make them yourself.

Ko said that brides may choose to skip floral centerpieces in order

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to keep a rein on wedding expenses, but the rise in the number of outdoor weddings in the area may also be a factor. The natural beauty, greenery and flowers found in wedding locations around Central Washington makes floral decoration less of a need than it would be for a wedding in an indoor space that the couple is trying to dress up.

An arch framing the bride and groom during vows may need a simple garland of greenery, such as a variety of eucalyptus varieties interwoven with sturdy, broadleafed salal (sah-LAL) to dress it up. For Ko’s own 2017 wedding, a weathered green door adorned with a floral spray, including peonies, garden roses, curly willow and foxtail fern, provided the couple’s backdrop during the ceremony.

When determining a budget for flowers, the website Brides.com recommends 10 percent of your total budget. However, Ko explained that it all depends on the bride, “whether she wants just bouquets and boutonnieres or whether she wants arch pieces or centerpieces. We try to stick within each bride’s budget.”

Ko also had advice for caring

for the flowers when the big day arrives. Try to keep flowers in a cool spot before the ceremony. She said bouquets should be returned to a vase with water if photos are taken in advance of the ceremony.

For larger pieces, like an arch, have someone use a spray bottle to spritz cool water on the greenery to keep it moist.

Rest assured, that whatever your budget and your taste in flowers, your florist will help you choose the most beautiful arrangements for your special day and give you the information you need to keep them looking their best.

The Bridal Guide of The Quincy Valley Post-Register is published by Quincy Valley Media Inc., 305 Central Ave. S, Quincy, WA, 98848.

The Quincy Valley Post-Register is published weekly and distributed free to in-city residents in Quincy Valley.

509-787-4511, Fax: 509-787-2682 Editor- Dave Burgess, qvpreditor@gmail.com Graphic Design- Jessica Blancas, qvprads@gmail.com Sports Editor- Sebastian Moraga, qvprsports@gmail.com Bookkeeper - Janet Lybbert, qvprclassifieds@gmail.com

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K iehn W edding

A timeless vibe A local couple chose what was important for their spring wedding, and even though it was a hot day, it turned out great

I

t was Kacey and Kiely, sitting in a T, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

Then the T, a Ford Model T, that is, stalled, and the bride waited while her husband of a few minutes stepped out, and with a little help from his uncle, his new brother-in law and his new father-in-law who had been driving the car, did some p-u-s-h-i-n-g, to get the car around the block and

By Sebastian back to the Pioneer Church on F Moraga Street Southwest where the couple For the had just tied the knot.

Post-Register Thus began the married life of the Kiehns, Kacey and Kiely, who became husband and wife on a 95-degree day in May 2015 after an engagement of about eight months that had started on Halloween the year before.

The months preparing for the wedding involved mainly the bride, the groom, a few friends and the couple’s moms. Kacey’s mother makes wedding cakes, and Kiely’s mom has a good eye for decorations, Kiely said, so that helped.

Prior to the proposal, Kiely said, planning a wedding was one thing she dreaded about getting married.

“We would talk about getting married and I would think, ‘Oh, that’s going to be such a drag, it’s going to take so long,’” Kiely said. Focusing on what’s important and having Kacey’s help really lightened the load, she said.

The first thing she did was make a big to-do list.

“I kind of just looked online for some checklists, and kind of combined them all,” she said, “and kind of weeded through the ones that I thought

Photo by Jonda Spurbeck Photography and Staci Faw

Kacey and Kiely Kiehn on their special day. They chose the Pioneer Church as the site of their wedding after celebrating Christmases there during their courtship.

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K iehn W edding pertained to us.”

Then, she highlighted all the most urgent items on her list: vendors that might be booking up, the venue and the dress.

“Within about a month, we had all our vendors, and the dress and everything,” she said.

Kiely said she was amazed at how quickly she had to move on getting a dress.

“Some places were saying, ‘You need to order this a year ahead of time, or some of these dresses won’t be available,’” she said.

A trip to Spokane for her grandpa’s 90th birthday loomed, so she left for the Lilac City early, visited a couple of bridal shops, found her dress and went on to have some birthday cake.

Kiely and Kacey chose the Pioneer Church at the Quincy Valley Historical Society and Museum as their wedding site. The church had become a staple of their courtship.

“It was kind of our Christmas tradition while we were dating, we would attend the Old-Fashioned Christmas celebration they have there, and we just kind of fell in love with it,” Kiely said.

Choosing the Pioneer Church also helped their budget.

“Not having to pay for a real ex-

pensive venue left a lot of money for food and stuff, which was something that was really a priority for us, to make sure that there was good food and enough food and people didn’t go home hungry,” Kiely said.

They hosted the reception at their house in Frenchman Hills.

“That was one of the decisions we made early on,” she said. “Instead of spending the money to rent a venue, we would just put the money into getting our yard cleaned up, and making little improvements to it.”

Kacey is a Quincy product, so Kiely relied on him to contact local businesses, from The Flower Basket to The Grainery Café and Tangles Salon, all in Quincy.

A former wedding photographer himself, Kacey “kinda knew what to look for,” Kiely said, “so he felt really comfortable” looking for one.

It helped to have local vendors, Kiely said, given that most of them knew the church’s size. Their florist, for example, knew the church well and “knew exactly what to do for flowers, so we just had really simple arrangements on every other pew, a couple of bouquets, and it was just perfect,” Kiely said.

Their photographer, Jonda Spurbeck, of Moses Lake, had taken

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The decorations at Kiely and Kacey Kiehn’s wedding contained wheat, as a small tribute to Kiely’s upbringing on a farm in Lind, a town in Adams County.

photos there before, and the trio of string musicians they hired had played during an Old-Fashioned Christmas, as well. In addition, the closeness of the businesses to the church made setting up easier.

For instance Tangles Salon sent staff to the church to take care of the bride’s hair and makeup.

Kiely said she hoped her wedding would have the feel of an intimate celebration, rather than a big bash.

She and Kacey wanted to have the chance to spend time with their guests.

It helped, she said, to not sweat the small stuff.

“We didn’t want to have a whole bunch of minute details that were going to stress us out,” she said. “We were really being intentional about, if we were going to spend time on something, that it was something really important.”

For instance, their wedding party consisted of just a maid of honor, and a best man.

“It made it really easy finding dresses and ties for everyone, because it was just the two of them,” she said of Kayla and Drew Stewart, who were (and are) married to each other. “They just kind of made their own decision as to what color or style they wanted.

It took a lot of stress off of us.”

She applied the same philosophy when dealing with vendors, leaving much of the decision-making in the hands of professionals.

“Like with The Flower Basket, I didn’t really give her a lot of specifications on colors. I just walked in and said, ‘Not too formal, I’m looking for a garden-type of vibe more than

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K iehn W edding a formal vibe,’ and she nailed it.”

The informal vibe extended to the groom, who got married in jeans, boots and no tie.

“We are super casual, we are not formal at all, so when he said he wanted to do that, I said, ‘Great!

Go for that. It’s something you and I would do, and it’s a lot cheaper than renting a tux, so go get a nice pair of jeans and we’ll call it good.’”

With the thermometer hitting 95 degrees, casual was very popular among the guests, who eschewed jackets and pants in favor of polo shirts and golf shorts.

On the other hand, more time went into things like the boxes for centerpieces. Kacey made them in his woodworking shop. The flowers were mixed in with stalks of wheat from Kiely’s parents’ farm, a small tribute to her childhood in Lind.

Kiely’s dad had restored a Ford Model T when Kiely was born, and the couple chose it as their getaway car. The idea was to drive it around the neighborhood after the ceremony, and then drive a different car to the reception in Frenchman Hills, south of George.

The old Ford, of course, had a different idea, requiring a push back to the church, and later, a ride to the

reception.

Nevertheless, once the car arrived at the reception, it was a hit.

“It fit with the whole theme of our day, old-fashioned, antique, kind of a timeless vibe,” Kiely said.

Balky car and all, Kiely declares her wedding a smashing success.

“Going into the wedding, you’re worried about things going wrong, but during it and after it, it’s like, ‘We got married and that’s what counts.’

All the little details don’t seem very important after the fact. The wedding was good and everything that didn’t go perfect, it wasn’t a disaster, either, so, no worries.”

And if she ever needs a reminder of her special day, there’s that pretty building on F Street.

“It’s really special to see that every day. That church has a long history and its really part of the Quincy culture, so it’s really cool that we are part of its history and it’s part of our family’s history,” Kiely said.

Right: Kiely and Kacey Kiehn ride off in a Model T Ford that Kiely’s father had owned since the year she was born.

The Model T did not make it very far, stalling and leaving family members and Kacey to get out and push, but it remains a fond memory for the couple.

Photo by Jonda Spurbeck Photography and Staci Faw

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To the receiving line or bust!

ne thing I have always secretly wanted to do is crash a wedding. I figure being a stranger at a wedding can’t be any worse than being a guest. At least for me.

Right from the start, 1984, my first wedding as a guest, it would have become obvious to anyone old enough that there must be easier ways to get my hands on a slice of white cake. I was about five, and the mother of the bride took me to where she had all the wedding gifts. She pointed to my family’s gift and asked, “It’s used, isn’t it?”

And then there’s my brother’s own wedding bash. I was 20. I stood right in the front of a group of single dudes to try and catch the garter and did not notice a waiter and my brother exchanging the garter for a glass of ice-cold water. Splash!

My brother swung his arm and I, expecting a garter, instead found myself drenched in water.

My thoughts of romancing one of the guests ended right then and there. I mean, nobody wants to dance with a guy who looks like a flood victim.

So, tabulating my misadventures,

it stands to reason the elaborate ceremonies, next step is to crash a either. TheKnot.com wedding. It couldn’t says the wedding crashbe in Quincy, or in er’s kryptonite is the my hometown of wedding planner. If Cashmere – both are the wedding is huge, it towns where everybody probably had a wedding knows everybody. It planner, one who probcan’t be far away, either. ably knows the guest If the wedding-crash- By Sebastian Moraga list like his or her Social For the Post-Register ing backfires, I need to Security number. be able to return to the And you’re not going home base quickly. to fool a seasoned planner with an Crashing a wedding could not “I’m an old friend of the family.” happen in the shape I’m in, either. Odds are, by then the planner has I would have to lose a few pounds become one of those. first, because I’m going to need to Gonna have to start saving monhave a lot of energy to stand around ey, too. The website AskMen.com for an entire day. recommends not only sneaking in T h e w e d d i n g w e b s i t e to the end of the receiving line, but TheKnot.com says most wedding doing it with a cooool present. Nothcrashers prefer standing and danc- ing huge or expensive (“Auntie told ing to sitting, since a wedding me you like mountain bikes,” may crasher risks getting caught easily be a little much), but the wrapping if the wedding or the reception has has to be eye-catching enough to assigned seating. One solution to distract the attention of the bride this is, of course, to never sit down: or groom.

Go to the bathroom, go to the bar, It always helps to remember that, go to the dance floor – just avoid as the crasher, you are dealing with sitting. two people who can’t wait to get the It can’t be one of these big, you-know-what out of there, so by

the end of the receiving line they are probably just glad to see there are no more people to greet. Besides, the gift gives a crasher lots of great opening lines (“Sorry, I’m late, but I didn’t wanna show up empty-handed, Auntie would kill me,” or, “Sorry I’m late, where would you like me to leave this?” are but two).

AskMen.com goes as far as suggesting finding the spot where the bride and groom have placed all of their guests’ wedding gifts (without the bride’s mother, of course, but that’s just my two cents) and picking one to pass off as your own.

This may be risky, as the last people to greet the bride and groom in the receiving line before you do may be the ones who actually purchased the gift you picked.

All that’s left for me is to choose a city with plenty of weddings to crash. Not too far, not too close, not too big, not too small, and in Washington.

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Dressing up your tables with creativity

A

n eye-catching centerpiece makes a big difference on the tables of your big day.

Following a few rules of thumb and your unique vision, you can have tables topped in a style all your own.

Centerpieces

By Jeannie should draw the eye Moraga, and enhance your Special to the space but not block Post-Register the view of other guests at the table.

The number of arrangements per table generally follows the shape of the table, according to the website www.blog.qceventplanning.com. A round table looks best with a single centerpiece. While a square table may also work well with a single arrangement, you may also want to utilize the larger center space with a more substantial piece. A rectangular table will need multiple arrangements to avoid looking empty; try a larger arrangement in the center with smaller pieces at each end.

With that in mind, get ready to get creative with your table décor.

Start by choosing what to use: flowers only, flowers mixed with other decorations or no flowers.

Your budget, venue and taste will

all influence this decision.

If you would like to use your own containers, such as baskets or wooden boxes, for flowers you ordered, Ashley Ko, of The Flower Basket in Quincy, recommends you include liners for them, as your florist may not have a matching size.

For inspiration, you may choose decorations based on your wedding colors or a theme that has meaning to you and your fiancé. The venue could also guide you; a garden could suggest miniature trees or birds’nests and feathers.

When searching online, use specific keywords, such as “blue and gold centerpieces” or “book themed centerpieces” to get the best responses.

Once you’ve narrowed your choices, you may begin to tinker with the elements of your favorite centerpiece photos. That may include flowers that complement your wedding colors or black-and-white photos of you and your beloved scattered on the tables.

For example, one couple found a photo of a centerpiece featuring a hurricane vase holding a pillar can-

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dle nestled in sand. Their wedding took place outdoors in the morning, so the candle wouldn’t make much sense, but the other elements looked appealing. They replaced the candle with a miniature, blue glass float to match their colors.

Once she bought the inexpensive hurricane vases, the bride-to-be cut floral foam to fit in the bottom. This held the float at the desired height without using as much sand.

The bride-to-be could not find the sand she wanted, so she got creative on a budget: she bought white sugar.

One large bag held more than enough to create a dozen arrangements.

The white sandy beach look went well with the glass floats and small pieces of sea glass and shells, but the bride-to-be wanted a larger, fuller arrangement.

The bride-to-be played with ways to use seashells purchased at a craft store to accent the hurricane vase arrangements and created a ring of shells for the base of each centerpiece.

After tracing the vase’s center and then an outer ring of about three inches on chipboard, the bride-to-be cut each piece and began arranging shells. When the shells fit the outer ring with a mix of large and small shells, she used a hot glue gun to attach each shell.

On the morning of the wedding, the shell ring base sat in the center on each table, topped with the vase.

A small metal bucket filled with ribbon-topped bubble containers stood at both ends of the table, completing the table decorations. It all took just a few hours, a few bucks, and it looked fantastic.

So, remember, no matter your theme, you can have centerpieces that fit your style and your budget.

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