Cassie + Steve {Elegant City Wedding}

Please don’t rain, please don’t rain, please don’t rain…

The weather report was about as useful as a wicker canoe.  It was a simple plan…

1.) Rent Venetian-style Gondola during the night’s Waterfire festival in Providence, RI

2.) Mask the outing as a late birthday present

3.) Wait for signal from Gondolier and propose (Bam!)

Seems pretty straightforward, right?  The directions provided with my new coffee maker were more complicated.

The day started in familiar local watering hole O’Rourke’s in Warwick, RI.  As I sat enjoying perhaps the best wings this Buffalo native has ever had, I could feel the ring box in my pocket, no doubt the most important thing I had ever purchased to date.  I knew exactly what I was going to say because I had rehearsed it so many times before in my head.  The boat had been rented, the Gondolier had been instructed and the plan was in full swing.

One word came to mind when I glanced out the window and saw the first drops fall.  I’ll let you use your imagination for that one.  It was the only thing that could possibly ruin my plans.  I sat and watched Mother Nature toy with me for the next few hours.

It wasn’t until we were sitting down for dinner near the docks when I experienced the panic.  I played it off like it wouldn’t have been the end of the world if the ride had been cancelled, but with no backup plan in place, I started to worry.

I winked at the Gondolier upon our arrival.  He winked back in acknowledgement and handed me an umbrella.  I refused and started to pray.  We watched others board and return while a soft Rhode Island mist masked the sweat on my forehead.  And then it started to come down.  We were next in line and it was raining.  The fires on the river started to sway and flicker.  I could see it was a matter of discretion but they boarded us anyways.  We wandered away from the dock, past the floating fires and the surrounding crowds.

And then out of nowhere, the rain let up.  My prayers had been answered.  The wine was poured and I was awaiting my signal.  Signal? What was the freaking signal?  Was he going to jab me or jump off the boat?  He never told me!  My anxiety was soon relieved as the Gondolier started singing an Italian love song.  At least I presume that’s what it was. It could have been the latest Powerball numbers put to music for all I know.  I looked at Cassie and said we needed a picture to capture the moment.  Instead of producing a camera, I pulled the ring out of my jacket and got down on my knee.  At first Cassie seemed to be more concerned with the wine I had just spilled but soon realized what was happening.  I spoke the words I had rehearsed so many times before and breathed a sigh of relief as Cassie responded with the words I was waiting to hear.

I pulled it off!  We returned to the dock and stepped out of the boat.  I estimate a total of 45 seconds passed before the sky opened up and let loose….

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Cassie called me ecstatic shortly after this night and shared the story of her beautiful engagement to Steve.  however, when i found this blog post from Steve a few months back, i knew this was how i wanted to share their proposal…from his perspective 🙂

these two are so special to me and i could not have been more honored to photograph their wedding day.  in fact, Cassie was the first person to ever book me for a wedding.  that takes guts, woman!  i can’t thank you enough for having faith in me long ago, before you even had much of my work to look at.  it really does mean the world to me.  i just have to share a little bit about Cassie with y’all…

Cassie is the type of person that you can wake up in the middle of the night to take you to the emergency room when you wake up with a VERY swollen face…two nights in a row.  she is the kind of person who will make you feel at home and comfortable in a new & strange place, even though it’s new & strange to her too.  she is the type of person that leaves a “get well” note on your nightstand when you’ve been home sick.  and she’s the type of person that you can ask to go get drunk with you when you’re depressed about a boy 🙂  i know all of this because i had the great privilege of being her roommate when i moved to Seattle about 4 years ago.

we didn’t meet the traditional way…in school, at church, through friends, etc.  we met on Roommates.com.  she was being transferred to Seattle for work at the same time that i decided to move up there.  she was the very first person i talked to and we totally hit it off over the phone.  she would go look at apartments and give me feedback on each place, as i was still living in LA at the time. neither of us really know why we trusted an online site for meeting a roommate, or how we knew that the other person wasn’t going to be a psycho, but in the end it worked out and so we just laughed about how we met 🙂

one of the highlights for me while living in Seattle were our CPK dinners on the weekends.  it seemed to be the best place to go to catch up on the week’s happenings.  and i was majorly addicted to their red velvet cake.  i was also particularly fond of our visits to Pike Place Market 🙂  and Cassie always kept our kitchen table stocked with a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers from Pike Place.  and then there were our TV nights…just catching up on our favorite shows.

pretty soon the phone calls with Steve started. i could hear her laughing from her room when i would come home late at night.  and she would just be glowing when she came into the living room, acting like she still wasn’t sure about what they were, but i knew that look.  i knew that they were friends from back home in Rochester, but for the longest time she wouldn’t admit to it being more than that.

she went back home and spent time with Steve.  and then Steve would come out and see her.  i remember loving him from the first time i met him.  he was so much fun, and it was obvious that he adored her 🙂  they were perfect for each other.  but she continued to play it cool.  our weekends now included our “Steve” updates.  i’d give her the latest on my Steve and she would share the latest with hers.

my Steve talked me into moving back to Cali in March of the following year, and i left Cassie to finish out the last few months of her job there before her transfer to the East Coast.  even though we are so far away from each other now, we have kept in touch over the last few years.  as i said before, i couldn’t have been more excited and honored to be a part of her wedding day!

and now for some photos…

 

girl, i know i said it like a million times, but you looked STUNNING!

the reception was absolutely gorgeous!

they had all kinds of creative details, like flip flops for people to wear to dance in and place cards with fun movie quotes.  Steve is a huge Tom Hanks fan, so this was at the entrance to the ballroom…

first dance…

i love you guys and wish you both an amazing life together!  it was so great to see you and i can’t wait to see you again soon 🙂

xoxo

jess