I waited almost 32 years before I met my soulmate. When I did I knew immediately that he was perfect for me. One of the many things that reaffirmed this was Ken’s Scandinavian last name. My Finnish heritage was important to me and I always hoped I would marry a Scandinavian….and Ken is of Swedish decent!
In designing our wedding I wanted to incorporate elements that represented both of us. We had lots of Scandinavian references including birch trees on the stage, cardamom rolls and Karelian pastries with egg butter served with our dessert and hors d’oeuvres and Finnish Mummin as cake toppers.
We met and were living on the coast at the time and got engaged at Indian Beach. Ken was also serving in the coast guard so I created fun centerpieces out of driftwood, used steel blue as my base color and incorporated sea holly and B&W anemone in the flowers to add a nautical feel.
One of the most special elements of the whole wedding was Ken’s ring. He’s father passed away of cancer just a few months before we met. He and his dad had been very close. His mom offered Ken his dad’s wedding ring that he had worn just short of 50 years to be Ken’s wedding ring. It’s slightly misshapen and worn from years of wear…..and it’s perfect. We are both so very blessed to have parents model to us loving, strong, long lasting marriages. Standing in Ken’s dad’s place was his dad’s brother as Ken’s best man. His Uncle was one of our biggest cheerleaders. A few short months after our wedding he too found out he had cancer and passed on to glory. He will be greatly missed.
We got married in my grandma’s traditional Lutheran church in Vancouver, WA. Like most Lutheran churches it had beautiful windows and high ceilings that let in lots of natural light. It was the perfect setting for a mid afternoon wedding.
To top off the perfect day, we hired my west coast swing dance teacher to teach/lead 3 fun line dance type dances during the reception including the Swedish schottische and the heel toe polka. It was so much fun and the highlight of the whole day. People still talk about it.
Overall, I think we can say that what we love so much about that day, what made it extra special, is all the little details that represented our story. ❤️
Nordic Flower 