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A Fall Wedding in July in Downtown Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

There is something about working with a couple who know what they want. When I first chatted with Olivia, she told me she had the date and the venues, but nothing else and honestly wasn’t enjoying the process, so she needed a professional to step in and help point her in the right direction. But she was very decisive once she had all the options and resources in front of her. Olivia and Jimmy have strong connections to Coeur d’Alene and lots of love for this area, but they were planning their wedding from California. I get it – planning a destination wedding where you book a space without seeing it in person first, having in person connections with any wedding vendors, AND never having planned a wedding in general before is extremely overwhelming. This is where a professional planner becomes less of a want and more of a need if you want to actually enjoy your wedding planning journey. And let me tell you, it made my heart soar when after just my first meeting with Olivia she said she was actually enjoying herself again and didn’t dread talking about the wedding!

Olivia and Jimmy chose to make their marriage official at The Jewett House in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Just blocks away from her parent’s beach house where so many memories had already been made. Then they decided they wanted to make their way over to The Eagles Club to embrace more of the downtown scene that they love. Seemed only fitting because when they came up for their engagement photos, they took pictures in front of Crickets featuring some ice-cold Coors Light bottles – seriously, these two are a bundle of fun to be around (as evident in their wedding photos)! That is also the visit that Olivia really got to walk through their reception space at The Eagles for the first time. Although it is not your typical ballroom, wedding space, because they decided to embrace some of that “dive bar” feel and elevate it just enough, without trying to make it something that is clearly wasn’t, it worked… so well.

And let me tell you, thank goodness they decided to have an indoor reception because that day in July… blazing hot! After the ceremony, we bussed everyone over to The Eagles where Olivia, Jimmy and I planned a par-tay. They really wanted to incorporate more of a mingle, sit if you want, cocktail party atmosphere. To do this we placed around more cocktail tables, the food was at different stations for guests to enjoy at their leisure, and there was no formal seating chart or even a head table. And once the band started & that disco ball was turned on, everyone was on that dance floor anyways just getting down with their bad selves.