Welcome to The Wedding Guide
Just the Way You Pictured It
Sure, some of us dressed up or arranged stuffed animals, action figures and Barbie dolls for elaborate weddings as kids. Others among us never saw this day coming. But if you’re flipping or scrolling through these pages, you’ve got some ideas about what you want.
From vows to celebrations, you’ve got some mental images flashing, perhaps yet unarticulated or already delineated in spreadsheets and Pinterest boards. Stately and formal? Sun-dappled and relaxed? Private and minimalist? Barefoot and ocean-misted? A revel to rival Mardi Gras?
Lucky for those of us behind the Redwood Curtain, there’s no shortage of venues for your I-dos, on land or at sea. The Humboldt County Clerk Recorder’s Office — which honestly has a lovely little wedding spot of its own on the fifth floor of the courthouse — has recently started offering its services at a few sweet spots on holidays. This Valentine’s Day, couples made it official aboard the Madaket as it sailed Humboldt Bay and under the high windows and wooden arches of the Humboldt County Library’s Humboldt Room. Halloween nuptials were offered for love-bats at the Humboldt County Scaregrounds in Ferndale, as well. In this issue, we’ll give you a look at how it works and how surprisingly affordable and sustainable it is.
Now how do you get pictures of what you pictured? We caught up with Chantele Leatherwood of Moonstone Images to talk about how she captures the story and the emotion of the day. She’s also got some solid advice on choosing the right photographer for you, whether for your wedding or to immortalize your proposal. (Will she actually hide behind a rock to get the perfect shot? Yes. Yes, she will.)
Even if you’ve got the whole thing planned out already, there’s inspiration to be found in our local photography gallery, showing the work of some of our county’s best shooting in the most beautiful places on the North Coast. Flip to the list of local wedding professionals in the back and you’ll have a solid start on finding everything you need to make your vision a reality.
It’s going to be beautiful — we can see it now.
The Latest in North Coast Weddings
Moonstone Images’ Human Touch
Chantele Leatherwood’s earliest memory behind a camera was at 11 years old with a disposable one at a dolphin show, where she filled the whole roll. “I got the film developed and the pictures were horrible,” she recalls. Instead of tossing the photos, she spent time critiquing them, figuring out she needed to get closer…
Set for Celebration
The table you lay out for your wedding sets the mood. Whet your appetite and find inspiration in the sweet (and savory) settings local photographers have captured around the county.
Valentine Venues
“My wedding day was the best day of my life,” says Humboldt County Clerk Recorder Juan Pablo Cervantes. This might be why he was so excited about the clerk recorder’s office offering a special opportunity for couples looking to wed on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, in civil ceremonies aboard the iconic Madaket or under the…
The Latest Wedding Guide
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Say Cheese
Eyes hidden by the tilt of her cap, Veronica Rudolph pulls a cheese wire steadily through a piece of cheddar the size of a cinder block. As head of the Arcata North Coast Co-op’s cheese department, she’ll likely slice, chunk and otherwise divvy up a…
To Tell a Story
Being a wedding videographer was never a life goal for Justin Grimaldo. Yet, in the last several years, wedding videos have become the bread-and-butter for his Sightseer Productions. And he couldn’t be happier about it. Before entering the wedding world, Grimaldo worked on music videos…
Unmatched
The dreaded bridesmaid dress. An unholy artifact of the thrift store. Congratulations, you spent $200 on a grotesque amalgamation of taffeta and chiffon that at least six other women in your town own. So unless you were trying to start a fancy gang, you were…
Perfectly Paired
Perfect pairings aren’t always obvious to us all. It takes a perceptive set of senses and a little imagination, sometimes, to see how things might work in harmony. This issue of The Wedding Guide exercises those senses with unexpected combinations and perfectly imperfect fits. If…
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Best of Humboldt: Weddings
Best of Weddings
Best Outdoor Wedding Venue, Best Indoor Wedding Venue: The Barn by Fernbridge When it comes to picture-perfect weddings with a Humboldt twist, The Barn by Fernbridge takes the cake. With its sweeping views, wide-open pastures and beautifully restored barn, this local favorite offers the best…
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Best of Humboldt: Weddings
Best of Weddings
Hatchet House and The Axe Box Am I the only one among us who’s a bit concerned to learn that we’ve decided that whether we’re celebrating a loving union or a bitter breakup, its best to have sharp blades nearby? Seeing that readers dubbed Arcata’s…
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