Lorell’s Favorite Things 2021

You didn’t think that I could go into 2022 without making a “Favorite Things 2021” list, did you? Unlike 2020 where my schedule was a little light on weddings, 2021 turned out to be hopping! It was so hopping that if I mentioned everything that I loved about wedding season 2021, we would be here until 2023! So to keep things simple, I am going to pick one thing/aspect from each of my weddings from 2021 to share with you all. So, let’s get started!

We begin with Tony and Karen’s wedding in February of 2021at the Palmer Community Center in Palmer, Alaska. I had the privilege of being the wedding planner for Tony’s sister in 2020 and like you heard me say before, I love being the “family wedding planner!” My favorite thing about this wedding was the horse and carriage ride that they took from the church to the venue. Yes, it may have been single digits outside but they were warmly wrapped up in blankets, and what a romantic way to start off as husband and wife!

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Moving on to my next wedding that also took place in February in Palmer, Alaska was the wedding of Israel and Jen-Jen. They wanted to go with an Adams Family kind of vibe for their wedding. I’ll admit, at first I was a little thrown off because I couldn’t get past this theme not being in October, but once I was able to get past that, it became a fun theme! My favorite thing about this wedding was the ceremony backdrop. We rented brass candelabras and draping from Special Events Alaska and they created this beautiful backdrop for the front of the ceremony. And the icing on the cake, the uplighting from Alaska Professional Entertainment!

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Oh geez, where do I even start with Matt and Adrienne’s wedding? This was my first summer wedding and it took place in June, at the Raven Glacier Lodge in Girdwood, Alaska. There were so many personal details for this wedding and it was so thought out by Matt and Adrienne, but I’m going to have to go with the pre-ceremony photos. The couple took an Alpine Air Alaska helicopter out to a Glacier to do their couple photos. Um, I mean, c’mon…glacier photos never get old, and look how it turned out! (Insert the Fire emoji here!)

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Amy and Luis came all the way from my other home, California, and wanted to elope in Alaska. They choose to have a small intimate ceremony and picnic celebration at Bird Point right there on the Turnagain Arm. I loved the opportunity to be able to try something new with the picnic set up. We had a blanket with pillows, a beautiful cake from Ardy Cake & Confections, Champagne, and personalized charcuterie cups.

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Okay seriously if you know me then you know this is a given…those Christian Louboutin shoes that Liz wore on her wedding day. It was love at first sight for me!

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Tyler and Megan’s wedding will go down in history as the wedding where no one went hungry! Ha Ha! Besides having a pizza, salad, and chicken wings buffet for their reception, they also had Cinnabon rolls, cupcakes, and a wedding cake for dessert. But my favorite of all the food was the Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Bar. As guests arrived, they were able to stop by the outside bar that was stocked with all sorts of adult beverages and Auntie Anne’s pretzels with dipping sauces.

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And on to Blake and Cydney’s wedding in July at The Gathering Place in Wasilla on the hottest day of the year! This view was spectacular and I think you all can agree!

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Sooooo I kind of think we don’t give the men enough credit so this one is going to go to Ally and Kevin. Can we get a “thumbs up” for Kevin and his green suit! And I give credit to Ally on this one as well, because I’m pretty sure she had a say in making this green suit happen! (Wink Wink)

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Annie and Justin’s wedding was at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood and my favorite thing about their wedding was the Chuppah. There was a lot of love put into making this Chuppah. Jodi from J&M AK Wedding Design built the Chuppah herself, Justin’s mother provided a piece of Justin’s grandmother’s wedding dress to be used in the front (as you can see in the photo), and Annie’s mother sewed in the piece to the cover of the Chuppah.

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Thomas and Brittany were my Texas couple that came to Alaska to elope at Bird Point. Before heading out to the ceremony location they hung out in downtown Anchorage and took photos. I love this particular photo, it has Holiday Card written all over it!

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This was difficult too, but I obviously had to go with the Flower Dude and Briar for Tom and Rebecah’s wedding! Remember the dog will always win, lol!

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Not all wedding ceremony locations are always going to have epic views of mountains, glaciers, or water. Sometimes locations on picked based on sentimental reasons. Ryan & Michaele met in Anchorage years ago, moved away to Florida, and decided that they wanted to come back to Alaska to elope. They even waited an extra year because of COVID. They picked Delaney Park to have their ceremony because they remembered all the wonderful moments they shared, walking in and around the downtown area and specifically in this park.

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The location and time of year for Madeleine and Nick’s wedding were pretty amazing! This was my first time having an event at Majestic Valley Wilderness Lodge in Glacier View, Alaska and they could not have asked for a more picture-perfect Fall day!

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And last but not least we have Tim and Ginette’s Fall wedding in September at O’Malley’s on the Green in Anchorage. I’m a sucker for bright, pops of colors and Mylords Floral did not skip a beat with this one!

And there you have it my friends, some of my favorites from 2021! I hope you enjoyed walking down memory lane with me and I’ll see you all in 2022! Peace, Love, and Happiness! Be well!