Cover Story
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2023
PLANNING A WEDDING GETS COMPLICATED FAST. The details can grow to a tangle of arrangements and before you know it, you’re overwhelmed. Deep breaths. In this issue of the Wedding Guide, we’re keeping it simple. Flip through and you’ll find plenty of inspiration for celebrating in the moment instead of sweating the small stuff. We’ll…
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 couple hundred pounds of cheese, from soft logs of chèvre…
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 and other productions, eventually landing a job with a church…
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 out of luck re-wearing it. You said you would modify…
Committing to your Partner… and the Planet
WEDDING TRENDS MAY SHIFT WITH THE SEASON Wedding trends may shift with the season but a couple bits of advice remain evergreen. The first is to remember that by the day of the event, the plans that you’ve put into place will either unfold as hoped or they won’t, so the best course of action…
The Wedding Painter
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CAPTURE SPECIAL MOMENTS There are many ways to capture special moments at your wedding for posterity. A professional photographer will take care of posed and candid moments of your big day, sending the best ones to you to languish in boxes or digital storage until you have time to put…
Small, Sweet Pocket of Posies
At the south entrance to Eureka is a charming local fixture. No, not the giant hammer looming over U.S. Highway 101. Look lower and just to the north. A small, unassuming building when closed transforms into an oasis of plants, cut flowers, vase arrangements and ready-to-go bouquets during business hours. Pocket of Posies, a full-service…
James Zeller’s Horn & Harmony
When James Zeller left his hometown of Eugene, Oregon, for New York City at the tender age of 18, it was to pursue a single vision: to work his way through the live music scene in the big city of culture in America to become a professional musician. It was 2000, and New York had…
Photographer Showcase
Wedding Guide 2023
Consider the Donut
IF ASKED TO NAME THE THINGS one associates with a wedding, most people would say “wedding cake.” It’s a symbolic tradition that dates back thousands of years but in the last hundred or so, wedding cakes have come to look much the same: three-tiered sponge and white frosting, topped with a plastic miniature of the…
The Magic of Place
The Moonstone Beach House 122 Moonstone Beach Road, Trinidad 95570 (707) 616-7102 stacie@moonstone-beach.com moonstone-beach.com On Facebook and Instagram @moonstonebeach_trinidad WINDING RIVERS, sparkling beaches, rolling pastures, enchanting forests — we seem to have it all here on the North Coast. Only a place like Humboldt County can offer wedding venues that celebrate the region and its…
Luxury and Comfort in a Tent
“When I think of Oasis, I think of luxury and comfort,” Molly Simmons says. And that’s what she and her husband, Levi, strived for with the Oasis Tent Rentals just a year ago Molly wanted to create a service where campers wouldn’t have to worry about lifting a finger for their glamping experience. Whether their…
Daniel Nickerson and the Blueberry Hill Boogie Band
WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT CAN BE A DICEY and uncertain place in which to set up a career. Tastes change over the years, and any DJ or working musician in these venues will tell you finding a crowd-pleasing mix between classic, time-tested songs and new dancefloor request numbers can be daunting. As you break into the industry,…
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2020
Planning a wedding is … a lot. One minute you’re daydreaming about saying your vows in a simple ceremony on the beach with a few friends; the next minute you’re up at 2 a.m. desperately gluing paper flowers onto napkin rings. And speaking of that beach, do you need a permit to wed there or what?…
A Wedding in the Redwoods
There’s something magical about the landscapes of our Redwood Coast. It’s no wonder when many couples begin planning one of the most memorable celebrations of their lives, they’re drawn to host their nuptials among the breathtaking landscapes behind the Redwood Curtain. We are incredibly fortunate that, according to the county’s website, in Humboldt some “80 percent…
Queen of Thrones
There are two kinds of people: those who love weddings and those who don’t. Brooke Engel loves weddings — the planning, the little touches. For her own October 2019 wedding she handmade blankets for guests to cuddle under during the ceremony, placing them next to a sign that read, “To have and to hold in…
Toast-worthy
It can be hard to find a place to start in planning your wedding. In my years of event planning a common question I’ve gotten is, “What do guests want most?” It might seem like the answer should be something in the realm of good food, good music or the joy of watching their friends’…
Wedding Guide 2020
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Ghost Train
When Zachary Zwerdling saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964, he knew what he wanted to be. All he needed was a stage, screaming girls and a guitar. Now, sitting in his office right across from the Eureka City Hall, he keeps his guitar on display. It stands among the symbols…
Natural Wonders
A trio of local artisans is ready to bejewel you and your wedding party with subtle, handcrafted pieces inspired by nature. Tree Myriah The bohemian vibe of Tree Myriah’s intricate chains, gold-filled hoops with freshwater pearls, raw diamonds and other natural stones bring effortless beauty to a wedding look. Available at Arcata’s Plaza Be Inspired,…
Wedding Guide 2019
Wedding Guide 2019 Browse stories and online listings here »
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2019
Nobody plans a wedding in Humboldt County for the same cake, lace and flowers you’ve seen a million times. Up on the North Coast, we like to do things a little differently, building celebrations around our individual styles, rather than trends that come and go in the flash of an Instagram scroll. In this issue…
Suiting Up
At 27 years old, I’ve attended eight weddings, served as a member of the wedding party in three and a best person in one. In the coming year, I will attend another three. It seems that an avalanche of weddings is a part of reaching your late twenties. I now have dressing for weddings down…
Getting Hitched
In Ferndale, where dairy farms and upscale Victorians define shabby chic, necessity and creativity were the co-parents of invention. While considering possible venue options for their children’s weddings, both the Brodt and Cahill families, the respective owners of At the Bluff and The Barn by Fernbridge, decided to fix up their old barns for the…
The Language of Flowers
Many of us are familiar with the gesture of giving an olive branch as an offering of peace or sending red roses to demonstrate romantic feelings. While using flowers to send messages dates back centuries, floral symbolism blossomed in Victorian times, imparting flowers with more specific and complex meanings than ever before. Because Victorian society had…
The Perfect Fit
The music, the evening’s menu and handwritten vows are all tailored to reflect the betrothed. Engagement and wedding rings, too, are a special part of the union. Why shouldn’t they be as unique as the couple exchanging them? If you’re interested in giving your intended a one-of-a-kind ring, here are a handful of jewelers in…
Something Blue
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe. See product key (right)
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2018
I always thought I wasn’t a “traditional wedding person.” When it came to my own wedding, I didn’t go with the white dress, walking down an aisle or the enormous cake. But after putting together this issue of the Wedding Guide, maybe I am. That is, maybe I love the traditions we set for ourselves…
Vintage Restoration
Right now, I know half a dozen couples planning nuptials behind the Redwood Curtain in 2018, with varying degrees of determination and exactitude. Peeking in from the friendship sidelines, I’m reminded of the Sasquatch-sized behemoth that is planning a wedding. No less than a jillion moving parts must synchronize on the big day and, unfortunately,…
Wedding with a View
With its pastoral vistas and old-timey charm, happy couples wanting to get hitched have been flocking to Ferndale for years. Several colorful and rambling Victorians operate as bucolic bed and breakfasts, offering the ideal location for an intimate wedding or romantic getaway. But another treasure of the Eel River Valley lies beyond the charming townscape.…
The Right Tenor
A wedding comes to life with music. On the big day, your song can make the moment or get the party started, but it doesn’t have to break the bank or — for a smaller wedding — take up the whole room. Hiring a solo musician can be a relatively economical, logistically simple and aesthetically…
Stone House
For centuries, wedding traditions have been borrowed from across cultural lines to ensure luck, happiness, fertility and fortitude. Most wedding customs Americans hold dear are rituals that in fact come from somewhere else. The tradition of a bride wearing something old, new, borrowed and blue stems from Victorian English times. The classic American wedding cake…
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2017
Notice anything different? We’ve squared up, changing our look to make the Wedding Guide even more user-friendly and prettier (we think). But beauty is more than cover deep. Inside, we’ve expanded our photographer showcase and broken out a mini-gallery of cakes and flowers to inspire you, while keeping the efficient and nerve-calming pre-wedding checklist. Not…
Home is Where the Wedding is
While styles are fleeting, the meaning behind a wedding is timeless. A public celebration of a very intimate relationship, a wedding is designed to reflect a couple’s unique history and individual personalities. What better setting to tell this story than your own home? Seasoned DIY-er Jennifer Nolen married her sweetheart of 10 years, Brian, at…
Gifting Outside the Big Box
It’s nice to think a wedding gift might hold the same potential for permanence as a marriage. In our break-and-replace society, this notion is challenging at best. However, if carefully considered, the items on your bridal registry will put you on course for building a practical and enduring domestic armory. We’re not just talking housewares.…
Beyond Cake
Everything is coming together for a celebration as unique as you are, but that big, tiered, white frosted cake that is oh-so-traditional just doesn’t excite you. Consider some fun alternatives. First question: Do you really love cake but just don’t like the size and shape of the traditional tiered one? Cupcakes might fill the bill.…
Stocked
Stock-the-bar parties have been around — for housewarming or welcoming a new bartender into the fold — but recently there has been a lot of buzz about them as wedding showers. Guests bring two bottles (one for the party and one for the couple’s bar) or bar-related gifts. The host sets up food and mixers…
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2016
Ask a married person about his or her wedding and you might not get too many details. The whole event might be a blur of tulle and canapés. And yet the details are what we get caught up in when we’re planning. You know what none of those married folks will say? “I wish I…
The Internationals
Roberto Valle Kinloch and Jane Leer spied one another in the hallways of the Inter-American Development Bank in Managua, Nicaragua for almost two years before ending up on the same beach one afternoon. Roberto had recently left his post in energy policy to follow his passion for photography and was there taking pictures. He and…
And a Sense of Humor
I recently read a wedding article that declared, “If you follow these steps, you’re sure to have the wedding of your dreams.” I’m calling bull. No amount of planning will save you from potential nuptial disaster. Before you even start with the Googling and Pinteresting, brace for the connubial stress — there will be drama.…
The Wedding Singer
It’s your big day, and you need music. For the ceremony you want piano, maybe light flute and/or guitar. Then there’s the reception. A DJ? Band? A sonic dose of get-up-and-dance is required to get the party fully stoked and started. Good thing Humboldt’s creative climate is rich with high-quality musicians — we’re flush with…
Bittersweet Romance
Those little tulle bags of Jordan almonds you get at Italian weddings are meant to symbolize the bitter and the sweet in life, and to wish the happy couple more of the sweet side. They also make you wish you had some chocolate. Locally crafted chocolate makes an indulgent top-off for your dessert table or…
Tie the Knot and Tie One On
Your wedding day is the greatest day you will never remember.” Although not exactly accurate, this proved to be the most apt wedding advice I was given before my wife and I tied the knot. I still smile to think about the blur that was my big day, and find it difficult to recall details…
At the Hitching Post
On August 16 in the heart of Humboldt’s summer, 200 guests gathered on a 40-acre ranch in Carlotta to celebrate Jenna and Cory Sutton’s marriage. While “rustic chic” themed weddings are on trend at the moment, the beauty of Jenna and Cory’s wedding was that its homespun style represented their roots, their community and their…
Welcome to the Wedding Guide 2015
The moment you get engaged, everybody starts throwing around the word “perfect.” You’re the perfect couple. The rings have to be perfect. You hunt for the perfect dress. There are a million and one details to figure and finalize to make the big day perfect. Bridal magazines, even our own Wedding Guide, are tulle-layered tomes…
Wedding Quilts
The advent of registries has taken a lot of the hassle out of buying wedding gifts, but also a lot of the charm. Sure, the happy couple isn’t going to end up with three toasters, but registries leave little room for the handmade, the heartfelt and the personal. A wedding quilt is one way to…
Wedding Check List
Twelve to nine months before ● Propose ● Announce engagement ● Determine the type of wedding you want, setting, size and degree of formality. ● Select a date and time. Consider time of day, as this affects formality and catering choices. ● Select a location for the ceremony, taking into consideration season and weather. ●…
Wedding Guide 2014
Wedding Guide 2014 Searchable online listings here »
Wedding Guide 2013
Wedding Guide 2013 http://issuu.com/ncjournal/docs/wg2013
2012 Wedding Guide
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Wedding Guide 2011
ISSUU Direct Link
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 the thought of bridesmaids and groomsmen bookended on either side…
