Cathy & Carey: A Red Wedding in Snoqualmie, WA

A romantic and unexpected proposal lead to Cathy and Carey's joyful, colorful wedding celebration in the Washington countryside.   THE BRIDE Cathy Cha

A romantic and unexpected proposal lead to Cathy and Carey's joyful, colorful wedding celebration in the Washington countryside. THE BRIDE Cathy Chang, a teacher THE GROOM Carey Lee, a dental sales representative THE DATE July 27 Carey was going on a business trip. That was nothing unusual, and neither was the fact that he had provided his girlfriend, Cathy, with a copy of his itinerary as she dropped him off at the airport. The strange thing was that as soon as Cathy drove away, Carey climbed into a friend's car, and left the airport. What Cathy now calls the covert operations had begun. The next day, Cathy headed for a weekly meeting at the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship church, where she and Carey both serve on the worship team and where they first met. But when Cathy stepped into the church, all the lights were off. The sanctuary was lit entirely by candles, and there was a rose-petal path that led to a chair where Cathy was instructed to sit and watch a video called A Blessed Life. It was a collection of photographs and interviews with Cathy's family and friends, painstakingly created by Carey and a friend. Forty-five minutes (and a whole box of tissues) after the video began, Carey appeared, bent down on one knee, and proposed.

Cathy and Carey left amid a shower of rose petals tossed from paper cones that had been given to each guest.
After a cocktail hour during which guests wandered onto the balcony to enjoy the increasingly lovely weather, guests found their table assignments attached to small paper umbrellas. Place cards were adorned with ribbons in two different colors -- one for guests who had selected the salmon entree, and one for those who had chosen the sirloin.
Bright bunches of dahlias and tropical blooms decorated the altar and the pews; the bridesmaids, dressed in red, carried the same vibrant dahlias, cockscomb, protea, orchids, and lilies as the bride.
Cathy wore a gown by Mary's, while her bridesmaids' red dresses were by After Six.
On the morning of the wedding day, it wasn't raining but the sky was heavy and dark. Nevertheless, white wedding chairs were set up on the grass, with a scattering of colorful flower petals to mark the aisle. Since Carey and Cathy both love music (they met on the church music team) it was important to them that friends be responsible for a lot of the music at the ceremony. The ceremony was performed by their church pastor. We couldn't get our unity candle to light, laughs Cathy, so we ended up just pushing our two candles together. Then, just as the couple was pronounced husband and wife, the sun broke through the clouds. Says Cathy, That made up for everything.
The Couple
The Cake
The Favors