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It's June 19th....and out of principle I started wearing my summer clothing about three weeks ago. Forget the fact that in Oregon we are living through what many are calling "Juneuary" I keep telling myself that if I put on my summer attire, the weather will follow suit. Of course this has left me chilly on several occasions wishing for long pants and a sweater... but my feet are longing to be free of shoes, my legs are freshly shaved, and I plan on willing the weather into submission.

Ok, maybe not, but I am so ready for the sunshine! Don't get me wrong, I do love the rain (as an Oregonian you sort of have too) and I'm not going to lie, it smells delicious outside right now, as it started raining about fifteen minutes ago... Unfortunately there is also a wedding happening outdoors at Red Ridge Farms at this very moment... and I feel bad for the happy couple as they say their vows in the drizzle. Of course this morning I was prepped for rain... I had a back up plan.... the tables were set on the covered patio, the bar was under cover.... everything was ready because this storm had been predicted.... Sadly for the wedding couple we had a few moments of sunshine this afternoon, and all of my table placements were over-ruled by the mother of the bride.... now literally half of the guests will be either standing inside, or sitting outside in the rain, rather than under cover, next to heat lamps.... and the poor bartender is going to be rather damp by the end of the night... at least they seem like a very chill couple...and the bride is actually wearing rain boots... hopefully it will be just a quick shower. I just have to sit here and resist saying "I told you so" instead I keep repeating the mantra "this is not my wedding, and I'm getting paid to be here" But I do wish the mother would have kept my rain-proof table arrangement... after all this is not my first rodeo...

This is actually the second wedding at Red Ridge today... we sort of took on the mentality of "go big or go home" when it came to kicking off wedding season. I can safely say that the two weddings were the antithesis of each other... The first wedding was very much a whirlwind, and only the ceremony took place here, and they left as quickly as they came. For about an hour the grounds were dotted with bridesmaids in "pool" colored floor length gowns (pool is the actually color when you look at wedding color swatches... it translates into some sort of aqua blue). Everyone in the wedding party was chain smoking for most of the time they were here, and a few of them kicked off the morning with Keystone Light in the parking lot at 9AM. After the short ceremony, the bride and groom hopped on their motorcycle and drove off into the morning... gown and all...

Two down, nine to go in Event Season 2010. The really great thing about wedding season is that there is enough of a hiatus from November-June that I sort of forget about the chaos... its just enough of a break for me to regain my energy and enthusiasm for being attached to an event venue that caters towards brides. In those cold winter months when we are planning harvest dinners and corporate functions I forget about the high intensity of weddings, the reactions of mothers, the emotions that are caught up in that one moment, the hassle of moving chairs from lawn to event room...

My parents are hopeful that after a few more years at this job, I will decide to elope if I ever get married... Little do they know that my hours spent at other people's weddings, has really only groomed me for planning my own someday. And I will have a backup plan in case of rain.