One of my favorite things about what I do as an extraordinary Wedding Coordinator is getting to meet and know really cool couples and Shawna Davis and Kalle Kangas are one of these couples. A wicked sense of humor matched only to my own!
Now on to the details of this “arranged marriage” as we dubbed it. Turns out Shawna’s mom worked alongside Kalle’s mom and introduced their kids to each other. Shawna made sure to give Kalle moral support while he was stationed at Al Asad in Iraq serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps. He made it back to Monterey where plans for their May 8th wedding proceeded.
Fast forward through the months of planning to the wedding day. It was one of those RARE hot days in Monterey but the skies were gorgeous and the out-of-town guests must have thought this was just the way it always was in Monterey. Anyway, Shawna decided to go with the Rapunsel look for her hair so we went to Marco and Philip at Personal Touch Salon in Salinas for hair extentions – which looked great! Shawna’s gown was one of the most gorgeous gowns I’ve ever seen in my 11 years; a corset back with layers of lace and silk and more lace and more silk! I made sure to be at the gown fittings at Ericka Engleman Couture www.erickaengleman.com just to make sure I could pull off doing the bustle correctly when the time came. Kalle looked so handsome in his Class A’s.
The ceremony took place in the Chapel on base with Piano Bob Phillips setting the mood with his beautiful piano performance and Susan Helgeson there to capture it all www.susanhelgesonphotography.com. I can’t wait to see all of the images.
The guests entered the Barbara McNitt Ballroom which was draped in white chair covers with white sheer sashes provided by Enza Alioti. The flowers provided by Nancy at Mid Valley Florist were fragrant and elegant. All-white Casa Blanca Lillies were displayed from tall vases which were perfect for the 18 foot tall ceiling in the ballroom. Nancy also added floral to the cake provided by Layers Cakes www.layerscake.com.
Dj Andrew from Sound In Motion provided the tunes as the bridal party members entered the ballroom to the theme of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – an inside joke amoungst the bridal party members. Then all the guests were at the edge of their seats as the U.S.M.C sword guard marched into the ballroom in formation and created a sword arch for the entrance of the New Captain and Mrs. Kangas. A smack on the bride’s tush along with a hardy “Welcome to the Marine Corps!” made the crowd to go wild.
The staff at NPS did a fabulous job with the surf and turf dinner selection and Video Joe made sure to capture the action as it happend.
One of the super-cool elements of the wedding were the gifts presented to the members of the bridal party - custom bobble-head statues in their likeness TOO COOL!
The dance floor was packed until the very last dance, the sign of a really great party. And why not, it was for a really great couple 
)
- The Happy Couple
