Amber Port and Kenny Johnston offer something for everyone

The minute the music started in the elegant old room of the Spokane Masonic Center, it was obvious to everyone that this was no ordinary wedding. The DJ’s soft-pop love songs faded and then roared into the metallic grind of Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” as the mothers of the bride and groom took their seats. There were as many children in the room as there were adults and a little boy wriggled out of his mother’s arms and dropped to the floor where he crawled along the satin carpet leading up to the altar, playing with the rose petals a quartet of flower girls had scattered moments before. The bride and groom’s 2-year-old toddled around at their feet. Everything was just as the bride wanted it. “Laid back fun with a little tradition” was the chosen theme. When Amber Port and Kenny Johnston planned their wedding they wanted a signature event that expressed their personalities. Amber describes their relationship as “fun, yet serious” and it was important to both to formalize things with the same frame of mind. “We picked the music we did because our lives and families are just as diverse as our music. The music was a little bit of everyone,” Amber says. “Rascal Flatts’ ‘Bless the Broken Road’ is mine and Kenny’s song. It’s beautiful and describes us perfectly.” “‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses (was) for our parents (and) explains their relationships perfectly,” she adds. “And, it was funny!” A child-friendly ceremony was a natural extension of the couple’s love of friends and family. “It was important to have Grace in the wedding because she’s a part of Kenny and I, and we wanted to make sure she was included in us becoming a complete family,” Amber says. “As for the rest of the children, it was so important to have them in the wedding because we cherish family so much and I wanted them to be a part of it. Besides, the wedding gave them something to look forward to!” Amber and Kenny met at the ice arena when they were both high school students. Becoming a couple and then a family were big steps. “When Amber and I moved in together, I loved spending every day with her and our daughter,” Kenny says. The two discovered they complemented one another’s personalities. She loves his computer savvy and he likes her tendency to be neat and tidy. They already shared a quirky sense of humor and a love of sports. Amber chose the historic Masonic Center in downtown Spokane for its easy grandeur then tempered the formal space with her own quirky sense of style. After a honeymoon in Las Vegas taking in the Criss Angel show, Shark Reef and the water show at the Bellagio, the family settled back into the house they are renting. And how do they feel now that the wedding is over and life is back to normal? “Relaxed,” they’re quick to say. “And, very happy.”