Dream of a fall wedding comes true

Kaitlin had always dreamed of a beautiful fall wedding, and when Sean Mallon proposed in December 2012 it was on its way to becoming a reality. He proposed about a week before Christmas. They had gone to dinner on a Friday night and when they got home the next thing Kaitlin knew Sean was down on one knee holding the ring while their special song played in the background. “Sean had tricked me into thinking it wasn’t going to happen for a while,” she said. After she said yes, they immediately went over to Sean’s sister and brother-in-law’s house where both of their families had secretly gathered to celebrate. It certainly lives as one of their best holiday seasons. Although Kaitlin and Sean had both grew up in Spokane, they didn’t actually meet until the fall of 2010. Mutual friends introduced them and they started dating very quickly after that. Right away, Kaitlin set her sights on the following autumn, 10 months after the engagement, and two months after the wedding of Kaitlin’s sister. The wedding ceremony and the reception were held in the Georgian Ballroom, with a cocktail hour in between in the library while the staff reset the room. Kaitlin and Sean both have large families and lots of friends, so they agreed they would have a big wedding with lots of bridesmaids, groomsmen and ushers. Kaitlin describes the wedding theme as “fall elegance.” “My mom and I carved about 30 pumpkin lanterns and painted them gold,” she said. In addition, the tables were adorned with gold and white mini pumpkins with purple hydrangea and gold branches. Another special seasonal treat was a trick-or-treat themed candy bar, including specialty candy like Pop Rocks, Ring Pops and gummy vampire teeth. One unexpected twist happened just an hour before photos. Zippers on two of the bridesmaids’ dresses broke, making them totally unwearable. Right away they called the alternations department at Nordstrom’s, where the dresses were purchased from. Kaitlin said the retailer’s alterations team saved the day. They came to the Spokane Club, picked up the dresses, sewed in new zippers and returned them in record time – the last-minute fix barely put the wedding behind schedule at all. The pastor for their ceremony was their mutual friend Grant, which made it even more special with lots of personal readings and messages. “My favorite part of the wedding was definitely the ceremony because it was so personalized and meaningful, and I felt like Sean and I were the only people in the room,” she said. Kaitlin and Sean have a terrific group of friends that helped make the reception tons of fun. Their first dance was to “Crazy Love” by Van Morrison. Then everyone joined them on the dance floor, which was packed all night long. The new couple also surprised the late-night dancers by having David’s Pizza delivered to the Spokane Club around 10 p.m. Sean and Kaitlin said it was a beautiful fall wedding that was the perfect start to their marriage. They are now planning a delayed honeymoon to Belize later this year as it was too difficult for both of them to get more time off last fall because of job demands. They cannot wait to go somewhere warm and relax together.