We are the family who created the Seahawks display in Lake Stevens that The Herald’s Andrea Brown wrote about. A display built from the many donations the 12th Man had dropped off at our house after our flags were stolen. (“Lake Stevens responds after girl’s Seahawks flags stolen from yard.”) This act of kindness brought us so much joy to our family, but what happened after the story hit the news has truly touched our hearts.
After reading about our simple little wedding coming up, Stephanie Walls, a professional wedding photographer, contacted us and said she and other businesses would like to donate their services to give my bride and I an entire wedding package, something our budget couldn’t afford. Stephanie donated an entire wedding photography ensemble, taking pictures every step of the way. She then contacted Lisa at the Chapel on Machias, who donated her romantic wedding chapel and beautifully decorated it for our wedding day.
Next up was Kristine Williams, owner of Flowers By K in Lake Stevens, who donated all the flowers for our wedding, including a 10 white rose bouquet for the bride, a flower girl bouquet for our daughter, and a boutonniere for the groom. Then Tracy and Emily from SimplySweet Cupcakes in Lake Stevens donated a Seahawks Blue and Green Wedding cake along with 30 delicious chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for our reception. Stephanie then contacted Amanda from Studio Salon in Shoreline who drove up to the chapel on our wedding day and did the hair styling and make-up for Mari, helping make her the most beautiful bride in the world.
To top it all off, Zeke from Maverick catering in Monroe provided a fully catered prime rib and king crab dinner for our guests. It was by far the most succulent prime rib we ever had. These generous people gave my wife and I the most spectacular wedding we could ever imagine. We would like to give thanks to the people who sent us cards and gifts to our house, but most of all special thanks to Stephanie Walls photography who created an entire wedding in less than seven days without a glitch! An absolute miracle worker who handled the whole process so the bride and groom could be relaxed and stress-free on their wedding day.
The Spirit of The 12’s is for real! We our forever grateful to the kindness and generosity of our community, and myself for the tears of joy I saw on my bride’s face on her wedding day!
Our thanks to everyone,
Don, Mari and MariBrooke Hartleben
Lake Stevens
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