A Lake Stevens couple won a wedding package valued at $16,000 over the weekend through a contest to promote Whidbey Island as a wedding destination.
Jackie Rutherford and Nick Serrano were drawn randomly to win the wedding that includes the venue, the cake, invitations, photos and music.
“It blew us away,” Rutherford said. “We weren’t expecting it to be us and it happened. Saturday was the best day ever.”
Several businesses on Whidbey Island banded together to sponsor the wedding as a way to promote winter weddings on the island. More than 40 couples nominated themselves for the wedding to be held on Jan. 17 at Dancing Fish Farm near Freeland.
People voted online to narrow it down to 10 couples.
Rutherford and Serrano were drawn randomly at the Weddings on Whidbey Events tour on Saturday.
“They are so cute and adorable,” said Gloria Mickunas, Whidbey Party Girls, an events planner in Coupeville. “She was crying when they won, she was shaking the whole time. They were over the moon really.
“You couldn’t ask for better people to win it.”
Rutherford, 25, is a dental assistant and officer manager at Autumnwood Dental in Arlington. Serrano is a mechanic at Boeing.
They arrived at the wedding tour, learned that they won and then got to meet several of the vendors who will be helping with their wedding.
Rutherford said they’ve moving their wedding date up from August to January with the free wedding. She said her and her fiance are excited about it.
“Whidbey Island is gorgeous,” Rutherford said.
Sherrye Wyatt of Whidbey and Camano Islands Tourism said she was delighted with the event. She said the tourism group also gave a weekend getaway to one of the 1,500 people who voted online for the couples.
Wyatt added that when the couple won their wedding that it was really a “great moment.”
“There was so much positive energy,” Wyatt said. “And all the couples were so supportive of each other.”
Two other couples who made the final 10 also plan to get married on Whidbey Island after going on the tour. They’re also choosing to do it in the winter time.
Mickunas plans to meet with Rutherford and Serrano on Saturday to help them tailor their wedding plans.
“To me, a winter wedding is just so romantic,” Mickunas said. “I couldn’t be happier for these people.”
To learn more, visit www.WinAWhidbeyWedding.com.
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