by Scott Johnson
Burkenpas Wedding on 9/1/18 at Carleton Farms in Lake Stevens, Wa
Music licensed from –
Song Freedom – songfreedom.com
“If you are going to pick one thing to splurge on for your wedding I will always tell you to make it your pictures and videos. (Besides yummy food and drinks for your guests because after all, they are there for you!!) Being able to go back and rewatch and feel what I felt on that day, and see all of our friends and family’s smiling faces, is far more meaningful than anything else 💕”
Many of us remember September 1st as the beginning of the end of Summer. Following Labor Day, it was back to school and no more fun in the sun. Office Depot would be slammed, the sun wouldn’t nearly be out as long, and you had 9 months of school to look forward to. Now, many of us don’t really notice the first of September at all, but certainly the Burkenpas’ will. And they’ll remember it as something much, much better.
Just down the 204 from Lake Stevens (for those of you who don’t know, this is Chris Pratt’s hometown), is Carleton Farms, an exceptional stop for Pumpkin Patches, Brewfest, school tours, Zombie Paintball and, well, you guessed it: weddings. A short drive east of Everett will land you in this little-known neck of the woods (literally), with beautiful scenery and peaceful surroundings.
We used to love going up to this region to pick out pumpkins in the Fall, but now we love it even more for weddings. The Burkenpas’ big wedding day greeted us with some slight overcast, and enough of a tease of blue skies to keep us hopeful about the sun burning way the clouds. Setting foot on the farm transports you back to the Old West, with horses roaming around and a massive barn. But there wasn’t too much time to take it all in, it was time to giddy up and get going!
Well, maybe not as fast as a rampant stallion, but the boys got ready while sneaking in some foosball and beer. The ladies rocked some deep red dresses while the boys sported grey vests without jackets. The morning crept along with the excitement continuing to grow; it was almost time for the first look. Kyrsten received some lovely earrings while the guys got some nice Leatherman utility tools.
Standing back to back out on a gravel path, the soon-to-be newlyweds turned around and greeted each other with pure emotion. The first look was so precious that we did not want it to end. We had them roam around the area, enjoying the country life before the married life, sneaking kisses out in the fields and traipsing across the grass.
We got some awesome group photos with the barn and wooden fences as a background, adding that lovely rustic feel to everything. The smiles were contagious, and the happiness was more than palpable. Without much else to do, the two were off to get hitched.
Following a wonderful ceremony, in which heartfelt vows were exchanged and delivered by a charismatic officiant, Karsten and Kyrsten finally got to kiss and become husband and wife. After all the incredibly fun paperwork, everyone headed to the barn for the reception. As the day slowly started to fade away, the sun crept ever so slightly over the hill at magic hour to take the whole day to a beautiful new level. Fairy tale doesn’t quite cut it.
Congratulations to Kyrsten and Karsten on their wedding, and thank you again for choosing Best Made Videos® to film your big day! If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below!
Photographer – MMR Design and Photography
Videographer – Best Made Videos®
Caterer – Keren Littrell
DJ – Jeff Chapman
Rentals – Sweet Buffet Lady, CORT Party Rentals
Kyrsten and Karsten’s story in their own words:
How did you guys meet?
Karsten and I met through work. My grandpa owns a construction company called Ponderosa Pacific Inc, and Karsten is a field superintendent and I am the Accounts Payable and Payroll Manager. After meeting in the office, going on a few secret dates, and figuring out a way to tell my family (work and personal life can get messy especially when the work side of things is my family), we started dating exclusively and the rest is history!
Tell us about the proposal
Karsten is a pretty spectacular guy, and had to plan the proposal all in one weeks time. He spent an entire week leaving work early and planning out all of the itty bitty details. The reason he had to do it in just a weeks span is because I write his paychecks and see his time cards, and if I would have seen that he was leaving work early….but not getting home till 8 or 9 pm….I would’ve thought something was up LOL. So after being practically a super hero Monday-Friday, he woke me up on Saturday November 11th and told me that we needed to head over to his parents house to help his dad with something in the garage (this happened all the time so I thought nothing of it and got up and got ready to go). After getting in the truck and heading out at 8 am, I realized that we were not heading towards his parents house at all, but heading towards a ferry. When I asked him what was up he told me that he felt like we needed a date day, and I agreed, and didn’t think anything of it because he has always been that type of guy. He loves surprising me with little things so I just thought this was one of his little date surprises. I also didn’t bat an eye at the ferry part because one of our favorite things to do together is ride ferry’s and explore the San Juan Islands! We ended up in Port Angeles and had some pizza for lunch, walked around in some shops, and found ourselves in line for the Black Dot ferry…now I had no clue where the Black Dot Ferry went, and Karsten told me it took us back to Seattle to head home, so I was like okay, and didn’t think anything of it….and also have no sense of direction on water so I had no idea that the boat was only heading North LOL. We met this couple on the ferry that kept asking questions like “Have you two ever been to Canada” and stuff like that and Karsten was being really short with them…and kind of rude in fact but our final destination was still a surprise and he didn’t want this couple to spoil it so he instigated we go back down and sit in the truck. Once we sat back in the truck he told me he was running back upstairs to the restroom, but little did I know that he actually went back up to apologize to the couple for being so rude. He told them that he was surprising me and proposing and the woman was so excited she jumped on him LOL. When the ferry docked I noticed that we were in Victoria BC and I looked at him and was like “what are we doing here” and he grinned at me. Now a little back story, Karsten and I bought a truck tent that sits atop his truck that we had taken to Glacier National Park the summer prior, and the tent was still on the truck. Going through customs Karsten didn’t want me to know where we were staying and he actually lied to the border patrol and told them that we were camping in our truck tent. Now, it’s the middle of November….in Canada…..and even the officer was like “I hope you have blankets” lol and after making it through customs I looked at him and was like “CAMPING IN CANADA…NOBODY GOES CAMPING IN CANADA IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?!” and again he just grinned at me and remained silent. After driving a few miles, we found ourselves in line for the Valet at the Empress Hotel right on the water in Victoria BC. No camping in Canada for this girl…Phew!! After dropping our giant truck with the truck tent on top with the valet among all the BMW’s and Mercedes (lol it was pretty funny) we checked in and went up to our beautiful waterfront suite and he told me to get ready for dinner. I forgot to mention that he literally raided my closet and packed a bag for me! Even went so far as to buy some of the essentials like a hair straightener and contact solution because I would have noticed those things missing and packed away. After I got ready I noticed that the room was really quiet (he was nervous and planned everything up to WHAT he was going to say LOL) and I greeted him in front of the window in our suite, he proposed and I said no…HAHA just kidding of course I said yes and we had an amazing dinner in the hotel restaurant, and had the best time! I’ve got a real romantic!
Why did you choose your venue?
My dream wedding has always included a barn, and I just so happen to be marrying a cowboy! So Carleton Farms was our perfect fit!
What are you most excited to see in the video?
I am most excited to be able to look back and feel the raw emotions that will be felt on our wedding day. Our first look is going to be us standing back to back reading our letters to each other silently just before turning around and seeing each other for the first time on our special day and I am really excited for that moment in our video!