Spoiled Dog Winery

Friday Night Private Wine Tasting

Roaming Radish

Rehearsal Dinner (Family Only)

Fireseed Catering

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Double Bluff Beach

Day-After Tree Planting - LOCATION UPDATED

Our Wedding

DJ and Michelle met in the small, southern Oregon town of Coos Bay, where they both worked for the local television station, KCBY, as their first “real” job after college. Interestingly, they nearly didn’t meet at all because both DJ and Michelle were delayed by separate natural disasters while driving to their interviews at the station, six months apart. Michelle was re-routed due to wildfires and completely missed the interview and DJ was caught in a snow storm on the way to his interview. Somehow, through fire and ice they both still managed to charm their way into employment there.

When DJ started at the TV station, Michelle had already been there for several months and had established a group of friends. Since DJ was on the quieter side, she continually tried to draw him out and invite him to various gatherings. DJ thought this meant Michelle was really attracted to him, and he likes to tell the story of how Michelle showed up at his apartment “unannounced” one weekend to invite him on a lunch date. In truth, Michelle was just trying to be nice to the new guy. Since DJ thought Michelle was coming on to him, he decided to attend all the parties Michelle would host at her apartment, and stay until everyone else had gone home. Being a gracious host, Michelle offered her futon in the living room for DJ to sleep on, not thinking he would accept. But he did! After several occasions of DJ sleeping in her living room, Michelle started to think that maybe DJ was coming on to HER. So to get to the bottom of his feelings, Michelle told DJ she wanted to take him to a special place in Coos Bay. She selected a night when it would be a full moon, and took DJ to Cape Arago one evening, a beautiful rocky outcropping overlooking the Pacific Ocean with the full moon shining on the sea stacks and crashing waves. It couldn’t have been more romantic. They sat next to each other on the rocks looking out at the ocean, and DJ never made a move. So Michelle decided she had misread his signals and DJ really was not interested in her. However, after several more weeks of DJ sleeping on her couch and still seeming interested, Michelle finally took the bull by the horns and asked DJ why he was spending all this time with her but didn’t want to kiss her, to which he answered that he DID want to kiss her, so she asked him what in the heck he was waiting for?! In light of that, I suppose it’s not all that surprising that it then took more than a decade for DJ to ask Michelle to marry him.&nbsp; :-)

The moral of this very long story is, sometimes the best things in life take a long time to develop, they require being patient, and you can miss them entirely if you aren’t paying attention. And sometimes, you just need to take the bull by the horns.&nbsp;

How They Met

Our Story

Details

Photos

Michelle's sister Becky has always been in her life, and the two have shared many important moments together. Becky has a wealth of life experience both positive and challenging, and it has given her unique perspective on what is truly important.&nbsp;She is strong, determined, and loyal in life. It is an honor to have her stand with us as we are married.

Rebecca Dufek

Trevor is DJ's older brother, and has always been willing to share his knowledge and lessons learned in life with DJ. DJ really enjoys spending quality time with Trev and his&nbsp;family (Monet, Makena, and Kyle)&nbsp;and we're so glad to have them all at our celebration, and have Trev&nbsp;by our side as we tie the knot.

Trevor Hammond

Scott is Michelle's brother, and being close in age, they grew up together on the mean streets of Riverland, MI, and Tomahawk, WI. Scott is a wonderful example of being a great partner to his wife, Denise, and an unbelievable dad to Leonardo and Sienna. We can't wait to have Scott by our side, and on the dance floor,&nbsp;as we celebrate.

Scott DeGrand

Paul is DJ's younger brother. Paul&nbsp;has incredible artistic&nbsp;ability, an adventurous spirit, and a quick-witted humor&nbsp;that keeps DJ&nbsp;on his toes but provides lots of belly laughs. Paul is sharing&nbsp;that love of laughter with his beautiful daughter Laila, often teaming up to the chagrin of Laila's mom, Cassidy.&nbsp;We're thrilled to have Paul standing with us as we take this next step in our lives.&nbsp;

Paul Hammond

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

Saratoga Inn

All Island Taxi service is ready and available for us during our event weekend. Call the number above to cab between the events and hotels/houses.&nbsp;Note: If you are attending both&nbsp;the wine tasting and&nbsp;rehearsal dinner on Friday night and prefer to drive your own car, we are staging parking at the Roaming Radish at 4:30 p.m. From there, a van can take you over to the winery for the tasting at 5:00&nbsp;and then&nbsp;back to the&nbsp;Roaming Radish for dinner. You can also&nbsp;use the&nbsp;cab service&nbsp;if you decide not to drive.&nbsp;The van is $5 per person and the cab rides are a little more. Uber is spotty but also available during peak times on the island. Call or text&nbsp;me if you have any questions! 425-999-0772 Parking: Lots of parking is available at the wedding ceremony/reception site (Fireseed) and the rehearsal dinner location (Roaming Radish). Parking is limited at Spoiled Dog Winery (Private Wine Tasting)&nbsp;and at Double Bluff Park (Sunday Tree Planting).

All Island Express Taxi Service - passenger van Friday night and taxi service other times

Inn At Langley

Langley Motel

Harbor Inn

Travel

Check with DJ or Michelle to make sure the season is still open and, if so, borrow crab traps to use right off the dock on Langley pier and try your hand at&nbsp;hauling in dinner! Make sure to purchase a license from Ace Hardware in Freeland or the DoIt Center in Clinton.

Crabbing at Langley Marina

Head out in a kayak on Saratoga passage from Langley. You'll probably see seals, eagles, other water birds, and maybe even a porpoise or whale!

Whidbey Island Kayaking

Walking the downtown waterfront streets of Langley and walking down to the beach makes for a relaxing afternoon. The shops include art galleries,&nbsp;artisan gift&nbsp;shops, a brewery, soap and tea shops, book shops, restaurants, and a whale center and historical museum.

Langley Business District

Drive to the west side of Whidbey Island to catch the ferry from&nbsp;Coupeville to Port Townsend, a great place to explore history, check out the brew pub, and enjoy water activities such as kayaking or&nbsp;whale watching! Check out the details at <a href="http://www.enjoypt.com">www.enjoypt.com</a>. If you take your&nbsp;vehicle across, you can also drive into Olympic National Park not far beyond the city of Port Townsend.&nbsp;

Explore Port Townsend

Berry liqueurs (blackberry, boysenberry, loganberry, and raspberry) and whiskey are distilled at this family-owned business that's been going for three generations. Mutiny Bay Distillery is also nearby.

Whidbey Island Distillery

There are several wineries very near to Langley and our wedding site, including Spoiled Dog, Dancing Fish, Whidbey Island Winery, Comforts of Whidbey,&nbsp;Blooms Winery, Ott &&nbsp;Murphy, and Holmes Harbor Cellars.&nbsp;

Winery Tours

Drive up the 55-mile long Whidbey Island to the north end of the island, connected to the mainland by a tall and spectacular steel bridge over Deception Pass. There is a state park there with great hiking trails, camping/picnicking areas, and beach access.

Deception Pass State Park, Oak Harbor, WA, United States

The salmon will be running in October, so for some reel-screaming fun, hook up with a charter boat in Everett (just off the Clinton - Mukilteo ferry) or in Port Townsend (just off the&nbsp;Coupeville - Port Townsend ferry) to head out on Puget Sound for a day of fishing.&nbsp;

Charter Fishing

There are a few&nbsp;cool lighthouses both in towns on Whidbey Island and just off the island. Mukilteo Lighthouse is literally right at the ferry landing in Mukilteo where you leave to head onto Whidbey Island. Admiralty Head Lighthouse is in Coupeville near the Coupeville ferry landing, and Point Wilson Lighthouse is just north of Port Townsend if you take the Coupeville ferry there. On the north end of Whidbey Island, Burrows Island Victorian Lighthouse and Fog Station is located near the Anacortes ferry terminal (which has ferries to the San Juan Islands.)

Lighthouses

Drive up to Anacortes at the north end of Whidbey Island to catch another ferry into the San Juan Islands, a collection of unique islands worth exploring. San Juan Island and Orcas Island are the largest islands in the archipelago, and you do not have to bring your car if you do a day trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, as it's right off the ferry landing and you can rent scooters to get around the island once there. A car is necessary on Orcas Island to drive to the main town center of Eastsound and Moran State Park/Mt. Constitution, the highest point on the island that affords incredible views of the Puget Sound and island chains.

Visit the San Juan Islands

Just across the ferry to Mukilteo, Boeing has an incredible museum and tour of their facility.

Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour

On the nearby Camano Island, enjoy a family-owned zip-line excursion through old-growth NW forest.

DJ & Michelle

DJ & Michelle

Registry