North Coast Hitching Post

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Summer

Our Wedding

Marcus&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;met&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;Summer&nbsp;Arts&nbsp;Music&nbsp;Festival&nbsp;in&nbsp;2021.&nbsp;Marcus&nbsp;was&nbsp;there&nbsp;playing&nbsp;with&nbsp;his&nbsp;band,&nbsp;King&nbsp;Range.&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;went&nbsp;with&nbsp;her&nbsp;Aunt&nbsp;Donna&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;fun&nbsp;summer&nbsp;activity&nbsp;to&nbsp;shop&nbsp;at&nbsp;local&nbsp;artist&nbsp;booths&nbsp;and&nbsp;listen&nbsp;to&nbsp;local&nbsp;music.&nbsp;Like&nbsp;most&nbsp;southern&nbsp;Humboldt&nbsp;summer&nbsp;days&nbsp;it&nbsp;was&nbsp;an&nbsp;excruciatingly&nbsp;hot&nbsp;day&nbsp;and&nbsp;Donna&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to&nbsp;leave&nbsp;the&nbsp;festival&nbsp;to&nbsp;take&nbsp;a&nbsp;swim&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;South&nbsp;Fork&nbsp;Eel&nbsp;River.&nbsp;Just&nbsp;as&nbsp;they&nbsp;were&nbsp;leaving&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;event&nbsp;hall&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;band&nbsp;was&nbsp;playing&nbsp;their&nbsp;first&nbsp;song.&nbsp;They&nbsp;stopped&nbsp;to&nbsp;watch&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;couple&nbsp;seconds&nbsp;before&nbsp;heading&nbsp;out&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;cooling&nbsp;swim.&nbsp;Not&nbsp;knowing&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;lead&nbsp;guitarist&nbsp;playing&nbsp;was&nbsp;her&nbsp;future&nbsp;husband. After&nbsp;swimming&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;cool&nbsp;blue&nbsp;waters&nbsp;they&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to&nbsp;head&nbsp;back&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;festival&nbsp;to&nbsp;see&nbsp;who&nbsp;was&nbsp;playing.&nbsp;Their&nbsp;first&nbsp;stop&nbsp;the&nbsp;beer&nbsp;line.&nbsp;Who&nbsp;happened&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;in&nbsp;front&nbsp;of&nbsp;them&nbsp;in&nbsp;that&nbsp;line,&nbsp;Marcus&nbsp;Leemann.&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;recognizing&nbsp;him&nbsp;from&nbsp;earlier,&nbsp;being&nbsp;nice,&nbsp;and&nbsp;possibly&nbsp;hoping&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;free&nbsp;beer,&nbsp;struck&nbsp;up&nbsp;conversation&nbsp;complimenting&nbsp;him&nbsp;on&nbsp;his&nbsp;performance&nbsp;(that&nbsp;she&nbsp;saw&nbsp;10&nbsp;seconds&nbsp;of)&nbsp;and&nbsp;he&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;ignored&nbsp;her.&nbsp;He&nbsp;said&nbsp;thank&nbsp;you&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;stranger&nbsp;and&nbsp;turned&nbsp;back&nbsp;around&nbsp;in&nbsp;line&nbsp;after&nbsp;a&nbsp;couple&nbsp;of&nbsp;words. Walking&nbsp;back&nbsp;into&nbsp;the&nbsp;venue&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;saw&nbsp;him&nbsp;standing&nbsp;alone&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;back&nbsp;and&nbsp;decided&nbsp;to&nbsp;take&nbsp;another&nbsp;shot.&nbsp;Struck&nbsp;up&nbsp;conversation,&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;about&nbsp;the&nbsp;new&nbsp;band&nbsp;playing&nbsp;in&nbsp;front&nbsp;of&nbsp;them.&nbsp;They&nbsp;chatted&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;bit&nbsp;before&nbsp;heading&nbsp;separate&nbsp;ways.&nbsp;Later&nbsp;on&nbsp;Marcus&nbsp;spotted&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;crowd&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;rest&nbsp;is&nbsp;history. They&nbsp;danced&nbsp;and&nbsp;laughed&nbsp;the&nbsp;night&nbsp;away.&nbsp;Marcus&nbsp;introduced&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;to&nbsp;his&nbsp;friends&nbsp;when&nbsp;they&nbsp;showed&nbsp;up&nbsp;as&nbsp;his&nbsp;“girlfriend”.&nbsp;When&nbsp;he&nbsp;saw&nbsp;his&nbsp;friend&nbsp;Benjamin&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;crowd&nbsp;he&nbsp;towed&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;over&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;say&nbsp;hi.&nbsp;He&nbsp;told&nbsp;Benjamin,&nbsp;“&nbsp;This&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;girl&nbsp;I&nbsp;am&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;marry.” Marcus&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;have&nbsp;been&nbsp;inseparable&nbsp;ever&nbsp;since.&nbsp;They&nbsp;enjoy&nbsp;spending&nbsp;time&nbsp;together&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;outdoors,&nbsp;hiking,&nbsp;hunting,&nbsp;and&nbsp;fishing.&nbsp; Marcus&nbsp;proposed&nbsp;to&nbsp;Kaydee&nbsp;on&nbsp;December&nbsp;12,&nbsp;2023.

How They Met

Our Story

Photos

Lisa Gale

Kassie May Sutil

Kate Merritt

Lesley Roudebush

Kolter Sutil

Blake Leemann

James Washburn

Wedding Party

Q + A

Bear River Casino Resort

Comfort Inn & Suites Redwood Country

The Redwood Riverwalk

Super 8 Fortuna

Best Western Country Inn

Redwood Suites

Best Western Plus Bayshore Inn

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Eureka, an IHG Hotel

Travel

Nestled between the California Redwoods and fabled Lost Coast, the Victorian Village of Ferndale is a hidden oasis of small town charm, spectacular architecture, enchanting natural beauty and welcoming Humboldt County culture. With its fusion of old-fashioned Americana and modern quirkiness - and a scenic setting straight out of the movies - this small but vibrant dairy town near Eureka is the perfect destination for a fun family vacation, rugged outdoor adventure or romantic weekend getaway.

Visit the Historic Town of Ferndale

Things to Do

Registry

Marcus & Kaydee

Marcus & Kaydee

Registry