Wedding a rustic celebration at bride’s grandmother’s house

Once Jesse Galbreath knew he was ready to propose to his then-girlfriend Cailey Plagerman, he set to work planning each detail.

With brainstorming help from family and friends, he was able to make his setup under the disguise of it also being Cailey’s 21st birthday, Nov. 30, 2014.

First, he had to figure out how to get her out of the house.

What’s the first thing people tend to do after becoming engaged? Take pictures with the ring.

“So I sent her to get her nails and toes done,” says Jesse, 23, “and that gave me an opportunity to set stuff up at the house.”

With Cailey off to get a manicure with the promise that a birthday dinner would be waiting when she returned, Jesse set to work with some help from his family.

They decorated the house with hundreds of candles.

“It was a lot, maybe like 500?” he recalls. “I just wanted a glow in the room.”

He laid rose petals on the steps leading to the front door, and set the table with a steak dinner, which he knew they would eat with a view of the sunset.

Then he waited just behind the front door for Cailey to return, which seemed to take forever.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold a regular conversation, and I’d probably be like sweating and shaking,” he says, “so I just decided to do it right off the bat so we could go on enjoying the night and being ourselves.”

Finally, Cailey opened the door and he proposed right there.

“The table was set, music was playing, there was a bottle of champagne on ice, steak, mashed potatoes, salad, everything was so perfect,” she says.

Afterward, they met up with their families at a bar in Burlington, where Jesse is from, and celebrated.

For the wedding, Cailey says she knew exactly where she wanted to get married, and had known ever since she was just a kid: Her grandmother’s house in Everson.

Her grandparents had built the house in the ’70s in the style of the southern mansion featured in “Gone with the Wind.”

“I didn’t like the idea of having a wedding where everyone else has,” Cailey says. “I dreamed of having it there ever since I was little.”

Ever since Cailey’s grandfather had died, chores had stacked up and the home and yard needed a lot of work.

“It needed some freshening up,” Cailey says. “We had a lot of family and friends out for work parties to get it all up-to-date.”

Starting in February 2015, they worked every chance they got, mowing, getting rid of moss, painting, removing clutter.

“It was a lot of work and it was so worth it, and I know my grandma appreciated it so much,” Cailey says. “She loves it and she was so proud at the end.”

Cailey co-owns and is a barista at Red Barn Coffee on Hannegan Road, while Jesse works for his family’s business, “Lazy J Farm,” in Burlington. He and Cailey live near the farm.

They were married June 27, 2015, in front of 350 guests by Cailey’s brother-in-law Caleb Dick, a youth pastor in Bothell.

Guests sat on wooden benches and pews purchased from an old church in Monroe.

The theme was country-rustic, with bridesmaids wearing light-green dresses, the groomsmen wearing cream tuxes and green ties, and the entire wedding party wearing cowboy boots.

Tree stumps made sturdy bases for flowers down the aisle, and a wooden barn-door backdrop was set up against the woods.

“It’s so peaceful back where we had it,” Cailey says. “If there was a silent moment, you could hear birds chirping and all the wildlife.”

The reception was held under a tent, with a dance floor built just for the big day. Lights and chandeliers were strung up. Vintage windows and dressers added to the feel.

The mother of one of Cailey’s oldest friends made their cake and cupcakes, and Double Barrel BBQ in Sedro-Woolley catered the meal, with barbecue chicken, pulled pork, and sides.

Jesse says he couldn’t pick out just one favorite moment from their special day.

“There were lots of moments,” he says. “The day seemed to go by way too fast. I wish we could have done like a weeklong wedding.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Wedding a rustic celebration at bride’s grandmother’s house."