Cool! We are at polar-opposite locations in WA!
That is funny about your wedding! My first wedding was in 97 and it was a perfectly cloudy outside wedding. The sun was defused like a softbox through the clouds. I used P-mode and every shot was great. It was film and I did not know it was great until I got them back from Walmart! But it gave me a false since of “hey I can do this! This is easy!”. Next wedding was all outside in harsh 12pm sunlight. I learned that I had a lot to learn!

Thanks for sharing your stories as well. P-mode rules! Looking forward to your articles on composition. I must say this area is one of the weakest of my photography. More specifically, sometimes I can't see much beyond the particular AF point I'm using, trying to get the eye sharp and forgetting to recompose...