Wedding Venue {Inn at Langley}

My oh my, what a treat to spend a night at Whidbey Island's famous Inn at Langley this past weekend! One of a few wedding planners and designers invited up to experience all that they have to offer, I was more than happy to hop a ferry and spend a relaxing Sunday and Monday at this artistic haven.


Although my photos are by no means professional, I hope to capture some of the spirit of what this venue has to offer. It is for the "outside the box" bride - it offers endless possiblities with the indoor spaces of the Chef's Kitchen, a Conference room, and the Master Suites. The outdoor spaces are seemingly endless, including the Herb Garden with geometrically groomed hedges and lush fresh herbs, and the Cottage Garden, an English secret garden-like setting.


On the waterfront you can utilize the rocky NW beach at low tide, or the meandering boardwalk dock complete with a fire pit for roasting s'mores after sunset. The Master Suite even has a cocktail hour sized deck that would be great for a rehearsal dinner or morning after brunch. As we walked around we all came up with ideas of how to tent here, drape there and truly create some amazing wedding spaces at this awesome venue.



Now on to the food...I must share. Our 7 course meal...yes, that's 7 courses, started off with an introduction by Chef Matt Costello. This made the appreciation of the meal so, so much more as we all could appreciate the art and thought that went into each course. Even thought it was so, so lovely and dim in the restaurant, I'm still sharing my photos because...I want to!

Menu 05.23.10

Amuse Bouche: sweet hazelnut macaroon of foie gras
Seafood: slow roasted alaskan king salmon with artichoke and brown butter
Pasta: asparagus with summer black truffle and chive
Intermezzo: cucumber and lychee cooler
Entree: anderson ranch lamb loin inspired by the saratoga woods
Cheese: whipped mt. townsend camembert with rhybarb and roses
Dessert: strawberry, coconut, white chocolate and mint

Seattle Wedding {Becky & Deric} 02.13.10

One look at this fun-loving couple and you can't help but smile! I hit it off with Becky instantly last summer when we met - and knew I had made the cut when I was asked to be photographed with Becky and her MOH at the end of our first meeting :) Deric is the calm and collected balance to Becky's whirl of energy - they just make the PERFECT couple!


Margaret Dybash of Poppy Artistry at work doing the bridal makeup - what gorgeous lighting here - and a gorgeous bride to work on!

This photo may be one of my favorite wedding dress photos EVER. I love the texture, the shape, the ruffles...it makes me swoon! Major props to Kate McElwee, the amazing photographer, for accomplishing this because I have seen my fair share of wedding dress pictures.

Becky and Deric got ready at the new and wonderful Hyatt at Olive 8 downtown, which makes for some great photo ops. The flowers were done by my good friend and wonderful artisan, Susan Snyder of S*Scents Design. I do believe that this was some of her finest work to date...




The wedding ceremony was held at the stunning Holy Names Academy Chapel. Not much is needed here for decor, so some simple flower-wired branches were just added to draw the attention down the aisle towards the altar.


The reception was held at Pravda Studios on Capital Hill, which is always a wonderful "blank slate" venue to work with. Here, we really wanted to work with color - deep purples, reds and oranges - without making it feel like you were in a club. Three different types of centerpieces helped create interest in the space, and a separate lounge area was used for people to relax and chat away from the buzz of the dance floor and dinner area.




There seemed to be a theme going on, whether Becky knew it or not, that leaned a bit towards a subtle "Moulin Rouge". After I saw the wonderful and unique invitations she had selected from Oh So Suite on Etsy, I knew that we had to incorporate some feathers and sparkle in her other decor to pull this look together!


Choice Linens had the perfect combination of colors for the under- and over-lays on all of the tables...a punch of color but still subtle and sheer enough with a slight sparkle to them.



What Seattle reception is complete without crab cakes? The delicious food and lovely dessert display were courtesy of the catering team at Ravishing Radish, with the centerpiece cake being done by none other than the mother of the groom! I thought it was just the sweetest little cake ever!!




None other than the Michael Benson Band brought the whole party to it's peak with their music - he also made sure to follow up with Becky afterward to let her know that it was one of this TOP weddings EVER!!


Needless to say, it was a super-fun evening for everyone - complete with a non-stop crazy photo booth AND a late-night hot dog stand from Dante's Inferno Dogs - love his cream cheese gun!!

Unique Save-The-Date

When I received this Save-The-Date from a client, I just HAD to put it on my blog! This is a perfect example of how creative and beautiful you can be with your own save-the-dates.

This rad couple, Jamie and Jared, are getting married at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. They loved this venue for how raw and edgy and artsy it is, but also for how it showcased many of the wonderful quintessential "Seattle" elements they wanted to feature in their wedding.

They took photographs of different views of Seattle - all from the Sculpture Park - and made a beautiful collage printed on a wonderful metallic photo paper. The whole thing is finished off by a simple and perfect quote. Love it, love it, love everything about it you guys!!

"The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting." - Andy Warhol

Mood Board: {Crystal Elegance} 08.29.09

This sumptuous wedding began with a simple idea: to take the bride’s lifelong collection of Swarovski Crystal and bring that to life in her wedding in a tasteful and elegant way. Gold, cream and touches of magenta made up the color scheme that was carried throughout from the first touch that the guests saw: The Save the Date cards. Using the Swarovski Crystal in places from the Bridal Gown and Flower Girl Tiara to the luxurious invitation and each and every escort card created a high-end look that was meaningful to the bride. Crystal bobeche strands dangled from the center of the table vases and a final touch of California Crystals in the hundreds of votive holders completed the look.

It was the above-and-beyond touches that made this event innovative and one to remember. Creating a theme off of something so close to the bride’s heart made it special in a way that the guests recognized. Custom lighting was designed with amber patterns projected onto the ceiling, forty custom-matched magenta up-lights throughout the room and a custom logo BOGO projected onto the dance floor. The children were treated to a custom-designed arts and crafts themed room complete with a kid’s buffet, movies, activities, nannies and an ice cream sundae bar that made even the adults jealous!

Design Inspirations {Mixed Media}

One of my favorite things about working on weddings is helping people to design their perfect look. Inspirations can come from anywhere - I have designed entire events around the lining of an envelope, the look of an Anthropologie store, or the clipping from a fashion magazine. The sky is the limit when becoming inspired for your wedding, so this series called design inspirations will focus on what is inspiring me at the moment - inside and outside of the wedding world.

I am always walking around in my daily life when something will just stop me in my tracks...and grab me...and I know that I have to have it on my own office "inspiration board." This may be picked up by a client, or may just be there to make me happy for months on end. Either way, it's something that can be pulled into an event in touches as small as a texture on a table or as large as an entire color theme.

Take a look at what I found walking through Joanne's Fabrics when purchasing supplies for a recent wedding. The cover image by Kelly Rae Roberts (shown above) literally stopped me in my tracks on this day, and I was in love with what I found inside the magazine pages. All images are from Somerset Studio, a paper and mixed media magazine.

"One & One" designed by Chrysti Hydeck

"Breathe" designed by Raquel Joya with elements courtesy of Roben-Marie Smith

"With One Palette: Aqua, Cadmium Red & Indian Yellow" by Danita

Camano Island Wedding: Nancy & LaDeana {07.04.09}

Planning Nancy & Deana's wedding was such an honor for me. A vehement supporter of same-sex unions, I believe that all couples deserve the "happily ever after" wedding day of their dreams! A ten-minute phone consultation sold them on my services, which seriously must have been a record for me.

From California, where they live, we set up a follow-up conference call - during which I took notes furiously while they fired ideas at me like a shotgun. Lemonade Stand! Black and White Theme! Seafood Buffet! Unusual Food Displays! Polaroid Guest Book! Local Musicians! Group Photo a Must! Red Velvet Cake! Now...Go!! The complete freedom to "make it happen" for them was refreshing...the trust level was so high and this enabled me to really take their ideas and run. I was able to pull from my resources and propose some ideas that might not have flown with every bridal couple.

The Venue: Camano Country Club. This venue came with the couple and has a spectacular view and nice, large outdoor space. It is, however, quite dated in a 70's rec-club kind of way. The site evaluation uncovered all of the hunter green and brass in it’s splendor – and our newfound plans for covering it all with luscious white drapery from The Prop Gallery.

The Food: This was a MAJOR focus of the event. I knew after speaking with the brides that I had to have The City Catering Company and their ultra-creative staff on-board to help come up with some amazing ways to make a seafood extravaganza modern and exciting. The "Potlatch Celebration" - which is a Native American gathering that is native to Camano Island - inspired both the menu and the styling of the buffet, which included Native American blankets and a wooden canoe filled with local flowers. All of the seafood was sourced directly from Nancy's brothers, who just happen to be fishermen in Alaska.

The Fun Touches

Prior to the wedding ceremony a “Lemonade Stand” was set up outside for guests to refresh themselves while waiting in the hot sun. Both a spiked-vodka lemonade and a virgin formula were available.

A Polaroid Guest Book (yes, still real Polaroids!) was executed throughout cocktail hour, which is always a fun activity for guests.

The simple yet utterly delicious red velvet cake from Simply Desserts in Seattle (one of my favorite bakeries around) were displayed on a variety of artisan black cake stands from local tableware designer Rosanna.

The flowers were an assortment of lush and textural yellow flowers anchored by NW greenery pulled from the gardens of S*Scents Designs' Susan Snyder. Garlands and fruit were also used to give everything an abundant, summery feel.

Other honorable mentions: The team at AA Party not only provided rentals on a holiday that they are normally closed on(!), but they added a huge 40x40' tent less than 24-hours prior to the wedding when it was decided that, yes, the NW does get TOO hot(!!). Daniel Sheehan of A Beautiful Day Photography not only eloquently captured all of the beautiful details of the day, but of course got the required entire-group portrait done in a jiffy (which he also happens to be quite famous for...). Dustin of Bugsie Productions spun some great tunes all night to keep the party going.