Calling all Washington brides – prepare to obsess over this outrageously gorgeous venue, Cave B, serving up stunning views of the Columbia River Gorge! The darling couple celebrated their “I do’s” in a fabulous, al fresco fête planned by Callista & Company on a perfectly sunny Summer day (just wait until you see their golden hour portraits captured by O’Malley Photographers – to. die. for.) Catch all the timeless elegance at the full gallery, featuring our new fave color scheme of 2020: sand, whipped apricot, and dusty mauve!
From the bride… The Gorge holds a special place in each of our hearts. Our first date was there and it was one of the best weekends of our lives! We also spent the first 2 years of our relationship taking turns commuting 4. 5 hours across the state every weekend to see each other. Every time I drove home to see Curtis, I passed over the Columbia River Gorge and felt this overwhelming nostalgia and excitement because I was halfway there! Before we even got engaged we decided we had to go back to where we first fell in love to exchange our vows and share the special place with our family and friends. It is such a meaningful place to our relationship, we could not imagine getting married anywhere else!
We tried to make each detail thoughtful and personal to us and that was starting with our venue, which was where we had our first date. We had a custom crest made by Claire at Sugared Fig Paperie that would recur throughout our stationary, website, petal bags, dinner menus, napkins, welcome bag tags, signage and displays that kept our decor and theme consistent and tied everything together. Our stamps were carefully curated and each had a meaningful nod to our venue. A George Washington stamp since our venue was in Washington, grapes since our venue was at a winery, and Audubon’s Columbia Jay, first spotted at the Columbia River since that’s where our venue overlooked. We chose the title for our custom photo wall display for three reasons:
1. Whenever I ask Curtis how I look he always responds with “you look gorgeous”
2. Our venue overlooked the Columbia River Gorge
3. We featured photos of all of our gorgeous guests!
Our candle votives were all glassybaby—a local Seattle hand blown glass company that has donated over $10 million back to charities and organizations. A small obsession of mine since I worked there all four years of dental school. We made sure to feature a Canadian beer since Curtis’s family is Canadian. And our wedding cake flavors included a German Chocolate cake for Curtis’s German background, and a matcha cake for my Chinese background. And lastly, I surprised my mom, husband, and all of our guests by secretly altering my mom’s Chinese wedding reception dress and changing into it after dinner. Nobody knew except Callista! My mom wore at her wedding in 1990 and had it custom made for her. It’s a traditional Chinese “qipao” or “Cheongsam” but in white. It features a beaded dragon and Phoenix which signify luck, loyalty, love, and joy. Together they signify husband and wife. My cousin, Bell is an up and coming musician in the Seattle and Philadelphia area so of course we had to have her jazz band perform! They helped create a dreamy, relaxed yet upbeat atmosphere, it felt like time was standing still.
From Callista & Company… Our overall design vision was romantic, timeless, and a touch contemporary with a strong sense of place. We incorporated lots of linen, and incorporated colors suited to the surrounding landscape, including sand, whipped apricot, and dusty mauve. We aimed to enhance but not obstruct the incredible views of the gorge and Columbia River, and we accomplished this through a romantic ceremony crescent ground installation from Wild Bloom Floral Design. The installation was bloom-filled, low, and lush in a beautiful muted color palette. We selected an off-white linen as the neutral base for our textural tablescape, which was topped with stacked lace charger and dinner plates, contemporary stemless glassware, and silver flatware. We wanted an elegant menu that would not fly away with a breeze, and designed a top fold menu tied with linen ribbon, which was tucked under the dinner plate. The menu cover page featured Micaela and Curtis’s custom crest and individual guest names hand-scripted in silver ink. The floral arrangements featured lush blooms, soft shapes, and a color palette of ivory, taupe, apricot, beige, and mauve. I wanted to present something a little different for the cake design, and also something that would hold up in the heat. Carla from Honey Crumb Cake Studio and I landed upon a series of cakes, each a different size, flavor, and covered in a different muted color of fondant. I wanted an elegant nod to the Fourth of July weekend, so we topped the cakes with sparklers. Micaela sourced a variety of light colored wood stands that softened the sleek lines of the fondant cakes. We made sure to have the cakes built on design-friendly acrylic rounds instead of cardboard. The flavors were Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Sesame Matcha, Lemon Cream Cheese, Velveteen Carrot, and Toffee Vanilla Latte!
Photography: O'Malley Photographers | Videography: Sean Misa / Suite 27 | Floral Design: Wild Bloom Floral | Wedding Dress: Monique Lhuillier | Cake: Honey Crumb Cake Studio | Stationery : Sugared Fig Paperie | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Engagement Ring: Fabri Fine Jewelry | Jewelry: Tiffany & Co. | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Joanna August | Makeup: Renee Bridal Makeup | DJ: ModJamz | Groom's Attire: Nordstrom | Wedding Venue: Cave B Winery Estate | Hairstyling: Jade McCoy | Ice Cream: Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream | Linen: BBJ La Tavola | Music: Bell Thompson | Planning & Design: Callista & Company | Rentals: Classic Vintage Rentals | Rentals: Cort Party Rentals | Rentals: Glassy Baby
