As I began poring over this wedding and sifting through all the images by Kristen Marie, I fell more and more in love with the moments in between all those details I so often am drawn to. And there are so very many beautiful moments tucked inside this day. But hands down, my favorite is the melt your heart first look on the pier that ends with the Groom sweeping his Bride right off her feet. Now that is how you do a first look. This is indeed as heartfelt as they come and the gallery is sure to leave you with a big dose and warm and fuzzy. Guaranteed.
From the Bride… We wanted the wedding to be stylish, relaxed, FUN and to bring people together. We tried to use local vendors wherever possible and DIY as much as we could. All our decor was thrifted or handmade, and we had a great time over a lot of months putting together and making things for the celebration. I definitely didn’t want our wedding to “match” too much. We bought beautiful local flowers in bulk, which we combined with a ton of peonies (my favorite) that my mom had saved for months from her garden, but they didn’t correspond to any particular color palette. We invited everyone to our rehearsal dinner so that our family and friends would have two nights to meet, hang out and make connections and served our reception meal family-style. To make things more fun and relaxed, the rehearsal dinner was a BBQ with open seating and featured lawn games, including a corn hole set crafted by Alex’s best man. There were set toasts, but the rest of the evening was unscripted time by the water as we didn’t want it to feel too formal. On the wedding day, we brought the corn-hole out again during the reception, had our photographer set up a photo booth, opted for a dessert bar from a local bakery instead of a multi-tiered cake and had friends take photos with a instant camera the whole night. We had such a great time the whole weekend, and when everything came together it felt like us.
Hands down, my favorite part of the day was the ceremony. My sister-in-law sang “Three Rounds and a Sound” by Blind Pilot as I walked down the aisle, and instead of stopping the song when I reached Alex, she kept singing the entire song. Somewhere in the middle, the entire chapel started singing along. We chose to say traditional vows as well as write our own personal vows and selected readings that represented who we are as people and who we want to be as a couple. It was so special to hear and say the words that Alex and I had so carefully crafted together in front of the most important people in our lives, surrounded by that kind of support and love.
Not everything will go perfectly or as you had planned and instead might turn out better than what you had imagined. (That being said — have a plan B for important things!) It rained before, during and after our ceremony, when we had planned on a lovely, outdoor garden wedding. We ended up getting married in a turn-of-the century chapel with amazing light, acoustics and just enough seats for our 90 guests. It had been our plan B all along in case of inclement weather, but I hadn’t been too excited about it, having envisioned being married outdoors when we selected our venue. When the time came to make the decision to have the ceremony indoors or have all our guests sopping wet, the choice was easy. Our guests commented after on how intimate and special the chapel felt, and now I can’t imagine the ceremony having happened any other way. Also, if you can, hire someone to run your rehearsal and the day of your wedding. Besides a great photographer, it’s the best money we spent.
Wedding Photography: Kristen Marie / Wedding Venue: Roche Harbor in Roche Harbor, Washington / Wedding Planning: Kelsey Eads of Sugarcomb / Flowers: DIY / Officiant: Langdon Quetin, A Family Friend / Wedding Cakes: Holly B’s Bakery + DIY / Decor: DIY / Bride’s Processional: Sung by Bride’s Sister-in-Law / Wedding Dress: Amy Kuschel (Dress for Sale HERE) / Bride’s Shoes: Vera Wang Lavender / Bride’s Veil: Tessa Kim / Bride’s Jewelry: Family Heirlooms / Hair + Makeup: Jenny Bowker / Bridesmaids’s Attire: BHLDN, J.Crew, Kate Spade, Adrianna Papell + Thrift Stores / Groom’s Suit: J.Crew / Groom’s Shoes: Alden / Men’s Bow Ties: Banana Republic / Groomsmen’s Suits: H&M