Jake & Jennie: The Perfect Fit

Meet Jake and Jennie! Jake and I have been close friends for over 10 years. The first night I met him, he bought me a beer at the bar and I was immediately sold on his character. It doesn’t take much people! We are the kind of friends who camp and travel together, played softball on the same team for years, and believe it or not, Jake was even the flower man at my wedding!  A 6' 3", 30 year old flower man dropping those petals like it was hot - it was hilarious!

Jake met Jennie at a mutual friend's birthday party and we were there. I literally saw them meet, which I think is super cool! It wasn’t long before Jennie was joining us on the softball field, and camping and traveling with us as well. Jennie is the soft-spoken yogi to Jake’s loud karaoke charisma. They just fit together.

Their ceremony and reception took place at Woodland Meadow Farms in Snohomish and I just fell in love with the dreamy background setting. From flower fields to wooded areas to horse pastures-- it was gorgeous! 

Jake’s good friend Colin was the officiant for the wedding. Jake was his wedding officiant a few years prior, so it was very full circle. Also, Colin’s cousin Molly of En Fleur did the stunning flower arrangements (she's another good friend of mine) so this was a family affair!

Though It rained throughout most of the morning, it luckily cleared up just in time for the ceremony! And the cloudy day provided amazing lighting for photos, not to mention the rainbow that appeared and was on display after dinner for guests to snap pictures in front of!

As they left the ceremony, the newly married couple literally rang a wedding bell! How cool.

One of Jennie’s bridesmaids made these large wooden signs, seating charts, and guest book as a gift to the bride & groom. This added personal touch created the perfect entrance to the reception tent and looked so cute!

Dinner was a BBQ buffet and it was so awesome and delicious! Guests really enjoyed the laid back, casual vibe of everything and the whole reception was so fun and relaxed. As an added bonus, Jennie put together these adorable homemade cookie kits as guest favors and everyone loved them!

By the time dinner ended, it was clear that everyone was ready to party and that the dance floor was packed the entire night! Everyone went absolutely NUTS for the dessert bar from The Sweet Side (understandable-- it was delish!), but guests with a late night sweet tooth were also able to make s'mores by the fire! How fun! 

I've never seen Jennie look so beautiful or Jake look so handsome! Ahhh love-- it's the best! And it was truly SO FUN seeing these two make it official. I love being a part of my friend's wedding days and making their dreams come true! Congrats you two!

I couldn't have done it without the amazing team below. Thank you all for being so awesomesauce!!

Venue- Woodland Meadow Farms

Staffing- Bartenders Extraordinaire

Photography- Katie Parra

Florist + Rentals- En Fleur Floral Design

DJ- Integral DJs

Dessert- The Sweet Side

Transportation- Shuttle Express

Hair + Makeup- Lindsay Martz

I Do Sodo Wedding Tour: Hex Sells!

Part of my job as a wedding planner is being able to take my clients' ideas and bring them to life for them. I love taking the vision they have and putting it on a table or creating their perfect ceremony design. But it's usually their ideas and vision that I am executing. Of course, I add my suggestions and thoughts, but I want their wedding to be totally “them.” So it is very rare that I get full design control over a ceremony & reception.

This is one of the many reasons why I was so excited to be asked to be a planner at the second I Do Sodo Wedding Tour! As a planner, you get assigned a fabulous venue in the Sodo District and then you get to build a team of vendors around a design at your space. My task was to create an urban chic party at Canvas Event Space where you can experience some of the best vendors in Seattle and leave with some inspiration for your wedding! Canvas is a large, modern event space that's perfect to party in! It is a blank canvas – pun intended – to create any design that you want.

The hexagon theme came to light when I was in San Diego at Better Buzz Coffee and they had the cutest hexagon tile floor! That was last June when there wasn’t a hexagon wedding to be found. Then it just so happened that the geometric shape blew up! By the time February rolled around I was perfectly on trend. Maybe I should start doubling as a trend forecaster?

Once I had the idea of using hexagons, I knew I wanted to build a custom piece for the ceremony backdrop. I cut out the over 100 12” diameter MDF boards with my husband and dad in my parents' garage in Montana over Thanksgiving. Then I painted them black and white and combined two 4x8’ plywood boards for the background and painted them metallic copper. Then I used a brad gun (like a boss) to secure the hexagons on the plywood. I attached the base of the backdrop onsite at Canvas so that I was able to actually move it. And yes, it is as heavy as it looks! It was the first thing I’ve ever built (and it will be my last), BUT I loved how it turned out!! And it served as a fun photo backdrop for guests to partake in thanks to The Snap Bar. I donated it to the venue if you want to rent it from Canvas! It already has a few dates to be rented out – I’m pumped people liked it so much!

I am loving that copper is the new ‘metallic’ on trend, so I incorporated it in the paper goods, escort card holders, and votives, and I had a few custom wood pieces painted copper as well. I added a few brass, gold, and rose gold pieces as well to create a warm mixed metal vibe. I wanted to keep it simple, so adding it to the black and white color palette was just what I had in mind. 

I put together a PHENOMENAL team of vendors to help achieve the vision for the event. Each vendor is crazy talented, friendly, professional & fun! And they let me do some crazy things like, put a car inside of Canvas (thanks British Motor Coach), use ridiculous names for our table settings (Barack Obama and Ryan Reynolds, for example. Their invitations must have gotten lost in the mail!), and put a gorgeous model in a two-piece gown with a black leather jacket and a floral cuff.

Katie Parra captured the event beautifully and was able to showcase each vendor who worked on it and how everyone's details came together perfectly. A full list is below… I hope you enjoyed the show!

Venue- Canvas Event Space

Photography- Katie Parra

Florist- Bash & Bloom

Catering- Ravishing Radish

Dessert- The Sweet Side

Stationary- Dahlia Press

DJ + Lighting- DJ Kryspin

Rentals- Pedersen's Event Rentals

Attire- BHLDN

Hair + Makeup- Yessie Libby

Jewelry- Sholdt Design

Photo Booth- The Snap Bar

Transportation- British Motor Coach

Coat Check- Yo! Check it!

Wine- ONEHOPE

Tom & Jen's Home Run

I'm not sure y'all are ready for something this beautiful, but let's give it a go! Meet Tom and Jen! Before I give you the scoop on these gorgeous humans, let's all just admire how stunning they are, shall we? 

Ok, still with me? Great! Well let's see, I met Tom about 8 years ago on... the softball field. I was the captain for my team, Here for the Beer (we are the BEST), and Tom was the pitcher for our softball (read: beer drinking) rival, Sunday Delight. Obviously we talked a massive amount of s%#! to one another over many cheap beers, but it was all in good fun.

I can remember when Jen started coming to the games and we were all SO PUMPED for Tom. He is just THE NICEST, and we were so excited for him to have an awesome girlfriend like Jen. We were even more excited when these two got engaged! So can you imagine my utter elation when they asked me to be their wedding coordinator! Lucky me!!

This is truly a couple that you just really want to be around. They are so genuine and just good, good people. They must have built up a ton of good karma over the years because they had the most gorgeous, sunny, and warm weather for their November nuptials at the Fremont Foundry.

I love their very sweet first look photos. Also, that dress!

Crimson Haze really knocked this one out of the park (see what I did there?) with their lighting effects. They projected this cathedral window lighting display inside of the Fremont Foundry during the ceremony, which was beyond awesome! Tell me those don't look like real windows?!

Before the wedding, Jen took calligraphy lessons from Letters by Ellen and got really good at it. She hand wrote all of these marble hexagon coasters, which served as table assignments for all of their guests!

They went with a very simple table design, with luxurious navy table linens and tapered candles. This along with the lighting in the ceiling provided a very intimate, romantic feel in the room.

Crimson Haze was at it again at the reception. They projected this giant chandelier on the wall, which was such a special touch to the room for dinner and dancing.

Tom and Jen had a choreographed first dance, and they were really awesome! They took lessons leading up to the wedding (I LOVE it when couples do this- so cute!) and they were definitely ready to show off their moves to all their family and friends!

Then it was time for the father-daughter dance. Jen's dad does NOT dance, and he could barely eat beforehand because he was so nervous for it. But let me tell you, he CAN dance. In fact, he KILLED IT!! The crowd went wild for him- it was awesome.

Then it was time for everyone to party! The Nines rocked it out all night, while guests had an EPIC dance party. You know it's a good time when there's a conga line involved!

This one was so super fun and personal for me! It's always fun to be involved with a friend's wedding and be able to make their big day as perfect as possible. We truly had a blast and I couldn't have done it without this all star team in my lineup. Thank you all for everything! Cheers!

Venue + Bar- Fremont Foundry

Catering- Ravishing Radish

Photography- JordanQuinn Photography

Band- The Nines

Lighting- Crimson Haze

Hair + Makeup- Salon Maison

Davey & Becca's Ra Ra Romance

Hello friends! Meet Becca and Davey - they are so beautiful, I can barely handle it! This rad duo got hitched last August and I was lucky enough to be a part of their big day. These two are rockstars, literally- Becca is the violinist for the band RA RA RIOT and Davey is the drummer for Modest Mouse. Plus in addition to being awesome musicians, they own their own super cool soap company, ASH SOAP! It is amazing stuff - you should check it out! These two are obviously incredibly hip, just like their wedding.

As usual in Seattle, Mother Nature was being super sketchy on the morning of, but we decided to roll the dice and risk the rain. We ended up canceling the tent as it was being loaded into the truck, so of course it rained ALL morning! But by the time guests arrived, the skies had cleared and the rain thankfully stayed away for the rest of the day. Phew! 

These two were SUPER casual about the whole day. They strung the outside lights together the day before and then they hung out together the morning of. They walked through the neighborhood before the ceremony so JennyJ could snap some sweet "first look" shots. 

They held the ceremony and reception in Davey's aunt and uncle's backyard in Magnolia, which was freaking perfect!They have a billion kinds of foliage- from jungle lush to vineyard vines. Plus check out that view of Mount Rainier, the city skyline, and the Puget Sound! The guests really dug how absolutely gorgeous it was (as did I)!

Even after 10 years in the wedding biz, I'm still getting to experience wedding firsts. Becca and Davey were the first couple I've ever seen walk each other down the aisle. I thought that was pretty cool.

Becca and Davey were married by Davey's childhood rabbi, Rabbi James, and they said their vows under a chuppah surrounded by their friends and family. Guests had the perfect view of the couple as they said their "I do's" while looking on at the gorgeous backdrop.

After the ceremony, we transformed the backyard into the perfect reception space. In lieu of flowers, they did candle clusters for their centerpieces on the tables from Seattle Farm Tables, so the setting was very clean and simple. As the sun began to go down, the lights and candles really began to pop and everything looked so elegant and romantic. 

Every bit of this wedding was so personal and intimate that it actually seemed like a really cool dinner party where a wedding happened rather than a "big wedding" feel.

After dinner and speeches, it was time to party and dance the night away! Everyone had a ball, especially the newlyweds! 

I am such a lucky gal to have been a part of this one with these very special humans. Their wedding was truly as fun as they are, and in case you couldn't tell, that's pretty frick'n fun.

Cheers to the newlyweds! Thanks to everyone who was involved for making this one to remember!

Photographer- JennyJ Photos

Catering- Ravishing Radish

Florist- Moon Bloom

Rentals- Seattle Farm Tables + Abbey Party Rents

Live Music- Ben Woods

DJ- Troy Nelson

Dessert- Deru Market

Hair + Makeup- Katya Gudaeva

Lighting + Sound- PNTA

Transportation- Maxemus Joyrides

Restrooms- Royal Restrooms

Clutch Events Celebrates 10 Years!!

I know what you are thinking-- How is her company already 10 years old? Did that bitch start her business when she was 15??!!?? You guys, stop it, you’re too nice!! But no, I began Clutch Events back in January of 2008 as a spry 25 year old  ;)   I had been living in Seattle for a few years and knew I wanted to create a wedding planning company that that was creative, personally fulfilling, and helpful to people who were getting married.

From weddings to corporate events, charity galas to incentive trips all around the globe, over the past decade Clutch Events has grown into this awesome business that I am so, so proud of!! I have been able to plan some Uh.May.Zing weddings for some of the most wonderful people. My clients are for realsies THE BEST! They invite me into the most special time of their lives and I do not take it for granted.  Plus it doesn’t hurt that the Seattle wedding industry is BEYOND welcoming & inclusive! We are a tight-knit community that is friendly and inviting, and I couldn’t imagine starting and building my first business anywhere else! Some of the best people in my life are fellow ‘vendors’ which is so rad, and I have come to realize, a career rarity!

So here is a ginormous THANK YOU to all of my present and past clients, the hundreds of vendors that I have teamed up with over the past decade, my Clutch Events associates, and my husband Ferris, who has been so supportive of me from day one! CHEERS to you all and to the many years to come!!

I Do Sodo - Hip to be Hexagon!

I’m so excited to be a part of the 2nd annual I Do Sodo wedding tour!!

My task is to create an urban chic party at Canvas Event Space where you can experience some of the best vendors in Seattle and leave with some inspiration for your wedding! Canvas was once an old crane repair station, and then an art gallery, and is now a sleek and modern event space. Typical story for a Sodo building right!? With clean white walls, tall Douglas fir ceilings, and an open floor plan-- it is a blank slate that allows you to create your wedding from the ground up. Another cool feature is that its 10,000 square feet can hold more than 300 seated guests, but it's segmented enough that you can make smaller events work as well. It is a fantastic space that you have to check out!

I put together a PHENOMENAL team of vendors to help me achieve the right vision for the event. Each vendor is crazy talented, friendly, professional & fun! I don’t want to give too much away about the design we created, but here is a little bit of what to expect when you come to Canvas:

Our team is featuring a twist on the geometrical trend by using hexagons, which highlight Canvas’ modern aspects. We’re warming up our black and white color palette with pops of copper, gold & rose gold metallics. Soft florals and greenery, wood (I’m building an 8x8 foot hexagon ceremony back drop – gulp!), acrylic, leather, velvet, and metal (we might be putting a car inside!) make up our textiles.

It is going to look spectacular! This group of professionals is top notch and I can’t wait for you to meet them and see what they can do!

                            Venue                                             Caterer                                           Dessert                                       

                 Canvas Event Space                          Ravishing Radish                            The Sweet Side                               

                      Photographer                                 DJ & Lighting                                Hair & Make up                

             Katie Parra Photography                         Kryspin Music                                   Yessie Libby

                           Attire                                                Stationer                                       Photobooth              

                          BHLDN                                           Dahlia Press                                   The Snap Bar      

                 Rentals & Furniture                                    Floral                                               Jewelry

                       Pedersen’s                                       bash & bloom                                       Sholdt

                      Coat Check                                      Transportation                                    Beverages

                       Yo Check it                                    British Motor Coach                            One Hope Wine

The event is on Sunday, February 12th, so make sure you get your tickets at Brown Paper Tickets before then!!

We hope to see you there!! Be there or be square (or hexagon?)!

You're Engaged! Now What?!

I can tell from my Facebook feed over the holidays that engagement season is finally upon us! If you are one of the lucky new brides or grooms-to-be, let me first say, "Congratulations on getting engaged!!" It is such an exciting & happy time and you just want to enjoy it all!! But once the ring goes on your finger, the questions start coming! When?? Where?? Am I invited? The beginning stages of planning your wedding can be overwhelming, but that's where I come in!

This post is all about the first 5 decisions you need to make when planning your wedding! I'm here to lay it all out for you so you can continue to bask in your post-engagement glow, while also beginning to get organized. Hopefully this will help you to figure out exactly what kind of wedding you want to have and give you some perspective on a few areas of the initial planning process!

1.

First thing's first: Set your budget! The purse strings control most every decision that you will make regarding your wedding. Setting a firm budget now allows you to see the big picture and to control where you want to put your money. As soon as you know your total budget, enter that amount into a wedding budget calculator to give you an initial breakdown. Once you hire a planner, they can create a custom budget for your area (vendor prices vary upon where you live) and can put emphasis on the vendors that are most important to you. 

2. 

How many guests will you invite? Maybe a big party is exactly what you want, or perhaps a small, intimate affair is more your style. I would start by thinking of how many guests feels good to you. 50? 100? 150? 200+? Then make a list in Excel and see where you land! You can cut back from there! And of course, remember to get a list from your parents as well.  

My general rule is if you wouldn’t take that person out to a nice dinner and buy them appetizers, a meal, dessert, and drinks then you probably don’t need to invite them to your wedding.

The guest count affects what venues will work for you, as well as your variable costs. Whether you have a wedding for 50 or 250, your fixed costs such as a wedding gown, photographer, and a band will cost the same. But your variable costs will greatly affect the kind of wedding you can host with your budget. Variable costs to consider are catering (food, dessert, beverage & staffing), rentals (tables, chairs, linens & service ware), florals (centerpieces), transportation, and invitation costs. 

The Notorious B.I.G. tells us it's "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems," but when planning your wedding, it's actually more people, more money.

3.

Where do you want to get married? Start with the big picture and work your way down! In the US or a destination wedding (I hear Mexico is lovely!)? Maybe you are from two different states, but met and live in Seattle, so you want to stay local. Consider your wedding vision, planning logistics, and your traveling guests when weighing your options.

Once you have settled on the location, it is time to choose your venue! A venue can help shape the style & design of the wedding, the layout of where each piece of your wedding will take place and the number of guests you can invite. 

Often a venue will come with a required caterer and/or rentals. Your venue, food (including bar!), and rentals should be ~50% of your total budget so it is important to know the full scope of services a venue has and if it fits within your price range.

4.

What time of year do you want to get married?  Consider the following:

-        Average weather and temperature – especially if you are wanting an outdoor event

-        What time the sun sets - do you have a full day of light or will it get dark at 4PM?

-        Holiday weekends – They may be dates to avoid because of airfare costs & other travel

-        School schedules for guests that will be traveling with kids  

If you have the flexibility to choose a season or a preferred month without having a specific date, your options open up when selecting a venue. Just make sure your immediate family & bridal party can attend the dates you are considering!

And make sure to note how long your engagement will be! Perhaps you want to get married in the summer, but July is only six months away from when you got engaged. Make sure you have enough time to plan your wedding and the venue you want is still available!  

5.

What style of wedding do you want to have? Casual? Semi-formal? Formal or black tie? Having a strong sense of formality will help you determine the menu, an appropriate venue, and overall guest experience.

This is important when looking at your budget and your guest count. You can host a lot more guests if you are having a casual event, serving sliders and mac & cheese at a community center versus a formal wedding in a hotel ballroom, serving filet & salmon.

Lastly.

Remember that the most important thing about planning a wedding is the experience you want to have and the people that surround you!  Once you have the what, where, when, who, and how much answered, the rest of the decisions such as vendors, colors, menu, etc. will come much easier!! 

I hope this helps you get your bearings on planning your wedding and saves you some initial engagement stress!! Happy planning!! 

Cheers!
Megan

Meg & Chien say "Wei Do"

Hello again friends! Please allow me introduce you to this amazing couple: Meg & Chien. I have to say, the story of how they met is my favorite of all time!!

Meghan had agreed to run a half marathon with a friend of hers, but she didn’t exactly train for it. So when she ran the race, she ended up fracturing her foot! However, what should have been an awful day turned out to be life changing. She ended up in the ER, and low and behold it was Dr. Chien Wei to the rescue! You can see where this is going right!? He personally called her the next day to check in on her (swoon!) and after they got off the phone, Meghan knew she had to find his number to ask him out. She was afraid if she called him at the hospital it would be a conflict of interest, so she searched and searched for him online only knowing his name (she acknowledges she went into full blown stalker mode for a bit). But it worked! She found him and asked him out to dinner! As they say, the rest is history! I love it!! 

They had such a fun wedding day style and Bloomed Out did an amazing job putting together Meg's bouquet! They had cool color combinations on a hot August day, perfect for summer in Seattle!

Could these two be any cuter!?

There were quite a few elements in this wedding that made it really unique. They really put a lot of thought into how to incorporate their family members. 

Of course these two had their siblings in their bridal parties, but Meg has a brother and Chien has a sister. I loved that they went outside of the box and decided to have their own siblings stand on their side, regardless of their gender. So nice!

In addition to serving as a groomswoman (or is it groomsmaid?), Chien’s sister designed their faboosh invitations and helped create the day of paper as well.

These two decided to get married at the Seattle Aquarium. It is such a unique Seattle venue & fun experience for guests! A super cool thing about this is the fact that Chien’s dad actually designs large aquariums all around the world as his job. How random is that?!

They held their ceremony out on the pier on one of the most gorgeous days! The blue skies and boaters out on the water provided them with some glorious photo ops. And they had a very dear friend of theirs officiate their wedding, making it that much more meaningful.

After the "I do's," guests enjoyed the perks of the aquarium setting by interacting with the marine life as they sipped their cocktails. Kiddos played in the touch tanks, and they did an otter feeding before dinner. What a cool experience, and surely one that would be hard to top!

We really got down with the marine theme and incorporated that into nearly everything including the paper, the colors, and the cake. Check out this cake, y'all! Meghan's sister-in-law baked their wedding cake and created the purple octopus out of fondant. 

These two LOVE dessert and wanted to incorporate both of their cultures into everything. Meg is Canadian, so her mom made Nanaimo bars to represent Canada, and her family is from Scotland where she spent six months studying, so they got tarts from Whole Foods to represent the Scottish. Then they got Moon Cakes from Smacha Tea to represent Chien's side and they had macarons for themselves, because they're their favorites! All in all there was a wide array of diverse dessert options to choose from!

Right before the sun set, these two lovebirds ventured out for a quiet few minutes alone and allowed Shane Macomber to capture it for them. Worth it!

During the speech portion of the night, Chien's sister suprised him by playing a video of their beloved grandfather who couldn't make the trip from Asia sending them his well wishes for the wedding. Chien couldn't hold back tears when he saw this, and everyone in the room teared up when they saw him crying. This photo of Meg comforting him is my favorite photo of the night, hands down. 

They wanted to avoid the usual clanking of glasses that can go on and on, so instead they decided to get really creative! They said that if an entire table got up and sang a song with the word "kiss" in it as a group, they would kiss! And guess what? EVERY. SINGLE. TABLE. ended up singing a song! It was hilarious and it really got the energy flowing during dinner. Way to go, you guys!

Then it was time to dance the night away! Unfortunately Chien's mom broke her hip just THREE DAYS before the wedding. How stressful! She rushed into surgery just two days before the wedding, but she never once thought that she wouldn't be there for her son on his wedding day. She rocked her dress and they still had their mother-son dance with Chien pushing her around in her wheelchair. That's dedication!

I'd say the party was a success based on this little guy. DJ Braden Landon rocked the house and some danced until they dropped!

Honestly, it's true what they say... everything happens for a reason. These two are meant for each other! And I'm so glad they chose me to be a part of their journey. Don't we just look so amazing together?!

This is one of my favorite weddings, and I loved all of the personalized details that they included. It was fun to help plan and pull off, and I'm glad the fun continued with writing this blog post to share the fun with all of you! 

I hope you all enjoy your holidays, and I can't wait to see what 2017 has in store for Clutch Events. See you in the new year!

Thank you to the phenomenal team that collaborated on Meg & Chien's big day! Y'all rock!

Venue + Caterer- Seattle Aquarium

Photographer- Shane Macomber

Florist- Bloomed Out

DJ- Braden Landon

Dessert- Lady Yum + Smacha Tea + Whole Foods

Rentals- The Sweet Side

Hair + Makeup- Off White Makeup & Beauty

Photobooth- Atomic Photobooth

Videography- Travis Lawton Photography

Remi & Dave's Rustic Romance

Ah yes, Remi and Dave! What a hip, fun, and B-E-A UTIFUL couple! Though these two met in San Francisco, where they currently live and work, they are originally from the Seattle area. As soon as they got engaged, they knew they wanted to bring all of their out of town friends to the Pacific Northwest for a memorable wedding weekend!

These cuties wanted relaxed vibes and a laid-back feel to their wedding day, so Dancing Fish Vineyard on Whidbey Island was the perfect choice. The venue included a transformed barn, as well as a small vineyard, bocce court, lawn games, and a rental house for the perfect weekend retreat! The intimate outdoor setting was perfect for their ideal mix of country and shabby chic aesthetic.  

Remi was picture perfect in this vintage-inspired two piece gown accompanied by the most incredible bouquet from En Fleur Floral Design. And Dave looked oh-so-cool in his navy suit. Not to mention the bridal party, all in different earthy tones with their flowers adding the most beautiful pops of color. This could have been a photo shoot for a wedding magazine, am I right?! 

Mother Nature left us guessing until the very last minute! Being Seattle and all, of course rain was in the forecast for the weekend, but lo and behold she decided to let the sun come out in full force that day. We ended up canceling our tent order and had an all outdoors affair in the gorgeous weather! Remi and Dave were married under a chuppah, designed and built by their friends as a wedding present, overlooking the winery's own vineyard. 

After it was officially official, Remi and Dave snuck off to snap a few more photos while the lighting was just perfect. After a little photo shoot with the grapes, it was time to drink them!

The barn at Dancing Fish served as the perfect backdrop for their reception. Molly Jackson of En Fleur Floral Design, along with her husband, handmade the centerpieces-- small wooden boxes that held her colorful blooms. And they matched perfectly with the wooden table numbers that Remi found on Etsy! To complete the rustic look, we used natural wood chairs, classic white linens, and had the Seattle-based Chalk Boss design all of the signage on window panes and vintage chalkboards.

Guests drank Dancing Fish wines (yum!), enjoyed a family style meal, and had the most perfect summer time dessert-- pies from Whidbey Pies right on the island!

Guests danced the night away to the Blue Wave Band and had a blast. I think Remi's face says it all! After the reception ended, everyone was transported into town to continue the party with a nightcap. What a fun group and a perfect day!

Best wishes for a lifetime of happiness you two! Thanks so much for letting me join in on the fun. And thanks so much to all of our amazing vendors for pulling off this incredible fete!

Venue- Dancing Fish Vineyards

Photographer- Maurice Photo

Florist- En Fleur Floral Design

Band- Blue Wave Band

Dessert- Whidbey Pies

Rentals- Pedersen's Event Rentals + Diamond Rentals + Vintage Ambiance

Hair & Makeup- Ashli Danielle

Transportation- Beeline Tours

Signage- Chalk Boss

Time After Time

Every now and again between sharing all of my clients' gorgeous weddings with you, I like to provide a little wisdom to help with the planning process. This post is all about choosing a starting time for your ceremony!

All couples have to ask themselves at some point, usually when signing contracts or designing their wedding invitations: 'What time should we start our ceremony?'  Determining your ceremony start time is the key decision that will affect the rest of your timing for your wedding. You want to make sure you select the correct start time so you utilize your hours wisely! 

There are several factors to think about when determining what time of day you should begin your wedding. Here are a few things to consider:

● How much time do you have at the venue? Is it a block of set hours that you can move the start and stop time or is it a set time frame?  Are there any restrictions at the venue to be aware of? A few examples being; Are there other events on property that day to know about? Do they have a noise ordinance to adhere to? Do late night hours come with an additional charge?

● Is set up and tear down included in your time block? A planner, catering team & other vendors typically need two hours to set up and one hour to break down. Make sure that time is accounted for in your contract.

● If you are getting married at a church and having the reception at a separate location it is important to know the timing guidelines for both venues and to make sure they match up correctly.  Make sure to consider transportation time from the church to the reception venue when calculating the start of your reception. 

● How long do you expect your ceremony to last? I’ve been to ceremonies that have lasted only five minutes and others that are over an hour. Knowing how long your ceremony will be can affect more than just the timing of your reception. If you are going directly into the cocktail hour, the catering team and bartenders use your estimated ceremony time to properly plan when to pre pour beer and wine and when to begin heating food.

● What time is sunset? If you are getting married in July and the sun doesn’t set until 10PM, perhaps you want to start a bit later. If you are getting married in December and the sun will be down by 5PM, perhaps you should begin earlier.  Plan your daylight hours carefully! 

● How do you wish to spend your reception time? Couples who are foodies may want a five course dinner and so the majority of the time is spend on food service. Others may want the majority of the night spent boogying down on the dance floor. Once you know where you want to spend your time make sure your vendors are contracted properly! For example, if you want a three hour dance party, make sure your band is contracted for that minimum amount of time!  

I get the question ‘how long should our wedding be?' a lot. A standard wedding from start to finish is roughly six hours. How you break up that amount of time is up to you! Below is a general timeline that I see quite a bit:

5:00 – 5:30: Ceremony
5:30 – 6:30: Cocktail Hour
6:30 – 8:00: Dinner
8:00 – 8:30: Traditions (Speeches, cutting the cake, first dances, etc.)
8:30 – 11:00: Dancing

Once you have your timing set, make sure to communicate this to your vendors! Caterers base their staffing hours and bar service on your timeline. Depending on when you end your night, there may be a ‘late night pick up fee’ from rental companies. And make sure to plan your photographer’s arrival and departure so they can capture the moments you consider most important! 

I hope you have found these tips helpful in setting the ceremony start time for your wedding! Mark your invitations accordingly and happy planning!! 

Special thanks to photographers Barbie Hull, Melissa Kilner, Katie Parra, and Shane Macomber for these amazing photos!