Washington Ranch Wedding: Kristen + Michael

bride and groom

Today’s wedding is such a perfect example of the couple taking all their favorite things and sharing those with their guests for their wedding weekend. To help determine what type of wedding they wanted, Kristen (a talented wedding photographer) and Michael (a musician  wrote a list of their favorite things which included: going for walks, music, whiskey, bonfires, being outdoors, and good food + company. Michael’s wishes were also to have all vinyl, ambient light and for his dad to marry them, while Kristen wanted the wedding in a beautiful setting and for their guests to be involved in the ceremony. They were able to have all those things and had lots of help from family + friends in putting the day together. A bit about the day from Kristen:

We just wanted lots of love surrounding us, good music, good food, and to dress the venue up a bit with items from our friends and family. Our wedding was truly a labor of love for us and we had never been so overwhelmed with such wonderful acts from our parents, family, and close friends. We didn’t want to overwork where we feel we didn’t need to, we kept our vendors to a small amount with people whose work we respected.

Big thanks to Ben Blood for the gorgeous photos and congrats to Kristen + Michael!

wedding invitation

wedding dress

vintage callendar

men


The Flying Horseshoe Ranch was the only venue we looked at in the dead of winter and we fell in love, snow and all. We borrowed linens, vases, china and bits of furniture from friends and family and held a BBQ the night before with lodging so we could turn our celebration into two days, versus only 5 hours. We just wanted to spend time with those that wanted to celebrate us.

We spent a good couple of days picking up benches and rentals, filling up a u-haul, and my dad set up all of the lights. I spent some time going to thrift stores and collecting china, but all of the other details were put together the morning of by family and friends. I had several buckets of flowers and boxes of vases and candlesticks that I handed off the morning of and came back after getting ready and it looked even more beautiful than I had imagined it would be! Someone had even set up a beautiful altar and dinner table for us. We grabbed several things from our home like a rug, chairs, pictures from our walls, potted plants, glass domes and blankets and set them up for the day.

first look

bride and groom

bride and groom

bouquet

bride and groom

bride

bride

bride

groom

venue

bridesmaids

wedding party

groomsmen

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

I am an incredibly introverted woman. I'm not one who generally likes serious attention on myself and so I was very nervous to be up in front of 150 people. The most important part of the whole wedding was the ceremony and just how much we wanted our guests to be involved in holding us accountable in our marriage and that our declaration of promises and love for one another would echo throughout the ceremony. When I rounded the corner and saw everyone who had taken the time to get to our wedding and partake in the celebration, I had so many emotions come over me that I could not isolate. Instead, I just cried. This will always be the first thought that comes to me when I look back on our wedding..making my way down the aisle in tears, taking Michael's hand and looking out at all of the friends and family who came in support and love for us. I had never felt so much joy to rest in that with the love of my life. It was absolutely beautiful. We look back on our day with the most amazing amount of happiness and sweet nostalgia.

bride walking down aisle

wedding

bridesmaids

ceremony

ceremony

ceremony

ceremony

Our Musical Choices

Processional: West End Blues – Louis Armstrong

Recessional: For You, Blue – George Harrison

First Dance: I Only Have Eyes for You – The Flamingo's

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

bride and groom

guest book

chalkboard sign

wedding guests

reception

vintage plates

picnic table

vintage plate

antlers

tea cups

bride and groom

reception

antlers


Michael is a talented musician in Seattle and I handed all of the music choices off to him. He wanted to DJ his own wedding on vinyl and did a fantastic job starting with Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and ending with Washed Out. Michael and I were the last ones left on the dance floor.

DJ

dance


For our wedding film, we passed around a super 8mm camera and had our guests film the day. I then developed and edited it…

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Put the energy of all of the planning into your future marriage. Spend time together, do premarital counseling, find more ways to fall in love with them. A wildfire started just a mile from our venue and accommodations the week of our wedding and we had no idea until a few days before if we could hold it there. I left my vows at home and lost Michael's ring before the ceremony (we still haven't found it!). Things will go wrong, but what matters most is your love and commitment to one another and placing each other first through it all.

photography: Ben Blood // venue name: Flying Horseshoe Ranch, Cle Elum, WA // event design: thrifted and family heirlooms // wedding dress: Custom by Knar Bridal in Kirkland and WA. Antique belt buckle // hairpiece: Antique necklace // bride's shoes: Bernardo // hair stylist: Jenny Bowker // groom attire: J. Crew // catering: Twelve Baskets // music: Michael, vinyl. // day of coordinator: Emily Murphy of Manette Gracie // floral design: Flowers from mom and grandma's gardens, local markets. Bulk wax flowers and sister's floral wreath from Henshaw's Floral // make up: Jenny Bowker // invitations: Sam and Dale Ahn // plates: Thrifted, heirlooms, Rad Crockery Rentals // cake: Alyson and Ashley Redding, Top Pot doughnuts, Cookies by aunt, mom and grandma

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