An Intimate PNW Garden Party with a Korean Paebaek Ceremony and a Dinner Made for Foodies

There is asparagus in the groom’s boutonniere. Florist Kylie Hale slipped it in among the white blooms, and once you know that, the rest of Tess and Connor’s day lines up behind it: a dietitian and a fellow foodie, a garden in Seattle, a four-course dinner cooked by the venue, and tables set with artichokes and grapes where the roses would usually go.

The two of them met working at an athletic club, Tess at the front desk and Connor as the fitness coordinator. For the wedding, Tess set herself a single goal: “a small intimate PNW garden party.” The Corson Building brought the ivy, the pergola, and a kitchen to cook the dinner. Kylie Hale built the florals, and Alexandrae Photo was there for all of it, from the ceremony bows to a late slice of pizza.

One of Tess’s best friends illustrated the invitation, and the whimsical border works as a table of contents for the night: the cake, the wine, the fruit, and the music all turn up again before it is over.

The Paebaek Ceremony

Instead of a vow exchange, Tess and Connor held a Korean Paebaek ceremony, which Tess describes as “a traditional Korean ceremony that also includes both sets of parents.” That was the appeal: the parents are in it, not watching it. Connor stepped fully into the tradition, in a deep purple brocade robe and a tall black hat, and the couple rented their hanboks from Seattle Korean Weddings, which “made us feel like Korean royalty from a historical K drama.”

They set up the paebaek in the garden itself, woven mats and a crane screen under the string lights, with guests pulled in close around them. A ceremony this formal could have felt like a pause in the party. Here it felt like the heart of it.

There’s a moment in the Paebaek where the groom proves his strength, and it’s the one Tess remembers most.

The Bouquet Purse

Tess sent Kylie a few reference images of a floral purse, a bouquet built around a hoop so it hangs from the forearm. “She was initially hesitant as she had never created one before,” Tess says, “but I had full trust in her abilities and she absolutely delivered. She was the moment and such a statement piece!!” The build is white orchids, calla lilies, one blush anthurium, and long strands of green amaranth, stems with the stamina to go an afternoon out of water, which is the quiet engineering behind a bouquet that doubles as a handbag.

The payoff came at cocktail hour. “I was able to have it hanging on my arm during cocktail hour and have both hands free for drinks and hugs.” It is dried now and hanging on a wall in their house. If you want to draw inspiration from this one, bring the idea to your florist early and let her choose the stems; the shape is the easy part.

Attire

The reception look is a two-piece from Alexandra Grecco, and the hunt for it is a story in itself. “I saw it on the Alexandra Grecco Instagram page, and I had to have it.” The Dress Theory Seattle did not carry it, so the sample was shipped up from the Nashville store and Tess had exactly one day to try it before it went back. “But that didn’t influence my decision. As soon as I tried it on I knew I was putting in the order.”

What she said yes to: a smooth strapless bodice, a dropped waist, a fluted skirt with real movement, and a wide draped strap that loops the neck and settles on the shoulders, the detail that gives an otherwise clean column its softness. Connor’s garden green suit is Jack Victor from Nordstrom, worn with a champagne tie, tan leather oxfords, and that boutonniere.

A Garden Dinner Party

The produce starts at the gate. With a dietitian and a fellow foodie at the head of the table, the food was something they wanted to showcase, and The Corson Building’s seasonal menu “felt perfectly in tune with the PNW.” Kylie built the florals to match the kitchen. In Tess’s words: “Produce was woven into moody, garden inspired arrangements in deep greens and burgundies.”

Then there’s the table. The expected version of this reception puts white linen on the tables and lets the flowers carry the color. Tess and Kylie left the walnut bare, kept the chairs to cross-backs with a cream pad, and put the color into things you could eat: artichokes, grapes, a lemon, a garlic bulb, a halved fig. Pitcher plants and near-black blooms stand in for a focal rose. Against that wall of ivy under Edison bulbs, the long table reads as one continuous still life, and each course arriving is an extension of it.

The friend behind the invitations also drew the custom matchbooks. Tess made the menu and drink cards herself in Canva, and Connor built the dance floor playlist. Nearly every piece of paper on these tables was made by someone close to them.

Cake, Then Pizza

Paper Cake Shop made the cakes, plural. A pale pink sheet cake with piped rosette borders and dark glossy fruit sits beside a white layer cake finished with an amber drizzle, and both were plated in slices instead of stacked into a tower. For a dinner party it is the right call: sheet cake cuts fast in the kitchen, looks like a vintage bakery case on the table, and lets dessert arrive like any other course.

And then, still in the dress, pizza at a sidewalk table under neon. Before we let them go, we asked Tess what she’d tell couples planning right now:

Congratulations, Tess and Connor! Here’s to a lifetime of very good dinners.