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!
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.
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.
Processional: West End Blues – Louis Armstrong
Recessional: For You, Blue – George Harrison
First Dance: I Only Have Eyes for You – The Flamingo's
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.
For our wedding film, we passed around a super 8mm camera and had our guests film the day. I then developed and edited it…
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
Oh my goodness! This wedding is gorgeous!! The location, the colors, the details….wow! Definitely some new inspirations for my upcoming wedding :)
Oh, and THE DRESS! I LOVE IT! I’ve been searching for something similar with no luck so far. Beautiful!
Wildfire, lost rings and vows! Oh my! I love how this couple made sure to focus on the future life they are going to have instead of just the wedding day. It turned out absolutely gorgeous with the help of their friends and family!
Great location for a wedding. Lovely colors as well. The photographer did an outstanding job! Congrats to the couple as well! They looked great!
This is such a beautiful wedding! The couple is gorgeous and stylish! Love all of it.
Oh my! What a fabulous couple and location – adore the vintage palette with soft nuances – beautifully styled wedding
Beautiful Beautiful wedding. Would you be able to tell me what song was played in the video?? I love it.
Kristen’s wedding advice is priceless…love that things went wrong, but those things were not the point of the whole affair for them. This is a lovely wedding, and the picture capture all the sweet nostalgia she speaks of. Truly beautiful!
Love this! The colour of her dress is wonderful! x
Looks like a wedding I wish I had attended! So laid back and relaxing, with emphasis on the bride and groom’s upcoming journey and their commitment to each other. Loved the menu too: simple, yet elegant. What did you serve to drink? I couldn’t tell by the pictures where I could only spot some stemmed glasses.
Thanks so much, Cassie! Michael’s parents bought us our wine and a friend brought in local brewed beer. We brought in whiskey and ginger beer and coconut rum popsicles. :)
Love the video! Would love more info on how she did this
good wedding