An intimate gathering of loved ones among the mountains sounds like the perfect setting to say “I do.” And it most certainly was for this Washington wedding so thoughtful planned by Finch & Thistle Event Design. What started as an idea for a rustically romantic destination affair, ended as all that plus more. Chantal Andrea photographed the day, and it’s wrapped up and waiting for you here.
From Finch & Thistle Event Design…Serena and Mark’s intimate 40 person wedding took place in the Methow Valley, 3 hours drive from Seattle. Mazama is a tiny town with one general store so everything had to be brought in with us and Serena worked on all of the DIY details for months. I worked with her and Mark to plan and design the small, non-traditional wedding – contributing decor ideas and taking care of all the logistics of a destination wedding. Serena wanted an elegant look to contrast the rustic barn and meadows and we came up with a sophisticated color scheme of lavender, grey and butter yellow.
Mark and Serena broke with tradition and walked each other down the aisle of the patio of the Freestone Inn. Mark’s boutonniere of scabiosa and lisianthus complemented Serena’s bridal bouquet of garden roses, clematis, lisiantus, scabiosa and herbs. The reception took place in a barn on the property used for heli-skiing in the winter. Our organic centerpieces of scabiosa, garden roses and clematis dotted long banquet tables covered with pewter and butter colored linens. For favors/escort cards, Serena and Mark purchased tiny succulents from the Ballard farmers market and Serena and a friend glazed the pots themselves and created tiny name tags from birch bark. I used ceramic and birch pots for the flowers with birch bark votive holders and potted lavender to combat the 100 degree heat.
The highlight for me was the s’mores bar. The venue wouldn’t permit us to bring a wedding cake in, so we decided to put an elegant twist on the classic campfire treat with gourmet handcrafted marshmallows, graham crackers and several varieties of Theo chocolate and caramel. There was even bacon for the more adventurous guests. I was able to work with some of my favorite Seattle wedding vendors to create this wedding – Kerissa Bakes baked the small cake and the marshmallows and graham crackers and Sally at LaHappy hand lettered the s’mores bar signage for me as a surprise for the couple. Wanting to keep the number of vendors at this destination wedding to a minimum, Serena took a makeup lesson from Seattle makeup artist Jenny Bowker and then did her own makeup on the day. Everything was captured beautifully by my lovely and talented friend Chantal Andrea.
[dotted]Photography: Chantal Andrea Photography | Floral + Event Design + Planning: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Ceremony and Reception Location: Freestone Inn | Invitations: Bride and Groom | Cake and S’mores: Kerissa Bakes and Theo Chocolates | Pre-Wedding Makeup Lesson: Jenny Bowker Makeup | Calligraphy: LaHappy | Wedding Dress: Amsale