For These Seattle Natives, Home Is Where The I Do’s Are!

Samantha Melei
December 7, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

These Seattle natives wanted to show off everything there is about their hometown to all of their friends and family, so tying the knot at The Seattle Tennis Club was an easy yes when it came to venue choice! With beautiful water and mountain views, the couple had a dreamy first look photographed by Blue Rose Photography and a classic yet fun party afterward with blooming centerpieces by Flora Nova Designs and even a champagne tower! Take a look below to see all that Occasions Wedding and Event Planning got to put together for a romantic, sunny Seattle day!

An Interview with the Bride…

When and where did you meet?

Charlie and I met in high school, and both grew up in Seattle. One of the things that we prioritized from the outset of our planning was having the wedding in the city – we wanted to show our friends and family from out of town (most of Charlie’s family is in the midwest and most of mine is in California) the city that we grew up in and all the places that are meaningful to us and our relationship.

You both went to UW correct?

Charlie is a UW graduate! I went to UCLA for undergrad, and am currently in law school at UW (so we both became Huskies eventually!).

Where did you get your dress and bridesmaids dresses from?

My dress was by Anny Lin (it was originally a one-shoulder gown that I had customized to be strapless). The bridesmaid dresses were by Jenny Yoo – I went to visit my bridesmaids in Los Angeles to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses, and they completely fell in love with the embroidery on these dresses.

Inspiration for the style and feel for your wedding?

Family is incredibly important to both of us, so it was a big priority to involve our family members – we had a total of 7 flower girls and ring bearers because all our little cousins wanted to be involved (which was pretty overwhelming at the rehearsal, but went perfectly during the actual ceremony). We also wanted to make sure to showcase the location – we had our welcome dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Pioneer Square, a historic neighborhood in Seattle, but then our ceremony took place on the shore of Lake Washington with Mount Rainier in the background, highlighting the natural beauty of the city! We also wanted the party to feel fun and authentic to us – we had oysters and Aperol Spritzes as a specialty drink during cocktail hour (two of our favorite treats) and my siblings pulled out “money guns” which shot out fake dollar bills on the dance floor to get the party started.

What advice do you have for other brides planning their weddings?

The thing that most helped me in planning my wedding was having a solid team helping me, and clear roles for each person. It can get overwhelming when there are so many details to work out, vendors to call, decisions to make, etc., so Charle, our moms, our wonderful wedding planner and I would work to divvy up the project (and I made sure to take on the things that were most important to me!). This made the planning process a lot more manageable and fun, and brought our families even closer ahead of the wedding – by the time the big day came around, it really felt like a joint effort that we were all personally proud of.

I would also recommend creative thinking in terms of making your dreams a reality – with the internet, it’s easier than ever to take inspiration from wedding magazines or Pinterest and figure out how to make it happen. For instance, I really wanted a vintage convertible as our “getaway car” and was able to find someone in our area on Vinty.com with a red, vintage VW Beetle convertible who was willing to chauffeur us away, which was absolutely perfect. I also really wanted a custom watercolor monogram for our invitation suite, so was able to find an artist in Croatia on Etsy who had the exact style I was looking for.