A Pacific Northwest Wedding With Coastal Elegance at The Admiral’s House

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November 8, 2023

The Planning

Design / Vibe / Vision

The bride named her vision Coastal Elegance - an organic Pacific Northwest feel with an elevated New England aesthetic. She wanted to highlight the colors of the PNW coastline from their historic venue overlooking the beautiful Puget Sound. The couple feels most at peace near or on the water, both growing up on the West Coast, so the wedding colors were inspired by the cool and airy tones you experience while at sea. The venue offered ties to both families of the bride and groom with a view of the ferries crossing between the city and Bainbridge Island (the groom's hometown) and sitting just above Elliott Bay marina, where the bride's family spent many weekend trips on their boat. Lastly, the couple worked so hard to match in Seattle for their residencies together and have been thrilled to make Seattle their ultimate home. With so many family and friends traveling to celebrate in their city, the bride and groom felt there was nothing more picturesque and iconic than the venue's ocean view looking back over the city skyline, the Space Needle, and Mount Rainier in the hazy distance.

Proposal Story

Connor and Hannah met the first week of medical school at the University of Colorado. During their first conversation, Connor mentioned that he liked to fire up pizzas on his pizza stone, which immediately made sparks fly for Hannah. For the next couple of weeks, Hannah tried to get the attention of Connor at a Rockies game and over beers at the local breweries. It wasn't until they stood in line to get their flu shots that Connor finally mustered up the courage to invite Hannah over to study and the rest was history. Connor proposed to Hannah on his birthday, the day before they graduated from medical school. All he wanted for his birthday was to hike their favorite local trail before closing their chapter in Denver. Along the entire hike, they reminisced in chronological order about their medical school memories and life in Denver together. With perfect timing upon reaching the top of the hike, Connor said "I think my favorite Denver memory will be the day I asked you to marry me" and he got down on one knee! After the hike, their families, in town for graduation weekend, were waiting to celebrate all of their exciting milestones at their favorite brewery.

Getting Ready

Bridal Portraits

Flat Lays

The Fashion

Wedding Gown

The Bride's Alyssa Kristin gown was called the Katherine - a fitted silhouette, stretch crepe, boatneck gown with rounded v-back, button accents, and long dramatic train. The side features nude mesh v-cutouts for a peek of skin without losing any support. The dress was made in Chicago and selected from A&Be Bridal Shop in Ballard, Seattle. The elegant gown was accented with pearl jewelry and a pearl-studded veil. The bride changed into a fun and flirty mini dress by Zimmermann paired with white Rothy's shoes, so she could really boogie on the dancefloor!

Bridesmaid Dresses

Bridesmaids wore satin 90's-inspired Jenny Yoo Gowns in Navy. Each bridesmaid selected their own style.

Groomsman Attire

The groom wore a gorgeous Emporio Armani navy blue tux with black patent shoes and black bow tie. The groomsmen complimented him with black tuxes from The Black Tux and navy blue bowties gifted by the groom.

Wedding Party

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

The Details

Food & Drink

Lisa Dupar Catering is the creme de la creme of Seattle fine catering! The bride's father is a total foodie, so his job was to find the best caterer and he most definitely did! Cocktail hour offered small-bite appetizers including mint-compressed watermelon cubes, jicama ahi tacos, deep fried Barbacoa tacos, and Dungeness crab cakes. The bar offered specialty drinks named after the couples' pups, Winnie & River. The Winnie (peloton de la muerte mezcal, cilantro, jalapeño, grapefruit bitters, lime) was designed with inspiration from Hannah's favorite spicy mezcal margarita. The River was a classic old-fashioned for the groom: Jameson, orange, cherry, and a dash of bitters. Dinner started with a roasted peach and burrata salad served with marcona almonds over torn radicchio. Guests selected from grilled wild local salmon, seared beef tenderloin, and grilled eggplant involtini for their plated entree meal. Late Night Wood-Fired Pizza: The couples greatest love in life besides their dogs and each other is hot cheese (their term for pizza)! From their very first conversation about Connor’s pizza stone and first study date over take-out pizza to hosting countless pizza nights with medical school friends, they say their love story was founded over their shared obsession with hot cheese. They even spent an entire year counting the number of pizza slices they had eaten together! When they heard Lisa Dupar had a wood-fired pizza oven, they knew this had to be their late night snack. Lisa Dupar and company outdid themselves and will go down as the best hot cheese they have ever had.

Florals & Decor

Kaleb Norman James Design was the floral artist and designer for this wedding and he did not disappoint. The bride wanted lots of blues scattered throughout beds of white florals to bring her coastal chic theme to life. The bride and groom, both lovers of nature and the outdoors, wanted the ceremony to have an organic and intimate feel. They selected beautiful large wooden benches for seating and a winding isle lined with florals, both unique selections to the The Admiral's House. Full hydrangeas helped to shape the bar and fill the floral arrangements lining the ceremony aisle for an elevated look. Her bouquet was dainty and whimsical, fitting her personality and dress so perfectly! Paper goods were designed by Etiquette Design, a luxury event stationary company based in San Francisco that prides themselves on refined and sophisticated prints. The menus with french blue letterpress, ribbon tie, and the couple's monogram accented the elegant invitations received by their guests.

Wedding Cake

Lisa Dupar Catering created a beautiful three-tiered vanilla sponge cake with Pacific Northwest berries and white chocolate buttercream. Sugar flowers decorated the cake to accent the florals of the ceremony. The cake stand was placed on a blue seersucker linen from BBJ Linen | La Tavola Linen, which offered an adorable coastal touch. A late night desert bar also included mini espresso panna cotta, strawberry rhubarb tartlets, mini creme-filled ginger molasses cookies, and chocolate dipped nutter butters all handmade by the incredible pastry team of Lisa Dupar.

Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs

A Seattle/Vancouver-based band, Side One, played acoustic guitar for the ceremony, jazz for the cocktail hour, and the perfect blend of oldies, rock, and pop for a dancefloor that was absolutely on fire all night long!

Special Detail #1

It was so important to the couple to include their pups, Winnie and River, in their day! Winnie and River came to Discovery Park to join Hannah and Connor in their first look. They were glowing when their dogs arrived! In addition to the groomsmen, two friends played the role of esteemed escorts of Winnie and River, who brought them to the ceremony and walked them down the aisle to give the groom some love before he was joined by his bride. Specialty drinks were named in their honor as well.

Special Detail #2

Unforgettable moments with their most important people including the bride's emotional first look with her dad in The Admiral's House sun room, the bride's cousin starting dinner with a prayer in honor of his father who recently passed, the officiant being one of the couple's best friends from medical school and residency, the presence of all of the bride's grandparents, and a photo memorial to honor family who are no longer with us. The day wouldn’t have been what it was without the couple's loved ones who mean so much to them and played special roles in their day.

Special Detail #3

The wood fired pizza was more important to them than their cake! These two are major pizza lovers! See info in food section and the melted goodness of the best hot cheese in the photos.

Couple Portraits