If anyone is dying from the summer heat so far, we’ve got a cool winter wedding for you… Kelsey + Nick! The bridesmaids wore stunning red {Jessica McClintock} gowns. Kelsey’s {Jim Hjelm} gown is so classic and gorgeous. Gotta love that sweetheart neckline. The veil was made by Kelsey’s mother and apparently almost flew off during photo time. The elegant affair took place at {Seattle Design Center} with catering by {Daniel’s Catering} and cupcakes by {Trophy Cupcakes}. All the lovely flowers were done by {Metropolitan Market}. The photography was by the dynamic duo- who we were thrilled to meet at WPPI this year! –Sarah and Chris Rhoads of {Sarah Rhoads Photo}. Check out the blog post on Sarah’s blog {here}.
How did the two of you meet? Nick and I both went to college at Western Washington University and although we had a class together, and shared some of the same friends, we never met there! It wasn’t until a few years later when we were introduced by mutual college friends that our story began.
What as the design inspiration for your wedding? Our wedding date was on December 6th, so we definitely wanted to incorporate the holidays into our decorations without going too over the top christmasy! The venue was already decorated with a few Christmas trees so we kept most the decorations to red with a few black accents and lots and lots of white twinkle lights.
Favorite design element of your big day: I am blessed with having a bunch of very creative women in my life and between moms, aunts, and family friends our venue was absolutely beautiful. I don’t think I can pinpoint my favorite my favorite design element but during the ceremony the lights were down really low and Nick and I were standing at the bottom of this amazing staircase. On either side of us were tables covered in candles on top of these gorgeous ornate silver candlesticks that looked incredible and created the most romantic beautiful ambiance for our ceremony. It was very simple touch that made the biggest difference.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I knew I had to have my mom and sister there to help me pick out my dress, but it was also very important to have Nick’s sister and mom there as well. (Even though that meant dealing with four very different opinions). Nick’s sister lives in Los Angeles so I waited for a time when she was home visiting to start shopping. I scheduled appointments at every boutique I could think of in Seattle and tried to knock it our in one day. We ended the day at La Belle Elaines which not only had beautiful gowns but a runway down the middle of the boutique surrounded by mirrors, need I saw more. I found a couple dresses throughout the day that I really liked but had yet to have that “this is it!” moment until the very last dress. It was a Jim Hjelm, strapless, ivory, dream come true and I knew immediately that it was the dress I would get married in.
Describe your wedding flowers. We were beyond happy with our florist Paul Salaiz from Metropolitan Market. We wanted everything on the table to be red so the centerpieces were these amazing arrangements of every red flower you can imagine. And our bouquets were a mixture of the same red flowers with little white stephanotis buds that looked incredible! It made me realize what a difference it makes to have a florist that you can trust. All I had to do was give him an idea of what we wanted and I knew that was all the direction he needed and it was nice to be able to check that off my list of things to worry about.
Describe your wedding cake. I happen to be a fan of any kind of cake, pie, or candy but Nick on the other hand is not much of a cake guy so we decided to do cupcakes instead! Not only did we think they would be much easier to eat but they were oh so delicious! We had experienced the heaven that is Trophy Cupcakes at a wedding a few months prior to ours and after tasting every flavor imaginable, we were sold.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was… It was when the reception was coming to an end, Kelsey and I were told to wait inside until our departure car was ready. All of our friends and family were filtering out of the building and we waited inside until we got the okay to exit. When we did, everyone was standing outside throwing rose petals at us and we had a vintage Rolls Royce waiting to take us away. It was incredible and was the perfect ending to the most memorable night of our lives.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Overwhelming, warm and Gratifying.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Don’t get caught up in how a wedding is “suppose to be”. Your wedding is supposed to be about you and your fiancé and make sure that you’re not making decisions because that’s how it usually is or that’s how your family thinks it should be. Make your wedding a reflection of the two of you, and always remember that there are no rules or guidelines. Also, don’t expect to be under budget.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future? We look forward to all of the big decisions in life together, like buying our first house and having children, but for now we just try to take full advantage of everyday. Wake up next to each other happy, laugh often and repeat.
Congratulations to Kelsey + Nick!
I LOVE the ornaments!!!!
What a beautiful winter wedding! Just a hint of holidays, but not overdone. The bouquet is gorgeous! And those cupcakes… they look too beautiful to eat. I am feeling inspired to create some new holiday wedding invitation designs.