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Leslie and Glan’s love of Provence inspired all the details of their Everett Country Club wedding (down to the photo booth!) which was featured on Green Wedding Shoes. Photography courtesy of Jagger Photography.

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The ceremony took place on the First Fairway with a custom built arch draped in garlands and custom crocheted linen held with floral tie-backs. We used loose bunches of lavender, boughs of pears and market baskets to define the space where the bride and groom would stand. Guests were greeted with strawberry water and lavender lemonade as they found their seats. Cocktail hour took place on a patio lit with cafe lights and guests found their tables at the dried herb bundle escort card display.

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In terms of decor, I started with herbs and lavender and went from there adding soft grey linens, hemstitch napkins, vineyard chairs, cream draping, cafe lights and beautiful rattan chargers. We filled the long banquet tables with garden compote arrangements, potted herbs and topiaries and brass candlesticks. The arrangements overflowed with local fruiting blueberries, garden roses in peach, coral and butter yellow, zinnias, apple blossom dahlias, pears on the branch and lots and lots of flowering herbs. They were a riot of color and soft fragrance. Each place setting had a sprig of lavender and was accented with lace.

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The sweetheart table was set on the stage so the couple could look out over the reception space. We styled the dusty blue vintage couch and farm table with french market baskets and overturned vintage apple baskets overflowing with lavender and garden roses. The cake was also displayed on the stage on top of a vintage dresser with pear boughs filling the open drawers.

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Summer Corson Building Wedding

It’s always fun to watch an old friend get married and even more fun when that friend is a fellow artist with excellent taste. Sarah is an art history professor who specializes in ancient Italian art so the decision to host her August wedding at the Corson Building was an easy one. Sarah and Mark wanted their wedding to feel like a large Italian dinner party and the Corson Building’s Tuscan style villa and beautiful gardens were a perfect match. For the event design and floral, I drew inspiration from the landscapes and gardens of Italy, with lush garden flowers in soft pastel tones, bowls of oranges, persimmons, grapes on the vine, and organic herbs. Guests feasted on locally caught, foraged, grown, and harvested products, served family style. I can personally guarantee that not only was it the best food I have ever eaten at a wedding or event, it was the best food I have ever eaten. Period. Each moment of this gorgeous gathering was beautifully captured by Ryan Flynn and was published on Elizabeth Anne Designs.

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Photography: Ryan Flynn | Venue: The Corson Building | Floral and Event Design: Finch and Thistle Event Design | Stationery: Gogo Snap! | Calligraphy: La Happy | Favors: Fran’s Chocolates | Cake: Bakery Nouveau | Hair Stylist: Oohla’s | Makeup Artist: Marina Pirkle | Gown: BHLDN | Bride’s Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo | Ties: Salvatore Ferragamo

Ornella and Lucas’ wedding this August at The Corson Building was definitely one of my favorite weddings to date. Ornella wanted an intimate, stylish and fun dinner party for 60 of their closest friends and family with no detail too small to be overlooked and an overall feeling of modern, casual elegance. Together, she and I chose a bold and vibrant color scheme of navy, burgundy, blush and gold while her planner, Katie Aweida of Wonderstruck Event Design, brought in fabulous bulb-lit initials, romantic soft seating, sweet cashmere wraps and a stacked cigar bar. We worked with Sally Balt at La Happy to create a stunning burgundy and gold foil invitation suite including gold and navy place cards in Sally’s signature calligraphy. We draped the clear top tent with gorgeous garlands and created a hanging ombre installation for the ceremony and dessert display. The navy linen runners contrasted with a dupioni silk blush napkin and strings of gold sequins were an unexpected touch in place of ribbon. We created ombre burgundy-palest blush arrangements overflowing with garden roses, herbs, bay leaves and raspberries – a nod to the couples’ family restaurants (Un Bien ) and history in the Seattle food world. We contested an enormous storm the day of the wedding with the tent threatening to take off in the gale force winds and the tent sides coming undone and knocking over the chairs and tabletop decor. It was a stressful setup but the end result was glamorous and beautiful as the couple celebrated their evening ceremony and reception during a serendipitous break in the weather and photographer Kristen Marie Parker captured the festive mood perfectly.

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Venue and Catering: The Corson Building | Planning and Design: Wonderstruck Event Design | Art Direction, Florals and Styling: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Photography: Kristen Marie Photography | Invitations, Stationery and Calligraphy: LaHappy | Desserts: Tallant House | Vintage Rentals: Vintage Ambiance | Tables: Seattle Farm Tables | Video: Shark Pig Productions | Hair and Makeup: Pacific Brides | Cigar Bar: Rain City Cigars

I absolutely loved working with Hanna and Brian to plan and design their Washington Athletic Club wedding last summer and it was so fun to relive the memories of this classic and elegant wedding when it was published by Seattle Bride. Like many of my clients, Hanna and Brian live out of state so we collaborated on their wedding remotely and with a few in-person meetings to make site visits and round out the details. For such a large, formal wedding, it truly felt like a family affair: Hanna and Brian’s high school best friend made the stunning cake and macarons, Hanna’s cousin is the photographer who shot the wedding, a friend of theirs provided the Tesla for the getaway car, and her mom collaborated with me on many of the small details such as the portrait display for the escort cards and the fun confetti shower surprise during the first dance.

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seattle event designer floral weddings seattle event designer floral weddings seattle event designer floral weddings finch_thistle_hanna_brian_WAC_29 seattle event designer floral weddings seattle event designer floral weddings Here’s how Hanna described their day…

“Our wedding really showcased local and national vendors. Our photographers captured the natural beauty of summer in Seattle and the love in the air on our wedding day. My cousin Lindsey is a phenomenal photographer with her teammate Leah, both based in Austin, TX. Our close friend and professional baker from Midori Bakery made our 5 tiered carrot cake topped with gorgeous sugar flowers and our wedding favor macaroons. People are still raving about them! The wedding planning, florals, and decor were done beautifully by Rachel Bowes of Finch and Thistle Event Design. We would highly recommend all of our vendors to future brides! The Washington Athletic Club handled our group flawlessly and we all felt at ease!

The whole day felt like a fairy-tale. Traditional details included my fiance and I seeing each other for the first time when I walked down the aisle with my father, I used the gold pocket watch my late grandfather gave me to wrap my bouquet and I hand-sewed my own chapel length veil. Modern touches included the white Tesla electric car that drove us from our church to the reception, our first dance song was “All of Me” by John Legend, and our final dance was”Magic” by Coldplay while surprise confetti fell onto the dance floor. Looking back, we wouldn’t change a thing!”

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Photography: The Life You Love Photography | Planning, Floral, Event Design: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Wedding Dress: Watters |Bridesmaid Dresses: J Crew |Wedding Cake & Macarons: Midori Bakery | Groom’s Attire: Vera Wang |Linens (via F&T): La Tavola| Ceremony Venue: Villa Academy Chapel |Reception Venue: Washington Athletic Club | DJ: Mack Long 

One of my dearest friends recently asked me to design her 50th birthday party which would take place at TASTE at the Seattle Art Museum. The one caveat? It was in a week’s time (wedding season had *all* of us distracted). So I got to work choosing linens and a color scheme to fit the restaurant’s eclectic but soft decor and Stephanie’s elegant and feminine style. There would be an entirely female guest list for this dinner party and Stephanie wanted to show all of her friends how special they were to her as she celebrated this milestone in her life. I think we achieved that goal when the lovely new friend sitting next to me at dinner turned to me and said, “Wow. This is so so beautiful. I feel like we are being really spoiled and taken care of. What a treat to sit at a fancy dinner table and not have to do the cooking or the cleaning up!” I felt the same way. Happy Happy Birthday, Steph! I so admire and am grateful for your kindness and generosity, your fun loving spirit, and your sense of adventure. Here’s to 50 more birthdays!

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Elegant Washington Farm Wedding

Audrey wanted her Washington State barn wedding to have a loose Marie Antoinette theme and I loved the idea of contrasting the rustic farm venue with a gilded, ballroom design scheme. To achieve this, we employed a mix of rented vintage pieces – old clocks, jewelry boxes, packets of antique love letters, a French barn ladder, and art déco pottery with lush, organic florals in luxe gold urns. Gold rimmed plates, chargers and Chiviari chairs added to the ballroom look while stunning La Tavola linens added a final touch of elegance. This lovely wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty last week – you can see the full gallery of images from Coco Tran here.garden rose bridal bouquetjuliet garden rose garden rose bouquet pink and gold wedding washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_03 blush pink bridesmaid dresses

The garden inspired florals included local garden roses and dahlias, fresh blueberry branches, clematis, Annabelle hydrangea and Kent Beauty oregano. A sprig of rosemary at each place setting added a fragrant touch.washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_28 washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_18washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_06 washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_26 washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_05Guests wandered around the farm visiting the various resident animals and then took their seats for the ceremony on rustic wooden benches as Audrey and David were married under a metal arch covered in peach, blush and green blooms.

washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_20 washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_07 bride and groom chairs gold placesettings la tavola linens washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_27 elegant wedding washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_12 table styling washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_32washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_09washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_10gold urn centerpiece tallant house gold and pink cake washington_farm_wedding_finch_thistle_event_design_13Photography: Coco Tran | Floral & Event Design: Finch And Thistle Event Design | Day-of Coordination: Lovely Events | Wedding Dress: Custom Made | Wedding Cake & Desserts: Tallant House | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Jenny Yoo | Caterer: A Grand Affaire | Calligraphy:La Happy | Venue: Red Cedar Farm | Vintage Rentals: Vintage Ambiance

Canlis Dinner Party

As I’m currently in hospital due to some complications with my pregnancy, I figured now is as good a time as any to go through all the professional pictures from our events last year and refresh the portfolio and blog (unreliable internet connection allowing). This dinner party was thrown in honor of a client’s 60th birthday and as friends and family were being flown in from around the country, we wanted to make sure the 60′ King’s table was appropriately lavish but still maintained a wilder, Pacific NW look. The linens were from Choice and the beautiful images are by Stephanie Cristalli.

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finch and thistle, seattle event designer, floral design, blush, goldNikki was a dream bride to work with on the design of her August wedding at Everett Golf and Country Club. From the very beginning, we were on exactly the same page with the design style she requested: an elegant ballroom style wedding in blush, peach and gold with whimsical, Anthropologie inspired touches.

They say that planning a wedding takes a village (don’t they?) and this was no exception. The team that Nikki and I assembled to pull this off was some of the best of the best. Courtney Bowlden is responsible for all the beautiful photography, J + B Video produced a fabulous wedding video, and Judy Tallant at Tallant House worked with me to design the dessert table. The linens are La Tavola, the vintage pieces came from Vintage Ambiance, the favors are Theo Chocolates and the gorgeous programs and calligraphy are La Happy.

finch and thistle, seattle event designer, floral design, blush, gold finch and thistle, seattle event designer, floral design, blush, gold finch and thistle, seattle event designer, floral design, blush, goldMajor thanks are due to my wonderful team on this particular wedding. A woman down due to illness, terrible game day traffic, unexpected hot weather and floating flower mechanics made the setup on this a little more hectic than I had anticipated and still we got everything done with time to spare and calm demeanors all around.

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finch and thistleGwyn and John’s Gatsby inspired wedding was a labor of love for a large team of Seattle wedding vendors. I started working on the design of their wedding a full 18 months prior to the big day last September. The bride and groom wanted to celebrate the Pacific Northwest island location but still give guests the feeling of being inside a 1920’s ballroom. We set up three separate tents for the ceremony, cocktail reception and dinner reception each decorated in a different but coordinated fashion.

For the ceremony, antique English iron gates backing onto the Puget Sound were draped with antique hydrangea, hops, stock and quicksand roses while guests walked an aisle filled with plums, garden roses and herbs. We worked with Sally Balt at la Happy to create a custom “kissing tree” die cut motif for the invitations and programs in an elegant eggplant and cream package. In the cocktail tent we set up two soft seating areas of vintage sofas and coffee tables decorated with flowers in McCoy pottery and candles on vintage silver trays. An antique typewriter on a blue desk invited guests to leave messages for the couple while an antique sideboard displayed skeleton keys with hand lettered key fobs to direct guests to their seats.

Moving into the reception tent guests were greeted by long banquet tables covered in taupe and purple linens, silver candelabras and lush floral arrangements in silver urns. These were offset by square tables with towering glass vases topped with large arrangements of dahlias, phalaenopsis orchids, blackberries and garden roses. The bride collected antique silver pieces on Ebay and made candles for each one that guests were invited to take with them as favors.

Glass chandeliers provided the lighting while the back wall of the tent was draped in custom burlap panels and hung with vintage mirrors reflecting the Puget Sound and Seattle across the water. We decorated custom cedar bars with antique liquor bottles and offered micro brewed NW beers while guests reclined on more Gatsby style soft seating and a wedding painter documented the scene.

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Location: Country Club of Seattle on Bainbridge Island
Event Design and Floral: Finch & Thistle Event Design
Event Planning: Eventwise
Stationery, Calligraphy and Invitations: la Happy
Hair and Makeup: Erin Skipley
Bride’s Dress: Modern Trousseau
Bridesmaid Dresses: J.Crew
Suits: J Hilburn
Favors: handmade candles in vintage silver pieces
Desserts: coconut cake and pies by North Hill Bakery
Catering: Herban Feast
Linens: BBJ
Vintage Furniture and Prop Rentals: Vintage Ambiance
Custom Cedar Bars and Burlap Draping: Prop Gallery
Tent and furniture rentals: AA Party

I have been dying to share the images from this elegant August wedding at The Freestone Inn in Mazama photographed by my friend Chantal Andrea. I struggled to edit down the 600+ images into one blog post, so please forgive me for the length of this one. I just had too many favorites and there were just so many lovely details.

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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.

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Wanting to keep the number of vendors at the wedding to a minimum, Serena took a hair and makeup lesson from Jenny Bowker prior to the wedding and was able to do her own hair and makeup on the day. She looked stunning.

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Mark and Serena 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.

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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 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.

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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.

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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.

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And a couple more of Chantal’s beautiful pictures…

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Floral, Event Design, Planning: Finch & Thistle; Photography: Chantal Andrea Photography; Venue: Freestone Inn, Mazama; Desserts: Kerissa Bakes