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bryce covey, once wed, stephanie cristalli, finch and thistle finch and thistle event design, bryce covey, once wed design sponge, once wed, finch and thistle event design, stephanie cristalli seattle wedding flowers finch and thistle event designruffled wedding dress seattle wedding flowers seattle wedding flowers and floral designerall images courtesy of Stephanie Cristalli Photography

spring weddings

…are my favorite. If I could do my wedding over again I would forgo the (sort of) guaranteed late summer sunshine, pick an indoor venue and have this bridal bouquet…

finch and thistle, stephanie cristalli, seattle wedding floral designerThanks to the lovely Stephanie Cristalli for the sneak peek from today’s shoot. More to come…

finch and thistle, kubota gardens, jenny jimenez, seattle event designerGenevieve and Derek’s wedding took place at the Kubota Gardens and was followed with a reception at Urban Light Studios. The color palette was grey, sage green, white and a pale peachy-orange and I used fresh artichokes in the arrangements. Derek and Genevieve are both actors in LA and wanted a fun, lively wedding with no formal sit down dinner or stuffy traditions. Genevieve’s mother made her beautiful dress and Derek wore a grey pinstripe suit while the bridesmaids wore long sage colored dresses.

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For the ceremony we created loose bunches of eucalyptus, garden roses and artichokes that we tied to the chairs with twine and lace. The bridal bouquets were organic hand tied bouquets of sage greenery, herbs, garden roses and dahlias bound with taupe silk ribbon.

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We accented the crazy decor inside Urban Light Studios with fresh, airy arrangements in vintage milk glass vessels. Jenny Jimenez took all these gorgeous photos and Megan Keller of A Kurant Event worked with the couple on planning and day-of coordination.

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{Vendors} Floral and Event Design: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Photography: Jenny Jimenez (except the three large centerpiece shots by F&T)| Day-Of Coordination: A Kurant Event | Wedding Venue: Kubota Gardens | Reception: Urban Light Studios | Cake: Tallant House

Happy Holidays!

finch.thistle.pink.gold.glam.holiday.tabletop.designsponge{Photography by Kate Price | Calligraphy & Paper Goods by La Happy | Floral and Styling by Finch & Thistle}

P.S. You can see more details from this fun NYE inspiration shoot on The Wedding Chicks blog today!

June in November

I recently worked on a commercial shoot for The Dress Theory, a stunning new bridal shop in Greenlake with some of my favorite ladies. On a dreary November day in a Pioneer Square studio, Camille’s beautiful bohemian designer dresses (Sarah Seven! Claire Pettibone!) lit up the room and her sweet little pup June provided endless entertainment.  Julie Harmsen took these lovely pictures, Jenn Blake of Scout provided the vintage rentals and styling, Jenny Bowker styled the hair and makeup and I created a few floral pretties to accessorize the gowns (and hair, and dog). A romantic bouquet of cafe au lait dahlias, antique oak leaf hydrangea, astilbe, herbs, pepper berry and lipstick pink anemones popped against the gowns while a pepper berry crown accented Kaitlin’s beautiful hair. For tiny June, I made a sweet little collar of herbs that she also wore as a crown. The models were stunning but June was definitely the star of the show.

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…aaaand it’s fall

Today is the first day it really feels like fall in Seattle. We made it all the way to October 11 before the sky turned grey and the fog drifted in from the Puget Sound. I finally had a moment to step outside and notice the jewel colored leaves littering my garden in just the prettiest way and the illustrated pumpkin spice lattes in the Starbucks window across the street. Mmm pumpkin spice…that reminds me to buy some of those lovely heirloom gourds Jello Mold Farm is selling at the market this week…

I have been slacking on the blogging. Truth be told, I just haven’t had time to even look through the photos of this summer’s weddings and now the professional shots are slowly trickling into my inbox. Those are so much better anyway and so my fall/winter resolution is to share images from a wedding or shoot every few weeks for the next few months. I was lucky enough to work with some amazingly creative couples and shockingly talented photographers this summer. I can’t wait to share with you what we came up with…

chantal andrea, starbucks pumpkin spice latte, bryce covey, pumpkins, fall, wedding, design sponge*image credits clockwise from top left: Chantal Andrea Photography, Bryce Covey Photography, Melissa Guzman via Pinterest

Just wanted to share a couple of images from Friday’s beautiful wedding at the gorgeous SODO Park. I’m a huge book worm so it was wonderful to work with the bride on a vintage book theme in a tribute to her just-this-minute-earned PhD in English. A

fabulous venue, Angela and Evan behind the cameras and a stunning bride and groom…I can’t wait to share more details with you soon.

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SODO park chuppah decor seattlebook pages guest book ideatall pedestal centerpiece jewel tonessimple book centerpiece with bud vases

Welcome Design*Sponge readers! Thanks for stopping by to take in some more details from the engagement shoot that is featured on my favorite design blog today. What a fun shoot! I worked with some of my favorite Seattle wedding pros and even a past client of mine (more on that later)…

gold mason jar bouquet design sponge

It all started (as they often do) with a Pinterest board which you can see here. I picked my favorite colors and my favorite flowers and one of my favorite restaurants and worked from there. I called up my friend Sally who happens to be the creative dynamo behind Seattle based design firm LaHappy and enticed her into designing an invitation suite. She, of course, killed it. I mean, seriously, gold sparkly paper? Beautiful calligraphy in NEON pink? A vintage floral illustration envelope liner. Swoon.

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Then we needed a photographer and I turned to another lovely friend, Chantal Andrea. Chantal has an incredible eye and her stunning portraits and moody journalistic style was ideal for the bohemian look of the engagement shoot. The team was almost complete. Almost.

seattle engagement styled shoot design sponge chantal andreaseattle engagement shoot design sponge chantal andreaseattle trailer park mall georgetown design sponge chantal andrea I really really really wanted an ombré cake and I knew just the person to ask. One of my brides from last summer is an amazing vegan baker. The dessert table at her wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty and pinned all over the place. Her new company Kerissa Bakes is already making a name for itself and I can personally vouch for the fact that the ombré chocolate cake and the polka dot almond cookies she made for this party were absolutely delicious. There wasn’t a single piece left over at the end of the night. Not a crumb.

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Then there were the flowers. I’m obsessed with garden roses and jasmine so those were a given. Then I got incredibly lucky and scored some green centered ranunculus at the market. I’d seen them before on the cover of Martha Stewart Weddings but never in person and they were just gorgeous. Beautiful colors and frilly petals and wonderful black centers. Wow. So I spray painted some vintage vases and mason jars gold and got to work.

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This shoot was filled with DIY projects of which the fabric tassels and the crepe paper chandelier were my favorites. I found the tutorial for the fabric tassels on Pinterest (and my advice is to save yourself hours by buying a rotary cutter for $20) and talked my husband into helping me twist the crepe paper garlands while he watched ESPN one evening. I loved how they looked hanging from the restaurant’s wrought iron chandelier.

fabric tassel garland backdrop design spongetwisted crepe paper garland chandelier design spongebrass and gold tabletop decor design spongegold and turquoise jam mason jar design spongestyled engagement shoot seattle design sponge chantal andreaAnd then there was a party…

seattle engagement party design sponge Seattle Vendor Credits –
Photography: Chantal Andrea Photography
Floral, Prop Styling and Event Design: Finch & Thistle Event Design
Stationery: LaHappy
Desserts: Kerissa Bakes
Venue: Via Tribunali Georgetown

LBoL: New, Edgy, Budget Wedding Photography

Two local photographers I know and admire have set up a new photography business, Lightning Bolts of Love and asked me to help them with flowers for their website shoot. I was thrilled to work with them both on this new venture and am super excited to see a different look and style of photography come to the Northwest. Take a look through the images below and if you are looking for an edgier take on the typical wedding look, give Kip Beelman or Jeramie Shoda a shout via their website: www.lightningboltsoflove.com.

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