elephantine

our wedding {part five: dessert + goodnight}

As I mentioned before, after dinner, Stefan and I snuck away briefly for a few more portraits. And where did we go? The roof of the restaurant. Talk about a cool place to escape to.

For those of you who asked, yes, we did meet in elementary school. Kindergarten, actually. In second grade we played footsie during a root beer float party at our school. In fifth grade I gave him a note with an embroidery floss bracelet and instructions to wear it if he agreed to be my "secret boyfriend". He did, but then accidentally lost the bracelet. The summer before our senior year of high school, we went on our first official date (mini-golfing and a Woody Allen movie). Our wedding day was our nine year anniversary.

You might recognize these cake toppers that I spent forever making. They were absolutely perfect for the mini cake that Canlis made us.

We cut the smallest slice of cake ever seen, and fed a bite to each other.

Besides our itty-bitty wedding cake, we also had a dessert bar with crème brûlées, berry tarts, and chocolate covered ice cream pops. There was another table set up nearby with coffee & tea.

Even though we didn't have dancing, there was music playing the whole night. Our playlist was a mix of old and new songs, like i'll try anything once, i can't help myself, heart skipped a beat, blue moon, cherry blossom girl, blackbird, and fade into you.

Right before our photographers left for the night, a group of us took over the bathroom so I could get a few shots reclining on the chaise. That's right – there's a chaise in the bathroom! I tried to look poised while the rest of the ladies looked on.

Then the night was over, and we left happy and exhausted.

Thanks so much for letting me share all these photos! Before I go, I want to thank our amazing vendors and share a few sources. (Also, a big thank you to 100 Layer Cake for featuring us.)

photography: JL Photografia
venues: Ballard Locks for our portraits and Canlis for the wedding & reception
food + cake: Canlis
my outfit: J.Crew dress (the Gracie gown), Nine West pumps, earrings from my aunt
my hair & maid of honor's hair: styled by Erin Hunt
stefan's outfit: Hugo Boss suit, Calvin Klein shoes
officiant: my uncle
flowers: bought in bulk from Marigold & Mint and arranged ourselves
decor: manzanita branches from Blooms & Branches, floating candles from Quick Candles
paper goods: designed + printed by me
photo guest book: fujifilm INSTAX 210 camera, handmade guest book by Linda
engagement ring: Erie Basin

our wedding {part four: the dinner reception}

After the ceremony was over, everyone was seated for dinner. We had six tables and assigned seating, so I made simple escort cards and laid them on square trays filled with more black river rocks.

Each table had a trivia card with questions like, "What did Rachel give Stefan in fifth grade, which meant that they would be secretly dating?" (Answer: a woven bracelet.) Some people read it to themselves, and other tables turned it into a group activity.

Our flowers were bought in bulk from Marigold & Mint and arranged the evening before the wedding with the help of a few friends & relatives. It was simultaneously fun and stressful. (Rufus, who destroys my house plants, was banned from the kitchen that day.)

Remember a long time ago when I blogged about our favors? They doubled as place cards, and were put in the middle of each place setting. A menu was also tucked into each napkin. On the back of the menu was an illustrated timeline of our relationship.

Ahh. The food. Below: spring greens salad, forest mushroom risotto, watermelon gazpacho, and filet mignon.

When dinner was over, there were toasts, and then Stefan and I snuck away for a few minutes...

...for a mini photo shoot, which I'll share in the final wedding post. (Also coming up tomorrow: dessert!)

our wedding {part three: the ceremony}

Having a cocktail hour was fun, but soon it was time for the big moment. Our ceremony space was decorated with two vases filled with black river rocks & large manzanita branches, and behind that, three dozen floating candles on the window sill. A program was placed on each chair, embellished with ribbon.

We spread the word that it was time for the ceremony, and our friends & family started to take their seats.

My uncle was our officiant – he became ordained just for us! If you have the opportunity to have a friend or family member officiate your wedding, do it.

We walked down the aisle to the instrumental version of Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths. First Stefan escorted his mom, and then he was followed by his brother...

...followed by my best friend, and then me, with my parents.

And there we were. Getting married. Our ceremony was short, sweet, and simple. I pieced together our script from other ceremonies that I found online. I also worked in a little Shel Silverstein – "Marriage is playing hug o' war instead of tug o' war."

We had two readings during the ceremony: from A Natural History of Love ("...love has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush....") and The Little Prince ("...if you come at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy...")

At the end of the ceremony, we exchanged rings, I do's, and a kiss...

...and then we were married!

Again, all the photos were taken by the ladies of JL Photografia. Coming up tomorrow: the dinner reception!

our wedding {part two: the cocktail hour}

After our portraits, we headed over to Canlis. From the start of planning our wedding, we knew we wanted two things: a small guest list (around 40 people) and great food. Having our wedding and reception at a restaurant was the perfect answer. And, bonus, Canlis has an amazing view of Lake Union.

Reasons why we had a cocktail hour before the ceremony: it allowed our friends and family to mingle, it was an excuse for hors d'oeuvres, it created a buffer for anyone running late, and it gave us enough time to take family portraits outside without making anyone wait around.

Mmm. Aren't these the cutest mini quiches? I could eat a hundred of them.

Here's a little peek at the bar sign that I designed, and stir sticks that I ordered from here.

And here's one of the family portraits taken outside, with my grandmother.

During cocktail hour, besides eating and mingling, our friends and family also signed our photo guestbook. We had a table set up with childhood photos of Stefan and myself, a Fujifilm INSTAX 210, extra film, an instruction card, and a beautifully handmade album by Linda of One Fine Dae. Guests signed the book with silver Sharpie pens and slipped their instant photos into the photo corners that I had pre-placed on the pages.

If you're wondering if that's a photo of me crying hysterically and my family laughing at me, well, it is.

All these photos, of course, were taken by the ladies of JL Photografia. Coming up tomorrow: the ceremony!

our wedding {part one: portraits}

Hi, friends. This week I'm sharing photos from our wedding, starting with our portraits. We shot these during an hour at the Ballard Locks. Stefan and I chose the Locks because it has lots of variety: a botanical garden, huge trees, a few sculptures, the water, and old buildings. Our photographers were awesome at giving us direction and making it a fun experience. (All photos by JL Photografia.)

My dress is from J.Crew (the Gracie gown) and Stefan's suit is Hugo Boss. I loved my dress – it was light, comfy, and didn't even need to be altered.

Yay for black wedding shoes! (And I only semi-tripped once. That's almost a miracle, considering I never wear heels anymore ever since I started working from home.)

Above is a section of the actual locks, which are used to move boats from one water level to another. When a boat is coming through, you can get stuck on one side. And yes, that happened to us.

When you're all dressed up like this, it's inevitable to get stares from other people. But, I mean, don't you stare at brides & grooms walking around in public? I do.

I was surprisingly relaxed on the big day. I think it's because I worried about everything so much in the months leading up to it that when the actual day came, I had used up all my worrying. (Okay, joking. The secret to being relaxed on your wedding day is to focus on enjoying the day. Things can go wrong and it won't ruin your wedding. I promise.)

Alrighty. Enough portraits; let's get over to our wedding venue. Coming up tomorrow: the cocktail hour!

+

Guess what? Next week I'll be posting about our wedding. (Ready for lots and lots of photos?) I've been wanting to share our big day for almost five months, and am thrilled to finally get to.

See you back here on Monday!

a wedding teaser

Our amazing photographers just posted a couple teaser photos on their blog. Hooray!

sealed with a kiss

Hi guys. Thanks so much for all your sweet comments. Our wedding was everything I could have asked for. I'll wait to recap everything until our photographers send over photos. I'm also thinking about writing a "things I learned" type of post sometime soon. Reading other people's advice while I planned our wedding was tremendously helpful, and I want to share some thoughts of my own.

In the meantime, let's get back to regular posts, food posts, and mixtapes. Woo!

(Above is a photo of our centerpieces I quickly snapped after we arranged the flowers on Sunday – a mix of white and pink roses, sweet peas, mint, and a few other greens.)

tomorrow...

...we're getting married. Married!

Today I'm arranging flowers (with help, of course!), wrapping up a few last minute things, and then we're heading off to a BBQ that my future brother-and-sister-in-law graciously offered to host. I have the hardest time sleeping the night before big events, so wish me luck getting some zzz's tonight.

Have a super wonderful Monday.

our DIY favors

I have one more DIY wedding project to share with you guys: favors. Originally, I wanted to give out egglings, but it would've cost too much, and as Stefan pointed out, the guys probably wouldn't care for it. So we opted for food favors. More specifically, mini jars of wildflower honey and mini jars of greek olive oil.

Supplies:
- 2 oz hex glass jars and matching lids
- sticker paper (for the labels)
- cardstock (for the name tags)
- hole punch (I used a heart-shaped one from Martha Stewart)
- 1/8" black ribbon
- honey and olive oil

How to:
1. design your labels and name tags, and do a test print before printing all of them
2. clean the jars and let air dry
3. fill the jars (not TOO high!) and twist lids on tightly
4. apply the sticker labels, peeling the backing off gradually so it's easy to readjust the sticker if needed
5. tie black ribbon around the top and thread through the hole in the name tags. knot twice and snip ends.

(Looking for more wedding posts? Here's our ring pillow, honeymoon plans, cake toppers, and invitations.)