Seattle Fall Wedding

Every time I look at this wedding from Carly Bish, I get the biggest smile — because of the bride! Not only does she have some amazing style, she also has the most infectious smile I’ve ever seen. With a fall wedding in Seattle, a little rain was almost a given, but I think it only added to the romance of these wedding portraits. And how great are all the dahlia arrangements made by the bride and her friends and family?

From the bride, Jessica: Our wedding style was urban-whimsy with vintage touches and lots of full and semi-DIY. We are both artistic, so hand making elements of our wedding was important to us and came natural. We wanted to create a fun, hand made, not-at-all-stuffy day.

I’d call our wedding eclectic, like us. We chose gray, ivory, teal and olive green as our colors, with gray having the strongest presence. We DIYed as much as we felt we could, including email save the dates, invitations, guestbook, flowers, music playlist, dessert, favors and our ceremony backdrop.

I always wanted to DIY the flowers, but worried it would be a headache. It was one of my favorite things! The day before our wedding, my best friend and I went to the farmers market in our hometown of Issaquah, WA to get flowers. We purchased 5 large dahlia-filled bouquets and spent less than $60. I have some dahlia plants at my parents home, and my mother-in-law also picked up some flowers to add to the mix. My maid of honor met us at my house to assemble all the bouquets and mason jar arrangements. The morning of the wedding, another one of my bridesmaids helped me wrap the bouquets in twine. A true team effort! I’d highly recommend doing this, if the season is right and you aren’t super particular and willing to work with what the farmers have.

Any advice for brides planning their weddings now? The wedding and all its details are secondary to the happiness of the couple getting married! Don’t sweat the small (and the not-so-small) stuff; if the linens are slightly off tone, or your dress hem is filthy (like mine became), or people don’t mail in their RSVP, do your best to let it go. We were blessed to have some of our friends and family reminding us of this during the planning process. Also, do whatever you can to live in the moment, and take moments to yourself (and your new spouse) as needed!

Wedding Music:
We created an all Beatles and Beatles members pre-ceremony iPod playlist to lead into Samantha’s ceremony performance. We made separate cocktail hour and reception playlists, including everything from Sinatra to Dylan to the Beastie Boys.
First Dance: “When the Stars Go Blue,” Ryan Adams
Father/Daughter Dance: “Pennies from Heaven”
Mother/Son Dance: “Lights,” Journey

Wedding Location: Seattle, WA / Wedding Photographer: Carly Bish / Wedding Venue: Utina Wardroom / Wedding Coordinator: Emily of Manette Gracie Weddings & Events / Wedding Dress: Anne Barge La Fleur, style 161 / Bridal Cap: Twigs & Honey, style 117 / Bolero: Anthropologie / Wedding Shoes: Steve Madden “I-Dreemy” / Engagement Ring: EidelPrecious / Hair and Makeup: Erin Skipley / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: H&M, Anthropologie, Macy’s / Wedding Caterer: City Catering Company / Wedding Cake and Desserts: Bride’s mother / Wedding Music: Samantha Lynn / Officiant: Ray Van Winkle / Wedding Invitations: Groom