Gourmet Foodie Wedding
This wedding from Blue Window Creative is just… beyond words. It’s that wedding that as a guest, you wouldn’t want to miss. Bride and groom Shanti and Chris are foodies at heart, so having amazing food at their wedding was a no brainer. They had a 9 course meal. I know you too wish you would have been invited. They focused on what was most important to them, and handmade most of their decor themselves. They chose turquoise, pink and purple hues as their guide for color palette, and we’re just smitten with these day-of images!
[We wanted] something with that rustic cozy and vintage with a family focused feel- on a farm, with a huge emphasis on the food!
Through word of mouth we heard that our favorite local chef was living on a farm on Vashon Island and doing some private events. We contacted him, went to visit the place, and we were sold on it right away. We were blown away when we found out chef Matt Dillion & his crew agreed to cook for us! The communal dinner concept was an important requirement for us. We were truly ecstatic to have Matt create mind-blowing seasonal cuisine for our guest and us. The dinner was awe-inspiring!
Shanti made their escort card wheels from one of our projects in our DIY gallery. Click here for instructions.
We made some critical decisions to plan an event that was just right for us, even though that may have offended some of our more traditional-minded family. I was not okay with the thought of public speaking. Its just not my style, to be on display in front of a large group, especially reading my quite personal vows! So, we decided to have only family at the ceremony and not to have a wedding party.
Chris and I decided to walk down the aisle together, which was perfect for us. To honor our parents, we had them participate in the ceremony in different ways. My father played his classic guitar for the processional. This meant the world to us, as he is not a big fan of public performances (like me!). Each of our mothers gave a reading of their choice during the ceremony. Also, my big brother was the officiant, and my dear cousin held the ring pillow, which she made! She included some vintage fabric that once belonged to our grandmother, who had been an amazing seamstress.
We also spotted our alphabet bunting, which you can download here.
She used our free download for their cupcake pennants. Adorbs.
Any advice for brides planning their weddings now?
I know this has been said before, but…: hire a wedding planner! I really thought I could plan it all myself, since I actually enjoy planning and organizing. We were budgeting to have a day-of-coordinator all along, but in the end I really needed someone to help me pull together all the details. I wanted everything to be well organized and ready to go before family started arriving (a week before the wedding!). Holly-Kate from Sweetpea Events was amazing. She stepped right in and made sure we were on track and helped me with the timeline and delegating jobs.
Have a very honest and open talk about wedding planning with your fiance. I thought (silly me) that Chris would get really involved, but it was not his cup of tea. If we had hired a planner in the beginning it would have saved us a lot of headache and stress.
A note from the groom: “I lost interest quickly with items that I had no expertise with. If it wasn’t related to food or music, I lost focus. Bottom line: communicate with your partner on what help they need and also what end-result they’re expecting.”
Do things your own way, it’s so important. It would not mean the same to me if I had been forced into all the traditional elements of a wedding. I loved that Chris and I walked down the aisle together. I was perfectly happy without bridesmaids. It was so fun to put on rubber galoshes and visit the farm’s goats and chickens!
Even though our dearest friends did not get to attend the wedding ceremony, we really wanted them to have a great experience. So we did thoughtful things to make it special for every attendee. We had a welcome table with the sprigs of rosemary and had an accordion player performing gypsy classics while guests arrived, which set a festive mood with Slavic undertones. There was a farewell table with milk and cookies for guests to take on their way out. We had oodles of lawn games including: croquet, bocce, and horseshoes. Plus, there were goats, cows, and chickens to visit!
View oodles more photos from their wedding here!
Wedding Songs:
Processional: Pachelbel’s Canon played on acoustic guitar by the bride’s father
Recessional: accordion music played by Steve Rice (no particular song)
First Dance: “Strangers” by The Kinks
Wedding Vendors (Washington):
Venue: Old Chaser Farm, Vashon Island / Wedding Photographer: Blue Window Creative / Table Number Holders: IKEA / Catering: The Corson Building / Wedding Planner: Holly-Kate from Sweetpea Events / Hair & Makeup: Lindsey Watkins / Flowers: Blooms & Things / Accordion player: Steve Rice / Wedding Dress: custom, by Trish Jens / Hair Accessories: ban.do / Earrings: Rebekah Brooks / Shoes: Annie Shoes Gable Flat / Finger print tree guestbook: bluedetoi / Papergoods/signage and jam placecards: Katrina Hess / Groom’s suit: All Saints / Groom’s Shoes: Fluevog, Socks from Paul Smith / Reception music: iPod playlists / Wedding Dessert: Instead of spending a bundle on one or two fancy cakes, we decided to order lots of deserts from some of our favorite bakeries in town. We also served a dessert cheese selection since Chris is a cheese nerd. Bakery Nouveau, local fruit tart and a croquembouche Kingfish Cafe – red velvet cake Dahlia bakery- coconut cream pie Flying Apron- vegan chocolate cake with raspberry filling Cameron Catering- whoopie pies (they also made the chocolate chip cookies for guest to take on their way out). Cheese selection consisting of Comte’, Etorki, Monte Enebro, Shropshire blue, Drunken Goat, and Vashon farm-produced Dinah’s Cheese; all sourced by DeLaurenti‘s in the Pike Pace Market / Wedding invitations: Designed by Eric Fisher (contact info available upon request), printed at local printer AlphaGraphics / Registry: Crate and Barrel, Amazon.com, and Honey Fund
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In(dy)spire: The Independent Wedding Fair
Calling all Minneapolis couples! If you are engaged or is about to be, you’re going to want to check out In(dy)spire, an independent wedding fair on February 11th, by our sponsor, The Independent Wedding Association. So ladies + gents, if you are overwhelmed by the planning process ahead and if huge bridal events aren’t your style, this alternative bridal fair brings together a community of passionate wedding professionals, who are excited to talk to, advise, and inspire you.
If you are in the market for solid wedding advice and resources, you can get expert tips for every aspect of the planning process and meet potential vendors in your own city. Workshops at In(dy)spire include: The Couture Wedding Dress Experience, Wedding Venue 101, Wedding Flowers Your Way, Ask your Photographer Panel, and Wedding Nuts & Bolts.
photo by Becca Dilley Photography
photo by Sewell Photography
Hotel Ivy – Downtown Minneapolis
11am – 3pm
The Independent Wedding Association is offering a discount on tickets to Ruffled readers. For $5 off the purchase of two tickets, enter the code ruff5, at check-out.
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Weekly Wrap-Up + Giveaway Winners!
Do we ever have a treat for you this weekend! Blush Wedding Photography sent over their images from a Jose Villa Workshop outside of Guadalajara, and it has us daydreaming like crazy. Read on to see some Recycle Your Wedding goodies and our winners for the Simply Bridal Giveaway!
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Canadian wedding with an amazing tree chandelier
Chic Santa Barbara wedding
Gorgeous 1930s-inspired wedding with telegram programs
Spinning save-the-date cards free to download
Beautiful wedding for under $10,000
DIY Wallpaper Lanterns
Old Hollywood Glam wedding ideas
Vintage tin ceiling seating chart
Spring sherbet Flower Guide
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This week, on Recycle Your Wedding:
Stunning cut-ribbon Photobooth backdrop
Rustic wooden tool boxes
Precious gray and yellow heels
Mid-century turquoise couch
…and so much more!
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Finally, our winners from our Simply Bridal Giveaway:
Annie
Kayce
Justine
Tash
Youngji
Lauren M.
Elizabeth Dahlhausen
Christan Y.
kfloveinme
Ashley Balz
Congratulations, winners! You will be contacted via email shortly with more details.
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And before we go, we wanted to mention our friend Amy Atlas‘s newest release, Sweet Designs. Her book includes over 350 pages of recipes, DIY projects, styling tips, and amazing never-before-seen images to pore over. It’s currently on pre-order, so head over to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to save your copy today!
Happy weekend, everyone!
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Spring Sherbet Flower Guide
These sherbet flowers are just what the doctored ordered this morning. Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers dreamed up of a spring flower guide, and these arrangements are it. Quintessentially dreamy. From Sarah: It happens every year during the middle-end of winter… everyone gets anxious for spring. Here is a bit of indulgence for you who may be getting antsy extra early. Spring is the perfect time for a wildly colorful wedding of peach and tangerine tones.
This color palette is fun and feminine, and can also easily be elegant if you pair these flowers with floor length dresses, some strappy heels and a dramatic venue. If the colors alone don’t make you drool, how about serving some sherbet for your desert?
Inspiration board credits: doughnuts, lipstick makeup (found on Pinterest, anyone knows the source?), tangerine dress, tangerine wedding decor from this feature shot by Alice Hu
Flowers used here were: roses, ranunculus, kumquat, poppy, peony and tulips.
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spire: The Independent Wedding Fair on http://ruffledblog.com){kind=link}
