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 

Fairmont Shower

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures by Carol Harrold of the details from a very special baby shower at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel recently. Love the neutral roses, dahlias and ranunculus against the dark foliage, contrasting burgundy blooms and the dark grey linen – it would be such a sophisticated palette for Thanksgiving dinner.

Finch_thistle_fairmont_shower_carol_harrold_1Finch_thistle_fairmont_shower_carol_harrold_2and one of mine…finch-thistle-fairmont-fall-flowers-2

Still Life

Finch and Thistle Florals Stephanie Cristalli Photography

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!

finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer, la happy graphic design finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer, SAM private dining finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, la happy design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer, SAM private dining finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designer finch and thistle event design, seattle event designerPhotography: Stephanie Cristalli | Floral, Styling and Event Design: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Location: TASTE at Seattle Art Museum | Calligraphy & Paper Goods: La Happy | Linens: La Tavola Fine Linen