Rachel + Ryan
(September 17th, 2022 in Mazama, WA)
Today on the Ivory Blog, our real bride details her beautiful wedding in Mazama, WA! The couple had a clear vision of what they wanted for their special day, and they achieved it with the help of their chosen vendors. The day included personal touches, unique moments, and a lot of fun for everyone involved. The bride's number one tip to future brides is to plan the exact wedding that they and their future spouse want and to stick with their vision. The post also includes a list of all the vendors who made the day possible. Get ready to be inspired!
By our real bride, Rachel:
What was the vision for your wedding?
Before we even got engaged we knew the area in the North Cascades we wanted to get married in, and as soon as we toured our venue, which was our first stop of six, we both knew it was the one. From there it all just came together pretty easily. I knew in general what I wanted for my gown, (lace, open/low back, something unique). I loved almost every gown my stylist first pulled, but I was surprised that I ended up with something we pulled on a whim during round 2. The best part was that it had been on my Pinterest board the whole time and it was just farther down my list!
Being flexible and open-minded totally paid off and I loved the gown even more on the day I got married than when I had picked it 18 months earlier. When choosing vendors it was somewhat of a process of elimination since getting married in a fairly secluded location meant we were either choosing between the few local options or figuring out how to coordinate travel or delivery. All of our vendors were chosen based on who we clicked with, trusted, and wanted to spend a lot of time with on the big day, and everyone was so incredible. It was also super important to make sure that our vendors really understood the vision we had for a day that was full of personal details, unique, and just a super fun weekend for all of our guests. Trust your instincts when choosing vendors!
How did it go the day-of?
We knew what we hoped our wedding weekend would be like and somehow it was even better! Since it was somewhat of a destination wedding we planned a welcome dinner the night before the wedding so everyone could relax and just hang out before the big day. Then the wedding day started bright and early with a sunrise first look in the mountains which was an absolutely incredible experience, even though it was below freezing and everything was covered in frost! This gave us the chance to spend extra time together on our actual wedding day in a really meaningful place and get tons of photos that are so special to us. From there we went back and had some downtime before getting ready for the actual ceremony.
We had tons of personal touches that we were so happy our guests seemed to notice and appreciate. The groom and my step-daughter created a special handshake to do after they walked in for the ceremony, I walked down the aisle to the theme song from Back to the Future which resulted in instant tears and laughter from the groom (the only person who knew that surprise was the DJ!), and we wrote our own vows and our officiant was my best friend's aunt. When we got to cocktail hour we had created a trivia game that was passed out to all of our guests and all of the questions were facts about our friends and family which was so fun and helped everyone mingle.
Another favorite moment was an impromptu idea from our DJ when we had a little extra time after dinner. He played clips of songs as we went to each table and did a round of photos with those groups. It was a ton of fun and we got hilarious photos with all of our guests which we printed out and sent in all of their holiday cards. Another incredible moment was sneaking away with our photographers for some sunset photos and a quiet walk around the lake on the property. We cannot say enough wonderful things about the vendors who made our day so incredible! We partied late into the night with glow sticks and dance circles and it was truly all a dream!
What is your #1 tip to future brides?
Plan the exact wedding that you and your future spouse want! It can be so difficult since the opinions from your friends and family can get overwhelming, but at the end of the day we knew exactly what we wanted our day to be like and we stuck with our vision. We kept the traditions that felt important and tossed anything that didn't feel like "us". When we look back on the entire wedding weekend, it truly turned out way better than either of us imagined, even the things that didn't go according to plan.
DRESS: KIARA BY ESSENSE OF AUSTRALIA
VEIL: LAUREN BY SARA GABRIEL
PHOTOGRAPHER: ZACHARY WINTERS
VENUE: FREESTONE INN
FLORIST: SUBLIME STEMS
RENTALS: METHOW MOMENTS EVENT RENTALS
CATERER: SUNFLOWER CATERING
DESSERT: WILDFLOWER GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY
GROOM'S SUIT: SUIT SUPPLY
RINGS: POINT TO POINT STUDIO
MAKEUP: KELLY TAYLOR
