Jennifer and Dustin’s Navy Blue and Blush Washington State Winery Wedding

One thing I love about my job is the diversity of weddings I get sent. Not only do I receive a variety of styles of weddings but I also get sent weddings from all over the world. Even though we are a UK-based wedding blog, I pride myself in sharing weddings from lots of different countries and continents. Today is no exception, as I am whisking you off to Washington State for this beautifully elegant winery wedding. Jennifer and Dustin chose a navy blue and blush colour palette which goes beautifully against the stunning backdrop. Add in the most beautiful flowers and the most exceptional outdoor ceremony area and you have todays fabulous wedding planned by Simply Tarara Nicole and photographed by Tonhya Kae Photography.

‘It was the most beautiful day and everything we could have imagined and more! The best part was being able to spend time with our family & friends and share this most memorable day with them’

Jennifer and Dustin were married on 16th August at Swiftwater Cellars, in Washington State in the US. ‘We wanted a relaxed getaway weekend where we both could spend time with family and friends. Dustin grew up in a beautiful place called Buckley, WA and getting married outdoors in a place that reminded him of home was meaningful to him. I have always dreamt of getting married at a winery because it seems so romantic to me. We both feel in love with Swiftwater Cellars the moment we saw it! It was so serene and had a stunning backdrop where we would say our “I DO’S”. We also wanted our family & friends who were traveling far and near to have a place to stay for the rehearsal dinner and the night of the wedding. It was the perfect location for our guests to stay. We took a year to plan our wedding and we had a total of 100 guests.’

How they met
We both met randomly on February 23, of 2007 at the Longhorn in Auburn, WA. We both were persuaded to go out by our friends. Once at the Longhorn, Dustin and one of his friends came over to our table because they knew my friend Britt who had went to school with one of his sisters. We instantly connected and have been together ever since.

The Proposal
Every year a big group of friends plan a winter vacation for Presidents Day weekend. Typically, we rent out a lodge in Sun River Oregon and go skiing/snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor. However, this year was different because of a big special surprise. We decided to go to Whistler, Canada a world renown ski resort where the 2010 Winter Olympics was held. it has a beautiful village. This happens to be the first place Dustin & I took a vacation together so it has special meaning. Dustin planned an extravagant night out for everyone to go snowmobiling to the top of Blackcomb Mt. Dustin asked me to come with him out on the balcony in the middle of a snowstorm and proposed. After returning to the cabin everyone was clapping and cheering.

How did you allocate your budget
Our parents were very generous and couldn’t have had the wedding of our dreams without their support.

Where did you splurge and where did you save
We splurged the most on our venue, photographer & videographer. We knew we could save a lot of money by making a lot of things ourselves. My sister in-law Heather and friend Shawnee spent hours wrapping lace around all of our candles. We made our signs, menus, seating cards, favour tags for our honey jars, with the help of my lovely wedding planner Tamara!

How did you choose your photographer
We wanted a photographer that had a relaxed feel and had experienced shooting at the venue we were getting married at. A friend had recommended Tonhya Kae Photography and I knew after seeing her photos we’d be the perfect match.

The Dress
My dress was by Maggie Sottero. My sister in-law who was also my maid of honour let me borrow her beautiful earrings and necklace that she also wore in her wedding and my shoes were Badgley Mischka in navy blue with rhinestones.

The Suit and Bridesmaids
The suit was by Vera Wang and all the groomsmen including the groom wore grey suits with a navy blue tie. They all looked handsome. I wanted all of our bridesmaids to feel beautiful and comfortable in what they wore. They were able to choose the style: whether it was strapless, halter, as long as they were the same length. Everyone looked stunning!

Theme or Colour Scheme
I was absolutely in love with the navy blue and blush combination. I wanted my bridesmaids to feel beautiful and chose a colour that complimented each of their skin tones so their dresses were navy blue and had several elements of blush throughout the décor in the wedding.

Flowers
Flora Nova did an incredible job arranging all the floral arrangements and bouquets. We had beautiful bouquets of blush and cream flowers mixed with textured greens and green flowers: garden roses, garden spray roses, hydrangea, anemones, small succulents, ferns, green dianthus, pieris, and other textured elements. I was overjoyed in how detailed every element looked!

Decoration
We had so much fun with the décor at our wedding! I was most excited about the stunning chandelier at the front of the gazebo where our ceremony would take place. Our florists created a gorgeous back drop with wine barrels and floral arrangements on top of them. There were wine crates adorned with floral arrangements aligning the aisle. For the reception, I wanted the atmosphere to be romantic and elegant, so we had mercury candles mixed in with the tables and cocktail tables to create a romantic ambiance. The tables were lined with burlap table runners that were edged with lace. We also had variations of centre pieces and the difference in height created a visual interest and a pleasing impression to our guests. To go with the winery feel, we also crafted wine labels to use for our table numbers and ours said Just Married.

Food
To this day, we still get compliments on how good the food was at our wedding! We chose to have a plated dinner for all of our guests and we both chose the Salmon, which was absolutely delicious!
Our Guests had the following options:
Appetizers: Tomato and Mozzarella Crostini, Rolled Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Crostini
Salad, Organic Baby Grren salad with Spiced Cabernet Vinaigrette
Entrees: Grilled Organic Chicken Breast Seasonal Vegetable Risotto Roasted Fennel
Red Pepper Infused Red Wine Sauce, Pan Seared Northwest Salmon Portobello Mushroom and Goat Cheese Hash, Red Pepper Puree, Penne Pasta Grilled Vegetables in a Fontina Cream Sauce

Wedding Cake
We had a beautiful blush cake for the two of us and had a variety of chocolate salted caramel, lemon and coconut cupcakes for our guests by Pinkabella Cupcakes. We also had a s’mores bar with assorted chocolates, marshmellow, and graham crackers. The s’mores bar was a HUGE hit.

Entertainment
We had TGO Entertainment as our DJ. We were going to have a live band, but it wasn’t within our budget and Andrew, our DJ did an amazing job playing some of our favorite tracks during cocktail hour. We insisted on having a playlist, but he kept the crowd going and taught some of us how to bust out some new moves.

The Stationery
We used an online company called Beacon Lane on Etsy which allowed us to customize our invitations.

Personal or Handmade Touches
All of the programs, menus, tags for favours, signs were all specially designed by our amazing wedding planner Simply Tamara Nicole. My mother in-law sewed together our desert linen table runner, which turned out beautifully. I plan to use it again for another special occasion!

Special Moments
Dancing with my dad during our Father-Daughter dance. It was so special to me because we had taken dance lessons together prior to my wedding day. The countless hours we practiced and rehearsing the day before the wedding made this an opportunity to spend more time with my dad. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.
Another special moment for me was reading our vows to one another during our ceremony. Dustin and I had decided to write our own vows and both of us kept it a secret until our wedding day.

Advice to other couples
Focus on each other and don’t get overwhelmed on EVERY detail. Include your fiancé with planning and enjoy the process together, delegate tasks and most of all relax because everything will all fall into place.

Biggest surprise
Everything turned out just as I imagined and couldn’t have done it without the help of my wonderful wedding planner Tamara Nicole, friends and family.

Supplier Shout Outs

• Band – [email protected]
• Cake – www.pinkabellacupcakes.com
• Caterer – www.swiftwatercellars.com/dine
• Co-Ordinator – www.simplytamaranicole.com
• Wedding Dress – www.maggiesottero.com
• Florist – www.floranovadesign.com
• Hair – [email protected]
• Makeup – www.flawlessbeautybars.com
• Invitations – Beacon Lane
• Officiant – www.revjancarter.com
• Photography – www.tonhyakae.com
• Rentals – Pedersen’s Rentals
• Shoes – www.badgleymischka.com
• Videography – [email protected]

For more information on Tamara’s wedding planning work please go to:

www.simplytamaranicole.com / www.simplybytamaranicole.blogspot.com / 888.220.2651 / FACEBOOK / @TamaraNAnderson / I: simplytamaranicole / PINTEREST

Simply by Tamara Nicole is a Seattle wedding planning and design company that LOVES to make it all about the couple. Discovering ways to bring out your personality and relationship through the decor, colors, textures and details is our specialty. Our weddings and styled shoots have been featured in print and well known blogs all over the world. Although organized and detailed, Tamara Nicole and Claire are relaxed as can be during the planning process, and always down for a fun coffee, cocktail or treat while helping you plan your BIG day and find the best vendor team to do this with!