Victoria and Drew’s early summer wedding on Washington’s stunning Orcas Island, captured by talented Seattle-based photographer Jenny J, was a true Pacific Northwest celebration. Relaxed, rustic and outdoorsy, I am charmed by the country-feel of this sweet Real Wedding!
The Goals: For Victoria and Drew, the most important aspects of their wedding day were the location and the music. They wanted their big day to have a woodsy, vintage feel to it, so they chose the old-fashioned, quaint Victorian Valley Chapel for their ceremony, where every wedding is still lit by candlelight. The reception was held at Odd Fellows Hall, a historic dance hall with tall ceilings, an outdoor deck and a waterfront view of the Sound. It’s a location that is quintessentially Northwest in its design and style.
The Design: The emotional wedding ceremony was “short and sweet”, presided over by a Buddhist officiant who recited both a Celtic psalm and a poem written by William Blake.
Victoria chose a wedding color palette of gray, green and ivory, with a few bright pops of purple in the flower arrangements. Keeping with the rustic country feel of the wedding, flowers and centerpieces were kept casual and organic, in vintage wooden boxes. Guest’s place cards were made from distressed paper tags, tied with green ribbon, and table numbers were made from vintage playing cards. As evening set in, hanging lanterns and string lights lit up the room, along with twinkling tea-lights in mason jars.
Their raspberry-filled wedding cake was decorated with sprigs of ferns and pine needles and topped with a ceramic wedding topper found on Etsy. An image of a bride and groom with owl and antelope heads–the perfect choice for this couple’s woodsy Pacific Northwest theme!
The Style: Victoria’s bridal style was soft and feminine with bohemian-inspired touches. Above all, she wanted her look to blend with the beautiful natural elements on the island. Clad in a romantic and floaty Vera Wang dress, Victoria accented her look with a hair wreath by Patina Floral. Bridesmaids wore gray above-the-knee dresses from Nordstrom Bridal Boutique, accessorized with old-fashioned pearl necklaces to give their look a more vintage feel. The groom and his groomsmen were casual but stylish in their J.Crew suits.
The Moments: Victoria and Drew entered their reception to “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns and Roses, a unique way to kick-start the party portion of the evening! They followed it up with a romantic first dance to “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young. Toasts from their wedding party throughout the night were “more emotional than we expected them to be…it was hard not to cry!”, says Victoria.
The couple spent the rest of the night dancing to great music and playing in the photo booth set up by Jenny J. It was filled with wacky props like mustaches, glasses and more–a big hit that everyone loved!
The Pros: To learn about all of the incredible wedding professionals who helped to make this wedding a reality, please visit our Real Weddings section.
Thank you so much for sharing your charming Pacific Northwest wedding with us Victoria and Drew!
If you’re planning a wedding in Southern California or Seattle, don’t miss our trusted Plan Your Wedding Hotlist, and to find your dream wedding photographer for weddings anywhere in the world, be sure to visit our World’s Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!
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What a beautiful wedding! I love the vintage feel – and that Vera Wang gown looks amazing. One question though – what are they doing to their cake?!?
jenny is the best!
Thanks for celebrating Victoria and Drew’s wedding. They had their wedding celebration at the Odd Fellows Hall, and many of the pictures above are from that reception. The Odd Fellows Hall is a historic spot on Madrona Point on beautiful Orcas Island.
We just added a beautiful new patio of Italian terrazzo bricks, and there is a very cool “crows nest” and ceremonial circle.
If you would like to learn more about the hall, check out our website at oddshall.org. or call me at 360-376-5640. I run the Odd Fellows Hall, and would be happy to help.
Thanks, jay
What a lovely wedding! The bride’s bouquet was amazingly gorgeous.
Hello Josie, This is Blair answering for Christy while she’s on vacation this week. I think they are just cutting the cake and that they both have their hands on the cake cutter. I could be wrong, so we’ll see if Victoria or Drew jump in with the answer.
Looks like it was a super classy event.
ha!! i know – it looks like we’re trying to hollow out our cake. we just had both hands on the cutter but it somehow ended up looking like we’re attempting to destroy the it :)
Totally love the photography and the concept of this wedding. Kudos to the couple for being so creative!!!
this was so much fun to work on. Collaborating with Victoria and Drew on design and decor was a delight. Vintage with an edge. The flowers were easy, Carmel Antike roses filled out Victoria’s bouquet and reminded me of her in so many ways; beautiful, unique, charming, many many ruffled layers. It was a pleasure to plan this with you and to be a part of such a spectacular time in your lives.
I love their theme. Log, woods and cabins. very English type of wedding :)
Some absolutely brilliant shots there! Great work – a credit to your profession!
This wedding is an inspirational visual journey. The palette is well suited to the Pacific NW and you did a marvelous job elegantly art directing the nuances of this gorgeous event.
Wow! What cabins did the family and guests stay in? This looks beautiful!
I love the style of this wedding. Very elegant and natural. I am also in love with that cake topper!! Any chance you could tell me where you found it? Thanks! Natasha
Hi Natasha, I’m not 100% sure on the cake topper, but I think that it’s by http://www.etsy.com/shop/melabo . Hope that helps! xoxo, Christy
I am so in love with Victoria’s dress! Do you happen to know which Vera collection the dress is from? Thanks! :D
hello chelsea! i’m not exactly certain what collection my dress was from (fall 2009?) but i bought it at marcella’s in downtown seattle. i’m sure they would know if you described it. ask for ali :) http://www.marcellaslaboutique.com/
natasha, christy is right – melabo on etsy created our cake topper! we received many compliments on it. oh, and the kindest, sweetest and super talented woman (also on etsy) created our guest book. there are no images of it on here but here is a link of an example: http://www.etsy.com/listing/46313822/set-of-vintage-look-coptic-stich-leather i absolutely LOVE her work. the book she made for us turned out beautiful!! – victoria
Thank you for the information about the cake topper and the guest book. I really love both!