Today’s real wedding bride Hayden, a talented wedding planner herself, got to plan the wedding of her dreams last year when she was the one at the altar. The magical event was held at the breathtaking Thornewood Castle, and only those closest to the couple were lucky enough to join them for the beautiful occasion. Yitzhak Dalal Photography provided gorgeous photos of the classic, romantic event, and couple Hayden and Matt couldn’t have been happier!

The Goals: Hayden and Matt wanted to keep their wedding an elegant, intimate affair, and the Thornewood Castle in Lakewood, Washington was the ideal location. The 200-year-old, twelve-room bed and breakfast just south of Tacoma was the perfect size to host the couples 50 guests. We made a rule only to invite our dearest family, and only our friends that we consider family. This way, no matter where we looked on our wedding day, we saw the face of someone we loved.

A well-established wedding planner in her own right, bride Hayden had fantasized about implementing some admittedly crazy things in the planning of her own special day, but ultimately, she stayed true to her clean and classic personal style. I’m not a very lacy girl, I didn’t want tons of jewels, or frills, just clean, and classic. More along the lines of Grace Kelly. Pearls not bling.

The Design: For their romantic late spring wedding, Hayden and Matt had the already-beautiful Thornewood Castle adorned with a white and silver color palette. Hayden called upon Woodland Flowers to design arrangements of classic, pure white blossoms delicately paired with antique silver tea sets. As guests arrived at the ceremony, which took place in the English sunken garden outside the castle, female guests were given lace-embroidered handkerchiefs with the couples monogram, and male guests received satin wrapped stephanotis boutonnieres.

At the reception, the wedding cake was an amaretto and poppy-seed masterpiece wrapped with gold and silver branches, topped with a nest filled with golden eggs to resemble an Aspen Tree. Hayden was born in Aspen so it was extremely important for her to have that time of her life represented as it united her past with her future. Mikes Amazing Cakes also provided a red velvet grooms cake for Matt, designed to resemble his beloved blue Prius. An arrangement of petit fours was set up for guests to treat themselves to as they left the reception, as were monogrammed umbrellas as a nod to the Pacific Northwest.

The Look: The bride found her gorgeous gown, designed by Melissa Sweet, at The Ivory Suite in South Pasadena, California. She accessorized with priceless heirlooms from her great-grandmother. My very favorite part of my look, even though I adored my gown, was definitely wearing my great grandmother’s pearls. They mean so much to our family. Hayden chose floor-length chiffon gowns for her two maids of honor and knee-length strapless dresses in the same hue for her bridesmaids, all by Melissa Sweet. The charcoal shade of the dresses reflected the natural outdoor setting while remaining formal and elegant. Matt looked classic in Hugo Boss, and he was complimented by his groomsmen, looking sharp and sophisticated in Calvin Klein.

The Moments: During the ceremony, the couple shared vows they had written themselves followed by a reading from “The Velveteen Rabbit.” The moment Matt placed the ring on Haydens finger, she said she couldnt stop giggling and started bouncing up and down at the altar.

Toward the end of the night, the couple set off surprise fireworks, and Hayden recalled, It was perfect in every way. I was able to marry the love of my life, my best friend, soul mate, and partner in crime. We carry that day with us through our marriage and never forget how blessed we are to have each other, our family and friends in our lives.

To top it all off, here is the video preview created by film maker Mitch Mattraw from cabfare productions…

The Pros: To learn about all of the wedding professionals who worked on this wonderful wedding day please visit Hayden and Matt’s page in our Real Wedding Library.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us Hayden and Matt!

Readers, don’t miss one more day of our real weddings week tomorrow on What Junebug Loves! To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area wedding, check out our Plan Your Wedding Hotlists. To find a dream wedding photographer for your wedding anywhere in the world, don’t miss our World’s Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!