WEDDING BLOG

Having always imagined their wedding in a Chateau in France, today’s Real Wedding couple Kirstin and Shane, decided to bring a vintage French sensibility to their chic Seattle wedding. What a sweet and romantic event, and what better photographers to have captured the day than Junebug co-founder Kim and her husband Adam from La Vie Photography – true lovers of France.

Enjoy this wonderful wedding and have a fantastic weekend!

The Goals: Kirstin and Shane wanted an intimate event that made their family and friends feel special, and that also included lots of French details and made everyone feel as if they had stepped back in time. Their location, The Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle was the perfect choice with its glamorous feel and stunning antique ballroom ceiling.

The Design: With the help of florist and decor designer Steven Moore Designs, Kirstin and Shane wove in an abundance of sweet vintage and French details throughout their day. During the ceremony, a harpist played La Vie En Rose as the recessional music, and as they exited guests tossed lavender from cones made from pages of a vintage French poetry book. During the reception champagne was served in coupe glasses, vintage skeleton keys were used as seating cards, desserts included a towering croquembouche cake and hazelnut and lavender macarons, and live music was played by a swing band. “It felt like we were in a different era. It was magical!”

The color palate used throughout the ceremony and reception was mauve, champagne, pewter, cream and lavender, inspired by Kirstin’s love of lavender roses, champagne and all things antique. “Pewter, mercury glass, candles, floating gardenias, and babies breath added a lacy airiness to everything.” 

The Look: Kirstin’s one-of-a-kind lace tea-length wedding dress was custom made by Luly Yang Couture, and was truly her dream dress! Since it included a crystal embellished sash, she kept the rest of her accessories minimal – vintage earrings, a birdcage veil and cream heels and a clutch. To make everyone in the wedding party feel special, no one was dressed exactly alike. The bridesmaids each chose their favorite mauve silk dress from J Crew, as well as fabulous accessories – love those necklaces! For the photos they all had fun carrying sweet parasols from Bella Umbrella. The groom and groomsmen wore silk ties with lavender patterns unique to them, along with boutonnières with various blooms.

The Moments: Kirstin and Shane hand-made the fleur de sel caramels that were include inside the beautiful toy cracker wedding favors that sat at each place setting and doubled as seating cards. “Shane and I were a caramel making factory!” The crackers were also filled with fortune teller fish, chocolate coins and tissue paper crowns, and says Kirstin, “It was so darling to see all of our guests discovering the crackers, hearing pops, and then seeing them wearing the silver and gold crowns on their heads!”

Kirstin and Shane also loved the vows they wrote for their ceremony, and the moment during the cocktail hour when they stole away to have a moment alone. “We snuck upstairs during the cocktail hour to briefly practice our first dance. It was our first glimpse of the ballroom set for dinner and it was just beautiful. It was very romantic to dance in the ballroom just the two of us!”

The Pros: To learn about all of the wedding professionals who helped create this wedding day please visit Kirstin and Shane’s page in our Real Wedding Library.

Thank you for sharing your wedding with us Kirstin and Shane! What a spectacular event!

To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area wedding, check out our Plan Your Wedding Hotlists, and to find a dream wedding photographer for your wedding anywhere in the world, don’t miss our World’s Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!