Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Basye-Davis Wedding in Seattle Bride!

The issue hit newsstands last month, so I figure it was about time to post it: Todd's and my wedding featured in the upcoming issue of Seattle Bride magazine! This wasn't a shocker, of course. After Todd proposed, one of the first people I called was Rachel Hart, the editor of Seattle magazine and editorial director of all the Seattle-based Tiger Oak publications, and one of my longtime mentors. Rachel has been rooting for a Basye wedding for almost as long as we've been friends, and we both got our wish last August. So I had an inkling she might ask to feature the wedding in Northwest Album, the section that highlights fun, local weddings, and maybe even have me pen the thing, which I happily did. But I had no idea she'd dedicate four pages to it! I feel very honored, and I think art director Alicia Nammacher did an amazing job fitting so many photos into a flattering layout. All the photos are by Cheri Pearl of Cheri Pearl Photography.


I called it "Do-It-Himself Wedding" because Todd and wedding planner Erin Lindeman took over most everything. Don't get me wrong: I worked myself into exhaustion on this wedding, but they worked far harder. I am now officially anti-DIY, but it turned out great and I couldn't be happier.

The shot on the couch is my favorite (thank you, soft lighting!) and was taken at our house as I was about to leave to get ready. (Reason #439 to have a bridal party: You need someone to get you to the ceremony on time! We just kept taking pictures before I realized we were 30 minutes late.) The "endless dessert bar" was the inspiration of Judy Tallant of Tallant House in Snohomish. We aren't really sweet tooth people, and so she made an array of show-stopping French-style pastries and treats, including s'mores, seasonal cobblers and our own apple cutting pie—it was spectacular! All of our vendors were terrific, but five months later and people still talk about that dessert bar…

A few words about other vendors: Just like a magazine is only as strong as its stories, a wedding is only a success with dependable vendors. I got tangled up with an unstable florist who bailed on me days before the wedding—she had a floral meltdown—and it really made me appreciate the professionals I worked with (Lesson learned: Stick with who you know!) Erin Lindeman was our excellent planner and you have to have one of those, at least for the day-of the wedding. The typewriter landed from a Facebook shout-out, when a former colleague in the industry, Kirstie Warren of Simply Wed, lended it to me for the day. The killer bouquet was made at the last minute by Nisha Kelen of Fleurish, the felted river rocks decorated all the tables and were made by Julie Herberger-Dittrich, a dear friend from college, the decor and centerpieces were all done by Erin Lindeman and Todd, the bike was ours and Todd made all the signage and wine bottle labels. We made the chianti and viognier at Gallaghers'. We're music people and we picked the best DJ ever: Brian Dale of Wave Link Music. I was sure no one would dance and we had an actual conga line at one point, so the music was a success!


The full list of vendors is on the Dream Team page at the end, and I'd be happy to answer questions about any details. All in all, it was a very special day and an awesome celebration.

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