Wanting their wedding to feel authentic to the Pacific Northwest, Kaitlyn & Kyle wanted to be surrounded by nature on their wedding day. They also wanted to get married near to Kaitlyn's childhood home so they chose FARM KITCHEN in Poulsbo, Washington for their venue. An elegant farm venue, it is surrounded by a barn, wildflowers and a cedar grove which was perfect for the relaxed environment they were after. Seattle wedding photographer RYAN FLYNN PHOTOGRAPHY captured their beautiful and colourful summer garden wedding.
Kaitlyn says, "We didn't want our style to seem flashy or trendy, so we opted for neutral tones accented with lots of greenery. Our ceremony was in an apple orchard, which could not have been more perfect. Growing up my Papa used to say, "be the apple at the top of the tree, the one that is hardest to reach." He has since passed, but standing there among the apple trees we couldn't help but feel his presence and approval."
HOW DID YOU MEET? We both work at Sony Pictures Studios and we met in the company bowling league. Kyle immediately impressed me with his fast curve ball; so really, it was love at first strike!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Kyle had been planning an elaborate proposal in NYC when I received some news about my health in December 2014 that turned our world upside-down. He decided in that moment that he didn't want to wait until everything was planned to perfection. I flew home for the holidays and within days Kyle had made other arrangements. He traveled from LA to Seattle on Christmas day to surprise me. (It's also important that you know I am a Christmas nut, it's my favourite day of the year, so I thought him showing up was the surprise! I had no idea what was about to follow). On December 26th he asked my parents for my hand in marriage and on December 27th he proposed. We were out snowshoeing in the North Cascades when he got down on one knee in the snow and asked me to marry him. He said that he had meant it when he told me that he would always be there.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I had no idea what I wanted, so the idea of picking one without any direction was a bit intimidating. After looking at a few boutiques and trying on styles across the board, "the dress" ended up being the very first one I tried on! It was simple & elegant - very sweet, yet still sexy with the lace back and illusion neckline. But most importantly to me, it was timeless. I wanted to choose a dress that I would still love 50 years from now. It was the one that instantly made me feel special and I knew that Kyle would love it too.
ANY DIY ELEMENTS? Yes, lots! -- Together, Kaitlyn's dad David and Kyle's dad Richard designed and built their wedding arbor. The idea was to create something that would one day stand in their own garden as a lasting memory. Debi, Kyle's mom, handmade beautiful soy candles for each of the wedding guests. Kendra, Kaitlyn's sister, baked their stunning almond butter cream wedding cake. And their talented girlfriend Erika designed and addressed all of their invites and signs.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: As an incredibly generous gift to the couple, the wildly talented Cassie Picha did all of the wedding flowers. Growing them from seed, Cassie's passion and green thumb produced the most gorgeous array of blooms. She stuck to an earthy colour palate to create stunning arrangements full of character and dimension. It was a big production, but with the help from other Islanders & friends the florals were perfection! In addition to the flowers, their dear friend Alana sourced local PNW greenery to create beautiful garlands, while also utilising lots of eucalyptus as an ode to the bride's Australian Mom, Dianne. Lavender was also incorporated throughout in honour of the groom's mom, Debi, and her favourite scent.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: We had a whiskey theme. Our signature cocktails were whiskey gingers & old fashions and during our first dance to Chris Stapleton's 'Tennessee Whiskey' we passed around shots of Jack Daniel's to all of our guests. Needless to say, we made sure everyone was feeling good.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Stay true to what feels right for you as a couple and don't worry so much about what other people think. It is so easy to get caught up in creating the picture perfect wedding, but what matters more is how you feel about it. If you don't want to do something the traditional way, don't do it. It's okay to be unconventional; personalising your wedding is the fun part! And ultimately it's what makes it more memorable.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Kyle's sister Taryn married us. Right before we exchanged our vows she had us turn out to face our wedding guests. As we paused there for a moment it felt like time stood still. We could literally feel the love and support radiating back towards us. This was undoubtedly the most profound moment. 140 people were at our wedding and we can tell you where every one of them was sitting that day.
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? It was important to us to incorporate personality and humour into our day. We have a long standing football rivalry (Kaitlyn's Seattle Seahawks vs. Kyle's Denver Broncos), so we made light of our divided household and had our adorable ring bearers carry NFL team mascot pillow pets down the aisle.
Another special detail for us was sharing a bottle of Valentine Rosé during dinner. We lost someone very important to us just days after our engagement - Scott Valentine was a mentor, boss and friend who became more like family. He was Kait's "LA dad". After he passed a local California winery dedicated one of their surf rider summer rosés to him. We made sure to have it at our table to toast with throughout the evening.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR DO DIFFERENTLY? If we could go back we would try to start the party earlier. Like everybody says, the day speeds by so fast. We just wish that we had more time.
A huge thank-you to Seattle wedding photographer RYAN FLYNN PHOTOGRAPHY for sharing this gorgeous Washington wedding with us today through his beautiful photos. Ryan Flynn is a wedding photographer you must check-out if you are getting married in the Pacific Northwest, his ability to tell your story and find the funny, quirky moments through the day translates into incredible wedding photos.
Be sure to check-out more of Ryan Flynn's wedding photography work here.
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