Thanks for making Elegant Affairs Best Wedding Planner

Thanks for making Elegant Affairs the #1 Wedding Planner in Western Washington in King 5's Best of Western Washington Contest!

Vendor Spotlight: The Resort at Port Ludlow

The Resort at Port Ludlow

Awards

2011 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
2011 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence  
2011 Best of Northwest Meetings and Events
2011 Official Best Golf Resort Washington
2009 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List

Located less than two hours from Seattle on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula, The Resort at Port Ludlow is the ideal setting for an intimate destination wedding, a rehearsal dinner, a bridal getaway, or a grooms golf retreat. Situated on serene Ludlow Bay The Resort showcases the Pacific Northwest at its best -  offering breathtaking water and mountain views, waterfront lawns for outdoor ceremonies and receptions, a charming Inn, elegant view reception space, exquisite catering, acclaimed wine list, fireside dining, scenic marina and championship golf course. The Inn itself features 37 guestrooms perfect for your family and guests - Each room with gas fireplace and oversized Jacuzzi tub.

According to Susan Windle, Catering Coordinator at The Resort at Port Ludlow: "My favorite part of working with brides and grooms is ensuring that THEIR special day is flawless.   Going over the details and answering the questions beforehand so that on their wedding day, all they have to do is get ready, smile for photos and enjoy their friends and family ... and wake up the next morning with wonderful memories." 

We stand out in many ways:

·          Our food is of a high quality, Chef Dan keeps it simple and lets the flavors of the natural product come through.    As much of our produce is locally grown as possible.

·          The natural beauty of our area with views of snow-peaked mountains, calm waters, the marina, the trees, the wildlife all ensure a relaxing experience

·          The professionalism of our staff, both through experience and customer service

·          We remember that the wedding is all about the bride and groom and their family and friends ... it is not about making our job easier.   We work with the couple not against them.

·          We are a Resort, not a hotel.   We provide an overall experience rather than a place to stay.   We have a golf course, marina, 18 miles of walking trails, beaches, a fine dining restaurant, a jacuzzi tub in each guest room, in-house spa service.

When advising couples in selecting a venue, I would advise you to remember to trust your instincts.   You need to feel comfortable with the team you will be working with as well as the environment your guests will be experiencing.    And always remember that it is about YOU ... you don't have to compromise on what you want to make your wedding day a special memory.

Reception trends:

·          Keeping it simple with personal enhancements

·          Allocating budget for quality rather than quantity, especially food

·          Cupcakes with artistic, extravagant displays

Contact:   Dana Barrett 

Group Sales Manager

One Heron Road, Port Ludlow, WA 98368

dbarrett @portludlowresort.com

206-691-1000 

Sara & Shawn (8.12.11) Styron Photography

All images courtesy of Styron Photography

Real Wedding: Mary & Mike (9.3.11)

The wedding of Mary & Mike is one of my most memorable weddings for many reasons. First of all, when I first met with the couple last January, Mary knew exactly what she wanted for her wedding, but didn't know how best to achieve her vision. At our first meeting all she had was her wedding date, photographer and the wedding venue, a private home on Lake Washington that she found on a vacation rental web site.

I was able to utilize my preferred vendor list to help the couple select their truly outstanding caterer in The Upper Crust, entertainment Gadjo Gypsied and florist Always Affordable Flowers.

For their actual wedding day, Mary and Mike wanted more casual for their 50 guests. They had the idea to have a pre-ceremony cocktail hour, which was such a great idea. Music before and after the ceremony was provided by the very talented Gadjo Gypsies. I worked with these gentlemen last year and had been dying to work with again. So when Mary & Mike expressed their taste of music they wanted for their wedding, I knew that Gadjo Gypsies fit their dream. The trio played a mix of jazz and swing music, which set the perfect tone for the late afternoon wedding.

A new floral vendor of mine; Chris Skilton of Always Affordable Flowers did an amazing job. I have know Chris' twin sons since I was in first grade and she has recently started her own floral design company after working for a major Tacoma florist for many years. Chris created beautiful centerpieces that really captured the essence of what Mary wanted. In addition, Christ crafted the beautiful toss bouquet (seen above) which included dahlias, one flower that the bride wanted to honor her late grandmother who had a dahlia garden at her home.

Mary, who didn't want to incorporate a lot of flowers into her wedding because she didn't want to take away from the natural beauty of the venue's landscape opted for a brooch bouquet. Mary created this unbelievable bouquet using brooches that she borrowed from family and friends and brooches she received at her bridal shower. I really loved this idea when Mary first told me about it, but to see it first hand was unbelievable! It was truly amazing. The best part of her bouquet is that it will last forever.

After my first visit out to the venue last spring, the couple were at a loss of how to decorate the space especially since they didn't want to use flowers. After seeing the covered boat dock I immediately thought of lanterns (three sizes and colors purchased from Luna Bazaar). Using the wedding colors of ivory, turquoise and chartreuse, these lanterns were just the perfect accent.

On the day of the wedding, Lake Washington was very choppy and there was a slight breeze which proved to be difficult in stringing up the lanterns, but the overall effect made it all wonderful.

Cupcakes was another major highlight for the guests. After enjoying tasty appetizers from The Upper Crust Catering and a beautiful buffet dinner, guests feasted on three different flavors of cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes. Another little detail added to their cutting cake of triple coconut were two personalized gnomes that the groom purchased on etsy.com.

For more photos, visit Northern Lights Blog.

Credit for being able to work with such a great couple in Mary & Mike was due in large part to my fabulous assistant Rachel. It was Rachel who first met the bride at the Seattle Wedding Show last January and really sold Elegant Affairs to the bride. Thanks Rachel!!!

Vendors

Wedding Coordinator: Elegant Affairs

Venue: Private home in Seattle

Photographer: Northern Lights Photographer

Catering: The Upper Crust Catering

Flowers: Always Affordable Flowers

Entertainment: Gadjo Gypsies

Cupcakes: Trophy Cupcakes

Invitations: Paper Delights

Officiant: A Heavenly Ceremony

Sunni Han Photography

These images from Lindsey & Jason's July 2 wedding at the Lynnwood Covention Center are courtesy of Sunni Han Photography.