Fall inspired wedding cake

le and Zac's Washington Wedding

Bold colors, classic details and rustic chic accents make this fall mountain wedding in Washington perfectly charming. Nicole offers some spot-on advice about trusting your vendors, setting solid priorities, and starting early. Enjoy!

red wedding shoes traditional veil fall bridal portraits in Washington Button up wedding dress back Orange fall inspired Calla lily bouquet ceremony program ring bearer wedding hamburger Fall inspired wedding cake Just Married burlap banner fall pumpkin and flower center piece fall bridal portraits in Washington fall bridal portraits in Washington

Nicole + Zac
November 2, 2013
Snoqualmie, WA

Why a Mountain Wedding?

Our dream wedding was a fall wedding. The mountains offered the perfect backdrop to showcase some of the beautiful fall colors and helped us get the feel we were going for.

Where did you find your inspiration?

A lot of our inspiration came from the fall colors, what it feels like to be out on a fall day, and our vision of how we wanted our wedding to feel for our guests. We wanted our guests to feel like they had spent a cool, fall day in the mountains and come inside to warm up by the fire.

What were some personal details you incorporated?

A lot of our personal details came from the help we received from friends and family. A friend/bridesmaid made our centerpieces, my Mom made our cake, my Mother-In-Law designed our guestbook table, and had a Brother-In-Law as our officiant. I made sure the feel we were going for was incorporated throughout: dimmed lights, lots of candle light, and a lit fire in the fire place.

Your favorite moment of the day.

Definitely our first look. We had a storm all day but it cleared up just in time to be able to do our first look out by the waterfall. The pictures are beautiful and our reactions and joy is so genuine. It was a great moment.

Three things you’re glad you did.

  • So glad we started getting ready so early! Originally I thought 9:30 was little ridiculous to start hair and make-up for a 5:30 wedding but it made the day so much more laid back and relaxing and we didn’t have to rush to get everything done.
  • We prioritized early on. We decided what was most important to us and what we wanted to spend the most time and money on and in what order. It made the whole planning process much easier and kept things in better perspective.
  • I wrote up some Mad Libs of the story of our relationship and left some words out for my guests to fill in with whatever they chose. They were on the tables when the guests sat down before dinner and they were perfect for filling some down time we had before dinner was ready. Our guests had a blast with them and loved rewriting our “story” and we got to take them home at the end and read them. They are hilarious!

Anything you wish you hadn’t done?

I had a hard time delegating and then trusting the people I had delegated to to actually get things done. It all turned out beautifully so I wish I hadn’t been so nervous about delegating. My friends and family all pulled through.

What was the best piece of wedding advice you got?

To not worry about all the details because it will turn out fine! If something is “missing” or not exactly the way you imagined it, no one else is going to know except you. Keep it all in perspective and enjoy it! In the end, all that matters is the two of you together.

What piece of wedding planning advice do you wish you followed?

We were going to use the patio at our venue for cocktail hour and dancing, with everything set up under a large canopy tent. Our DJ had done many weddings at the Salish Lodge previously and told us another wedding he had done did the same thing and the wind was so bad it blew his speakers over. He advised us to make a backup plan just in case but I shrugged it off and said, “what are the chances it will be windy that one day?” Well, it was extremely windy and the venue had to take the patio tent down because it was lifting off the ground and blowing away! Needless to say we did end up having to come up with a back up plan at the last minute. It turned out fine but it would have been nice to have thought about it in advance like our DJ suggested.

Anything you wish you hadn’t worried about?

For some reason I got really hung up on worrying about if people would know where to go when. I’m not sure why but it turned out just fine and all flowed perfectly. Having a great DJ/MC helped a lot!

Anything you wish you had known about sooner rather than later?

We found a pie company to make mini pies as our wedding dessert. We waited to meet with them until late in the process because we wanted to try their fall flavors, per the recommendation of our contact at the company. Our contact missed our first meeting so we rescheduled and she missed that meeting too! We couldn’t stretch the process out anymore and had to go a different direction. Luckily we had a lot of support from family and friends but it would have been great to know sooner so that we had more time to plan.

How did you choose your vendors?

Lots, and lots, and lots of online reviews! I got some suggestions from my venue and then did a lot of my own research. I liked vendors who responded in a timely manner – that became important later on!

What is your very best advice to other mountain brides?

Enjoy your day! It will go by so quickly so make sure you take in every moment and cherish it. Don’t get caught up on bad weather or something that doesn’t go quite right because if you do you’ll miss out on a lot of special moments. And also – it may not be what someone else would choose but if it’s what you want, go for it!

Washington Wedding Vendors

Photography –  Ciccarelli Photography // Venue & Catering- Salish Lodge & Spa // Bouquets- Countryside Floral // Centerpieces- Sarah (bridesmaid) // Bride & Groom Cake- Christine (bride’s mom) // White Cake- Corina Bakery // Dessert Table- friends & family // DJ- Adam’s DJ Service // Hair & Makeup- Salon Maison // Dresses- Bellevue Bridal // Suits- The Tux Shop