When Matt and I got engaged, I had just begun to work in the wedding industry. Although I love, LOVE weddings, I purposely hadn't dreamt up (i.e. pre-planned) our wedding before he popped the question. I’m not sure if it was to avoid jinxing myself or if I just wanted to save the actual process for the real deal. Either way, aside from a few “wouldn’t that be fun” ideas, we were starting from scratch once we were engaged.
One such idea in particular was a wedding in Europe. With half of my family living across the pond, it would certainly have been fun to plan something near them. When we got engaged in Paris, the wheels started spinning even more.
I figured if we gave everyone a year’s notice, it would provide ample time to save and plan a vacation around this destination wedding. I pictured our small group of 20 or so gathering in a country chateau for the ceremony (the Heidelberg Castle which we had visited a couple years prior may or may not have come to mind...), then retreating to a small dinner somewhere close by in town.
I don’t quite remember why we nixed this idea. I think it came down to the realities of asking such a big trip out of people and the fear that some key guests may not be able to attend. Regardless, our decision was made to get married here in Seattle where our relationship began.
The initial idea of a formal setting, however, kept coming back to us. Oddly, there aren’t many of these options available in the greater Seattle area. Those that we did find, had a very full calendar, forcing us to look at dates far beyond what we were hoping for.
Then we fell upon the Stimson Green Mansion. A historic gem on Capitol Hill that had just re-opened as a wedding venue. This meant a few things, it had earlier availability and it was a unique and unknown setting for our big day.
Once we had our spot, inspiration for the rest of the wedding started to fall into place. We decided on a black tie occasion, I set about finding a classically inspired gown, and we began to plan our formal Fall house party.
I love this venue so much. It was more than just the location of our wedding. It felt like the foundation to the whole day. The home seemed mirror exactly who we are as a couple: old souls with a love of ornate details, European influence and a good story.
