Midsummer is our favorite time of year as our studio is a flurry of flowers, clients stopping by to chat about final details, linens, gorgeous elements, and a buzz of celebration that we love. We’re knee-deep in cocktail parties, welcome dinners and beach parties, rehearsal festivities, weddings, and dinner parties galore, and we’re also in the throes of finding venues for fresh clients for 2019 and jumping into wedding planning for these great new couples, starting with plotting out the process and sharing etiquette tips with them on what do first, like announcing their engagement, planning an engagement party, sending out save the dates, and registering for their wedding.
Registering should be a fun activity where a couple brainstorms items they need (like furniture, linens, and kitchen ware), wish list items to maybe upgrade pieces they may already have, or elements to add to their entertaining and fine living chest. We enjoyed registering for our own wedding 15 years ago and still use our china and flatware for entertaining – sometimes on casual football Sundays or at our more formal Christmas Eve dinner. We love encouraging and working with our couples on their registries as well, sharing insight on what makes for a rounded blend. In that light, we are so happy and honored to announce our partnership with one of our all-time favorite shops and brands, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Weddings! We are so proud to be Pottery Barn’s Wedding Experts, sharing advice and inspiration on all things related to your nuptials – each month we’ll be penning registry and wedding and entertaining tips paired with beautiful imagery of special celebrations. We’re thrilled!
For our first post we’re diving in chatting about choosing registry items that you can use in your wedding and sharing some peeks from a very special celebration. This party was to celebrate one of our sweetest clients E&P. It was for their rehearsal dinner on a yacht that cruised around Lake Washington, giving guests the most quintessential Seattle experience. We brought to life a subtly nautical-meets-romantic feeling by using navy textured linens, touches of blush in our garden roses, white peonies, stately gold lanterns, and woven wicker baskets that tied together the wood of the boat and the natural surroundings.
Registering for items for your wedding that you can use both for your wedding as well as for your home and entertaining is a sweet way to give those elements an added element of story. Using flatware from your wedding during the holidays or on your 10th wedding anniversary will feel that much more sentimental. To create a special registry that is well-balanced (and perhaps feels a bit nautical):
Choose pieces that 1. feel in touch with your overall style for your home but also for your wedding vision. Is your personal taste classic and fun? Select pieces like our favorite Ivory Bistro Outdoor Flatware that you can incorporate into your intimate rehearsal dinner and will then become heirloom pieces for your dining room. We love this set as it can be dressed up or down and looks as spectacular on a nautical table as it does in a picnic setting or on a formal table top. This flatware is also perfect for a nautical bash, isn’t it?
2. Register for home accents that you can dress up with blooms and candles down the aisle or on a table top – we created rings of flowers and greens around the Arlington Brass Lanterns for the second phase of the party: a marina-front welcome celebration, and they were such an unexpected and creative focal point for guests enjoying cocktails on the patio. Statement items like over sized lanterns can be used during any season or occasion – down a front entry for fall surrounded by pumpkins or leaves, nestled in cedar garlands during the holidays, or engulfed in a mossy ring studded with crocuses or Lily of the Valley for spring.
Images: Kerry Jeanne Photography for Valley & Company Events
Choosing significant registry elements that can gain multi-purpose for your wedding festivities and for home entertaining makes each piece that much more special. What are your must-register for items?
This is a paid partnership with Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Weddings – all opinions are our own.
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