Gorgeous Black Tie Real Wedding In Washington Shot by Anda Photography

Growing up in the same tiny hometown, Zach and Brittany had heard each other's names in passing, but attending rival high schools meant they never crossed paths. As luck would have it, they both moved to Seattle shortly after graduating and the two small town natives found love in the big city. Let's get some background. How did you and your S.O. meet? Fast forward four years... I was out for a night on the town with my roommates, and out of the corner of my eye, I see this very tall, handsome man in a white t-shirt walk through the door. Instantly, I did a double take. I felt like I recognized this guy from my hometown, but thought maybe I was going crazy. I went on with my night and just as we were leaving, Zach taps me on the shoulder and says, "Hey, I think I know you." Instantly, we had a connection, and the rest was history! And how did the proposal go down? Zach's cousin, Kevin, had been planning to take us on a trip in his plane over the islands one afternoon. Nervously, I agreed to go. Flying in a four-seater airplane with a pilot who is younger than me is a scary thought... We loaded the plane and took off for Whidbey Island. Once we reached the island, he decided to land the plane. I was already nervous enough for the first take off, and thinking about having to do that again was not sitting well with my stomach but I didn't have a choice. When we landed, Kevin said he had another pilot friend flying in to meet up with him for lunch, so he told Zach and I to go on a walk and explore the island. We found a beach front to sit down at and soak in the sun and beauty surrounding us. I realized Zach had brought a backpack, which isn't normal, but I didn't think anything of it. Luckily, he said "I wanted to bring a blanket in case we wanted to use it to sit on." Little did I know that Kevin was a few minutes behind us sneaking up in the bushes, ready to be our photographer. Zach pulled a picture book out of his bag. It had our love journey in pictures and on the last page he had held up 4 different signs saying, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" I put the book down as he had me stand up, said some really kind words we both barely remember, and then got on one knee and asked me to marry him with the most beautiful ring in hand. I replied with a huge "YESSS!" Then he popped the champagne and I truly felt like I was in a dream. We flew back to the mainland and I was already buckled in the car ready to drive home. Zach had me get back out of the car, and that's when I saw a stretch escalade limo pull up. He said, "That's our ride," so I walk up to it and realized the limo is filled with both of our families and my best friend. Now I really was in a dream! The limo took us to a little engagement party my mom had set up and then off to dinner in a private wine cellar at an Italian Restaurant. The absolute perfect day. Tell us about your big day! This was the absolute perfect day for the both of us! We wanted an evening where everyone felt at ease, as if they were coming to an event hosted in our home. A fancy evening away where everyone feels like a special guest at the party. We planned to achieve this by hosting a black tie evening along with many personalized touches throughout. We had the ceremony in a beautiful church where we could light up the stage and the aisle, while keeping the house lights very low for a romantic, intimate feel. We had live musicians playing while our glamorous bridal party walked in. Then we had the most precious little flower girls dressed as princesses. Lastly, the ring bearers wore earpieces and sunglasses and were "Ring Security" with little safes titled "HIS" and "HERS." Shortly after, I walked through the doors, squeezed my dad's arm, and locked my eyes with my future husband at the end of the aisle. It was as if nothing else existed around me. We had a very personalized ceremony with my dad as the minister, and before I knew it, it was time to celebrate as husband and wife walking back down the aisle. The reception was on the waterfront at the breathtaking Hotel Bellwether on Bellingham Bay. The guests were greeted with drinks and apps as they entered the sparkling dripping room that overlooks the marina. The space was draped with white fabric, white table linens, and white chair covers where blue uplighting was reflected off of. Of course, there was a huge chandelier and lots of sparkles all around! We had assigned seating and at each place setting was a name card, and inside the card was a personalized note written to each and every one of the 250 guests thanking them for being apart of our wedding day. It set the tone for the evening, making everyone feel like a special guest. When it came to the wedding, what was your overall theme and vision? How did you bring it to life? Our theme was black tie and glamorous, yet very personal. We had very fancy invitations that stated "black tie attire" on them. Our bridal party dressed in gowns and tuxedos. Our vows were personalized, and we had a very unique wine barrel engraved with our last name and wedding date as a focal point of the ceremony. The reception was completely transformed and it felt like a gala. What part of wedding planning came as the biggest surprise? People love getting dressed up! Both of us come from a small farm town so some people didn't even know what a black tie event was. It got a lot of hype and excitement and we had great feedback about how guests had such a fun evening and loved getting dolled up. What was the most helpful piece of advice someone gave you about wedding planning? If decorations matter to you, then have whoever is doing them show you a mockup of exactly how they will look. I regret not doing this with a few decor pieces and ended up being disappointed. This happened with one of my table centerpieces. I had a specific style I was going for, showed pictures, but she said she didn't do mockups because she didn't have the flowers I had requested. I figured, okay, well I'm sure she'll do exactly as the picture says. However, I was wrong. I should have insisted on a mockup with flowers that were similar. However, remember that something won't turn out exactly as you planned. At the end of the day you will be married and no one is going to point out the one decor piece that didn't look right. Now that you've been through it yourself, what is the one thing you think all engaged couples should know before they plan the big day? Get a planner or coordinator. Even if you want to plan out all the details of the wedding, it sure helps to have someone execute them so that you can relax. Our wedding was on a Saturday and from Thursday afternoon on, we didn't want to be worrying about anything. Our bridal party was starting to come into town, and we didn't want anyone to be put to work. Zach and I just wanted to hang out with our groomsmen and bridesmaids and remember the weekend as chill and fun rather than stressful and crazy. VENDORS Photography: Anda Photography (Karlyn and Kevin) Ceremony: Bellingham Covenant Church Reception: Hotel Bellwether Wedding Planner: Zeina Evans All rentals through: Zeina Evans