A few weeks back, after I posted this amazing wedding, lots of commenters did a little jig of joy, pointing out that there are very few resources and models for parents getting married. With that in mind, I am thrilled to share Sarah and Bryan's Seattle dinner cruise wedding. The pictures of the bride and groom with their son melt my heart.
Couples Names: Sarah & Bryan
Ceremony/Reception: Parsons Garden/Royal Argosy Cruises
What Made Your Wedding Creative: Since most of our guests were from out of town and first time Seattle visitors we thought it would be perfect to have the ceremony at a historic Seattle park and then a dinner cruise reception on the Puget Sound. It's a fantastic way to take in the city. We had a view of the skyline, the breathtaking sunset and Mt. Rainier. Plus it was a full moon. Everyone was so grateful and commented on what a unique and creative idea it was.
What made your Wedding Thrifty: We concentrated on the Big Picture and nixed a lot of little details. We decided against a cake since our buffet included a dessert bar. Our ceremony flowers became the reception flowers. My shoes came from my closet and my best friend made my jewelry. The biggest money saver was the fact that our cruise was all inclusive. It included tray passed hors d'oeuvres , a dinner buffet, open bar and a DJ or band. Also, using a public park for the ceremony was very budget friendly. We were able to do the entire wedding for around $9,000.
What Made Our Wedding Sane: My husband and I had dated for 10 years prior to getting married so we already had a great deal of history together. We met when we were 16! We also have a 20 month old son, so the wedding day was more about celebrating our love and unifying our family than stressing over color schemes and monograms. Our guest count was 60, which was a very manageable number. It allowed for quality time with each person rather than an endless receiving line. We knew that we also wanted to kick back and enjoy ourselves so we opted against the traditional wedding events of toasts, cake cutting, bouquets/garter toss and the YMCA. Instead it was more of an over the top dinner party.
Congratulations to all three of you! I love the idea of thinking about a wedding as a over the top dinner party. I, for one, have a million ideas for wildly extravagant dinner parties that I'd love to throw, all of which would cost a fraction of the cost of the average wedding.
We are planning such kind of wedding, so I’m looking forward to reading it :)
September 5, 2008 6:48 am
Report this comment
|
Made My Day!
September 5, 2008 7:20 am
Report this comment
|
There is a lot to love about this wedding. Simply stunning and so endearing.
September 5, 2008 7:44 am
Report this comment
|
It’s so great to see realistic wedding blogs!
I just love the public market shot.
September 5, 2008 8:20 am
Report this comment
|
A wedding after my own heart! “over the top cocktail party” is what we are going for and although I constantly get the “whaaaaaaaaat? You aren’t gonna toss your bouquet???” and the “whaaaaaat? no cake? what are you going to cut?!” questions/remarks, I couldn’t be happier with our decision!
September 5, 2008 8:43 am
Report this comment
|
Brilliant idea for the cruise (I’m biased as I am also from Seattle)!
September 5, 2008 10:17 am
Report this comment
|
Thank you Meg once again! And thanks to beautiful Sarah for bringing tears to my eyes by offering me a preview of what (hopefully) our wedding will be -we also have a toddler boy-! Beautiful and heart warming. Great example of how fabulous can also be thrifty, as well.
September 5, 2008 10:43 am
Report this comment
|
I love how they incorporated their son in so many aspects of the day!
September 5, 2008 10:54 am
Report this comment
|
Lovely! And I’ll bet that cruise on the Sound made for many beautiful photo ops with their guests.
I also heartily encourage thinking of the wedding as simply a genre of fancy party. We’ve all thrown plenty of parties in our pasts, so why go crazy over this one?
September 5, 2008 12:21 pm
Report this comment
|
The dress the dress the dress… where did she get that dress!?
A beauty of a party, by the way.
September 5, 2008 2:33 pm
Report this comment
|
The bride is gorgeous! And so is the wedding.
September 5, 2008 3:10 pm
Report this comment
|
This wedding is super cool. But don’t skip the toasts! I didn’t expect to be so moved, but having my dad and my mom and two of my best girlfriends get up and talk turned out to be one the highlights of my wedding for me.
September 6, 2008 2:41 pm
Report this comment
|
Recently, I asked my husband of eight years, "What's one of the most memorable things at a wedding that you've experienced?" His answer was an Argosy Cruise wedding we went to years ago of one of my childhood friends. The moon was out and huge that night in Seattle. It was the perfect summer evening! Even though we were left with standing room only for the ceremony, the reception was wonderful! It was romantic for everyone there, not just the bride & groom. It was a wonderful gift in itself just to be invited. A great idea and beautiful for any bride and groom to share with family and friends!
September 20, 2008 4:46 pm
Report this comment
|
oh goodness – can we get more photos!!! I would LOVE to see more!
These are my dream venues for my wedding, and Sarah and Bryan did it BEAUTIFULLY!
April 29, 2009 11:58 pm
Report this comment
|
where did she get the dress???
June 12, 2009 12:35 am
Report this comment
|
So neat! We have 2 babies, are getting married on a dinner cruise in Madison, WI (used to live in Seattle) and I have the same dress! How cool – almost like a mini preview! Strange how people who are drawn to the same dress would also choose a cruise, etc… :)
June 25, 2009 12:25 pm
Report this comment
|
I am close to 100 hours away from my wedding dinner party, and still am catching flak from a few family members! I LOVE how this was about unifying their family and celebrating their love – that was the purpose of weddings before the “Wedding” industry boomed. It’s great getting to the roots of the celebration and not focusing on the show party!
December 15, 2011 9:34 am
Report this comment
|
That last photo made me actually sigh out loud. Lovely way to unite your adorable family!
January 29, 2012 4:21 pm
Report this comment
|