The Loaded Dessert Bar at This Fairy-Tale Seattle Wedding Featured Cakes, Cookies, and Croquembouche

Emily and David met through mutual friends while they were shopping a few Black Friday sales at the mall back in 2017. In the fall of 2020, David brought Emily to her favorite lobster spot for lunch in Tacoma, Washington, and after, the pair decided to catch the sunset. On the walk there, David started listing the reasons he fell in love with her. “I looked up to see a beautiful proposal setup, with rose petals everywhere and a large 'Marry Me' sign,” she says. “Tears just started to rush down my face as I knew that this moment was the beginning of our forever.”

The couple planned an elegant garden party at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington. Emily and David envisioned a French-inspired greenhouse ceremony and ballroom reception with a color palette of French blue, white, and plenty of greenery throughout the décor. They both have large families, so cutting their guest list down to 280 guests was the hardest part of the planning process, they say. The rest the left to Steve Moore of Sinclair and Moore; he planned and coordinated their June 27, 2021, nuptials, which were inspired by fairy tales. They prioritized the guest experience with games, signature lattes from their co-owned espresso cart, and live performances by the groom himself. See how Emily and David celebrated their big day in these photos by Mary Pastuh.

Emily and David enlisted Créé and Co. to create the invitations and paper products for their wedding day. The invitation suite featured handmade paper, a custom monogram crest, floral envelope liners, and a hand-drawn illustration of the venue.

Before the ceremony, Emily got her hair and makeup done at the hotel with her bridesmaids and flower girl by her side. Her attendants wore light blue robes while the couple’s niece looked extra sweet in a matching white one. Emily rocked a white slip dress with a white tulle train and long sleeves with floral embellishments. She accessorized her getting-ready look with Dior slingback pumps with diamond details and white mesh polka dot fabric.

As for her bridal glam? Emily wanted something classic. “I wanted something that I could look back at in 20 years and still love,” she says. “I loved the glamorous Hollywood curls with a side part.”

Emily fell in love with a variety of Galia Lahav dresses, so she decided to combine her favorite details to create her own. The result was an off the shoulder Galia Lahav ball gown with a sweetheart neckline in a sparkling white fabric, a long train, and beaded floral details. “I always knew I wanted to have a sparkly dress with floral details on it,” she says. “It was so amazing to see the design of the dress come to life. I knew it was the one because I truly felt like a queen in it.”

Emily and David were excited to share a first look after the anticipation of the big day. “Our first look was a very special memory for me,” David says, “Getting tapped on the shoulder and turning around to the most gorgeous girl that I get to spend the rest of my life with. She looked so stunning in her beautiful white dress. It just felt like a dream come true and I will forever remember that moment.”

The two relished the emotional moment before meeting up with their wedding party and family for portraits.

Emily’s maid of honor, her cousin Nelie, matched the rest of her wedding party in French blue fitted off-the-shoulder dresses. “We wanted to keep things classy and elegant,” Emily says. They held smaller versions of Emily’s white, petal-heavy bridal bouquet.

David got a haircut the day before the wedding and had breakfast with his groomsmen the morning of the big day. He wore a black tuxedo paired with a tux shirt with black buttons, a Tom Ford bow tie, Christian Louboutin shoes, and a Tissot watch for the occasion. His groomsmen kept it classic in black suits with black shoes.

Before the ceremony, the couple regrouped one more time, reenacting their first look in front of the wedding party. “It was a very special moment because it really put it into perspective that today is our big day, the day we finally become one, the day we become husband and wife, and that we get to spend the rest of our life together,” Emily says.

When Emily and David toured Fairmont Olympic Hotel, they loved the fact that the ceremony room’s floor-to-ceiling windows brought the outside in. They took that literally, too: Four trees framed the aisle and altar, where tall, grassy floral arrangements and moss beds created a botanical-forward focal point for the couple's vow exchange.

Emily and David hired Puget Sound Strings to play during their ceremony; they switched to Prelude “O” by Cirque Du Soleil for the processional. After the couple's wedding party entered the space, their three flower girls walked down the aisle in white ball gown dresses from Isabella Couture and floral crowns with French blue ribbons. The ring bearer wore a black suit and black bow tie from Zara and held a canvas sign complete with the couple’s custom monogram.

The bride walked down the aisle with her dad by her side to Pachelbel's Canon in D. Emily and David exchanged vows they wrote for each other in front of their guests. “It was a very special and emotional moment for us,” Emily says. “My husband and I ended up crying when we were saying our vows to each other.” They chose Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars” for their recessional at the end of the ceremony.

The couple worked with Créé and Co. to create escort cards in miniature envelopes, which were displayed on silver holders on a table with an all-white flower arrangement. Guests moved into the ballroom for dinner, where the trees from the ceremony were brought into the space to add some height to the long tables; round tables held low centerpieces. The tables were dressed in French blue linens and chandeliers added a regal touch to the room.

The couple chose ornate dishware reminiscent of the Regency era paired with crystal glassware, neutral colored napkins, and custom menus on handmade paper. Each place setting was finished with a delicate box of salted caramels finished with a blush ribbon for guests to take home as a wedding favor.

During the reception, the couple asked a host to lead guest through a few games; a live band also provided entertainment. Emily and David own an espresso cart together, so they served their signature Blooming Espresso lattes served all night long. If that wasn’t enough, they served tons of sweets, including macarons, cookies, miniature cakes, and a tiered French blue chocolate wedding cake with rice paper flower details.

As for Emily’s favorite memory from the wedding? David sang two songs for her, including “Lovesong” by Adele. “ It was such a special moment that I will forever remember and hold so dear in my heart,” she says. The couple spent their honeymoon in the Maldives and Dubai. To couples who are planning their own weddings, the bride has this advice: “I would say to stay true to your style, and not just go with the trends of weddings," she says. "Do what you have always dreamed of and make your wedding how you and your significant other want it.”