Tara & Lexy's Urban Industrial Chic Wedding in Seattle

Tara & Lexy met the same way I met my husband — Online! Wooohoo! Another point for online dating! And although I’ve been married for 8 years, Tara and Lexy have actually been married longer than us! These two first connected on Tango.com 10 years ago and quietly married two short years later sans a typical ceremony. They dreamed of having a modern, casual cocktail party vibe wedding with all their favorite people.

Tara and I first met at a wedding where she created GORGEOUS florals for one of our brides. If you don’t already follow her work, you MUST check here out

Bloom by Tara

During the preparations for the wedding, her friends & family gushed to me about Tara’s work ethic, eye for style and perfectionist tendencies that have catapulted her floral business as one the top ranking wedding florists in the greater Seattle area. When I received her inquiry, I literally squealed in humble excitement. It is a huge honor to be chosen by a fellow wedding vendor for THEIR OWN wedding.

The Thursday night before their ceremony, Tara & Lexi gathered their closest friends & family (casually known as ‘their favorite people’) at their home in Seattle for a flower prep party. Their backyard & her studio looked like a pinterest hipster decorated it. It was THAT COOL. It’s really no surprise, considering Tara & Lexy are a level of #youngandhip I only dream of being.

(Real Talk Tangent: I probably say #youngandhip 4-6 times every wedding or engagement session in reference to the cool shit my couples say and do. As an early thirties suburban mom of two young boys, I often feel like the cool train has left my proverbial station. So whenever one of my couples pop off some new lingo or wears something amazing, I quickly back pocket that shit to pull out later to up my cool factor. For example, I now have a strong desire to purchase a jumpsuit. Stay tuned for instagram stories of my jumpsuit search)

Alright, #sorrynotsorry about that tangent.

Back to Lexy & Tara’s hipster backyard in Seattle for their flower party. While I was checking out Tara’s gorgeous studio, I noticed a framed note on the wall that said something along the lines of “I want to open a flower shop.” My heart filled with warmth & understanding at knowing what it means to hustle & dream your way to being a successful business woman. You are one fiercely driven woman Tara.

For the party, they had an extensive self serve bar setup with a bottle of #youngandhip, Aperol. Opposite the bar was table loaded down with the couples favorite Mexican food from the restaurant down the street. (SO GOOD!)

After a brief cocktail party & dinner, we gathered around an industrial work table and donned matchy aprons. Their fur baby, Jax, insisted on being held and was deftly wrapped into Lexy’s apron like a baby bjorn carrier. Tara led the group through the process of making greenery swags that she would later assemble into a massive wall installation for their wedding.

On the day of their wedding, they stayed at an AirBnB inside the Hollywood Lofts in Capital Hill. It had floor to ceiling windows and the most amazing light. The casual industrial vibe of the decor was the perfect fit! Their close friend Mandy, did the couples hair & makeup. We snapped a few photos on deliciously warn wooden & steel staircase and then made our way up to the rooftop terrace for more photos. We were greeted with 360 views of seattle, even the space needle!! It was a photographers dream!

We rolled into their ceremony & reception venue before guests arrive.

10 Degrees in Capital Hill

Tara immediately switched over to florist mode, even donning a thick olive green apron and busting out her work kit. It was pretty neat seeing her in action! Together with friends & family, they set up all the arrangements, elaborate greenery swag and the massive wall installation. Everyone was already dressed in their wedding clothes (heels and all!) but that didn’t stop them from pitching in to make the couples vision come to life.

Once their family arrived and everything was setup, we stepped outside for a quick round of family photos. I know there are a lot of tricky dynamics when it comes to creating stress free family photos— which is why I always have a discussion with my couples before the wedding day to get the low down on parental divorces or missing family members. We create a list of family photo combos together. Then on the day of, I keep things chill for the couple by orchestrating all the photo combinations in a way that avoids potential drama.

As we were finishing, guests started to roll in for laidback pre-ceremony cocktail party. It was the perfect way to kick off the celebration! For the ceremony, the flower girls (Tara’s neices) wore classic flower crowns tied with satin ribbon. The couples friend, Megan, officiated and regaled the crowd with sentimental and funny stories.

The reception that followed was equally laid back and felt like a party with close friends. They wanted to keep things chill by skipping dinner and filling everyone up on the good stuff, hors d'oeuvres from Ravishing Radish. A few heartfelt toasts were given, a hysterical video was shown of Lexi’s best dance moves and then the couple had a surprise for their guests.

A private performance by famous Seattle Dragqueen Isabella Extynn.

Isabella charmed and made us all laugh until some of us spilled our own drinks as she Sang, Dance & chugged a bottle of champagne during her performance.

The night ended with Megan (the officiant) pulling the brides outside for a ‘must have photo.’ She unzipped a mysterious duffle back and preferred an assortment of animal head masks. She said it’s a tradition and she brings them to every wedding. OMG. BEST TRADITION EVER!

Keep scrolling to see all the wedding festivities!

Keep scrolling to see Tara & Lex’s industrial hipster wedding in Seattle.