There’s something so special about bringing all your nearest and dearest together to celebrate your nuptials not just for a few hours but for a full-fledged wedding weekend – which is exactly what today’s couple, Lucia and Jared, did.
The pair rented out Guemes Island Resort in Washington State from Friday-Monday so their guests could enjoy a whole weekend together with them – and what a place to do it! The venue was RIGHT on the water with majestic views of the San Juan Islands in the background, which inspired the décor for the day.
How special is it that Jared’s dad and cousin built the couple a chuppah, using driftwood from the beach?! Even the couple’s ketubah by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Brit Colors was totally on theme. Lucia and Jared loved Brit’s unique designs and personal touches, and they picked her Sea Glass Ketubah design for its beachy feel and calming colors. They loved the process of working with Brit, and are even planning to meet up with her when they next travel to Israel! Don’t miss it in the beautiful photos by Mio.
We’ll turn you over to Lucia, who looked so elegant in her Sachin and Babi dress from BHLDN, for all the rest of the details of this very special day…
How we Met
Lucia, the bride: Jared and I met through mutual friends at Stagecoach music festival in Indio, California. After teaching me a country dance in the honky tonk tent, we were inseparable all day. A few days later Jared went to Las Vegas for a work trip and offered to fly me out for the weekend. After “thinking about it” for a few days, aka consulting my girlfriends, I agreed to go. It was such a fun weekend, and we have been inseparable ever since! He proposed in 2019 in Kauai, Hawaii at Hanakapiai Falls, a beautiful and secluded waterfall.
Wedding Weekend
We got married in Washington State, on a small island 2 hours north of Seattle. We rented out Guemes Island Resort on the island from Friday-Monday and the majority of our guests stayed at the resort with us in cabins or yurts – camping style! We always knew we wanted our wedding weekend to be a full experience for our guests, so when we saw the beautiful landscape and fun activities that Guemes Island Resort had to offer, we booked it right away!
Natural Vibes
Lucky for us, our wedding planner, Abby & Caroline is also one of my best friends so she already knew my style going into the planning process. Also, since our venue was right on the water with views of the San Juan Islands in the background, we really did not have a lot of decorating to do. I really wanted the color scheme to be natural and earthy, with a tasteful pop of color.
Hair + Make-up
My cousin Shannon did my hair and makeup for the entire weekend. It was very special to have that 1:1 time together when we got ready and she made me feel so beautiful all weekend long!
A Sachin and Babi Dress
I got my dress at BHLDN and it was one of the first places I went to look for dresses. I actually picked it out with my mother in law (MIL)! We went to three places that day and tried over a dozen dresses, but my heart was set on the Sachin and Babi Ines dress. I loved the classy bridal look, with the flirty and fun details.
Fun fact: I didn’t want to wear a veil, but a week before the wedding, a friend offered to make me my veil after she found the fabric in the fashion district of downtown Los Angeles. I literally picked up the veil the day before leaving for the airport!
The handsome groom
What he wore and all the other details that made you swoon as soon as you saw him standing there awaiting his future wife! Jared wore a custom olive green 3-piece suit from Suit Supply. He looked so handsome!
Bridesmaids
I wanted my bridesmaids to feel comfortable in their dresses and be able to express their unique styles! All I told them was to wear a neutral pastel color and for the dresses to be ankle-length or longer. As a gift I got them all earrings to match their dress. The earrings were hand-made out of clay by Rosalie, a wonderful Italian jewellery designer.
Ceremony and Chuppah
The chuppah was one of the most special aspects of our wedding. It was built by hand by Jared’s dad (my father-in-law) and his cousin. They used driftwood from the beach and incorporated some fun details throughout the design. The tallit was from Jared’s Bar Mitzvah.
The corners of the chuppah were decorated with olive branches picked from Jared’s parents’ backyard by my dad. They represented peace.
Ketubah
We found Brit Colors through a good old Google search! There’s no doubt that Brit is extremely artistically talented, but her unique designs and personal touches are what we were ultimately drawn to.
We fell in love with the Sea Glass Ketubah design for its beachy feel and calming colors. We worked together with our families on the text and Brit was extremely helpful and responsive throughout the process. We are looking forward to meeting Brit in real life when we travel to Israel this summer!
Our Music Choice
The music was a very important part of our wedding. We both love dancing and so do our family and friends, so we knew we needed to have an amazing DJ. We decided to bring up our friend Min from Los Angeles to be our DJ for the wedding weekend. He did not disappoint!
Our first dance song was the classic ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)’ by Natalie Cole. We went back and forth on other songs, but ultimately we wanted to have a light-hearted, fun song that everybody knows and feels the love when they hear it.
Flowers
We hired a family friend to do the florals for our wedding and she absolutely crushed it!! All I told her was that I wanted the flowers to look very natural, almost as if they had been picked from the island that morning. When I saw my bouquet for the first time, my jaw dropped. It was absolutely perfect!
Photographer
Jared and I have known Mio for a few years and have grown to be great friends with him. He is a Seattle-based outdoor photographer with experience with weddings. He has an incredible eye for natural beauty, is extremely detailed, and will go the extra mile to capture the perfect light for the moment. As you can probably tell, each and every one of his photos from our wedding weekend tells a unique story and we could not be more thrilled with how they all turned out.
Food and Cake
For our meal, we decided to serve traditional Spanish Paella. The catering company that we hired, Paella Works had catered weddings at Guemes Island Resort numerous times, so they had everything dialled. They brought three huge paella pans and cooked the paella right there in front of all our guests! It made for a very communal and “family dinner” feel.
The cake was a 2-tier chocolate hazelnut cake with vanilla frosting and decorated with fresh flowers by Antler Baking Company.
Wedding List / Registry
We used Zola for our wedding website and registry. It was very easy to use and Zola offers 20% off their registry items for a month after your wedding date.
Extra details
Since our wedding venue was on the water, we thought it would be fun to surprise our guests with a grand entrance by boat. Early on our wedding day I took my brother-in-law aside, filled him in on the surprise, and asked him to move one of the rowing boats from the resort up the beach. After the ceremony, Jared and I went up the beach with our photographer to take some photos and then had some time alone while our guests were gathered on the beach for the cocktail hour.
Once our wedding planner gave us the cue, we both got in the boat and started rowing down the beach. We had our cousin announce us in and he was able to get everyone to spot us out in the water by telling everyone that he saw an Orca whale in the water.
It was epic to be able to surprise our family and friends with this unique and fun entrance, and even more epic to be on a boat and see all our guests on the beach cheering and dancing as we paddled in. Such a surreal moment we will both never forget!
Advice to other couples planning their wedding
When starting the planning process, make sure you and your partner sit down and individually write your top three wedding priorities / most important wedding “non-negotiables”. After comparing these with each other, you will have a better understanding of the parts of the wedding that are most important to each other – plus, there’s a good chance one or two may overlap! Come back to these priorities throughout the planning process, as it will help keep you focused and on track. If you feel like you are spending a lot of time on a part of the wedding that doesn’t fit into a top priority, consider releasing some control or outsourcing the work.
LUCIA & JARED’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Photography – Mio – Monascherie
Ketubah – Brit Colors {offers 10% discount to all members of Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club}
Wedding planner – Abby & Caroline
Venue – Guemes Island Resort
Bride’s dress – Sachin and Babi Ines found at BHLDN
Groom’s attire – Suit Supply
DJ – Min
Catering – Paella Works
Cake – Antler Baking Company
Wedding Registry – Zola
Smash The Glass Pouch – Smashing The Glass Etsy Shop {or join Smashing The Glass’s Brides Club and get one for free!}
If you’re a Jewish or Jew-ish bride-to-be, you’ll want to join Smashing The Glass’ Brides Club. Guided by the world’s number 1 Jewish wedding expert, Karen Cinnamon, Brides Club is the private community for Jewish and Jew-ish brides that removes wedstress and indecision and gives you what you need to plan with confidence during these uncertain times. Join our Brides Club here.
