Mill Valley, CA
Seattle. Mostly. Sometimes I use cameras that shoot squares.
Seattle, WA. A snippet about the day…
Mark and Kristi Schwesinger are fun, outgoing, creative, loyal, and passionate about sustainable design. Working closely with their wedding planner, Jill Marasigan of P31 Collaborative, they created a wedding that would not only be the opportunity to say ‘I do’ in front of those they love, but also speak to who they are as a couple.
Almost every detail of the wedding involved friends or family members, leveraging their unique talents whenever possible. The guitarist, deejay, and A/V guys were all friends of the groom and the décor and printed graphics were all handmade with the help of friends of the bride. Hundreds of layers of organza, cotton, tulle and silk ribbon were used to create fabric flowers for the handmade bouquets and boutonnières. The bride’s dress was an architectural statement featuring asymmetrical layers of raw-edged ivory silk organza and a long row of buttons in the back leading into a short flowing train.
Keeping sustainability in mind, the Schwesinger’s took every opportunity to plan and execute their wedding as eco-consciously as possible–while maintaining their concept of “Organic Meets Modern”. From choosing recycled papers for the invitations, creating centerpieces that were almost all compostable, making all of the flowers out of fabric or paper, using recycled and organic materials throughout the décor including tree stumps from their own backyard; in all cases sustainability was always taken into consideration. Even the venue, Herban Feast, is a repurposed century-old factory and is known for using organic, local foods for their catering.
A few family traditions made Mark and Kristi’s wedding unique. The groom’s mother is Ukrainian, and to honor that heritage the couple included a few Ukrainian traditions including: a toast with the parents and grandparents and a bridal party march that brought the entire room full of guests onto the dance floor. On the bride’s side, many of the women in her family are gifted quilters and presented the couple with an embroidered “double wedding ring” quilt (with 400+ hours of love) that was displayed at the reception.
Knowing that their friends and family love an excuse to get on the dance floor and party, Mark and Kristi were adamant about making sure all of their guests had a good time. Each guest was given their own custom egg shaker to join in the lively celebration and asked to fill in a wedding madlib about the couple over dinner. They also hired party starter Ann Wolf, a friend of the bride, to bring in the entertainment. Wolf acted as emcee and brought in her “Box of Fun” to get the party going with hats, boas and chalkboards (for writing slightly inappropriate messages). The wedding festivities continued well into the evening as the celebration moved to the W Hotel.
llist of vendors:
photographer: Sean Flanigan Photography
venue + catering: Herban Feast
event coordinator: Jill @ P31 Collaborative
cheesecake + dessert bites: Abby @ Hot Buns Bakery
deejay: Steve @ Satellite Records
guitarist: Peter Caruso
officiant: Rev. Fred Fowler
party starter + emcee: Ann Wolf
photo booth: Photo Smack
dress: Marisa Bridals from Ania Collection
bridesmaids: Nordstrom
groomsmen: the Tux Shop
hair accessories: Jill @ P31 Collaborative
hair stylist: Jewels @ 7 Salon
make-up artist: Monique @ Salon Cybele
hotel: W Hotel Seattle