Wedding Setup: Woodmark Hotel

August 20, 2013

Wedding Setup: Woodmark Hotel

It's time for another edition of the wedding setup series! (See early installments here and here.) This blue and white wedding graced the wedding tent at the Woodmark Hotel in downtown Kirkland. The word "tent" doesn't do justice to the elegance of the structure erected on the hotel's Olympic Terrace from April to October, with its chandeliers and breathtaking views of Lake Washington. Carillon Point, home also to a marina, restaurants, spas, and other businesses, is a lovely setting and the luxurious but unpretentious Woodmark Hotel is undoubtably its jewel. It's no surprise that the Woodmark and the wedding tent are very popular with Seattle brides and it is a venue much loved by Fena Flowers, too.

Lake Washington views.

The Woodmark's banner flapping in the breeze.

Carillon Point marina.

Boats docked at the marina. It's a lovely place for a summer stroll!

The carillons of Carillon Point.

Returning to the wedding at hand: the first order of business is swathing the poles that support the wedding tent with white fabric and securing the drapery with ribbons. Fena provides this service for any wedding that requests it, not just for weddings that also use Fena for their flowers. In this case, the corner poles of the tent were also decorated with blue hydrangeas.

The metal tent poles look much more attractive when wrapped in heavy white fabric!

A blue hydrangea provides additional decoration to a corner pole.

The wedding's colors were blue and white. The aisle arrangements were composed of blue hydrangeas, blue irises, and blue delphinium, and white dahlias, roses, lilies, and stock.

One of the toppers for the aisle pieces.

A large white dahlia.

A delphinium flower.

More delphinium.

A triple-centered cream rose!

A white oriental lily.

The overall look.

The blue and white floral pieces were placed on ornate silver stands from which Fena Flowers hung votives. There was never any fire danger, however. These votives are battery-powered!

Placing the glass votive cup in its wire hanger.

The battery-powered candles look quite real!

A trio of votives hung from each stand.

The stands complete with flowers and votives.

There was one more element to aisle pieces: blue ribbon streamers!

Katie holds a handful of streamers. Each ribbon is attached to a wooden pick that will be inserted into the flower arrangement's floral foam.

Katie attaching streamers.

The lush arrangements made inserting the picks a delicate process!

Lynn assisted with finishing up the aisle pieces.

The completed aisle pieces with their floral toppers, hanging votives, and dangling ribbons.

There was one problem: while Fena was setting up, there was a rehearsal going on in the wedding tent, with two more to follow before this wedding was to take place in the evening. Rather than put the aisle pieces in place, risking possible damage to the flowers as various rehearsal groups walked down the aisle, the decision was made to have the wedding planner put the aisle pieces into place closer to the time of the ceremony. In venues that hold multiple events throughout the day, this kind of arrangement is fairly common.

The white chairs wait in ready rows for the wedding to begin.

With the tent poles wrapped, the aisle pieces finished and set aside, the altar backdrop in place, the boutonnieres distributed to the groomsmen, and the setup particulars explained to the coordinator, the only thing left for Lynn and Katie to do was set out the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets. These were all white and made up of lilies, roses, hydrangeas, and freesia. The bouquets, which would later double as centerpieces, were set out with the silver containers they'd be placed in.

Bouquets.

The bouquets had been transported in this crate to keep them safe.

The stems of the bouquets were wrapped with blue ribbon.

Katie makes sure the silver containers--super-sized julep cups--are free of smudges!

All set!

With their work done for the day, even though the wedding would take place several hours later, Katie and Lynn could load up the carts and head back to the shop.

Lynn double-checks that everything to be delivered for the wedding has been crossed off and all supplies are ready to head back to the shop.

A small ladder is essential for draping the tent poles.

All those carts completely fill the Woodmark's service elevator.

While the designers would not being coming back to finalize the setup, there was no reason that I, the blog writer and photographer, couldn't swing by the Woodmark later that day to take pictures of the arrangements in place! The coordinator had done everything according to instructions, so the tent was beautifully and fully decorated in time for an evening wedding on a perfect summer day.

Male members of the wedding party waiting for their female counterparts.

The view down the aisle toward the altar.

The aisle pieces add a lovely element of texture and color.

The blue and white color scheme of the flowers coordinates perfectly with the blue of the lake, the sky, and the tent floor and the white of the tent, the chairs, and its draperies.

This lush looking bow disguises the more prosaic chenilles that hold the drapery in place.

The chairs stand ready for the wedding guests.

A blue hydrangea detail with the blue of the lake and sky in the background.

The tent, in this occasion, will be "flipped" for the reception; that is, the well-trained Woodmark staff will swoop in once the ceremony is over, carry in these waiting and already set tables, and rearrange the chairs from the ceremony around them. The coordinator will see to it that floral components of the ceremony that double as centerpieces for the reception are put in place.

Bistro tables can be seen standing at ready in the background. Cocktails will be served around them for the guests to enjoy while the tent is reconfigured for the reception.