This PNW destination wedding featuring an intimate brunch reception followed by an adventure ceremony at Mount Baker brought friends and family from China to celebrate Celia and Ethan. Tapestry Event Co. was honored to be in full planning mode, collaborating on design and building trust with Celia and Ethan to bring their postponed event to life with intentional minimalism.

The Couple: Celia + Ethan

Ethan and Celia first met in 2013 when Ethan moved to Chicago for work, a little while after graduating from university, while Celia was still an undergraduate student. They were introduced by a mutual friend when Ethan was looking for a roommate for his two-bedroom apartment. They spent a year living together as roommates before their relationship became romantic. Ethan's sense of humor and reliability quickly won Celia's heart, while Celia's independence and adventurous spirit captivated Ethan. He likes to say, "I am very good at finding a solution inside the box, but Celia always looks at things outside of the box." This made them perfect for each other.

The Vision: Minimal, intimate, PNW destination

There are no rules for your wedding day. Whether it’s getting ready with your partner, not wearing white, or having a full-on brunch reception prior to an adventure ceremony! Anything goes. For Ethan and Celia, we took Tapestry Event Co. full planning and applied it to this fantastic, unique format of a day. With our full planning package, we provided leadership with event budgeting, design, planning, execution, and coordination for this multifaceted event. For a day that might have been called an intimate wedding reception or adventure elopement, we were able to create a cohesively managed experience from start to finish with our full planning option.

Celia's design expertise, coupled with her knack for pulling examples and offering detailed descriptions of her ideas, made her an exceptional partner in the design process. Her involvement in curating the look of every part of the day was instrumental and the result was nothing short of satisfying. This is a prime example of how our agile planning process allows couples to bring their strengths and points of emphasis to the forefront, creating a wedding that truly reflects their unique personality.

From her stunning outfits, to the minimalist paper products Celia designed, everything fit their style so completely. See Washington Wedding Day’s feature of this wedding on their blog!

Whether your vision for the day is clear to you or not, Tapestry wants to help! We have our multitude of services available, but more than that we have DIY tools to help you get started. Check out our Wedding Design Guide, Budget Guide, or Coordination Guide to get all of your creative and technical vibes going.

One of the parts of the day I’m most proud of is that, with Tapestry’s support, Celia and Ethan were able to postpone their wedding for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic so that more family, including Celia’s mother who was beginning radiation treatment in China, could travel in from out of the country. We have such open, deep, trusting relationships with our clients. We can talk about hard life circumstances when they come up, hold space for couples to focus on their priorities, and adapt our plans to create the best outcomes. In this case, that meant waiting and being patient so that Celia could care for her mom and help her travel in for the event.

The Venue: Hotel Bellweather and Mount Baker

We began the day at Hotel Bellweather with a 6-course meal, completely handcrafted by the couple. Absolutely jaw dropping. I love it when couples bring their intentionality and expertise into all areas of the wedding. (Food is a love language, right?)

Hotel Bellweather is a quaint and idyllic hotel and venue situated on Bellingham Bay in Bellingham, Washington. Step outside and you’ll feel the sea breeze and get a full view of the San Juan Islands. They have several large and intimate spaces to accommodate all kinds of wedding sizes.

From there, it’s a not-too-long jaunt up onto Mount Baker. If you’ve been to our blog before, you know we’re no stranger to Mount Baker’s beauty. We love all our adventure and intimate elopements that take place all across the Mount Baker park.

From intimate brunch wedding reception to adventure ceremony at Mount Baker, Celia and Ethan’s day turned out to be everything they dreamed of and more.

Asking a family member or friend to officiate?

Brunch Reception Followed by Adventure Ceremony

Coordinating the mountain tour that followed for Celia and Ethan’s crew included a comfort-geared travel bus with handpicked amenities. Guests had very little idea what to expect once we left the hotel, and it was fabulous watching their eyes light up as they took in all our stops on the way up to Mount Baker. We had a forested ceremony by the river at the base (where I got to officiate!) and a robust picnic snack at Austin Pass. We enjoyed the sunset at Artist Point proper before sending the couple off for a golden hour photoshoot and taking the guests back to the hotel. It was accessible, inclusive, and an unforgettable experience for all.

Over the two years we worked together, I developed a very close bond with Celia and Ethan and a deep sense of gratitude for each other. This led to Celia and Ethan asking me to be their officiant. Luckily, with intimate-sized events and a robust team, we were able to make that happen for them, and it was my honor to tell their story to their loved ones in the woods.

The Vendors

Planner: Tapestry Event Co. // @tapestryeventco

Photographer: Naba Zabih // @nabazabih

Videographer: Amora Cinema // @amoracinema

Florist: Villanelle Floral Company // @villanellefloral

Makeup artist: Anne Timss // @mstimssmakeupartist

Desserts: Lady Grey Seattle // @ladygreyseattle

Rentals: Bellingham Wedding and Event Rentals