Summer Leavenworth Wedding at Tierra Retreat Center

Nicole and Adam. Where to begin with these two? They were one of the first couples I started working with all the way back in 2020, but due to the craziness of COVID, they decided to plan their wedding for 2022. Their gorgeous Leavenworth wedding was definitely worth the wait!

Nicole and Adam have a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest and wanted to share this with their family and friends through a joyful and relaxed weekend getaway. Tierra Retreat Center in Leavenworth offered the perfect place for them to do this! Tucked away in the forest on the slopes of the Cascade Mountains, you feel like you’re miles away from the rest of the world. They loved that Tierra has different lodges onsite for friends and family to stay throughout the weekend. It made it easy to create summer camp vibes and bring everyone together for more than just the wedding day.

Nicole and Adam also share a commitment to sustainability, which Tierra Retreat Center completely embodies. (It’s one of my personal favorite things about this Leavenworth wedding venue!) I love how they leaned into the natural setting and created a day that was genuine, full of love, and respectful towards the environment.

The Wedding Day

Nicole and Adam’s wedding was right in the middle of the Pacific Northwest’s “beautiful” summer season. During this particular week, however, we happened to be suffering through a record-breaking heatwave!

Even though we were dealing with 100+ degree heat, Nicole and Adam were unfazed. They remained cool and collected (maybe not physically cool, but definitely collected). They provided fans for their guests and we made sure there was lots of water and cold beverages available throughout the whole day. Looking back at the photos of these two, you wouldn’t have any idea how stinking hot it was!

At one point in the planning process, Nicole mentioned that she wanted to look like a “boho goddess.” She was partially joking, but seeing her in her dress on the wedding day I think she 1000% nailed it. Goddess is right! And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t give Adam a shout-out for his impeccable forest green suit too.

They wanted the colors to be both natural and vibrant, largely reflected in the wedding flowers designed by the talented Bloom Poet team. From the very beginning, Nicole wanted to include pops of magenta, purples, and lavender – colors that you can find in the bright summer blooms of the PNW. And as it happens, also in the fields of lavender growing at the venue!

The Venue

One of the most stunning features of Tierra is the outdoor amphitheater in the woods, which makes for such a peaceful ceremony. This was actually one of the reasons Nicole and Adam chose the venue. Bloom Poet created a magnificent floral installation (something Nicole was especially excited about) on the arbor. It was a true statement piece, but also didn’t take anything away from the natural beauty of the space.

Everyone moved back to the main lodge area for cocktail hour after the ceremony and it was AMAZING that the lodge had air conditioning. Guests could take in the views from the deck and then pop inside when they needed a break from the heat.

By the time guests found their seats for dinner on the main lawn, the sun was going down and the heat was much more manageable. Under the glow of the string lights and (of course flameless) candles, it felt both relaxed and romantic. The Bloom Poet team moved parts of that fabulous floral installation to Nicole and Adam’s sweetheart table after the ceremony to ensure they could enjoy it’s beauty for the whole night!

After dinner Nicole and Adam decided to share their first dance up on the deck, just the two of them.

The night was completed with delicious cake and cupcakes from a local bakery and a cold brew bar! Yes, a cold brew bar.

The Details

Nicole and Adam had originally planned to incorporate espresso into their dinner in honor of Adam’s Italian family and heritage. Sadly, COVID struck again and the espresso cart they booked had to back out. But we didn’t let this faze us! Instead, we pivoted to offering a DIY cold brew bar, serving cold brew from a local Leavenworth coffee shop. I remember running across downtown Leavenworth (because my parking spot was questionable at best) with several gallons of cold brew in hand. I was definitely sweating, but also feeling so happy that we found this fun solution. And given that it was about 1000 degrees outside the cold brew was a BIG hit!

There were lots of other fun details incorporated throughout the day. Instead of traditional table numbers, they named their dinner tables after the different places they traveled together. They had a Jenga guestbook, cocktail napkins with a picture of their pup, custom vow books, and a gorgeous rug used for the ceremony (brought from home!)

A favorite detail of mine was at the place settings. We used hand-lettered name tags and sprigs of fresh lavender picked from the lavender fields at Tierra that morning.

Bloom Poet created a mix of lush garlands and clusters of bud vases for the tables. We also incorporated wood rounds from Tierra and lovely gold votives rented through Celebrations for Every Season. All of the tableware came right from from Tierra’s kitchen. We didn’t have to use anything disposable, which was awesome!

I loved everything about their Leavenworth wedding. Nicole and Adam focused on the things that mattered most to them and together we were able to intentionally plan a wedding that reflected their values and brought so much joy to their friends and family.

Kind Words

It was such an honor to work with them and I was thrilled to read the kind words they had.

“Hannah is absolutely phenomenal!! She went above and beyond to help our day run smoothly. She’s highly organized, communicative, flexible, and has great expertise in events. She is also just a joy to talk to and made the process fun! The tools she provides to you for planning are super helpful and when I felt overwhelmed, she was always reassuring. Everyone at our wedding was so impressed with her hard work and attention to detail.”

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