Beachy Neutral Boho at The Muse

Melissa of Little Blue Bird Events and I have been cultivating a neutral bohemian style shoot concept since January 2023, so when the patio at The Muse Whiskey and Coffee presented the perfect sunlit outdoor mini ceremony space, it was no doubt what look we were going to go for. In addition to the more Cali-inspired beach look that comes with the boho vibes, I also had the thought to play around with natural elements of PNW beaches, given that Jetty Island is right across the water from The Muse. You don’t need to be a geography wiz to know that the beaches in Washington look a little different from the beaches in California, so keeping to neutrals throughout the look for ceremony enabled us to set up a WA beach inspired tablescape and pull in the natural shell and driftwood tones in the reception space. For the introduction to this styled shoot series, make sure to read last week’s blog on the Modern Elopement!

Vendors

Photographer: Julie Natalie Imagery

Coordination and Design: Little Blue Bird Events

Venue: The Muse Whiskey and Coffee

Florals, Design, Calligraphy, and Natural Elements: The Copper Dahlia , assisted by Art in Bloom Bespoke

Hair and Makeup: Beauty by Becks and Beauty by J

Decor Rentals: Parlez Soirée

Cake: Art in Bloom Bespoke

Jewelry: Jewlers Choice Inc.

Down the aisle for the ceremony space were one sided arrangements of assorted white and natural brown grasses, pampas grasses, dried WA beach grass, dried eucalyptus, dried palm leaves, and dried hydrangea.

You’ll notice that many of the components for this look are dried products. I’m a pretty big fan of foraging and finding local product, but I tend to also take to my community in order to help me do so. I look for individuals that have “appealing” specimens in their yards and I make friends! Sometimes I put the call out on the good ol’ neighborhood Facebook group. It sure does take a lot more effort to introduce myself without sounding like a crazy person selling something, harvest/cut whatever plant I have my eye on, then dry/preserve for later use vs just buying the product, but sometimes a small business owner’s gotta do what they gotta do.

The pampas grasses were attained this way, as well as the eucalyptus. All of the hydrangea were dried from my own landscaping from assorted Annabell and Limelight hydrangeas. The palm leaves were a contribution from two different new friends. Once those palms were dried, I decided to use a more asymmetrical approach to trimming down the pointy leaf bits instead of cutting in a fan shape or perfectly pointing each vein in the leaf into a triangle. I felt it gave more natural flow and shape to each piece, which allowed me to design with the shape of how the leaf dried and curved when adding them to the aisle pieces as well as the altar’s broken-style arch.

The arch itself was something I made instead of using a manufactured pole base- look for a blog post on how to DIY your own in the next few weeks! In addition to the components used in the aisle pieces that were on the arch, there were also assorted white silk florals and roses in white and beige. The particular variety of beige rose is called “Teddy”, has a beige center with a slight lavender undertone, and green variation on the outer petals. They really did end up pulling the look together with the nod to purple and complimenting the green and sage tone accents.

For the groom, I went with a pocket boutonniere instead of a traditional pin-on. The movement from the linear grasses mixed with the hanging pampas suited the style so well. In addition to assorted grasses, dried hydrangea, and eucalyptus, I also included white mini phalaenopsis orchids. I just love this below photo highlighting all the greens.

For the bridal bouquet I wanted something loose and flowy, mirroring the style of the curve of the broken arch and grasses in the breeze. The dress that Melissa selected for this look was a boho dream, and the billowy sleeves were exactly what I was hoping to mix with this bouquet!

I selected curved and drapey eucalyptus pieces, as well as a hanging pampas grass for the bounce. The stems of mini white phalaenopsis were placed asymmetrically to one side, arching up in the front and side for a perfect beachy look. The Teddy and white roses filled out the rest, in addition to assorted grasses and dried hydrangea. A hanging ribbon bow in sage completed the handtied arrangement.

Moving on to the reception portion for this lovely couple, some peacock chairs from Parlez Soiree were set up for the cake and dinner sweetheart. Leslieann from Art in Bloom was assisting me with set-up of all of the florals this day, and during prep she mentioned that she’s a bit skilled with frosting and cake decorating. She created this cake for the meadow and absolutely nailed it with the simple, yet fun textured cake for the meadow I wanted to create!

The cake meadow has the dried grasses, eucalyptus, and hydrangeas included in the other components, with the addition of white roses, mini white phalaenopsis, and white scabiosa for more fresh florals. The petal count on these white roses was beautiful, giving big drama with ruffly edges. The scabiosa had the perfect droop to match the grasses and ruffly petals as well. The copper cake stand was provided by me.

While the bride and groom enjoyed their own sweetheart table space, the other table set-up was inspired by the Washington beach. I collected all the elements sustainably and ethically from family property on the Hood Canal. The glassware from Parlez Soiree perfectly accented the sandy and purple undertones, as well as the gold accents on plates and flatware provided by The Muse.

In the centerpiece, each cylinder with candle contained beach rock and broken shells reminiscent of the stones you’d find on a spit. There were also beautiful purple whole clam shells and mini white sand dollars mixed among the rocks. The cylinders were nestled among driftwood and arrangements of dried beachgrass with Spanish moss, with both oyster and moon snail shells tucked in throughout. The oysters also have purple variegation, and moon snails have a beautiful peachy purple marbling on not only the inside of their shells, but some coloring out the outside as well.

At each table setting were linens provided by The Muse, and an oyster calligraphy place card. The names I selected for each setting were inspired by Weyerhaeuser’s history, and I chose real couples that have been part of the company’s ownership and management. You might even imagine that this set-up is reminiscent of a quaint company dinner on the patio.

I was pretty thrilled at how my calligraphy turned out. I’d like to think I can craft just about anything and I wanted to make this special touch for the table a part of the building’s history in Everett. Keep an eye out for an upcoming blog post on tips and tricks for collecting and conditioning the natural elements used in this tablescape!

With Jetty Island behind them, the couple ended their shoot with a champagne spray on the lawn in neighboring Boxcar Park. Cheers!