Colorful Summer Wedding at Ray's Boathouse Seattle

a bride and groom smile as they walk down the aisle at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle

I chose the above photo of Audrey and Chris’ wedding for the main image of their blog post, because I absolutely love how genuinely happy they look. This is one of the most joyful photos that I have ever received in my career as a wedding florist. Cameron Zegers did a lovely job of capturing the feeling of this moment. Chris’ expression automatically makes me smile alongside him and I can feel the tingle of Audrey’s excitement. I wasn’t at their wedding for this part of the day, but the emotion in this image transports me to the dock at Ray’s Boathouse, experiencing the elation of their first steps together as wife and husband.

Rebecca of New Creations Weddings helped Audrey and Chris create a clean and elegant look with vibrant pops of jewel-toned colors, including cyan blue, pink, peach, and purple. For their wedding flowers we targeted some of their favorite varieties, including stargazer lilies, hydrangeas, and roses. While I always give special attention to the bridal bouquet and the ceremony decor, which both turned out beautifully (I mean look at that fabulous bouquet Audrey is holding!), the star floral arrangement was inside the northwest room above the fireplace – the mantle floral installation. What makes this piece even more phenomenal is that there is no physical mantle above the fireplace at Ray’s Boathouse. So I had to build one. As a Floral Architect, though, challenge accepted!

Colorful Mantle Florals at Ray’s Boathouse and the Mechanics Behind the Mantle

The fireplace at Ray’s Boathouse has beautiful stone face with an indented niche on either side. Above the fireplace the wall is essentially vertically flat, meaning there is nothing to attach any flowers to. To create a floral statement piece over the fireplace, I had to build structural platform. Using a jigsaw, I cut two pieces of particle board 16 inches wide and 14 inches deep. I nailed these to either end of an 8 foot 2×4 piece of wood. Using a drill, I then made a series of holes along the 2×4. Chicken wire pillows were fastened to the 2×4 using zip ties. I like to double layer my chicken wire pillows (a pillow inside a pillow), so that the stems of the flowers have more than one contact point to hold in place. Chicken wire in floristry has been around for decades. With collective movement towards sustainability, many more florists are using checking wire in their mechanics, rather than floral foam.

floral mechanics of a 2x4 and chicken wire for a floral mantlepiece installation chicken wire and 2x4 plank on a mantle fireplace

My mantle piece was placed above the fireplace, with the plywood ends resting on the light indentations. With front facing floral arrangements, you have to always consider the force of gravity, which wants to pull down your designs. To counter the earth’s gravitational force, I placed a stack of bricks on top of either plywood end. This mantle structure was rock solid. Even with the incredible amount of flowers that were added the mantle stayed securely in place. Success!

lush and colorful floral mantles at rays boathouse

Getting Ready at Hotel Ballard for a Colorful Summer Wedding at Ray’s Boathouse

Hotel Ballard was the venue chosen for getting ready, as well as the location for the first look, and the Ballard area of Seattle for many of the pre-ceremony photos. This boutique vintage hotel was a lovely location for the start of the day. And the charm of Ballard was the perfect urban backdrop for a photoshoot.

a groom's jacket and bride getting her make-up done a bride and groom separately reading their love letters to each other a bride holding her colorful summer bouquet with dahlias and lilies a bride waiting in another room to see her bridesmaids bride showing herself in her wedding dress to her bridesmaids and flower girls bride and groom first look in hallway at Hotel Ballard Seattle bride and groom at Hotel Ballard Seattle bride and groom walking in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle holding a colorful bridal bouquet artsy photos of a bride and groom walking in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle colorful summer bridal bouquet with turquoise ribbon wedding party with plum bridesmaids dresses bridesmaids wearing plum dresses holding rich jewel-tones bouquets

Colorful Summer Wedding at Ray’s Boathouse Ceremony

Audrey and Chris tied the knot with a heart-felt ceremony on the boardwalk south of Ray’s Boathouse, overlooking the Puget Sound. They chose a simple backdrop of a rectangular wooden arch with flowers along the top. To add the pop of cyan blue, I wove a satin ribbon through the flowers. Candles in cylindrical vases lines the aisle. It was one of those majestic sunny Seattle day’s – not a cloud in sight, with the sunlight glittering on the water’s surface.

wedding ceremony set up at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle a drawing of colorful flowers on a wedding arch wedding arch with pink and red flowers and turquoise ribbon bride and father walking down aisle to groom wedding ceremony at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle bride and groom standing at the altar at Ray's Boathouse bride and groom walking down the aisle at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle

Colorful Summer Wedding at Ray’s Boathouse Reception

In addition to the mantle statement piece in the reception room at Ray’s Boathouse which was the star of the show (after Audrey and Chris, of course), pops of color could be seen in the lush footed compote centerpieces on the dinner tables. Guest drank water from blue crystal glasses. The wedding cake was also adorned with colorful summer florals.

pink, plum, and purple floral centerpieces bride and groom enter the reception room at Ray's Boathouse with colorful mantle florals a bride walking into the reception room colorful floral arrangements for a wedding at Ray's Boathouse a bride and groom and their guests listen to a wedding toast a father give a speech at a wedding in front of the bride and groom a bride and groom kiss outside of Ray's Boathouse

The colorful mantle floral installation was the perfect backdrop for Audrey and Chris’ spicy dance they performed for their guests!

a woman in a red dress dances with a man in front of colorful mantle florals a man dips a woman in a red dress in front of a mantle floral installation a man lifts and twirls a woman in a red dress during a wedding a woman and man finish a dance in front of a colorful floral installation on the fireplace mantle