Modern ways to make your city wedding tropical and fresh

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 15

Welcome to my hometown folks! So excited to share this modern, trendy, Seattle wedding today – featuring a surprising tropical, sunshiney twist. Captured by the talented The Shalom Imaginative, this urban rooftop wedding is refreshingly lush.

Equal parts outdoor lovers and city folk (an accurate description of any Seattle archetype if I do say so myself) Jessica and Seth filled their industrial Fremont space with dramatic monstera leaves and other iconic tropical foliage to brighten up their city venue. Keeping most of the decor minimalistic, these greens absolutely shine against the blues of the city and skyline.

Beyond the adorable Lake Union portraits and hip attire, what makes this wedding “so-Seattle” to me is the (drumroll) maple bar desserts. All my New York City babes have had to listen to me complain about the lack of maple bars on the East Coast for nearly a decade, I’ve always suggested we need maple bars at our wedding. So proud to see this Northwest couple representing the best donut trend.

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 7

Our Love Story

We met at a New Year’s Eve party — which was serendipitous because we were both attending the University of Washington in Seattle at the time, but happened upon the same party while visiting different friends in Bellingham.

The conversation started with Jessica asking for some assistance opening a champagne bottle that was giving her some trouble. From there, we hit it off! But Seth’s friends convinced him to leave the party and head to a bar instead.

Seth wasn’t at the bar long — he ran back to the party to try and catch Jess before midnight, just in time for a New Year’s kiss!

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 10

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 3

Special Moments

So many favorite moments! My hair and makeup was done by a close friend, which made getting ready really special. Amazing toasts by our parents, siblings, and friends. Popping a bottle of champagne during our ceremony. Having our favorite people all in one place — people who made the trek from Canada, Ireland, and all over the US.

The Venue

We’re outdoorsy people but we also love the city, so we easily agreed on The Fremont Foundry’s rooftop as our venue for both the ceremony and reception — and we lucked out with perfect Seattle weather. We hired a fantastic officiant for our wedding who tailored our ceremony so well to us. It was heartfelt and really set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 8

The Details

From the very beginning, we wanted our wedding to feel like us. We tried to stay true to who we are as a couple and make every detail personal.

Food was a high priority on our list and we knew we didn’t want typical wedding fare; we wanted something more adventurous! So we went with a food truck called Falafel Salam and served a family-style Mediterranean feast at long tables. It was delicious! For dessert, we had vegan donuts from Mighty-O and our wedding favors were little bags of gourmet popcorn.

We went really minimal with the decor, focusing on lots of lush greenery arranged by our close friends. All the signs were made by the bride’s mother. Every vase and every piece of silverware was collected from thrift stores. Rather than a traditional guest book, we bought vintage postcards on Etsy and had guests write on those – they were so fun to read afterward.

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 12

The Photography

We instantly clicked with Nate & Amanda – they were so genuine and easy-going. We wanted a photographer who would put us at ease on our big day and who would capture the memories in a documentarian way. They did not disappoint!

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 14

Advice for Other Couples

Hire an amazing day-of coordinator! Alissa kept us on-track leading up to the wedding and absolutely killed it on the day of our wedding. A good day-of coordinator is worth every penny.

Stay on top of your to-do list — we procrastinated a bit and ended up having a stressful month of preparation leading up to the big day.

Zola was great for our registry. We were able to include some household items, a honeymoon fund, and a house fund all in one place.

Tropical Urban Rooftop Wedding In Seattle | The Shalom Imaginative 18

The Honeymoon

We went to Bali right after the wedding and loved every moment. We traveled to three different areas — Nusa Lembongan, Ubud and Canggu. It was the perfect mix of relaxation and activity – lots of beach lounging and pooltime, scooter rides through the jungle, amazing food, beautiful hindu temples, yoga and surfing. And the people were so friendly!