Banish the “But where would we put it?” question with Seattle-based online startup Blueprint Registry, which cleverly allows couples to customize their wedding registry based on the layout, and needs, of their home. Originally founded in late 2014 by Lizzy Ellingson and Nevin Shetty, Blueprint has upped the ante ever since, adding a group gifting feature for larger ticket items, honeymoon and cash gifts (in addition to the thousands already available through online retailers such as Amazon, Crate & Barrel and Anthropologie) and most recently, a room-by-room shopping feature so that guests can envision just where that new piece would live in your home.
Longtime wedding invitation purveyor Rachel Brandzel Weil has taken her show on the road with The Letter Farmer, a cheery, stationery-stocked van she spirits about town in hopes of preserving the art of the handwritten letter. Available for private parties like bridal showers, The Letter Farmer offers all the supplies—think letterpress cards, sweet papers and even vintage postage—for folks to shop and then scribble down a meaningful message (prices for supplies range from $5 to $25 each; rental fee may apply).
Smith Tower in Pioneer Square recently reemerged from an extensive renovation with not only a new look and feel—the former 35th-floor Chinese Room space is now home to the sleekly cool Temperance café and bar—but additional event space as well, thanks to the new 22nd-floor Lookout lounge. Its swanky, airy space boasts an adjacent outdoor deck; guests can drink up Prohibition-style cocktails from the aforementioned Temperance while drinking in the sweeping skyline and water views.
The traditional-style Parisian éclairs from Ludovic Guillaume and Elizabeth Bastoni’s new Choukette bakery make for oh so sweet and mon petit additions to wedding dessert bars; flavors range from classics, such as chocolate, to seasonal options, such as the summery huckleberry mascarpone. The Pike Place Market bakery also offers éclair towers and stunning croquembouche (prices for all catering orders range from $6 to $12 per person).