Maddie + Tony

Metropolist in Seattle, WA

In late April of 2023, my team coordinated Maddie and Tony’s beautiful day at Metropolist, a gorgeous industrial venue in the Seattle, WA neighborhood of SoDo. The day may have started with the typical Seattle drizzle while the wedding party got ready at the Thompson Hotel, but the day ended with an epic dance floor - personalized sunglasses and sweatsuits included!

The Venue

Metropolist is located in SoDo, nearby downtown and all the stadiums in Seattle. Similar to the other venues in the neighborhood, it has a very modern and industrial look (overhead metal bars and hardwood floors) and easy access to a back alley to get those classic downtown alley shots. The Metropolist can serve as a blank canvas and offers a lot of room to be creative!

It was originally used as a crane manufacturing building and one crane still remains in the space and can be used to hang florals as a backdrop for the ceremony.
The venue comes with a variety of different sized wood tables and natural wood folding chairs. The front lobby is accessible off of 1st Ave which can be utilized for cocktail hour.
There is a fairly large upstairs area for the wedding party and the couple to hide their personal items and sign the marriage license.

The Design

The florals provided by Jessica from JVC Flowers (an absolute gem of a human) set the tone of the day – a soft, spring-inspired palette paired with the urban, industrial warehouse setting.

Maddie and Tony were framed during the ceremony by two asymmetrical floating floral installations with ranunculus, Lizzy carnations, and mums.
Every long dinner table had a white chiffon runner, bud vases, and tapered candles.
Dinnerware was rented from Adorn Rentals, with soft and minimal white napkins to contrast the dark wood tables.

The Couple

Maddie and Tony are one of the most down to earth couples I’ve worked with. It seemed like they had been together forever. They so easily understood each other, and were on the same page from day one about what was important to them about their wedding day. It was a giant party with lots of laughs and positive energy (obligatory Cougs flag photo included). Plus, I always enjoy planning with a fellow Swifty.

A Few Pro Wedding Coordinating and Planning Tips:

Have an easy to follow “flip” plan. There are several venues where the ceremony and dinner will take place in the same area. Therefore, you’re required to do what we call in the industry “a flip”. This means during cocktail hour the catering staff and coordination team are flipping the ceremony set-up to the dinner layout.

If you’re lucky enough, there is room to have the dinner tables preset and pushed off to the side, which at Metropolist, is exactly the plan. Metropolist has several movable wood walls, so you’re able to hide the preset tables during the ceremony.
My best piece of advice for room flips is to think through every single detail - and I mean every detail. Have every team member assigned to specific tasks and make sure they are 100% clear on what those tasks are.
A flip can get unorganized very quickly if people try to help out (with good intentions) but aren’t clear on what the plan is.
Save time to do a final detail check and make sure all the chairs are aligned, candles and flatware are straight, and all table numbers are facing where guests will be entering.
And of course, make sure you give the photographer a heads up when everything is all set, so they can get photos before guests enter the space!

Make sure all the rentals and decor fit together (not just aesthetically)!

For Maddie and Tony’s wedding, the venue didn’t allow open flame (which is pretty common) so flameless tapered candles were rented and tapered candle holders were purchased.
With rentals, you don’t typically see them in-person or have them in your hands until a few days prior. Needless to say, the tapered candles were too big for the holders.
Fortunately, there’s nothing gaff tape can’t fix, but it’s important to make sure everything will fit together well before the wedding day!
Ask for photos and measurements - it’ll save you some last minute problem-solving on the day of.