A Classic Blue-and-Cream Wedding Overlooking Idaho's Coeur d'Alene

In February 2016, Isabelle Mackay and her friends stepped into a new-to-them bar in Woodland Hills, California, to hear a DJ a friend had recommended. "The bar was so dive-y, I told the girls, 'Five minutes and we're leaving,'" says Isabelle. But before time ran out, the women found themselves learning to play darts with two men—including Joe Weintraub. "Joe and I ended up on a team," says Isabelle. "The rest of the night is a little blurry, I'll admit, but after a few games, one thing led to another and Joe and I ended up sharing a kiss." As the night ended and the group split up, Joe and Isabelle said goodbye—only for Joe to circle back a minute later to ask for her number and text her the next day. "Joe later admitted he had completely forgotten my name when he woke up the next morning," says Isabelle. "It wasn't until he was scrolling through his contacts that he saw an 'Isabelle M.' and remembered that I wouldn't give him my last name."

Two years later, Joe proposed on a weekend trip to Ojai, California, surprising Isabelle—an amateur calligrapher—during a sunset picnic with a marble calligraphy pen holder engraved with "Will you marry me?" "It was intimate and perfect," says the bride.

As the couple began scouting venues for their wedding, they casually mentioned their search to Joe's family friend, the owner of Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where Joe had worked as a teenager. "We kind of threw out the idea of getting married at Gozzer, and surprisingly, he said yes!" says Isabelle. "We were pretty shocked but jumped at the chance—Coeur d'Alene is one of the most beautiful locations I have ever been to."

Isabelle and Joe picked September 14, 2019, as a date for their celebration, which included 95 guests—all were transported by boat across the lake to the golf course. Isabelle knew immediately that she wanted a color palette of blue, navy, and cream, and decided to incorporate lunaria as both a silver accent and floral design theme. "It was a big goal of mine to create a wedding that I could look back on 10 years from now and still be in love with every element," she says. "I decided to really lean into the classics. I worked really hard to keep our wedding as 'us' as possible, and not fall victim to every wedding trend out there."

Before Joe even proposed, Isabelle planned to order her future wedding invitations from Cheerup Press. "Because I am an amateur calligrapher and work for a stationery business, the vision I had for our wedding invitations was very specific," she says. She chose letterpress printing and a tone-on-tone color scheme, and requested custom floral illustration of lunaria and forget-me-nots, which the couple incorporated on other pieces throughout the decor—including on custom dartboards at the reception. Pearl foil printing and a vellum inner envelope were a nod to lunaria's silver sheen, and the bride calligraphed each guest's name before adding vintage postage.

Though Isabelle tried on several wedding dresses while shopping, she eventually returned to the first one she slipped on: A Vagabond Bridal A-line with flowing matte satin and a V-neckline that made her feel like a modern-day princess. "I knew I wanted something elegant and simple," she says. "This dress had the most perfect silhouette for my frame and a very open, clean back with the thinnest of straps. My mum said that when I put the dress on for the first time, I stood up taller and I reminded her of Grace Kelly—a compliment I will take any day." She paired the ensemble with a 72-inch Erica Koesler veil trimmed in Chantilly lace.

Isabelle asked florists from Gather Design to keep her bouquet "on the smaller side, but still maintain an organic shape." The combination of flowers included lunaria, white garden roses, seeded eucalyptus, and blue tweedia. "We played off the dried lunaria and also included dried blue thistle, dried silvery ivy leaves, and my personal favorite, dried hops!" says Isabelle. "Joe loves craft beer and I thought it would be a great nod to him."

Since her bridesmaids lived in different parts of the country, Isabelle encouraged them to choose their favorite Show Me Your Mumu gown in dusty blue (easy access!)—but when almost all the women preferred the same A-line floor length gown, they agreed to match. Isabelle did give them a little guidance when it came to their shoe choices: "I'm only 5' 2" and didn't want to look like the shortest one next to all my bridesmaids—my maid of honor is 5' 10"," she says. "I asked the taller girls to wear flats and the other girls to wear nude chunky heels no taller than one inch so that we would all be closer in height."

Joe invested in a Ted Baker London black tuxedo, which he had tailored for a custom fit and wore without a vest or cummerbund. "I was also relieved to see that Joe's bow tie was properly tied!" says Isabelle. "He insisted that he was going to learn to tie a real bow tie for our wedding, but of course, never did. Luckily his dad saved the day and tied it for him."

Joe's accessories included a white pocket square with navy blue trim; a set of cuff links with the Scottish thistle that Isabelle gave him as a wedding gift in honor of both their families' Scottish heritage; and a watch laden with sentimental value. "For Joe's Bar Mitzvah, he was gifted a watch by Nancy Sinatra, a family friend," says Isabelle. "Joe never found a chance to wear it until he needed a slim watch with his tuxedo and this one was perfect! It will definitely become a family heirloom."

The couple asked their groomsmen to wear navy blue tuxedos with black vests and ties from The Black Tux; "I wanted to keep Joe as the only guy in a black tux so he would stand out," says Isabelle. Joe's best friend from high school joined his party as a groomswoman. "I asked her to wear the same dress as the bridesmaids but in navy blue to match the groomsmen," says Isabelle. "It was one of my favorite details!"

For their first look, Isabelle and Joe met on the golf course's fifth hole. "Joe and I are introverted people so it was important for us to take some time to see each other before the wedding to help calm our nerves," says Isabelle. "The second I saw Joe, still staring out at the distance waiting for me to tap him on the shoulder, I felt a sense of calm. When Joe turned around, we both smiled the biggest smiles. We were both so giddy."

Isabelle and Joe held their ceremony on Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club's  golf course, where sweeping views of the lake and town below acted as a breathtaking backdrop. "It was important to Joe and I that we got married somewhere our guests could get a great view of the lake," says Isabelle. "The third tee box on the golf course had just that, plus the added bonus of it feeling really intimate as it was tucked around a bend, making it a very private location." But it wasn't easy to access: The couple chartered a boat from the nearby resort to get guests across the lake, and then hired smaller buses to transport them up the hill. "Trying to figure out and perfect the timing of getting our guests over the lake and up to the top of the golf property was very complicated and probably one of the highest costs of the entire wedding," says Isabelle. "But we really believe it was worth every penny."

Isabelle and Joe agreed on a floral chuppah, which combined his religious background with her vision of getting married under a floral installation. Because of the club's golf schedule, the florist had only three hours to set it up—but awed the couple with the end result. "Seeing our chuppah so beautifully curated as if it had always belonged on the hills of Coeur d'Alene was so magical," says Isabelle. "Because of the time restraint, I expected that we would have had to sacrifice the execution of the florals but boy, was I wrong. It was truly more spectacular than I ever could have imagined."

Isabelle and her father paused for a portrait before he escorted her down the aisle. "My father [wore] his custom Mackay tartan vest—my maiden name," says Isabelle. "He was very proud of it."

Joe's stepfather officiated the ceremony, during which the couple exchanged traditional vows and read personal statements they had written themselves. "I mentioned his unbelievable ability to always see the best in any situation," says Isabelle. "Joe was so sweet and talked about how grateful he was for my unwavering support when it comes to big life choices. He was also really silly and mentioned that he was 'grateful for the moments watching trashy TV, when you curl up on my shoulder and I remember that the content on the TV is irrelevant—all that matters is that we are together.'"

Isabelle and Joe chose to honor their backgrounds with a ceremony they refer to as "Jew-ish." "Joe's family is Jewish, and while my family isn't of any specific religion, my dad's mother was a Holocaust survivor, so it was important to us that we honored both of our families' heritage," says Isabelle. "We included a chuppah, ketubah, the breaking of the glass, and dancing the horah during our reception. It was the perfect way to acknowledge the joining of our families."

Though the couple was able to source the reception tables and chairs from a nearby vendor, they had to look further for the cocktail furniture, tableware, and linens they wanted. "One of my very favorite elements was the amazing vintage furniture we had driven up from Portland, Oregon via Archive Rentals," says Isabelle. "We picked out every piece to stay within our color palette. I am so happy we decided to put the extra effort in, because it really enhanced the setting we wanted to create for our guests."

At the cocktail hour, bartenders mixed the couple's two specialty drinks—"Gozzer Huckleberry Lemonade" with vodka, and the "Dirty Bull," a house version of a margarita—behind a bar framed by a towering installation of greenery and lunaria. "We played around with multiple designs and types of lights but ultimately decided on an array of Edison bulbs strung above the majority of the tables and dance floor," says Isabelle. "It glowed so beautifully at night. [Wedding planner] Matty of Matt with the Hat surprised us with the installation of candles at the back of the bar, which was so cool!"

A single large board held the reception seating assignments, printed on acrylic and displayed alphabetically. A garland of lunaria across the top of the board added a delicate shine.

On the reception tables, the couple placed low centerpieces of all-white blooms in white vases along dusty blue runners. Votive and taper candles in glass holders added to the cozy glow from the overhead string lights. "I was really adamant that we had long tables instead of a collection of circular tables, as I loved the visual of the clean lines it provided and the intimacy it created, as if you were just having a close family dinner," says Isabelle.

Isabelle chose white ceramic plates and dusty blue napkins to complement the dark wood tables and white florals. Acrylic place cards tied to slim branches of lunaria referenced the centerpieces, gleaming vintage flatware, and deep blue glassware. Each setting also included a menu detailing the meal, which included a wedge salad, strip steak, salmon, mushroom risotto, and roasted asparagus.

An "understated" two-tier cake from Kayla Carey pulled in the bride's love of blue with abstract designs in a lake-inspired shade over white buttercream topped with a sprig of lunaria and eucalyptus. The couple also offered Earl Gray macarons, peanut butter cookies, and huckleberry-filled donuts.

For their first dance, Isabelle and Joe chose "Magnolia," a song featuring two of their favorite musicians. "John Mayer is one of my favorite artists and Eric Clapton is one of Joe's," says the bride. "It had the perfect slow tempo, and the lyrics were about a man describing his love for and relationship with Magnolia. Magnolia also happened to be the same of the street of our first apartment! It was meant to be!"

Photography, Anna Peters
Venue and Catering, Gozzer Ranch Golf & Lake Club
Event Planning, Matt with the Hat
Flowers, Gather Design Company
Videography, Ferguson Films
Stationery, Cheer Up Letterpress & Design
Cake, Kayla Carey
Music and Lighting, Epic Vibe
Rentals, Archive Rentals; Event Rents
Bride's Gown, Vagabond Bridal
Bride's Accessories, Erica Koesler veil; Lisa Eldredge ring; David's Bridal shoes
Hair and Makeup, Rachel Jordan Beauty
Bridesmaids' Dresses, Show Me Your Mumu
Groom's Tuxedo, Ted Baker
Menswear, The Black Tux
Transportation, Alpha Omega Tours and Charters (bus); Coeur d'Alene Resort (boat)
Guest Book, Artifact Uprising
Paper Goods, Robinson Creative House
Photo Booth, Funnybooth
Rings, Ben Bridge Jeweler (groom); Blue Nile (bride)