An Alaska-Grown Wedding at Shearwater Cove

Some of our favorite floral designs begin with an idea that doesn’t always have an obvious blueprint.

For a 15-foot floral installation floating over our dinner tables at Shearwater Cove, we wanted the flowers to feel like they grew into the pavilion and were a natural part of the structure. It was kind of the cherry on top of our designs for this intimate wedding at an off-grid property accessible only by boat.

We love figuring out how to make those ideas happen—not simply for the sake of doing something different, but because the best designs usually come from really getting to know the people we’re creating them for.

Sometimes our couples share a very clear vision. Other times, they know how they want their wedding to feel but struggle to articulate exactly what that looks like. A big part of our process is drawing that out—asking questions, paying attention to what they respond to, and translating all those pieces into a design that feels distinctly theirs.

There’s a lot of trust involved in that.

We create detailed proposals so our couples can feel confident that we understand the vision before the wedding day ever arrives. But there’s also a point where creative license matters. Flowers are an artistic medium, and some of the magic happens when our couples trust us to take everything we’ve learned about them and make the final decisions in the space, with the flowers in our hands.

That’s usually where something really special happens.

And for this wedding, we got to take that process somewhere pretty incredible: Shearwater Cove, tucked along Resurrection Bay outside Seward and accessible only by boat.

Karen and I were all in.

The flowers began here at Mountain Field Farm in Palmer, where we grew and harvested all of our Alaska-grown flowers that would eventually fill the bridal bouquet, the tables, and the roughly 15-foot floral chandelier installation spanning the dinner area.

By the bride’s request, flowers were only part of the story. Alongside dahlias, snapdragons, amaranthus and other late-summer blooms, she wanted texture—so we brought poppy pods, ninebark, vines, seed heads and all the strange and beautiful botanical ingredients we love growing here at the farm.

Karen also came up with the idea to string individual snapdragon florets together into garlands that would carry color across the chandelier in a completely different way. I absolutely loved the idea, so we ran with it—stringing snapdragon flowers together at home at night to make sure we had enough for the adventure ahead.

Then we packed.

Buckets and buckets of flowers. Boxes of mechanics and supplies. Tools. Installation materials. And because our timeline on-site would be limited, we completed some of the designs ahead of time, including the bridal bouquet, the groom’s floral pocket square and much of the ceremony arch work.

Everything we could possibly need once our truck was no longer sitting outside.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Karen for her expert packing skills. We loaded everything in Palmer, drove roughly 175 miles to Seward, took a 3.5 hour nap and then unloaded at the harbor, transferred the entire floral production onto 2 boast and headed across the bay.

Once we arrived, there was one more logistical detail between us and the wedding:

Stairs.

Or at least they feel that way when you’re carrying buckets of flowers up them.

But we had everything we needed, an incredible team around us, and the whole adventure was genuinely fun. Once everything was on-site, we got to do what we had come all that way to do: make the flowers feel like they belonged there.

Shearwater Cove didn’t need us to transform it. Mountains, water, forest and that ridiculous Alaska view were already doing plenty.

So we leaned into it.

The florals were loose, textural and garden-grown, filled with movement and all those unexpected little ingredients from our fields. Above the dinner tables, the floral installation stretched across the pavilion, creating this huge botanical moment overhead without losing the landscape surrounding it.

On the tables, our flowers complemented the lanterns, candles and place settings brought together by Stephanie with Bluebell Events, creating something abundant and romantic while still allowing everything happening just beyond the pavilion to be part of the design.

And this is where the story gets bigger than flowers.

This entire wedding was such a good example of what can happen when an incredible group of people shows up ready to collaborate.

Stephanie with Bluebell Events kept all the moving pieces moving. The chef who came in for the celebration created an incredible dining experience. The helicopter team took this already epic Alaska wedding one step further when the couple headed off for a helicopter adventure. We can’t wait to see all of the photographer’s images from that part of the day—everything you see here for now is simply what we were able to capture ourselves between flowers and installations.

And then there was the Shearwater Cove crew

The owners are some of the most genuinely down-to-earth, wonderful people to work alongside, and their team delivered the kind of hospitality that sticks with you. From the boat captain getting people—and an impressive amount of flowers—safely across the bay to the staff taking care of everyone on the property, the level of service was exceptional.

Truly world-class hospitality without ever feeling stuffy.

Just really good people taking incredibly good care of others.

With no cell service, all of the wedding-day logistics happened through assigned walkie-talkies—which very quickly became one of my favorite parts of the entire experience.

Everyone had a call sign.

Stephanie our fearless planner was “Alpha.”

Chef Judy was “Carrot Cake.”

And throughout the day, the radios would crackle to life with completely legitimate wedding logistics being discussed by people who sounded increasingly less like wedding vendors and more like we were coordinating a covert wilderness operation with a side of sillyness.

At one point, the couple was getting ready to head off for their helicopter adventure and the bouquet needed to make it there too.

Cue Alpha: Stephanie took off across the property with the bouquet in hand and ran up the mountain!

By the time the candles were glowing, the chandelier was hanging overhead and everyone was gathered around the tables, it was hard not to stop and take the whole thing in.

And then we heard one of the best things we could possibly hear.

Guests saying this was a wedding they would never forget.

That’s the goal.

Not simply beautiful flowers.

We want to create something that feels so connected to the people, the place and the experience that it becomes part of what everyone remembers.

Sometimes that’s an extraordinary bouquet. Sometimes it’s flowers suspended 15 feet across a pavilion. And sometimes it means loading buckets, boxes and half a floral studio onto a boat and heading somewhere incredible.

Amber here, signing off shortly to tell you that Karen and I offer full-service wedding floral design through Mountain Field Farm, both here at the farm and for destination celebrations throughout Alaska.

Bring us the Pinterest board. Bring us the half-formed idea. Bring us the thing you can feel but haven’t quite figured out how to describe yet.

And if the vision requires a long drive, a boat ride, a helicopter, a giant installation—or a little creative problem-solving along the way—we’re all in!

Looking forward to sharing more when the photographer and videographer get footage back!

For now, a special thanks to:

Bluebell Events For planning and decor rentals!

Shearwater Cove for the venue, world class hospitality and the most impressive crew!

Chef Judy of Alaska Culinary Experience for the vibes, heart and incredible food!

Part 2 coming soon!

Farm to Cove:

An Alaska-Grown Wedding at Shearwater Cove

And then there was the Shearwater Cove crew

For now, a special thanks to:

Chasing More Growing Days in Alaska

Mountain Field Farm