Timothy + Becca’s Wedding at Hotel Leo in Bellingham

There are weddings where the venue is simply where the wedding happens, and then there are weddings where the building becomes part of the story. Timothy and Becca’s wedding at Hotel Leo in downtown Bellingham is definitely that.

They wanted a classic wedding, but not a stuffy one. Their description was pretty simple: a fun, chill party with the people they love. And that really is what the day felt like.

Hotel Leo, which many longtime Bellingham locals still know by its historic name, the Leopold, was such a good fit for them. Parts of the hotel date back to the old Leopold Hotel era, and the Crystal Ballroom itself dates to 1929. The ballroom still has its huge windows, curved ceiling, crystal chandeliers, ornate gold details and adjoining Rose Room. There is so much history in the building, but it doesn't feel like a museum. People are still gathering, celebrating and getting married in the same spaces where people have been doing exactly that for generations.

And for Becca, there was one room in particular that helped sell them on the hotel.

The library. Rebecca loves to read, and when they saw the library at Hotel Leo, they fell in love with it. So of course that became the place for their first look.

Before the ceremony, Tim waited by bookshelves while Becca came in behind him. They also used that time to read letters from one another, standing back to back in front of the shelves before finally seeing each other. I loved that they chose a part of the hotel that actually meant something to them instead of just looking for the most obvious photo location.

There were little pieces of their story worked into the day everywhere.

Becca made her own veil by hand over three months time, knitting the beautiful wrap she wore with her dress. She also carried a 100-year-old borrowed handkerchief that had been passed through the family for more than 4 weddings, wore earrings that were gifted to her grandmother by her grandfather before his passing, also her mother's heart shaped hair combs were Becca's something blue. Her white leather shoes had leather bows and red leather trim, which matched her red-tipped manicure and tied right into the red running through Tim's wedding look.

Tim wore a red vest with his suit, along with a tie clip that belonged to his grandfather, who passed away 26 years ago. His cuff links, and the cuff links worn by his groomsmen, were a gift from his brother.

Even Becca's ring has a story behind it. Tim custom designed it himself, taking his time with the process rather than simply walking into a store and choosing something from a case. As Tim says, "What do you get the girl who worked jewelry for five years? Something she's never seen before." Three months of weekly meetings with Erickson's Jewelers, along with the help of bridesmaid April, resulted in a stunning, timeless, original piece.

Their story together started about eight and a half years ago, on a cruise of all places. They met through friends of friends after Tim's delayed flight resulted in a free voucher, one of those random little changes in plans that ends up changing much more than expected. They spent their first year together long distance before Rebecca reached a point where she was ready to move. They moved in together and have been together ever since.

Years later, Tim planned the proposal around something Becca's mom had always wanted to do. He flew her mom up for a Christmas trip to Leavenworth, and after a very cold day of walking around town, just as everyone was getting ready to head back to the Airbnb, he got down on one knee and proposed.

Fast forward to their wedding day in Bellingham.

The girls got ready in the historic Leopold Suite while the guys found what might be one of the best ways possible to spend the hours before a wedding: playing pool. Hotel Leo has several common spaces throughout the property, including its billiards and social areas, which gave everyone places to actually hang out instead of spending the entire afternoon tucked away in a hotel room.

By ceremony time, the Crystal Ballroom had been transformed.

The colors leaned into that late-summer-turning-to-fall feeling Becca had described during her planning. Deep red linens, cream, blush and gold filled the room. The flowers brought in sunflowers, reds, pinks and warm seasonal colors, with tall candles glowing across the tables. Against the ballroom's blue carpet, dark curtains, gold mirrors and chandeliers, it all worked surprisingly well together.

The Crystal Ballroom is one of those spaces that is naturally beautiful. It is about 3,000 square feet, with tall windows running along the room, an arched ceiling and the original formal details that make it immediately recognizable as an old ballroom.

But some of the most important details in the room had nothing to do with décor.

Two chairs were reserved for Tim's mother and father, draped with memorial linens reading, “Though I'm not here, my love and joy are with you in every way.” Nearby, another remembrance display held family photographs surrounded by flowers, along with a guitar and flute.

Instead of a traditional guest book, Tim and Becca had everyone sign a quilt handmade by Becca's mother, Mellodye. Guests left messages right on the fabric, turning something meant to be kept at home into a record of the people who were there with them that day. It felt much more personal than a book that might eventually end up tucked onto a shelf.

Billy Wellen officiated the ceremony in the Crystal Ballroom, with Meghan Quayle beside Becca as Maid of Honor along with bridesmaids April Cooper and Riley Peyton. John Belyea stood with Tim as Best Man, joined by Aaron Burke and Andrew Peyton.

Afterward, everyone moved into the adjoining Rose Room and bar for cocktail hour while we finished photographs. The Rose Room connects directly with the ballroom and historic lobby through the hotel's original hand-painted sliding doors, so the transition between ceremony, drinks and reception felt easy and natural.

They also had his and hers signature cocktails, which I always think tells you a little something about a couple.

Becca's “Blushing Bride” combined local gin, French cassis liqueur, lemon, simple syrup and bubbly.

Tim's “Man of the House” went in a completely different direction with rye whiskey, ginger, lemon, marigold tea and a Hefeweizen float.

Then there was dessert.

Mom and Pop's Cakery created their wedding cake and a whole dessert spread with macarons and individual parfaits, including strawberry shortcake, banana cream pie and chocolate brownie. It was less of a traditional cake table and more of a choose-your-own-dessert situation, which I fully support.

Once dinner and toasts were finished, DJ Trishyy took over.

She wasn't just someone they found on a wedding vendor list. Tim and Becca knew her from the bar they used to walk to, although it closed in 2020, sadly. They wanted someone behind the music who was already connected to that part of their life.

That kind of decision was pretty representative of their whole wedding.

The pieces weren't there because somebody said a wedding was supposed to have them. They were there because they belonged to Tim and Becca.

And then, after dinner, speeches and all the carefully planned parts were finished, everyone got to do exactly what Tim and Becca wanted from the beginning.

Have a party.

Their first dance filled the center of the old ballroom, Becca's gown moving across the dance floor and Tim still wearing that bright red vest that had been stunning in photographs all day.

Hotel Leo has been hosting weddings in Bellingham for nearly a century.  But this one didn't feel like it was trying to recreate another era.

It felt very much like Tim and Becca.

Classic in some places. Sentimental in others. A little quirky where it should be. Full of family history, books, good drinks, dessert, friends and dancing.

Exactly the chill party they said they wanted.

And a pretty great reason to make the drive from Tacoma to Bellingham with all my gear.

Congratulations, Tim and Becca.

Thank you for trusting Sage and Soul Photography to document it.