Our Experience at the Sinclair & Moore Real Wedding Workshop in Seattle, WA
Have you ever had an experience that changed your life? An experience that felt like it was all a dream while it was happening? Maybe even an out of body experience? Our time in Seattle, Washington at the Sinclair & Moore Workshop was exactly that.
For those of you who don’t already know, Steve & Jamie Moore are the incredible husband/wife wedding planning duo behind Sinclair & Moore. They also do some of the most incredible florals, in house! Their brand is something they’ve worked hard to establish and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. They’ve been recognized as top wedding planners in Martha Stewart, VOGUE, and Harper’s Bazaar. They’ve been featured on all the top wedding blogs and their weddings are some of the most pinned weddings on Pinterest. With all of this success, would you believe they are also two of the kindest souls you’ll ever meet? Over the years, they’ve remained humble and genuine, all while growing their business and their family. They are relatable, and that’s why we all love them.
A dear friend introduced us to their company many years ago when we were doing a rebrand to become a husband/wife wedding planning duo ourselves back in 2014. Since that day, we have followed them on all forms of social media and developed somewhat of an online relationship. We had our kids around the same time, both a boy first, followed by a girl. We’ve spent years commenting on each other’s work, on our kiddos stylish outfits, and have spent time talking about how mean people can be online when they think they know everything about your life solely based off Instagram. We only dreamed of ever knowing them “in real life” and hoped that one day our paths would magically cross. In the meantime, we’ve learned from Steve through online courses or different virtual wedding planner conferences. It’s safe to say, we’ve looked up to Sinclair & Moore for as long as we’ve been in business- as a brand, as a family, as people.
Fast forward to fall of 2017. Each year, Sinclair & Moore hosts a handful of workshops held in their beautiful studio located in the Ballard District of Seattle. These multi-day workshops include all of Steve’s advice, guidance, experience, talents, and industry secrets. He teaches on design and execution, as well as the ins and outs of florals. Along with offering these workshops to anyone interested, they also offer scholarships to several people each year. Steve has been known to say, “It's no secret... I am a dreamer and have always believed in big things for my life that logic and reason would tell me are unattainable. I wouldn't be where I am in life if I didn't dream big. I also wouldn't be where I am if a few people didn't come alongside me, give me a helping hand financially and believe in the beauty of my dreams. This is why I offer scholarships; it's part of my way of giving back. I want to believe in someone's dream and give them that extra help they may need so they can get closer to where they want to be.”
2017 was a really hard year for us. Two kids under two (one of which was born a little early and had MANY digestive issues in the first few months of her life). Leaving all of our friends and our beautifully renovated home in sunny Arizona to move to a much colder climate in Utah. Lots of long conversations, disagreements, and compromises within our marriage. All of that, plus keeping our successful wedding planning business a float and our clients happy. It was just a lot. I found myself (Kris) very unhappy and resentful of this life we were living. Tyler, being the incredible parter that he is, knew this, and at times felt helpless. He’s the provider, the fixer, yet nothing was working. Unbeknownst to me, Tyler submitted my name into the pot for the 2018 Sinclair & Moore Workshop scholarships. He wrote his post one night after I had gone to bed and this is what I woke up to:
“If you actually know me, you also know my beautiful wife Kris. And if you know Kris, you know she’s a wedding planner. Why? Because she is OBSESSED with weddings in a way that anyone should only hope to be obsessed with their work. Almost a decade ago, Kris set out on her journey, seeking to learn everything she could. From managing a cupcake business, to a dress shop, to classes online, to planning weddings for free & assisting some of the best in town, all before finally considering herself a “real” wedding planner. To help her, I pitched in my nights & weekends. Konsider It Done was a real thing now. An LLC. A website. Business cards. We were small business owners! Through the years we’ve ebbed & flowed. We’ve pivoted & adjusted. We’ve diversified & focused. Kris’ dreams have never changed, only grown. Recently, I took an amazing new job & we moved the family & business HQ to Utah. Kris moved because she knows how much my career means to me. I’m posting this because I know how much her career means to her. She’s been through a lot in 2017 with our 2nd baby, a big move, helping pursue my dreams, all while still keeping a business afloat from another state. She’s a trooper. An inspiration. She deserves more than I can give her. So, I’ll post this, hoping that someone else can help. Steve & Jamie... we both admire you two in so many ways. Can we please have dinner sometime & let us gush about all the ways? For years we’ve watched and been inspired by you both. To be clear, I’m nominating Kris for the scholarship because she deserves it more than I can articulate & because there’s nobody else she’d rather learn from than you. It’s most literally a dream of hers, & would mean the world to her. You ask what we’d do if money wasn’t an obstacle. Well, Kris would attend every one of your workshops & plan weddings for free. Without a doubt. I am her supporter & will always believe in the beauty of her dreams. I appreciate the consideration & hope that together we can make her dreams come true. Much love, Tyler”
There were many comments on his post from family and friends alike, but also, a comment from Steve, “You are a good man Tyler Zeman.” Cue the tears. The scholarship winners wouldn’t be announced until days later. That weekend, we were on a plane to Arizona for our last wedding of the season. When we touched down in Phoenix and turned our phones back on, I was blown away at the amount of text messages, voicemails, and social media notifications appearing on my screen. Turns out, while we were on the plane, Steve had announced the scholarship winners and I was one of them! But I wasn’t a normal winner. See, no one had ever nominated someone else for the scholarships. Most people are nominating themselves, expressing their own hopes and dreams to Steve & Jamie. But Steve made an exception and added a 5th scholarship. He wrote, “Our 5th scholarship goes to a really special submission. Tyler Zeman, I love the way you love your wife... believing in her dreams, supporting her passion and taking the time to write a submission for her. You are an inspiring husband. We'd love to have Kris Zeman join us in 2018.”
In June 2018 I attended the Sinclair & Moore Real Wedding Workshop. This particular workshop allows you to go behind the scenes and be part of putting a real Sinclair & Moore wedding together. Basically this was a wedding planners dream. Learn the business, learn the flowers, learn the process, and then be there at a REAL Sinclair & Moore wedding assisting the team. And the best part, Tyler got to come too! I’ll never really be able to put into words what this experience truly was like for me. Steve & Jamie are the real deal. They are better in real life than they appear online- if you can even believe that. They are kind, patient, funny, smart, giving, creative people. They open up their beautiful home and host dinner to a group of people they only just met. They bring their kids by the studio just to say hi and to meet the attendees. They go above and beyond to help change lives. They make you feel like part of their family. The wedding industry is hard and stressful and it often times requires some thick skin. Not everyone is nice and/or open to teaching their ways. To see these two people and their amazing team treat every single person that was there like you are their friends, their alliances, was unforgettable. I felt special and privileged to be there. My time in Seattle is something I’ll never forget and that I will forever be grateful for. It pushed me to dream bigger and dream harder. It allowed me to meet other creatives from around the world- we had people from Canada, Singapore, and Australia attend our workshop. The attendees came as strangers and left as friends. Receiving a scholarship to attend this workshop changed my life; it changed it for the better. I learned from the best and came back ready to put my collected information into action. I’ll never be able to thank Steve and Jamie enough for this gift they gave to me and to Tyler. I’m beyond grateful and cried thanking Steve in person before saying our goodbyes (and I’m NOT a crier). Do yourself a favor, and add attending one of these workshops to your bucket list… I promise you won’t regret it.
Below you will see photos of the actual workshop days. We will be sharing more about the real S&M wedding in another post soon. For now, enjoy all the prettiness from Ryan Flynn Photography.