One of Rebecca’s couples made it in to The Knot Magazine!  Check out this great feature on Erika & Jamie’s wedding:

A big special thanks to photographer Kate Headley who submitted these photos to The Knot.  You rock!

GORGEOUS!  That is the best way for me to describe this wedding.  Gorgeous bride, gorgeous ceremony and reception locations, gorgeous bridesmaids dresses…just GORGEOUS!!!

The day started out with the ladies getting ready at the Metropolitan Club, where the reception was to be held later.  Maddy and Dana are young members of the Met Club, which offers great events like wine and beer dinners, which the couple regularly attends!

After the ladies finished primping, Alexander Morozov, the amazing and HILARIOUS photographer, arrived to take photos of the girls before they left for the ceremony.

LOVE this picture of Maddy coming down the main staircase at the Met Club.

The ladies then hopped into the limo provided by ING Limo company.  These guys were GREAT.  One of the shuttle buses was in a very minor fender bender, and the company immediately sent out another bus.  Luckily, the first bus was relatively unharmed, and showed up a few minutes later — meaning we had two buses for the price of one!  Not only that, but the drivers were WONDERFUL, and one of them ran to the store and picked up a bottle of champagne for Maddy and Dana to enjoy on the ride back to the club after the ceremony!  Talk about customer service!!!

As guests arrived at the ceremony, they were greeted by bagpipes, played by one of Dana’s fraternity brothers.  (How handy is it to have a fraternity brother who plays the bagpipes?!  Also, do you think they would get drunk in college and make him play the bagpipes at parties?  I need to know this information)

The ceremony was held at the absolutely adorable Little Sanctuary at St. Albans.  (Photo from the St. Albans School web site)

HOW CUTE IS THAT??!?!  Dana went to school here at St. Albans, so he and his family have known the minister and the organist for years!

After the ceremony, we walked over to the AMAZING Bishop’s Garden behind the National Cathedral for photos.  St. Albans, in case you didn’t know, is on the grounds of the National Cathedral…very handy for awesome wedding photos, but you don’t have to get married on the grounds to use this stunning space!

This is maybe my favorite mother/daughter picture ever.  I teased Maddy all day, saying she had been practicing her Tyra…little did I know, she had been learning those poses for a LONG time…like mother, like daughter

After the photos, Maddy and Dana rode in the limo to enjoy their champagne and head back to the Met Club to start the party!

The flowers were provided with one of my FAVORITE florists, Growing Wild.  I think I recommended Barbara to Maddy and Dana at our very first meeting, before they had even booked me!

The peonies are from her farm!  She told Maddy she had used pretty much every last peony she had available on the farm, and the result was AMAZING!

After being treated to a wonderful dinner, the bride danced with her dad while the groom danced with his mom — I love this cute image Alexander took.

This was the least crowded the dance floor was the rest of the night, though!  Hang the DJ ROCKED the dance floor!

Do they look familiar?  You might also know them as Juniper Lane, a popular DC/MD/VA (and Dewey Beach!) band.  LOVE these guys, and the guests did too!

Dana and Maddy had a LOT of college friends at the wedding, so we had to be sure to take a big group photo of the Hamilton crew!

(I told you there were a lot of them!)

Alexander also got some great photos of Dana with his fraternity brothers:

Even with all of these group photos, Dana and Maddy were able to sneak away to the beautiful library of the Met Club for some bride and groom photos:

This next one was my idea…I call it the naughty librarian

I LOVE it when photographers get a picture of me with my couples!

Of course, Alexander had to get in on the action too!

And he also got a cute picture of me with Linsey, the Event Coordinator at the Met Club:

Not only did the Met Club provide a beautiful and delicious cake:

But they provided these amazing truffles, along with this gorgeous sugar sculpture for the bride and groom.  Look at the look on Maddy’s face — this might be my favorite photo of the night!

Congratulations, Maddy and Dana!  We need to hang out in Arlington sometime!!!

Hey, gang!  I’ll have some AMAZING pro photos taken by Michelle Lindsay for you soon from Diane and Allen’s gorgeous wedding at the Clarendon Ballroom, but to tide you over, I have some pictures their guests took and posted to a web site Diane and Allen set up to see the pics!  I LOVE that so many couples are doing this — it’s SO much better than the disposable cameras on the tables, since everyone’s cameras are digital now, and you get to see so many candid shots you might have missed!

First up are some shots of the GORGEOUS flowers provided by Yellow Door Floral Design:

I loved the girls bouquets…I can’t wait to post some close ups of them!

The kids in this wedding (an adorable set of triplets!) were AWESOME!

I need to remember to ask Sandra at the Clarendon Ballroom who did this GORGEOUS cake!  The Clarendon Ballroom does in house catering, but outsources its cakes.  SO pretty!

I LOVE an involved groom, and Allen was a great one!  He designed a lot of the couple’s stationery items, including their programs and escort cards (check out the cute icons for dinner choices on the escort cards

Allen also purchased some great props for their photo booth — I can’t wait to see more pictures from this!

Stay tuned for pro pics in the next few weeks!

The first time I met Kate and Brian in the fall of 2009 I knew working with them would be a real treat – they certainly did not disappoint! Married June 12th, working with Kate and Brian was such an absolute pleasure. Cassidy DuHon did an amazing job capturing the day.

Aren’t the bridesmaids bouquets gorgeous? Kudos to Linda from Heaven on Earth who was such a joy to work with!

Here is a shot inside the limo heading to St. Thomas Apostle Catholic Church for the ceremony:

Brian and his best man – his dad Tom! Don’t they look dapper:

Kate and Brian’s attendants were so much fun! Here they are getting ready for the processional:

The ceremony, officiated by Father John Kartje was beautiful and included many special personal touches. Father John flew in from Chicago to be a part of Brian and Kate’s special day!

Husband and Wife! I love this shot:

In the limo heading downtown to take some formal photographs at the monuments:

Kate and her bridesmaids:

A shot of the groom and his groomsmen:

Cassidy DuHon really captures great moments and this is one of my favorites:

The Omni Shoreham was such a  beautiful backdrop for some of the portraits. I love with one of all the girls!

The hammocks on the property made for some great, playful shots:

The patio behind the ballroom served as the site for the cocktail hour and luckily for us, the rain held off just long enough for the guests to enjoy some time outside before heading in to eat.

Atmosphere Lighting did a great job setting the mood with the lighting and the centerpieces Linda put together made the room look absolutely stunning!

I love the green and black color scheme!

Fluffy Thoughts provided this gorgeous (and delicious) three tiered cake complete with a custom damask middle tier.

The couple used Washington landmarks as their table names along with some of their engagements shots. I love the touch of personality it added to each table:

Kate and Brian had one of the best choreographed first dances I have ever seen!

The couples sweetheart table gave them a great vantage point of the room. I loved the green linens and black chiavari chairs!

Brennan Sullivan with Bialek’s Music kept everyone dancing long into the night:

I’ve never seen a dance floor so packed!

Kate and Brian had a great group of friends surrounding them on their special day.

Here is Kate, her matron of honor and the rest of the girls getting down on the dance floor:

The guys did their fair share of dancing as well!

Here are the bride and groom, once again demonstrating their awesome dance moves!

It was such a pleasure to work with Kate and Brian over the last few months. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of such a special day!

Guess who’s on the cover of this season’s Washingtonian Bride & Groom magazine?  That’s right — Wish couple Sarah & Jon!  These two love birds got hitched at the Meridian House last fall.  We haven’t blogged their wedding yet but here’s a sneak peek at one of the many cute details that Sarah came up with:

A very special thanks goes to Carlos Andres Varela who provided the stunning photo!

I had the pleasure of sharing my Memorial Day weekend with April and Lindsay as they got married in the beautiful Meridian Hill Park, which is just across the street from Josephine Butler Parks Center, where the reception was held.

April was glowing when she arrived at Josephine Butler to finish getting ready for the ceremony.  She insisted on taking this picture with me and my little assistant (who is due to arrive any day now!).  All of the awesome photographs were taken by Laurel Jensen of Laurel Jensen Photography.

And there is Lindsay getting on his boutonniere just downstairs.  The feathers in all the personal flowers were a great touch.  Bethany and Jeanne from Park Florist in Takoma Park, MD really did an amazing job with all the flowers.

April’s bouquet was absolutely gorgeous.  Bethany and her team secured a hankie that was April’s Grandmother’s to the bouquet using an antique brooch that April had found.  I loved the color scheme for all the arrangements.  The colors were romantic, but very appropriate for the laid back feel that April wanted to achieve for her Memorial Day weekend nuptials.

The couple’s family and friends gathered in the park to witness the ceremony performed by A.C. Warden of Capital Ceremonies.  A.C. did a great job customizing the ceremony to incorporate all the elements that were important to April and Lindsay.

As we all know, it was quite warm that Saturday, so the couple provided these really pretty parasols for their guests.  This blue one really made for some cool pics!  Aren’t these two cute!

The park really was a great backdrop for photos.  These two are a perfect match and Laurel did a fabulous job capturing the special moments.

The front view of Josephine Butler Parks Center in DC.

There are so many wonderful elements in this shot of the welcome/gift table.  April had given the florist a bunch of old scarves, hankies, table cloths and pieces of fabric that she loved and Bethany from Park Florist used them throughout the venue.  I love how this particular piece looked under this arrangement, which was contained in an old fashioned mason jar.  But the best part is the picture of Lindsay’s grandparents who were married 66 years earlier on the exact same day!

Guests were asked to write a message to the couple and leave it in an old box.  Special thanks to both of my assistants that day, Jasmine and Jenny, for helping with all of the set up.

Love this photo of the couple as they enter to join their guests and get the party started!

The reception space is perfect for smaller weddings.  If you love a ton of natural light, this is the venue for you!

All of the centerpieces were slightly different and while it is a bit hard to see in this photograph,  all of the tables had one of those unique pieces of fabric under the flowers.

Love the lace under this one!  I also like the use of the silver julep cups for the centerpieces.  The couple served mint juleps as one of their signature cocktails!

Josephine Butler also has this great terrace on the second floor just off the reception space, which is perfect for guests during cocktail hour and throughout the night.

April and Lindsay enjoying a fun moment during their first dance!

Ok, let me just tell you how delicious the food was!  As always, Peggy McGuire and the folks at Main Event Caterers did a superb job with all the details.   They are always a pleasure to work with.

April and Lindsay didn’t have a traditional wedding cake.  Instead, they decided to have some of their friends contribute homemade desserts of their choice.

The Capitol Building….made from white chocolate….yummmm!!!

The couple chose two pies from the selection to cut in front of their guests.

The couple supplemented the homemade desserts with some yummy cupcakes from Hello Cupcake!  Each flavor was topped with a monogram.  Main Event did a fantastic job with the dessert display.

Congratulations, April and Lindsay!  Thanks for letting me be a part of your day!

xoxo,

Felicia

Memorial Day weekend arrived VERY early for me this year, as I woke up at 6 am to trek to the Old Town Alexandria Farmer’s Market to buy flowers for Jen and Nate’s casual BBQ wedding.

See, Jen knew she needed help with the bouquets and personal flowers but thought she could handle the centerpieces on her own, and boy was she right!

The peonies and lilacs I bought that morning were SO gorgeous and fragrant, it made me start to consider actually getting married in the summer!  (Until I remembered that I hate being hot…and it’s hot in the summer.)

All photos from fellow Demon Deacon, Christine Meulemans.  Go Deacs!

Jen and Nate met learning to sail on the Potomac, so it was only natural for them to have their wedding on the river at the beautiful Collingwood Library:

The ceremony was held where Christine is standing while taking this picture, down on the waterfront, with the cocktail hour on the patio at the side of the house (which you can see guests enjoying here), and the reception inside the Conference Center.  (I’ll be honest…I miss the days when you could have your reception outside on the patio at Collingwood.  You still can, but you can’t have amplified music, so if anyone knows a good jazz trio or Dixieland Jazz Band, this is your place!!)

Jen and Nate wanted to make lots of use of the water, so Nate arrived via a groomsman’s sailboat!

He then took a little zodiac-dinghy thing to the property, where he ran up to get changed into his custom-made suit!

Meanwhile, Jen and the girls were getting ready in the beautiful bride’s room inside the house:

I am SO in love with her Grecian-inspired dress, which she got OFF THE RACK at Bloomingdale’s!  And she didn’t even need to have it altered — it fit her PERFECTLY!  So jealous!

The fun, summery bouquets were provided by one of our favorite florists, Maryam’s Flowers.  I had just worked with Maryam on another wedding a few weeks earlier, which you’ll get to see shortly!

Soon, it was time for the ceremony to start — guests had made their way down the hill and just as the ceremony was about to start, the clouds parted and created the beautiful sunny setting for Jen and Nate’s vows.

Jen had her girls choose whatever dresses they wanted, as long as they were seersucker.  They did SUCH a great job, including her sister, who had hers custom-made.  I LOVE the lace peeking out from underneath!

The flower girl and ring bearer did a great job…

And then it was time for Jen and her dad to walk down the aisle.  The problem?  Remember that gorgeous dress?  Well, the grass was a little wet, and naturally Jen didn’t want the dress to be ruined.  So she did what any sensible bride wearing Havaianas would do…

She hitched up that dress and walked right down the aisle!  And she looked GORGEOUS doing it, with hair and makeup from one of our favorite day spas, Sugar House.

LOVE this shot of Nate nervously waiting for his bride, while her sister excitedly looks down the aisle

After a beautiful ceremony, Nate and Jen were pronounced husband and wife, and they set off down the aisle…until breaking into the most adorable run I’ve ever seen.

After the ceremony, Christine was able to take some time to get some AMAZING shots of the bride and groom:

This last one is probably my favorite…it just shows Jen’s playfulness perfectly…

Afterward, Jen and Nate got to sample some of the appetizers:

The guests made their way inside to the Conference Center, which our awesome team of Wish assistants helped me decorate.  Christine did a fantastic job of getting pictures of the details — we love it when our photographers do this!

Jen ordered these adorable stickers to go on Hershey’s kisses, which we put a bowl of on each table.

When Nate proposed, he wrote a message on a sail and flew it off the boat for Jen to see.  Jen brought that sail to the wedding for all to appreciate (thanks to Jen’s VERY tall brother for helping me hang this up!)

Jen wasn’t sure if their guests were a big dancing crowd, but she wanted to make sure they were entertained (as well as take advantage of the gorgeous grounds at Collingwood). She brought along a croquet set and a couple of bocce sets, which Jamie, one of our super assistants, made adorable signs for!

As you can see, the guests (especially the kids) definitely took advantage of it!

Before she cut the cake, Jen changed into a traditional Vietnamese outfit, which Nate’s family had brought her.  Unfortunately, no one told her how to put the hat on, so it ended up upside down!  Nate straightened her out, though…

Then it was time for the newlyweds to cut the DELICIOUS cake, provided by Balducci’s in Alexandria.

Don’t you LOVE the sailing rope coiled around the cake as a nod to their shared love?  Too cute

After the cake was cut, one of Nate’s groomsmen (and owner of the boat that delivered him to the ceremony!) offered a toast and dedicated the perfect song to Jen and Nate, the Zac Brown Band’s “Toes in the Water.”

Jen and Nate, thanks for letting me be part of your special day.  Congratulations!

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Melanie & Adam on their gorgeous wedding at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC.  I met Melanie in the spring of 2009 and it was a pleasure every step of the way.  I wish I could take credit for this girl’s fabulous details but all the cute touches are her own!

I was really thrilled to be working with a phenomenal team of vendors.  A big special thanks goes to Mark Medrick at the Fairmont, who really made sure the service was top-notch.  I wish I could steal him from the Fairmont to work weddings for Wish –he’s a true gem!  Another big thanks goes to Regeti’s Photography.  Amy & Srinu Regeti are, well, amazing.  Take a look for yourself!

Our bride, Melanie, gets finishing touches by the very talented makeup artist Carl Ray:

She’s looking pretty fabulous, eh?  All ready for a wedding!

I love the ‘Regeti’s-style‘ portraits.  They come up with such lovely, natural, and elegant poses:

Melanie & Adam are Jewish so they saw each other before the ceremony.  In Jewish tradition, the signing of the Ketubah (marriage contract) is the real wedding ceremony.  They get married before the bride walks down the aisle!  Luckily this event also means that we can do some cute ‘first look’ and formal portraits before the events begin:

I have a pretty lucky history with weather and this wedding was no exception.  Big gray storm clouds threatened some rain but it held off long enough to get some stunning photos in the Fairmont’s garden courtyard.  These portraits go perfectly with the garden theme of the wedding:

I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to our wonderful florist, Alison de Wit at Distinctive Floral Design.  Check out Melanie’s bouquet!  Just wait until you see the centerpieces.

Don’t Melanie & Adam have a handsome group of friends?

After the portraits were done, the bridal party and family headed up to sign the Ketubah in a private ceremony.  An hour later, it was time for the second (public) ceremony.  Rabbi White did an excellent job in keeping the service lighthearted but also endearing.

Obviously this photo was not taken by the Regeti’s:

A special shout-out goes to the Cherry Blossom String Quartet.  I love working with these guys since they’re always on time, play beautifully, are professional, and are very easy to work with.  Plus, we did Julia’s wedding a few months ago 

I especially loved this photo of Adam reading his vows:

After these two lovebirds tied the knot for a second time, guests celebrated with some cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.  Even though it wasn’t raining, the heat outside prohibited us from using the courtyard like Melanie had hoped.  Luckily the Fairmont’s lobby is quite large and we had a private area with plenty of sofas and mingling space.

The ‘English garden’ theme was really played up with her adorable vintage-esque birdcages and fresh English roses:

I especially liked the little pewter chairs that held the escort cards:

Back in the Colonnade, the ceremony room was being ‘flipped’ for the reception!  If you’re having your wedding ceremony and reception at the same venue, this is a wonderful way to make the best use of the most beautiful space.  The Fairmont’s ballroom is particularly beautiful since there is so much natural light from the pretty garden courtyard.  I bet you couldn’t even tell that these tables were waiting ‘in the wings’  the whole time:

Vintage postcards marked tables instead of numbers:

Check out these lush centerpieces!  Doesn’t this just scream ‘romantic English garden tea party‘?

As cute details and wonderful conversation pieces, Melanie & Adam displayed vintage wedding cake toppers from several family weddings:

Another detail that can’t be overlooked is the stationery set.  These wedding invitations and programs were HAND-PAINTED by Kristy Rice’s fabulous team at Momental Designs.  The floral motif is based on Melanie & Adam’s china pattern!  I think this is a wonderful piece of art that really sets the tone for a fabulous event:

The wedding cake by Cherry Blossom Cakes was truly yummy:

Yet another photo not taken by the Regeti’s:

I couldn’t get over this photo of our newlyweds cracking up during one of their toasts.  I wish I could remember what the joke was!

Instead of a traditional guest book, Melanie & Adam chose a photo booth and photo guest book by Posh Booth:

Of course it wouldn’t be a Jewish wedding without the Hora!  DJ Chris Laich kept everyone on the dance floor all night:

Cutting the cake:

Here’s our lovely couple with Mark Medrick, the wonderful host at the Fairmont.  He was excellent every step of the way.  If you’re interested in having your wedding at the Fairmont, definitely get in touch with him!

Melanie & Adam wanted an extra surprise for her guests before they left for the evening.  She chose a macaron display with several flavors of macarons.  Boy were the guests surprised when they walked out of the ballroom and spotted this spread of treats!  These scrumptious macarons were provided by Michel Patisserie:

Of course the Regeti’s did a much better job with the photos than I did:

It will be a few more weeks until we have some video of this event, but it was filmed with a regular HD camera and also Super 8 film (!) by Blue Sky Films.  I can’t wait to see what Colin shot & how it’s edited together.  Those guys always come up with some wonderful films.

…and they lived happily ever after:

Congratulations again, Melanie & Adam!  It was really a joy to work with you both and I wish you many successes and much happiness over the years.

PS – want more photos of this wedding?  Check out the Regeti’s Photography blog!

Alison & Jeremy chose Rose Hill Manor in scenic Leesburg, VA for their wedding — I wanted to share some photos of their big day!  Special thanks goes to Julia MacInnis, wedding photographer extraordinaire. First, Rose Hill:

While R&R Catering & Wish were setting up downstairs, the girls were getting ready upstairs.  Check out the vibrant bouquets that Linda from Heaven on Earth Wedding Flowers brought:

Doesn’t Alison look like a princess?  Her big dreamy dress fit the wedding perfectly:

::le sigh::  Julia really creates some stunning photos:

This is the “OK, let’s get married!” look:

Rose Hill has a magnificent brick terrace that’s perfect for an outdoor ceremony.  This is also a great site for a tent if you have a really large wedding:

Aren’t these two adorable?

Big bridal parties are always a logistical challenge but they sure are a lot of fun:

Rose Hill keeps their grounds pretty manicured.  See what I mean about how pretty Leesburg is for a wedding?

Back inside, R&R Catering’s chivari chairs, gold chargers, and white pintuck linens await the reception:

If you’re going to have a favor, it might as well be chocolate.  Edible favors are definitely the way to go, especially cute personalized ones like these:

Here’s another view of Rose Hill Manor, looking down from their second-floor balcony:

Look who caught the bouquet!

Congratulations, Alison & Jeremy!  For some more photos of this wedding, be sure to visit Julia MacInnis’ blog!

I have known this bride for a LONG time.  I began my career years ago at Wolf Trap and one summer, had a WONDERFUL intern named Julia.  Fast forward over 10 years later, and I see on Facebook Julia’s getting married!  I email her to congratulate her, and she says “oh, and by the way, I need a planner…”  Of course I signed right up!

Julia planned every last detail but Chris, a graphic designer, designed all of the paper pieces, including the menus, invitations, and programs!

I absolutely LOVE this photo of the couple, just after they were married, at the church’s entrance.  How gorgeous is that vintage fur stole, compliments of the bride’s grandmother?

After the ceremony, everyone headed to the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks to start the party.  This Marriott has a GORGEOUS cocktail area, made even more beautiful by the lighting from Swank Audio Visuals:

Throughout the planning, Julia kept talking about the “wow” factor in the ballroom.  Well, she definitely got it!  With a combination of the already beautiful ballroom:

Linens from DC Rental:

More lighting from Swank:

…and my favorite part, the centerpieces!  Chris and Julia had three different centerpieces.  Two of them were provided by a Wish favorite, Barbara Von Elm at Growing Wild:

And the third was designed by Julia and put together by my beautiful assistants and me! (and which you’ve seen before, as they’re for sale!)

(The small bride’s cake was based on Chris’ design from the invitations!)

As if that wasn’t enough sugar, Julia’s mom baked mini breads for guests to take home, sealed with the couple’s custom monogram (again, created by the groom) and gave them the recipe for the bread to bake at home!

A few more gorgeous pictures of the day: