I’ll be posting about Julia and Chris’ gorgeous wedding soon, but now that the newlyweds are back from their honeymoon, they’re trying to make room in their house by clearing it of all wedding stuff.  Julia got these great branches at the sadly closed Smith & Hawken, and there are two to each centerpiece.

They come with the tall vase, two branches, black sand and river rocks to hold them up, plus the candles and icicles you see in the picture.  She’s looking for $500 for everything (10 Centerpieces total) (the branches were $30 each just by themselves!) but is willing to take the best offer.  These are REALLY popular, so definitely email her soon!  Pictures (and hints to how awesome their wedding was) below:

The first two photos are from the amazing Liz Hough, the second two are from one of our awesome assistants!  As you can see, the branches were spray painted silver, but you can paint them another color if that works better for you.

You can email Julia or Rebecca (me) for more info!

Remember how rainy it was in June?  CRAZY rainy, right?!  Well, Veronica just KNEW it was going to be gorgeous on her wedding day, so she went ahead and planned dinner for outside, under the stars, no tent.  And you know what?  It was PERFECT!

The day started with the ladies getting their hair and makeup done at Jon’Ric Alexandria, who did a great job getting them dolled up!  Everyone then trekked over to the new National Harbor, where the girls finished getting ready at the Westin.  What great light they had in their room, and great places were found all around at the National Harbor by their photographer, Mark Sypher, of Bella Pictures.

I love this picture of Veronica’s shoes — look how great their view is!

Mark got some GREAT shots of the guys at National Harbor too!

From National Harbor, it is literally about a 2 minute drive up the hill to the gorgeous Oxon Hill Manor.  Everything in this place is beautiful, but one of my favorites is the spiral staircase up to the amazing bride’s room!

I love this shot of Veronica and two of her bridesmaids in the bridal room, one of whom, if you couldn’t tell, is her twin sister!

The room has such gorgeous light — it’s great for a “first look” with the groom, or for dad to see his little girl in her dress for the first time.

Veronica is checking out her dad’s bout — the AMAZING flowers were actually done by Poya’s sister!  This girl basically turned her parents basement into a floral studio for the week before the wedding, and boy was it worth it.  The flowers were GORGEOUS!!!

Actually, the programs were designed by a friend as well.  It’s nice to have talented friends!

As everyone got ready for the wedding, I wrangled the adorable flower girl and ring bearer, who were doing a perfect job…right up until they saw the fountain at the start of the aisle:

I was able to get them on their way…

And then I think someone spotted her mom…

For me, it’s moments like those that make weddings so great — completely adorable and spontaneous.  Luckily, no one actually fell in the fountain!

Mark got some gorgeous shots of the ceremony, which included both Veronica’s faith, Episcopalian, and Poya’s, Baha’i.

After the ceremony in the upper gardens, the guests moved to the house and patios for cocktail hour, while Mark used the awesome reflecting pool for some great shots!

When they finished with photos, everyone returned to the manor to get ready for introductions.  I swear, there’s a picture of me like this at almost every wedding, bustling the bride’s dress.

See that dapper looking fellow standing next to me?  That is the AMAZING Pete Medina.  When Veronica told me that their wedding was being catered by a restaurant (the OHMYGOD SO GOOD Kabob Bazaar in Clarendon), I told her she absolutely HAD to have Pete do her staffing and rentals.  I worked with Pete on Rama and Neel’s wedding, so I knew he was perfect.  He works everywhere from the Italian Embassy on down to offering to get me a few linens for a shower I was throwing.  He does rentals for everything from silverware to linens to ceremony arches, plus he provides a wonderful staff, and, perhaps most importantly, finds out what the bride and groom (and even the Maid of Honor) drink, and makes sure there’s one in their hand all night.  If you’re having a restaurant cater your wedding, or if you need catering staff or linens, post a comment and we’ll send you his information.  He is THE BEST!  He even got Veronica and Poya special linens, chargers and glassware for their sweetheart table.

When Veronica and Poya were introduced onto the patio for the first time as husband and wife, I couldn’t believe it — from every area of the patio, roses came FLYING!  I had never seen this before, but it was so sweet!  They continued to fly during their first dance…you can see some in these photos.

(Author’s Photo)

We were SO lucky to have dinner on the patio — there’s a great fountain, and a great view…plus the night was just PERFECT, temperature wise.  This was largely thanks to the awesome lighting from Frost Lighting. I like working with these guys because they actually leave a technician there on site in case something goes wrong…as it did this night when a little too much power blew a fuse!

After dinner, it was back inside for the delicious cake from Amphora Bakery.

See the Cake Topper?  Veronica really wanted a Gold “S” for their new last name, but all I could find were silver ones…or ones that were INSANELY expensive!  So I did what any crafty (and cheap) girl would do — I bought a silver one and spray painted it gold!  See what your wedding planner can do for you?  We really do save you money

After cake, everyone hit the dance floor where DJ Ani kept the crowd going with Persian and American tunes.  It actually got insanely hot in the room, so the crowd just moved out to the wraparound porch and kept the dancing out there!

Congratulations, Veronica and Poya!  Thanks for a great day, and all the best in the future!

O.M.G.  Can I tell you guys how much I love Hallie and Matt?  I freaking LOVE HALLIE AND MATT!!!  I think every single person involved with their wedding, from my assistants to the photographers to the caterers to the guests all at one point mentioned how NICE this couple is!  I mean, there are just not enough words to express how genuine and adorable these two are.

The day started as the adorable duo that runs Atelier Floral Design, Jen and Rachel, stopped by my house to pick up the INSANE white lanterns that were to be hung at Glen Echo.  I say insane because these were the biggest lanterns I’ve ever seen.  In fact, I had to search my house for some rope because the boxes were so big, they didn’t fit in Jen’s SUV — we had to tie them to the roof!

(Guest Photo)

Jen and Rachel got there a few hours before me because there were SO many lanterns to set up!  Luckily, Glen Echo has this cool rolling scaffolding thing…I mean, lucky for the people who would climb on it.  At the end of the night I got about three steps up before realizing that I was afraid of heights.  Thank God for assistants!

Soon after I arrived at Glen Echo, Tom and Ashley from Documentary Associates showed up and started scouting locations, and I just knew their pictures were going to be AMAZING…you’ll see they didn’t let me down!

How gorgeous is Hallie’s dress?!  Almost as gorgeous as these Christian Louboutin red shoes! In the words of Rachel Zoe, I Die:

Now, when Hallie and Matt told me they were getting married on July 18th, at Glen Echo, in the Bumper Car Pavilion, my immediate thought was “Um…the bumper car pavilion isn’t air conditioned, right?”  No, no it isn’t.  However, someone up there must have realized how truly amazing this couple is, because it was like 72 degrees and AMAZING.  I mean, look at this sky!

It was literally the most perfect day anyone could ask for — in fact, by the time the sun went down, I would dare to say it was actually cool!!  ON JULY 18TH!!!!

Sorry, where was I?  Oh, so, back to the amazing girls at Atelier. Not only do these chicas hang lanterns, but look at their adorable flower arrangements!!!

Hallie wanted lots of different arrangements, and boy did they deliver!  Different shapes and sizes, different vessels…they even had hydrangea in ice cream cones on the cocktail tables!

(Author Photo)

And look at these adorable tea cups, which, if I’m not mistaken, came from Jen’s kitchen!

I loved Matt’s bout, too.

Hallie and Matt wanted a very short, very meaningful ceremony.  And they wanted a great officiant.  Luckily I knew just the gal, having met her at Lindsay and Sam’s awesome wedding last year — Rev. Amanda Tate. Amanda is seriously the NICEST person — and is now registered in Virginia as well as Maryland!  I have referred her to so many of my brides (as well as several of my friends) because she is just so sweet, and makes the ceremony so personal.  Of course, Hallie and Matt added to this by writing their own vows. One of them MAY have been writing her vows that morning, on the balcony of her hotel room…I won’t say who…

(Oh, Facebook, how I love you…)

Speaking of Facebook, I was able to “borrow” quite a few adorable photos from the shutterbug guests at the wedding:

Now, generally, for the stomping of the glass, which is part of the Jewish tradition, couples will either have a special bag or just borrow a linen from the caterer.  Hallie wanted to make it special, so she grabbed a wine bag from their kitchen…and a lightbulb right from their hall closet!  I even saw her unscrew it!  (Tip…glasses these days are pretty hard to break…most people use a lightbulb!)

Speaking of Jewish traditions, Matt and Hallie wanted to do the Hora (Matt’s family is Jewish).  You know, there are some things as a wedding planner that you just have to learn.  One of them is that you need two NON-FOLDING CHAIRS to do the hora!  And preferably a bride whose dress isn’t 100% silk…it tends to be a little slippery!

(Yes, that is a look of terror on Hallie’s face…and she hasn’t even been lifted up yet)

(See what I meant about those giant lanterns?!  Those things were HUGE!)

Before the Hora, though, guests found their way to their seats by the CUTEST escort cards!  Hallie and Matt have a friend who is a graphic designer.  Although I think some of the post cards that were used may have actually been authentic post cards, I believe many of them were created by their friend.  How great to have a friend like that!

I have to insert here that I had absolutely NOTHING to do with the hanging up of these escort cards.  Luckily, I had three amazing assistants with me that day — Felicia, Rene, and Tara — you girls were LIFE SAVERS!  The project was slightly more complicated than I thought it would be, and I am SO grateful to these girls for using some ingenuity to figure out how to make it work!

(Guest Photo)

It wasn’t enough for each guest to have a vintage post card — Hallie and Matt actually went to the trouble of making sure EVERY post card matched where the guest came from!  What a sweet, thoughtful touch!

Another sweet touch was providing tickets for their guests to ride the GORGEOUS carousel at Glen Echo. Check out the beautiful sign…made from my handy dandy Mac

Did Hallie and Matt have a lot of kids at their wedding?  Nope…these carousel rides were for everyone!

(Guest Photo)

(Guest Photo)

After dinner, although they had a small cake to cut, the main focus for the desserts was out in the Cuddle Up.

My favorite caterer, Main Event, not only did an awesome job with dinner, but they had both a cotton candy machine and a sno cone machine going!

Look at the adorable way they displayed the cotton candy!  And let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!  I felt like I was at the county fair!

(Guest Photo)

Oh, what else have they got there?  ICE CREAM!??!!  Oh, that’s right — Matt somehow tracked down the NICEST guy to bring his ice cream truck out to Glen Echo, music and all!  A.J. was the SWEETEST, and if you need an ice cream truck at your next wedding, birthday party, or, you know, Tuesday, let me know, and I’ll send you his info — you won’t be disappointed!

And now, just because I have to show you just how amazing Tom and Ashley are, here are a few more GORGEOUS shots they took!

As the night came to a close, the guys at Chariots for Hire not only shuttled guests back to the hotel, but also apparently operated a party bus!

(Why, yes, that is our bride and groom, dancing in the aisle of a bus!)

And, just to show you how sweet these crazy kids are, towards the end of the evening, they came to me and said “Rebecca, we have to get a picture with you and your assistant!” — we were happy to have Tom Van Veen of Documentary Associates hop in there too, while his gorgeous wife Ashley took the pic!

Hallie and Matt, thank you SO MUCH for making us part of your day!

I just got Kara & Art’s professional images from northern Virginia wedding photographer Rob Holley.  They’re beautiful!  I really love the way that Rob captures emotion in all the faces.

What’s even better?  He got this done just a few days after the wedding!

Click here to see Kara & Art’s wedding slideshow!

::Disclaimer!  The photos in this post are purely inspirational and not from events that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

Saturday is the 4th of July, and Jessica and I both have weddings in DC!  What better place to celebrate both your wedding and Independence Day?!  In honor of our adorable couples and our Nation, today’s post features the good old Red, White and Blue!

Rebecca Thuss:

Clouthier Photography:

Cook Images:

Marisa Holmes Photography:

Leigh Miller Photography:

Picnics are a great way to celebrate the 4th — how about a cute wagon for your drinks?!

Centerpieces are an easy way to incorporate your color palate without going overboard:

The Knot:

Seriously, how cute is this strawberry topiary?!  Doesn’t it just SCREAM Summer?!

Martha Stewart Weddings:

Or what about using food to add to your theme?  (All food photos are Martha Stewart)

Even your drinks can honor the nation, like this punch from Country Living.

Of course, attire is a great way to incorporate your colors as well.  Andrea Hallgren Photography:

Christine Hall Photography:

Stacey Kane Photography:

Goodlight Photography:

Kimberly Brooke Photography:

Marisa Holmes Photographer:

Sharyn Peavey Photography:

Stacey Kane Photography:

Stacey Kane Photography:

I love these red tulips with the blue dresses — GORGEOUS! (Photo by Scott and Tem Photography)

And, of course, the perfect way to end a wedding on the 4th:

Whether you’re going to a wedding or watching the fireworks, I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July!

Kara & Art were our international couple of the year!  These two have lived all over the world, from Austria to Argentina to South Africa.  They chose Collingwood Library for their wedding this past weekend and their international guests enjoyed the gorgeous setting there.

It’ll be a while until we get professional images from photographer Rob Holley but I thought I’d share mine in the meantime.  We got very lucky that another couple left this cute sign behind:

Barbara at Growing Wild did a marvelous job on the ceremony decoration.  We had shepherd’s hooks lining the aisle, a huge arch at the front of the aisle, and two more altar pieces to mark each end.  She also decorated the gazebo with a big beautiful garland…I wish I had a photo of it but it was all really pretty!  We always enjoy working with Barbara and you can see why brides like her too:

If you’re not familiar with Collingwood (you should be!  It’s open to the public most of the time!), you must know that the best ceremony spot is ALL the way down the hill and far, far away.  I would estimate it’s at least 150 yards?  Luckily they have a golf cart to help elderly guests and the bride also gets a ride down the hill:

If you’re into long aisles, this is probably the LONGEST aisle in town!  It makes for tricky processionals since we have to time the music for different groups of people.  But, that’s why you hire a wedding day coordinator, right?  Here’s the bride and her uncle, on their way:

It’s all worth it in the end, though, when you have a picture-perfect riverfront ceremony.  Bialek’s Music provided a wonderful guitar/violin duo that was just the right touch.  Rev. John Hoffmann created a customized ceremony that included a fun reading from a Dr. Seuss book.  The big beautiful Potomac River makes this wedding spot simply unbeatable:

While guests gathered back on the porch after the reception, we put the finishing touches on the reception room.  Collingwood built this venue about a year ago and we’re glad to finally have it open.  The room doesn’t have much character on it’s own but with a little lighting and some fun colors, it really comes to life!

Here’s the ‘before:’

And after!  Andrew Cissna Lighting Design did a fabulous job for us, including stringing the bulb lights, providing a ceiling wash with a fun pattern, and also doing a monogram on the dance floor to define the space.  I couldn’t have been more pleased with how things turned out:

A close-up of the custom monogram that Andrew designed:

Susan at Federal City Caterers was a rockstar to work with through the entire process.  She was flexible, accomodating, friendly, welcoming, and all-around a joy to work with.  She even worked with their chef to recreate a Finnish recipe for the bride’s family!  I will be recommending them a lot more in the future.  I thought the way they set the tables was really pretty:

Another cool thing to note was their wedding cake!  Stephanie the Baker provided this fun international-themed cake.  She’s a former White House pastry chef and really knows her stuff.  What’s even cooler?  The fondant ’stickers’ all feature a place the bride or groom have lived:

The room looked even better when guests came in for dinner:

Kara’s mom lives here in Arlington and was our liasion for most of the wedding decisions.  Kara dedicated a special song to her mom and it was really a touching moment.  I’ve become so jaded that I rarely cry at weddings anymore…this one brought a tear to my eye:

Cutting the wedding cake.  It was tasty!

Andrew even lit the outside of the building to give it some pop.  I thought the Tiffany blue color looked really great:

Congratulations again, Art & Kara!  I hope you both enjoyed every minute of your day and are traveling safely to Mexico today.  Best of luck with your future lives in South Africa and wherever else your international travel bug takes you!

Meredith might honestly have been one of the most laid-back brides I’ve ever worked with.  Howard was a pretty cool cucumber too, actually.  They’re going to have a great, relaxed marriage…once they’re finally in the same town together, that is!  Meredith will be finishing up her Ph.D. in Austin, Texas while Howard continues his medical/Army training in Norfolk for the first few months of their marriage.

(Photo by the outstanding Jake Holt …more of his photos to come!)

Lori from Windows Catering came up with the awesome table set up for this wedding, which I loved!  It was perfect for the space and the number of people we had, and the DJ (Ron Gray of Kirkabees) remarked that he had been to the venue dozens of times, and had never seen it set up like that!

Isn’t it awesome?!  The dance floor was inside the tables and the chairs were both outside and inside of the square with openings at each end.  It made for great conversation at the tables, too!  Here’s another picture of the set up.  (Above picture, and those below, taken by one of our assistants that day.  I had to hand off my camera because of all of the running around!)  Note the gorgeous blue pintuck linens provided by Windows.  Meredith picked these out, along with the orange linen napkins not only to go with the Mexican theme of the wedding, but also as a nod to the fact that she and Howard are both UVA grads.  Go Hoos!

This was my first time at the Thomas Birkby House, but I hope it won’t be my last!  Wish does a lot of weddings there, which we love, thanks to the beautiful venue and the lovely on-site coordinator, Mary Louise.

Photo by Jake Holt Photography

This venue has it all — adorable historic house (complete with lots of hidden nooks, a GORGEOUS bride’s room, and even cute porches to hang out on), a beautiful courtyard, a big permanent tent, and the most gorgeous gardens!  The little gazebo is where their cake shows up later (although in this picture it was still living inside, in the air conditioning):

See the little banner hanging inside the gazebo?  Meredith special ordered it in orange and blue.  Here is the blue one, which was inside the tent:

We also set up a few tables inside in case people wanted to escape from the heat.  Once the sun set, though, it was absolutely lovely outside, so these didn’t get used much:

Also inside the house was the escort card table.  Although the couple had place cards at each seat, Meredith’s dad came up with a cute “icebreaker” game that also served as an escort card.  Each guest had the name of one half of a couple on each side of their escort card.  When they found their match, that’s who they were sitting next to at dinner!

Photo by Jake Holt Photography

The staff at the Birkby House hung the lanterns Meredith and Howard purchased inside the tent (which you can see in the photos of the tent set up above), and one of our assistants hung a few in the trees as well.  I love the orange stars!

The florist, Barbara Von Elm of Growing Wild, joked to me in an email that we’re dating.  That’s how much we’re seeing each other these days!  You’ll be seeing her handy work for another one of my weddings in just a few weeks, not to mention several other Wish weddings!  She brought in her own Mexican pottery that she had in her house to decorate the cocktail tables in the theme of the wedding…how sweet is that!

Of course, the flowers didn’t stop there.  The tables inside the tent were lined with dozens of small vases filled with different flowers, and the arbor for the ceremony was decorated beautifully as well:

Instead of clinking glasses or ringing bells, the guests shook the maracas that the couple provided as favors at each place setting:

A lemonade stand was set up by the Windows staff at the entrance to the courtyard.  It came in awfully handy when the sun was out!

Instead of a traditional guest book, Meredith and Howard had a friend design a poster for them to have signed:

Photo by Jake Holt Photography

Lori and I had never heard of the company that provided the cake, Terracocoa, but holy moly, you better believe I know them now!  Not only was this cake GORGEOUS but it was one of the most delicious wedding cakes I’ve ever had.  I normally am not a fondant fan but this cake was chocolate with a Burnt Sugar Fondant.  The cake tasted almost like fudge, that’s how rich and decadent it was.  It was I.N.S.A.N.E.  And I know me some wedding cake, kids.  Baker/decorator/owner Marilyn Mueller did an amazing job.  So yummy:

The only teeny, tiny issue with the cake was, well, fondant is fairly thick.  As such, it’s not always easy to cut into.  In spite of my instructions on how to daintily and beautifully cut their cake, by Meredith gently and lovingly resting her hand on Howard’s, preserving their gorgeous photo for years to come, Meredith decided to take a…different approach:

Photo by Jake Holt Photography

That girl cracks me up.

I also want to give a special shout out to K.C. Felton of The Elegant Artisan and Aisha Alves of Picture Perfect Makeup (whose web site I just went to in order to link to it and saw a good friend of mine, whose makeup they did for her wedding, on the home page!).  Meredith and her bridesmaids looked GORGEOUS!  Meredith is, much like me, a very low key kind of gal who doesn’t wear much makeup.  Aisha and KC did an amazing job of making her look gorgeous but natural.  You’ll see what I mean in the photos below.

Which brings me to Jake Holt.  Ah, Jake Holt.  I have such a crush on this adorable Texan.  See, Meredith and Howard live in Texas and were originally planning to get married there.  However, you know, stuff happens, and the wedding got moved to Leesburg instead.  The couple had fallen so in love with their photographer that they asked him if he might be willing to travel to Virginia to do their wedding.  He even brought an assistant with him on their ROAD TRIP from Texas! (yes, these boys DROVE from Austin.  Crazy.)  Below are just a few pictures from his blog but I hope to have even more once he’s finished editing.  This guy was SO amazing to work with, and his pictures are…well, just see for yourself:

Ooh, I forgot to talk about the bouquets.  The bouquets were great!  Meredith had specifically asked Barbara for a fragrant bouquet, since she doesn’t wear perfume.  Barbara accomplished this in spades!  I could smell that baby all the way down the hall and I swooned.  Gardenias and peonies will do that to a girl

Jake really took advantage of the downtown area of Leesburg (so much so that I had to go chase him down a few blocks and tell him it was time for them to come back!)

To any Loudoun County Police that happen to read wedding blogs…those are totally fake margaritas that were being carried around the streets of Leesburg.  Right, guys?

Howard’s brother is tall, but not THAT tall.  So I couldn’t understand why this happened to his tie:

I saw someone trying to fix it, but we just gave up and told him to keep his coat buttoned.

Jake even set up a little “photo studio” outside after dark, to take some great little portraits and candid shots:

(Oh yeah, the couple supplied the pillows for the benches too…they seriously thought of EVERYTHING!)

This is probably my favorite shot of the entire day:

And now, we must talk about the pinata.  Oh yes, there was a pinata.  Actually, there were two, which was a good thing since the first one broke free from it’s string.  Unfortunately, it broke free from it’s string right over a bar and broke about 20 glasses.  ::Note to future couples considering having a pinata at their wedding.  Over the bar = bad idea::  The second pinata we got right:

Walk softly and carry a big stick.  This is what I tell my brides.

Meredith and Howard’s wedding was an amazing day, filled with an adorable bride and groom, and awesome vendors.  And, at the end of the day, after the broken glasses and pinata parts are cleaned up, your gifts and liquor are all packed up, and all that are left are your wedding coordinator and catering manager, we’re still smiling.  (No, Jake Holt did NOT take this photo, how could you tell?)

Thanks Meredith and Howard for an amazing day!!!  Hope you had a great time in Hawaii!

Nearly three weeks ago, Kelly & Jason tied the knot!  Kelly booked Wish for our Partial Planning services so we spent a lot of time working on the wedding together over the past year.  It’s always so fun to see ideas turned into reality on the wedding day!

Hollin Hall was chosen for the wedding for a couple of reasons.  First, this place has character!  The house sits on the property of the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church and has been well-maintained over the years.  It definitely has some historic charm.  Second, there are beautiful manicured boxwood gardens behind the church.  There’s one particular section of the gardens that’s perfect for outdoor wedding ceremonies and features a pretty white garden gate.  Third, it’s affordable!  The property can be rented for MUCH less than many of the other wedding venues in the area (Collingwood Library, River Farm, and Mt. Vernon’s restaurant).

Unfortunately we’ve had a rainy start to wedding season in DC.  The forecast has been “scattered thunderstorms” for about a month now.  Nearly every Saturday has included a passing storm and it’s been tricky for those weddings with outdoor ceremonies.  In Kelly & Jason’s case, the rain threw off a few things.  Luckily we were still able to use the tent for the reception but the ceremony had to be moved inside at the last minute.  The chairs, ribbons, and floral pieces were all set before the first few drops started falling.  Then the skies opened up and it poured.  Kelly was a little crushed when we made the decision but I thought it turned out beautifully anyway.  Rev. Wesley Peyton performed an intimate ceremony and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  Pillar candles on the mantle made the Fireplace Room at Hollin Hall glow.  It was so romantic:

Just after the ceremony, the weather broke and we were able to use the outdoor Wisteria Porch for cocktails.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo but you’d love this spot!  Behind the house there is a brick porch with an arbor completely covered in Wisteria vines.  Twinkling Christmas lights were woven in between the beams.  The flowers were blooming and fragrant….guests loved the spot and kept coming back there through the night.

Meanwhile, the reception tent is looking good on the front lawn of Hollin Hall.  The tent itself is from Rent-All Center in Alexandria.  The chairs came from our friends at Party Rental, Ltd.  Splendid Fare Catering did a wonderful job setting things up:

Our bride Kelly made these pretty table numbers out of unique greeting cards!  The back side of each made a fun conversation piece for the guests.  The beautiful floral centerpieces are from Barbara at Growing Wild Floral Co.:

I also liked these escort cards.  Kelly and Jason cut slits in a ton of wine corks for this unique display:

Guests enjoying their dinner under the tent:

This is an awful photograph but it shows a pretty detail.    We used pillar candles in the grass to line the walkway from the house to the tent:

Instead of a traditional tiered wedding cake, this couple wanted multiple flavors of cake from the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington.  I don’t remember all the flavors but they were DELICIOUS!  Kelly’s mom found all the cake stands (some vintage from their family) and the table looked beautiful.  You can also see the altar flowers being recycled next to the table (this is where the ceremony took place) and the bridesmaids bouquets decorating the spots in between the cakes.  Kelly’s bridal bouquet is in the center:

I’ll share professional photos from Heather Z Photography when I have them!  Working with Heather is always a pleasure and she has such an artistic eye.  Special kudos also goes to Matt Grason for his fabulous jazz ensemble.

Congratulations, Kelly & Jason!  I hope you guys were thrilled with every second of your wedding day.  I look forward to keeping up with you as you continue on life’s journey.

This is part of a series on The Special Event show 2009.  See this post for more information.

The second day of the conference held a special treat for us wedding planners.  The Wedding Luncheon was held at the Hard Rock Hotel in the gaslamp quarter, almost directly across from the convention center.  This beautiful hotel was built in 2007 and is sparkling clean both inside and out.  The luncheon ticket included a walk-through exhibit of wedding ideas called the Designer Wedding Gallery.  I’ll have those photos up sometime this week.  For now, let’s check out the main event.

The Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego:

Ladies in beautiful wedding gowns walked around the lobby area of the function space:

Stepping inside the ballroom took everyone’s breath away.  There must have been somewhere between 40-50 tables.  At front there was a large stage flanked by two huge screens.  When everyone was finding their seats they played popular music videos.  Then when the speakers took the stage they were projected for guests in the back:

Here’s a video of the room in all it’s pink and blue glory:

Of course I have photos of all the different table setups.  Rumor has it that there were thirteen different table settings in the room!  These are just a few of the ones I particularly liked:

A couple with flash so you can see the detail and actual colors:

The stage with funky swagged drape and larger-than-life crystals strung across the back:

Carley Roney was the guest speaker and described the ‘millennium bride.’  Nothing we didn’t already know but it’s good to see The Knot is keeping up with the trends:

So what does a $195 ticket get you for lunch?  We started with a light salad and California cheese plate.  Executive Chef Jeff Walter explained that nearly everything on the menu was locally sourced:

The main entree was lamb and some sort of locally-caught fish.  I’m not really a lamb or fish person but both were pretty good.  My favorite was the layered sweet potato gratin in the center:

Cyndi Lauper, Cher, and Madonna (lookalikes).  I wish I had photos of the front of these ladies!  I spoke with Cher for a few brief moments.  She was surprisingly realistic and knew just about everything about the actual Cher.  They were all really talented and roamed the party to keep people entertained:

I think the most impressive part of the whole thing was the amount of work that went into it.  This amazing party was planned by Rachel Peniche of Plan It San Diego and Kathy Wright of Kathy Wright & Co.  Here’s a time-lapse video showing how it all came together:

Seeing as how there were 400+ wedding planners in the room, I figured there MUST be more blog posts about this amazing party.  You can see a few more perspectives and photos here, here, and here.

I have more great stories from The Special Event!  Stay tuned the rest of this week for my recap.