Did you miss Part One of Beth and Rob’s wedding?  Go see it here!

It is no secret that Glen Echo is probably my favorite wedding venue.  I love everything about it, from the AMAZING Emily Mah Rogers, the venue coordinator, to the GORGEOUS carousel to the wooded areas all around the park, to the fun neon lighting and little touches everywhere, I just love love love it.  However, probably my favorite thing about Glen Echo is that it inspires the most adorable weddings!  I guess it’s because the types of couples that get married there are already awesome?  (See Hallie and Matt and our very own Cristin, who better be blogging her wedding pictures soon, because they are INSANE!!!)  Whatever it is, I see the cutest ideas come out of weddings at Glen Echo.

When Beth and Robert walked down the aisle as husband and wife, I had them get straight into their Zipcar (yes, that was their wedding day transportation — Zipcar!) and head over to Glen Echo, immediately followed by Cassidy and the bridal party.  I always like to make sure that, even if it’s just for a few minutes, my couple has some alone time immediately following the ceremony, plus Beth and Robert wanted to do all of the bridal party photos at Glen Echo — this killed two birds with one stone!

See why I had to break it up into two blog posts?  Cassidy did TOO good a job on the pictures — I couldn’t choose!

There are just so many amazing locations at Glen Echo for pictures — this is in front of the old trolley at the front of the park

Beth took this opportunity to be…Beth

And show off her gorgeous dress…

I’m loving the amazing light Cassidy caught here!

There are also gorgeous wooded areas at Glen Echo to take pictures:

I LOVE this shot of Beth and Rob on the bridge into the park — I’m trying to figure out where Cassidy was standing to take this picture, though?!

The group then headed over to the carousel to take a few more pictures

I don’t know why it seems funny to me that they had to wait in line to ride the carousel, but it does

I love that Beth and Rob shared a horse lion

Then it was off to the reception…with a brief stop at the Cuddle Up

Guests were treated to a DELICIOUS BBQ dinner from Matters of Taste.  Having gone to college in North Carolina, I’m very picky about two things — pulled pork BBQ and sweet tea.  Matters of Taste delivered PERFECTLY on both fronts!  I think I probably had 10 glasses of sweet tea that night!

(Do those lanterns look familiar?  We brought them over from the ceremony!  Good reason to have a wedding planner — to bring things from the ceremony to the reception!)

After Beth and Robert quickly ate their food (something I make sure EVERY bride and groom do at their wedding!) they held a modified tea ceremony.

I like that they did this as guests were eating.  I’m sure it’s not the traditional way — but it allowed them to have private moments with everyone, while others were eating, so there wasn’t too much down time either!

After dinner and the tea ceremony, though, it was on to the dancing!!!

DJ Steve with Jan Davis Entertainment ROCKED the house that night!  This was the first time I had worked with Steve and I hope it won’t be the last.  He was AWESOME!  As an added bonus, he comes from a family of DJ’s, including his gorgeous sister, who came to assist him that night!

I mean, you know it’s a good party when this is your bride on the dance floor!

During a break in dancing, Beth and Rob cut their cake from one of my favorite bakeries (which is DANGEROUSLY within walking distance to my house!), Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe.

I’m not a big cake topper person, but I thought theirs was really cute!

After they cut the cake, it was served along with a “North vs. South” dessert buffet — Whoopie Pies vs. Moon Pies!  (I’m a Whoopie Pie girl, which in Pittsburgh we call Gobs!)

Beth made the cutest signs to put all over the place!  She had them for the dessert buffet, the bathrooms, the bride and groom chairs — SO cute!

Cassidy, yet again, did an amazing job getting detail shots!  The parasols my assistants and I hung before I went off to the reception…

The cards Beth and Rob created explaining the tea ceremony, along with the favors, which they bought in Malaysia

The family photos we strung up with clothes pins and, when I realized Rob had left the clothesline at home, fishing wire from my emergency kit:

The carousel tickets…

And of course the centerpieces.  I LOVED these centerpieces — I’m always looking for non-floral centerpieces for couples who are looking to save money — Beth and Robert are reselling these lanterns to recoup some of the costs, but they could easily be reused in your house or yard

Finally, we had the bubble send off …

And I love this last shot of the newlyweds walking off…to their Zipcar

Congratulations, Beth and Rob!  Thank you SO MUCH for choosing me to be your planner — I had a blast!!!

I started blogging Beth and Robert’s September wedding, but I quickly realized that there were just WAY too many amazing shots by the talented and delightful Cassidy DuHon to put into one post!  So I’m breaking it up — today you’ll get the ceremony and some of the details, and tomorrow we’ll move on to the party!

The day began with the ceremony at the adorable Langley Hill Meeting House.  I had never heard of this place before, but I will definitely be recommending it to other couples.  The members there are amazingly kind and accommodating, the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly, and the meeting room is arranged in the “round” (okay, sort of a square, really, but you know what I mean) so that the couple stands in the middle.  I love the idea of having all of your friends and family surrounding you.

The flowers were done by the adorable Tonya Evans at Occasional Flowers.  I had never heard of this florist before, and I’m not sure where Beth found her, but she is WONDERFUL!  The bouquets were gorgeous, the chapel arrangements looked beautiful, and, when a vendor made a mistake on some lanterns the couple had chosen, Tonya bent over backwards to get them what they wanted!  LOVE this lady.

The bride and groom have some hilarious friends:

I mean, really — how can you resist a photographer that takes that shot?!   Plus Cassidy did something that we wedding planners WORSHIP — he took TONS AND TONS of detail shots!  That’s what we need, guys!  LOTS OF DETAILS!!!

(Why does my hand look so weird in that picture?  Yep…hand model…my next career…)

Beth and Rob, like many of our couples these days, chose to do a first look before the ceremony.  I LOVE when couples do this (and I know photographers do too!)  For those who are maybe a little shy, it allows you to see each other for the first time when it’s just the two of you (well, and the photographer…), plus it allows for picture time to be more relaxed, as there’s not such a huge rush!

It also allows for you to take family pictures before the ceremony, so you aren’t stuck rounding people up afterward!  I won’t bore you with the family shots, but how cute is this flower girl?!

Everyone then went inside the meeting house to get ready for the ceremony.  Cassidy took some lovely ceremony shots — I just wanted to show you a few…

Beth’s dad performed a song on the guitar during the ceremony

You may now kiss your bride…

And then it was off to the reception, which you’ll see tomorrow, with more amazing shots!

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!

Liz and Zach were married at a small, but energetic wedding this past October at the National Press Club in downtown Washington DC.  The sharp-eyed Cassidy DuHon provided photography coverage for the beautiful autumn day.  Both bride and groom were calm, cool and collected as they took their vows in the Holeman Lounge and then moved to the Ballroom for a fun-filled dinner and dancing reception.  Below are some of the professional shots taken by Cassidy and his assistant. Enjoy!

Taking some informal photos before the ceremony at Freedom Plaza:

The beautiful floral arrangements were provided by the always-talented Barbara vonElm of Growing Wild Floral.  This is one of the huge altar pieces for the ceremony that doubled as tall centerpieces for the reception:

An intimate candlelit ceremony at the National Press Club:

Brian S. Vaughan officiated the ceremony:

The ballroom at the National Press Club:

Here’s the whole room.  Aren’t the wood-paneled ceilings amazing?

I gave the newlyweds a quick cake-cutting lesson before they dove in.  They were pros in no time:

Dancing the night away!  Frank Young provided excellent entertainment and as you can see, kept people on the dance floor for the whole night!

A beautiful shot taken on 14th Street at dusk:

Congratulations again, Liz & Zach! I absolutely loved working with you both thorugh the entire process and wish you the best in the future.  Also, Go Sox!

Remember Dora & Kaisorn’s sneak peek back in June?  I’ve had images from Cassidy DuHon for a while now and am so excited to share them with you.
The ceremony and reception were both held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland.  Much like Meadowlark in Vienna, this is a public botanical garden.  Due to the size of the wedding we weren’t able to use their on-site events facility.  It’s not as nice or new as Meadowlark’s but it’s functional.  Instead we chose to tent a random flat space within the gardens.  Here’s a shot of the tent provided by Grand Rental Station:

Across the path we set up a small tent for Dora to dress in.  She didn’t want to walk an eigth of a mile from the visitor’s center’s public restrooms for the processional so we hooked her up with her own digs.  Here’s an image captured while she was getting ready.  Isn’t she gorgeous?

The rings are ready to go in a bowl from Palomas’ Nest:

Right next door we set up the chairs for the ceremony.  The chairs and decor are all provided by DaVinci’s Florist.  Did you know they have the cheapest gold chivari chairs in town?

The ceremony.  Rev. Bill Cochran performed the service.  Check out that ribboned gate DaVinci’s created:

My favorite image from the ceremony:

This photo might look familiar from the sneak peek!  I love the all-orchid bouquets:

Keep in mind that bouquets don’t have to match!  Here’s Dora’s all-calla bouquet:

After the ceremony we got lucky with the weather and were able to do some outdoor portraits.  I liked this one:

Meanwhile inside the tent the party was getting started!  DJ Brennan Sullivan from Bialek’s Music provided the entertainment.  I loved all the DIY projects Dora provided.  Here are some flowers we tied on her and Kaisorn’s chairs:

The all-orchid bouquets were matched by all-orchid centerpieces.  Check out the bamboo set inside the vase:

Instead of a guest book, guests wrote words of advice to the newlyweds:

OK so this isn’t a DIY detail but I thought the image was cool anyway.  This is how caterer Basikneads stacks their glasses at the bar!

All the kids at the wedding got their very own goodie bag:

The first dance:

The wedding cake was provided by Margie at Artistic Cake Creations:

If wedding cake weren’t sweet enough, check out this color-coordinated candy bar!  I really love how she used takeout boxes instead of the traditional cellophane bags:

Dora & Kaisorn — it’s been a couple months but I hope you both are doing well!  Looking at these images brings me right back to your special rainy day.  Even though we had a couple hiccups along the way I really enjoyed working with you both.  Congratulations again!