A few weeks ago, Tori (who you’ll meet soon…she’s our newest planner!) and I went to the Fairmont Hotel’s annual “Sip and Sample,” which highlights their GORGEOUS Colonnade room, a light filled room next to the courtyard, surrounded by windows on all sides (photo from the Fairmont’s web site):

And look at this stunning courtyard (photo by Greg Gibson):

Needless to say, Tori and I were quite excited to see what they had done for the event, and we weren’t disappointed! (The rest of these pictures are by me):

As we walked in, the first thing we were greeted by were these GORGEOUS cakes, from the Fairmont’s in house pastry chefs. I mean, look at the detail on these!

Aren’t those little sugar strawberries so cute?!

And how about the bees and the little beehive on this one?

The cakes were sitting on these really cool tables that had mini chandeliers hanging underneath them — these would be great for cakes, or a cocktail hour.

All of the tables had AMAZING looking linens on them, provided by Party Rental, Ltd.

Tori was in love with this table, from the linen to the hot pink chivaris! I’ve never seen hot pink chivaris before!!!

My favorite was this amazing centerpiece — look at the wood vase! I’m so sad I don’t know who the florist was that did this, but it’s SO gorgeous:

We both thought this table looked cool, but wondered how comfortable those stools were. We were afraid to sit in them — look how high they are! For a shorty like me, I would probably have fallen:

Loved this centerpiece too, with the orange roses mixed with the orange tulips. The flat design is really interesting and creative, I think.

You know what else was on that table? Food!

Doesn’t that look yummy? Let’s look closer at some of the nibbles they had!

Desserts too!

This Peanut Butter “Snickers Bar” was my favorite thing all night…SO yummy!

(Love that plate too!)

They had a little lounge area set up with a cute centerpiece on the coffee table — perfect for an area to get comfy and chat!

But what I REALLY fell in love with in the lounge area were these pillows! OMG, I want them in my house RIGHT NOW!

They had some fun little stations set up throughout the room — here there was a tea station with all different types of teas, but they also had coffee and, my favorite, hot chocolate!

I also LOVED this beer pairing station — they had different beers paired with small bites, a really cute idea for a “man” station

Several vendors I’ve worked with before were there — Pablo from Freed Photography was taking pictures (you may remember him from Rob and Maya’s gorgeous sunflower wedding, seen here):

DJ Aaron from Chris Laich Music Services was there — he was the DJ at Diane and Allen’s reception at the Clarendon Ballroom (photo from their wedding here by Michelle Lindsay):

And I actually got to take a picture of Nour of Made Up Art at her booth!

She did the GORGEOUS makeup of Maddy and her bridesmaids last year (seen here), but this was my first time meeting her.  I hope to work with her again, their makeup was flawless!

My favorite part of the day, though, was when I fell in love. Not with a man, not with a woman…with a dress. Actually, two dresses. Oh, Hitched, why must you have such adorable employees wearing your gorgeous dresses?!?!?!

Both dresses were from Amsale, who is officially my new favorite designer. I mean, look how cute! Pockets! Cute neckline! LOVE!!

And this one? Look at that skirt! MUST HAVE!!!!!!! I don’t care that I’m not even engaged, I want one NOW! (I feel like Veruca Salt right now…)

Thank you, Fairmont, for a lovely evening! We had a great time, and hope to see you again soon!

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!

DC’s Fairmont Hotel has long been a trendsetter and leader in sustainable tourism.  They recycle just about everything, purchase green power, maintain their own garden, and use electricity as efficiently as possible.  Now, they’ve added some new hotel guests!

The Fairmont has added 105,000 honey bees to their rooftop as part of their culinary program.  The bees will supply honey for the hotel’s restaurant and banquet operations.  They even hope to eventually make candles, lip balm, and soaps out of the wax.

Last weekend we had the honor of coordinating Lauren & Jake’s big day.  Their wedding ceremony and reception were both held at the Fairmont hotel in the west end of Georgetown.  What a beautiful hotel!  They chose the lower ballroom to accommodate all of their guests.  Using one half of the ballroom for the ceremony, we ‘flipped’ the room during cocktail hour and used the whole space for the reception.

Special thanks to Bob, Chack, and Lonnie at the Fairmont.  Their amazing staff took care of nearly every detail and really provided 5-star service.  I highly recommend this hotel to any bride looking for an elegant, easy, and top-notch wedding venue.

Lauren’s dress hanging in a window of the bridal suite, ready to go:

Petal’s Edge Floral Design did a fantastic job on all the floral decor.  Everything was fresh, fragrant, and most importantly delivered on time!  Here’s the bouquets:

Our couple decided to see each other beforehand.  Like many Jewish couples, they planned to meet before the ceremony to sign the Ketubah (marriage contract) anyway.  That meant we had plenty of time for formal photographs before the ceremony.  Here’s our bride and groom in the Fairmont’s beautiful garden:

A photo of the Ketubah after the signing ceremony:

A closeup:

The wedding programs from The Dandelion Patch:

The ceremony was just stunning.  Chairs were provided by Party Rental, Ltd.  Lighting was in-house at the Fairmont by SWANK.  Check out the beautiful chuppah by Petal’s Edge:

The escort card table, ready to go for cocktail hour:

The escort cards up close.  All the paper goods were provided by our family at The Dandelion Patch:

Lauren & Jake chose to have an Asian food station during cocktail hour.  They served all types of Asian-style hors d’oeuvres.  YUM!  I love how the Fairmont decorated the table with props:

The HUGE ovular bar in the center of the cocktail space.  This was taken before the event began.  I swear they moved those racks before guests showed up:

Here’s the ‘ballroom-in-waiting.’  This is how all the tables were lined up while the ceremony was taking place:

The wedding cake provided by the Fairmont:

At this point my camera’s battery promptly died.  Here’s what I captured from my Blackberry of the reception:

Escapade provided awesome entertainment all night long.  This wedding band was the BEST band I’ve seen in four years of planning weddings:

The candy bar was a SMASH hit!  I love how the centerpiece has Hershey’s Kisses below the flowers:

I hope to have photos from photographer Robert Isacson soon.  Hopefully I’ll be able to share those with you when I have them.
Congratulations again, Lauren & Jake!