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

Oh. My. God.  I must have said that 20 times Sunday night when Felicia and I overdosed on DELICIOUS cupcakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery in Columbia Heights.  We joined them at their open house and are so glad we did!

If you don’t know about Sticky Fingers, they’re the only all-vegan bakery in the Washington, DC area.  That means no animal products at all…no eggs, no dairy…they’re all “cruelty free” all the time!  So not only is it great for vegans and vegetarians, but with all of the folks with allergies these days, it’s also great for people (like poor Felicia’s niece!) who are allergic to those same products.

So you’re probably thinking “Great, no eggs, no dairy…no taste” right?  Um, no.  These cupcakes were AMAZING.  And you’re not going to believe which one was my absolute favorite:

See that sign?  In addition to being vegan, my absolute favorite cupcake of the bunch was the chocolate GLUTEN FREE cupcake!!!  So it was also without wheat flour — great for those with Celiac disease who are unable to eat wheat products.  In fact, all of Sticky Fingers’ icings and fillings are gluten free (but be sure to ask which cakes and cupcakes are gluten free, since they are all vegan, but not all gluten free).

Actually, my favorite wasn’t the chocolate gluten free with chocolate icing — they also make the most AMAZING peanut butter icing — put that on a gluten free chocolate cupcake and you are in HEAVEN!  I won’t tell you what I said when I ate it…it’s not appropriate for a family friendly blog.  Let’s just say I was very happy in my tummy

Let’s take a look at some of the other goodies we had that night!

The cupcake above, on the left, is the vanilla cupcake with almond buttercream.  It tasted JUST like a wedding!  That sounds silly to say, but the adorable cake decorator, Kamber, put it perfectly — it really does taste like a wedding!

The chocolate ganache was the PERFECT texture…shiny, creamy (accomplished with the highest fat content soy milk they can find) and, by using the perfect dark chocolate, it’s SO SO GOOD!

Speaking of Kamber, this girl is AMAZING!  Not only did she decorate all of the cupcakes, but the table was decorated with all of these gorgeous flowers.  It took an eagle eyed Felicia to realize they were all SUGAR FLOWERS!

Is that not amazing?! There were all kinds of flowers — tulips, calla lilies, magnolias…you name it, she can do it!

Not only can she do cupcakes, she does GORGEOUS cakes!  From their web site, here are some great photos of weddings cakes she’s done:

LOVE the flowers on this next one:

What a perfect time of year for these cherry blossom cakes!

And does this cake look familiar?

It’s from Stephanie and Chris’ wedding in 2008 with Allison!

Not only can Sticky Fingers do wedding cakes, they can do great groom’s cakes too!

Lost fans (like me!) will love this one (hmm…maybe I can get a remake for the finale?!):

How cute is this cake, for a couple who met on a plane?

These berry cakes could be great for any occasion!

And, from a personal experience at Crafty Bastards a couple of years ago, your dessert table is not complete unless you have the following two desserts:

Cowvin Cookies, the greatest Oatmeal Cream Pie EVER –

And Little Devils –

Like an iced Devil Dog.  But SO MUCH BETTER.  Seriously — go to the store.  Eat them.  Email me and thank me.  You’re welcome

I feel the need to point out that this is NOT a sponsored post.  Believe me, if the cupcakes weren’t good, we would tell you (or, more likely, just not do a blog post about it, but would certainly tell you the truth if you asked about it).  But I was FLOORED at how good everything was at Sticky Fingers.  The staff there was SUPER nice, the cafe is adorable, filled with 50’s hot pink diner chairs and walls painted like dripping chocolate, and a case full of delicious treats!

Sticky Fingers also does catering with things like vegan “egg” salad and “chicken” salad sandwiches, breakfast pastries, and savory side dishes.  We were so full from cupcakes we didn’t try anything, but if you’re a vegan couple, it’s a great option for lunch while the girls are getting their hair done before the wedding or a casual rehearsal picnic.

Sticky Fingers delivers weddings cakes throughout the DC area.  You can email Kamber to talk about their wedding options.  Let us know if you’re a fan too!

Early last month, I had the opportunity to attend the open house event celebrating the new studio space of one of my favorite photographers, Joylyn Hannahs!!

Joylyn has a great new space right in Leesburg, located at 214 South King Street.  The event was a great opportunity to not only make some new friends and see the space (which is super cute), but Joylyn had a makeup artist on hand to make all the ladies feel super glamorous for their head shots.  Check out the shot she took of me:

There were also some very yummy treats on hand as well!  The space was complete with some cool features showcasing Joylyn’s work and a great spot to meet with potential couples:

I even managed to snag a photo of Joylyn on the other side of the camera:

Check out Joylyn’s website and blog for more amazing samples of her work.  Congratulations Joylyn on the new studio!

*~~*~~*Felicia*~~*~~*