You all may remember Erika and Jamie from their star turn in The Knot, but in creating the VERY long list of weddings I need to blog, I realized I never blogged the pictures from their wedding!  And since their 1 year anniversary is November 7th, well, I think it’s about time, don’t you?

Kate Headley was Erika and Jamie’s AMAZING wedding photographer.  I mean, this girl takes STUNNING pictures — plus she’s a super sweetheart, and my former neighbor!!  I mean, look at this gorgeous photograph!

Okay, okay, so it doesn’t hurt that not only is Erika beautiful, but she has an AMAZING sense of style!  From her dress to her veil to all of the small touches throughout the wedding, Erika made everything look amazing — and she handcrafted nearly all of the elements!!!

That’s right, she Goccoed (is Goccoed a word?  Let’s say yes) the invitations (and the programs) herself!  I might need to recruit her to do my invitations someday!

The wedding was held at the perfect fall venue, Woodend Sanctuary.  Between the leaves falling, the deer walking up to the ceremony just to check out what was going on, and the cool, crisp smell in the air, you never would have guessed you were less than 10 minutes from DC!

As the wedding was in November, there was a chill in the air, but it was gorgeous outside, so we moved ahead with having the ceremony outdoors, like they had dreamed.  To keep her guests comfortable, Erika provided some beautiful wraps in their wedding colors of green, purple and cream for people to snuggle under!

Both before and after the ceremony, Kate took some lovely couples portraits — look at these two — so in love!

After the ceremony (officiated by my absolute favorite officiant, Amanda Tate – I recommended her to Erika and Jamie, as well as Hallie and Matt, one of my good friends from my Container Store days, and one of my couples next summer is using her as well!  Seriously — she’s the BEST!) the guests were treated to delicious food from Marco Polo. Seriously — the wedding was a year ago and I still remember the food!  They also got to see more of the couples adorable touches throughout the house.

These moss letters were hanging on the wall in Erika and Jamie’s house.  When I went to meet with them a few weeks before the wedding, I asked Erika “these are coming to the wedding, right?”  She hadn’t decided yet at that point, but they just seemed to fit in SO perfectly, we had to have them!  Also, the mason jar there?  It has a chain attached to it — we used a bunch of them outside during cocktail hour as it started getting dark hung on shepherd’s hooks — I LOVED that look, so simple, but so romantic!  (The lanterns, along with many of their items, came from…where else?  Etsy, of course!)

Guests then began making their way into dinner, after a stop at the beautiful escort card trees that Erika made.  She not only made the trees, but made the leaves and handpainted the guests names on them as well!

The girl is talented, right?!?!

After dinner, guests moved to the Great Hall for dancing.  Erika and Jamie had a beautiful first dance, choreographed by Erika’s “man of honor,” her sweet cousin!

Then the party REALLY got started, with one of my favorite DJ’s, Mike Bell, of My Deejay.  These guys are consumate professionals every time — I’ve worked with several of their DJ’s now, and they really are great!

While dinner and dancing were taking place, Kate had also set up a photo booth, complete with a chalkboard we stole borrowed from one of the offices there!

During a break in dancing, Erika and Jamie cut their cake.  I said it then, and I’ll still say it now, a year later.  It was, 100%, hands down, the best wedding cake I’ve ever had.  My assistant that day worked with me again at a wedding a few weeks ago, and she said “is the cake red velvet?  Remember that red velvet cake from that Woodend Wedding?  Oh my God, that was the best cake ever.”  And I totally agree.  I’ve had some delicious cakes in my day, but dear Lord.  Fluffy Thoughts really, pun intended, took the cake on this one.

I love the simplicity of it, as well as how Lara used twigs to tie in the theme of the wedding.  See that amazing tree trunk cake stand?  Another Etsy find!  (And OH MY GOD, was it heavy — that thing must have weighed 100 lbs.!  Okay, probably not, but it was heavy, you guys!!!)

As things were winding down, guests were encouraged to choose one of two favors that Erika and Jamie had thoughtfully picked out.  For those who had yards in which they could plant trees, they were given a tree to plant!

And for those who didn’t, they were given a smaller tree bulb, which could be grown in a pot.  How sweet and thoughtful is that!?

And, of course, everything was hand tied and tagged by the crafty couple

The gorgeous flowers were provided by Sidra Forman (I’m totally going out of order here, I know…)  Sidra was SUCH a sweetheart, and her little girl even came along for the delivery — what a cutie!

I just want to point out that I didn’t pin this boutonniere.  How do I know?  Because I would never leave a pin sticking out like that! (Still…gorgeous bout!!)

Seriously…who did that???  See, this is why you need a planner — proper bout pinning

To continue their tree theme, Erika and Jamie named their tables after types of trees

Congratulations on one year together, and on a beautiful wedding!

Do you remember Victoria & Michael’s wedding at the Westin Grand in Georgetown?  I just got some of the professional photos from Joseph Allen and wanted to share them with you.

First, how stunning is this portrait of Vic, taken in their awesome honeymoon suite at the Westin Grand DC?  Mike’s a lucky guy!

We lucked out on the weather and were able to hold the wedding ceremony outside in the hotel’s courtyard.  I really loved the patterned parasols that Vic found:

Gettin’ hitched:

They’re married!  After the ceremony, our newlyweds took a stroll around Georgetown:

How cute are these two?

I really thought that Vic’s long veil suited her and her gown just perfectly.  Plus it made for some fun portraits:

Woo woo!  They even got a little sexy!  Didn’t Joseph do an amazing job on these photos?

Another cute Georgetown street shot:

Meanwhile back at the Westin, guests were enjoying cocktails in the courtyard and we were putting the finishing touches on the reception room.  If you want the convenience of a hotel wedding but not a typical hotel ballroom, check out the Westin Grand!  It has big beautiful wooden columns, a wooden floor, two steps down to create an elevated dance floor area (or head table area or cocktail area or ceremony area or whatever you want it to be), and a funky little nook that’s perfect for the bar and a seating lounge area.

I would be amiss if I didn’t point out the GORGEOUS centerpieces provided by DaVinci’s Florist.  The black vases were topped with rose and calla lily domes and also featured dripping crystals.  The candles on the tables made the crystals sparkle and the whole piece made the room look very dramatic:

Another stunning feature was the black and white damask wedding cake made by Lara Stuckey at Fluffy Thoughts.  Isn’t this thing beautiful?  I liked how the tiers alternated square and round.  You can also see Vic’s bouquet which we displayed next to the cake:

Well, that’s the party, folks!  Vic & Mike also had a traditional Chinese tea ceremony which was an intimate moment for both families.  She also changed into a traditional Qi Pao for the second half of the reception:

For some more detail shots and my perspective on the day, be sure to check out the original post about Vic & Mike’s wedding at the Westin Grand DC.  I really loved this wedding and hope you do too!

The first weekend in October was a fabulous time for a wedding!  Stacey & Todd had a gorgeous fall day with warm sunlight and a cool breeze.  We started the day off in Georgetown, at Holy Trinity’s Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola.  I always love weddings in historic Georgetown:

Here’s the front of the chapel.  35 years older than the main church, this pretty building dates to 1794!  I loved the white hydrangea wreaths that DaVinci’s Florist hung on the doors:

After the intimate and touching ceremony, Stacey, Todd, and their families took photographs outside in the chapel’s pretty courtyard.  I thought Stacey looked just stunning in her elegant gown and long veil:

After the family photos, the newlyweds and their bridal party went on a photo safari around the DC monuments.  The advantage of having an afternoon ceremony and evening reception is that you have plenty of time for photos like these!  The next two images were taken by photographer Armin DeFiesta:

The steps of the US Capitol are so utterly ‘DC’ in every way.  I really like this photo because it shows Todd’s “groomswoman” on the right.  His friend Jody stood on Todd’s side during the ceremony and wore black to match the tuxedos.  She carried a bouquet and had a similar style gown like the bridesmaids.  I thought it was a perfect way to match her to the rest of the bridal party:

Armin somehow convinced the US Capitol Police to get them closer to the building!  Here they are coming down from the photo shoot, escorted by the police.  Want to see the images he captured?  Check out Armin’s Blog to see more!

Meanwhile, the set-up at The Washington Club on Dupont Circle was going smoothly!  Here’s the stunning white face of the building:

Just inside, we displayed the guest book and family photographs on an existing marble table:

The guest book was a coffee table photo book of DC!  Guests could use a black or silver marker to write notes to the couple.  What a great way to incorporate DC into the festivities:

Upstairs inside the club, Ridgewells, DaVinci’s Florist, and the band were hastily setting the final touches on the reception:

Here’s a view from the back of the room.  Did you know that The Washington Club has it’s own in-house uplighting?  Stacey & Todd chose an amber color to match the gold & ivory colors of the wedding as well as the warm wood tones in the room.  The band, Doctor’s Orders, somehow all fit on the little stage:

This was one of my favorite floral pieces of the day.  DaVinci’s Florist created this solid rectangular cube out of hydrangea and nestled votive candles inside.  It sat on the sweetheart table and provided just enough romantic candlelight for the newlyweds.  Gorgeous!

My second-favorite piece was the bridal bouquet.  Stacey carried this all-white collection of roses, calla lilies, and poppies:

The wedding cake is a little tricky to see here but really was beautiful!  It mimicked a photograph that Stacey gave the baker, Lara Stuckey of Fluffy Thoughts.  I especially loved the little twigs sticking out of the flowers to match the centerpieces:

Doctor’s Orders rocked the party the whole night!  We should have had a bigger dance area but we moved some dinner tables out of the way once people were done eating.  What a fun time everyone had!

The night was full of culinary surprises.  Towards the end of the evening, Ridgewell’s came out with mini sliders and hash browns, perfect for anyone with the late-night munchies.  It was so much fun to see the shock and delight on the faces of their guests when they realized what they were being offered!  I always love little surprises like that.

Then, as guests headed back down towards the staircase at the end of the evening, they were encouraged to take a little bag of sweets from the candy table.  Some of the chocolates were hand-made by Stacey!  Isn’t this display adorable?

Congratulations again, Stacey & Todd!  I hope you had a fantastic time on your honeymoon in South America!

If you want to see more images from this wedding, be sure you go to Armin DeFiesta’s Blog and watch the slideshow!

Vic & Mike tied the knot!  I was so excited when I met Vic and Mike for the first time.  They truly are sweet people and were very organized with all their wedding details.  A wedding planner’s dream!  Plus they pulled together a great team of wedding day vendors so I knew we’d have a well-oiled machine working to our advantage.

I’ll post photos from Joseph Allen when I get them.  For now, here are the ones I took with my iPhone!

The ceremony was held outside in the Westin Grand’s courtyard.  This space is in the very center of the building, surrounded by guest rooms above.  While you can hear the noise of busy M Street, it still feels very private.  What a great oasis inside the city!

DaVinci’s Florist did a phenomenal job with the ‘altar’ arrangements.  These glass vases are about 4′ tall!  There’s a wreath of hydrangea around the top then the calla lilies bursting out of the top make a dramatic statement.  I loved these pieces.  Victoria also bought red Asian-inspired lanterns that I hung from the trees:

Here’s a view of the ceremony:

The courtyard is also a perfect place for outdoor photos.  I thought Victoria’s stunning gown was suited perfectly to her and the wedding:

This is the opposite view of the courtyard.  Through the windows you can see the ballroom.  Photographer Joseph Allen and videographer Katherine from Blue Sky Films were hard at work here:

After the ceremony and some family photographs, Joseph took Vic & Mike to the street!  I’m super excited to see what he captured…I always love when couples incorporate DC flavor in their photos:

Back at the hotel, cocktails were getting underway.  Of particular note was the escort card table, which featured this fun floral design piece.  The pomander balls are hanging from a branch and there are strands of crystals hanging down too.  Talk about glamour!

I also thought the escort cards themselves were pretty adorable.  Look at the cute damask print along the edge of each card:

Over in the reception room, things are ready to go!  We re-used the chairs from the ceremony so the hotel set up as much as they could beforehand.  Here, tables are waiting for a few final chairs to be placed before we can open the doors.  This is a great view of the room at the Westin Grand, though, to give you an idea of what it looks like.  It’s not your typical hotel ballroom!

Here’s one of the tables, close-up.  Can you believe that centerpiece?!  It’s mostly roses with some deep red calla lilies stuck in.   Diana at DaVinci’s Florist told me how phenomenal they were but I didn’t believe it until I saw it.  Look at how tightly those flowers are packed!  They were simply amazing:

The Westin followed a photograph that Victoria sent them of a particular napkin fold.  I thought they did a great job replicating her idea!  You can also see the bases of their champagne toasting flutes…check out the bling on the bottom of the glasses!

One of my favorite details was the hanging crystals, dripping from the flowers.  It gave the whole table a certain sense of bling!

Lara Stuckey at Fluffy Thoughts brought this stunning cake.  The design mimics the damask theme and was so intricate and precise.  I wish I asked Lara how she did this — it really was a beautiful piece of art!

Here they are, cutting the gorgeous thing.  Look how tall it is!

(Can I let you in on a little secret?  Lara made a dummy layer.  That bottom tier is styrofoam!)

After the cake cutting, Victoria, her mother, and her two sisters each changed into a Qi Pao, a traditional Chinese gown.  You can just barely see Victoria kneeling in her red Qi Pao but she looked amazing!  Mike swapped his tie so they’d match each other.  I thought everyone looked great.

Here you see Victoria & Mike performing a Chinese Tea Ceremony.  While they didn’t follow all the formal Chinese rules and customs, we did a shortened Americanized version.  The same values are upheld, though, and the ceremony represents the joining of both families into one.  The parents give the newlyweds valuable gifts and the couple serves them tea as a sign of respect: 

A special shout-out goes to Carolyn Horton, the director of catering at the Westin Grand in DC.  Carolyn was one step ahead of me the entire night and was 110% attentive, responsive, and proactive.  She was a fantastic team-mate and was very instrumental in the success of the wedding.  Maurice, the banquet captain, was a godsend as well.  I highly recommend them crew if you’re considering the Westin Grand for your event.

Congratulations, Vic & Mike!  I hope you both had a really fabulous time on your honeymoon (Fiji, right?) and enjoyed every moment of your wedding day.  Talk to you soon!

Do you like sunflowers?  Then you’re going to LOVE Rob and Maya’s wedding — it was sunflowerriffic!

You may remember Rob and Maya from their super fun crab feast, but that was nothing compared to what they had planned for the following night!

The day started with Maya getting ready in one of the fluffy animal print robes that the Hotel Monaco is famous for.  Rob and Maya’s suite was UNBELIEVABLE — remember the scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts says “Mind if I take a swim in your tub?”  Yeah, that’s the tub in the suite in the Hotel Monaco.  lf I had sat in it, it was probably taller than I am.  Anyway, Maya was pampered in the suite by Hanna from Salon Cielo and Jan Scott, Makeup Artist.  Both ladies did an AMAZING job, and Maya was GLOWING!

As I waited downstairs to pin boutonnieres and hand out bouquets, Rob and Maya had their “First Look” upstairs in the AMAZING hallway outside their suite.  You may think it’s just a hallway, but these hallways are pretty much bigger than my entire house!  Not to mention the gorgeous artwork and chandeliers that are displayed there.  Beautiful!

I know…is that staircase insane or what?!  One of the best things about their suite is that you just had to go up the stairs right next to the suite, which led right to their reception room.  Unlike most hotels, whose ballrooms are in the basement, Hotel Monaco’s are on the top floor so you can get a pretty cool view:

Before the wedding kicked off, though, Pablo from Freed Photography scouted out some cool locations for the wedding party to take pictures.  Rob and Maya’s wedding party was a little different than most.  Because they each have a ton of friends, both men and women, they decided that, rather than have bridesmaids and groomsmen, all of their bridal party would be called ushers.  The girls wore black dresses, the boys wore black suits or tuxes, and they all looked great!  To fit in with the color scheme, the guys were given gold ties, while the ladies were given beautiful gold shawls.

While the bride and groom got to ride over in a limo, courtesy of Fleet Transportation, the ushers walked the few short blocks to the AMAZING 6th and I Synagogue.  If you haven’t been to this gem of a building, do not pass Go, proceed immediately.  This building is GORGEOUS.  I’m not Jewish, and even I wanted to get married here!  The architecture is so completely breathtaking, you almost don’t need any decoration.  In fact, Rob and Maya had a very simple chuppah, highlighted only by, you guessed it, a few sunflowers:

There are so many great photos of 6th and I on their website, as well as interesting information about their history and restoration, but I just wanted to share one photo with you of my absolute favorite part of the synagogue, the ceiling:

Isn’t it AWESOME?!  I don’t know of a more gorgeous ceiling in the DC area.

After the ceremony, all of the guests walked back to the Hotel Monaco, guided by the ushers.  Although it’s a simple walk, if you’re not from the area, it’s easy to make a wrong turn.  Maya, who was prepared for EVERYTHING, had beautiful sunflower umbrellas for her ushers to hold to guide guests along the way.  Turns out they served a two-fold purpose, as they also kept them dry from the slight rain that began to fall!

When guests arrived at the hotel, they were led to the cocktail hour, while Rob and Maya ran off with Pablo to take pictures in Senate Park.  Once the bride and groom returned, the guests were led around the concourse to my favorite part of the entire planning — the escort cards.  Maya had a very specific vision of what she wanted for the escort cards, and the girl gets what she wants!  A co-worker found the mini vases on Lillian Vernon, of all places!  It just goes to show you, you never can tell where wedding inspiration might strike, or where you can find a great deal on decor!

HOW AMAZING is that centerpiece?!  Barbara Von Elm from Growing Wild, one of my absolute favorite florists, did an outstanding job with every single element of the day.  You should have seen the little ring bearer’s boutonniere.  Sunflowers were too big, so she found these tiny black eyed susans for them — adorable!

Here’s a close up of the escort cards:

Barbara, along with one of our assistants, Casie (thanks, Casie!) got the flowers EXACTLY how Maya wanted them — you can’t even see the mini vase, and the flower is peeking up over the escort card, with beautiful calligraphy by Calligraphy by Jennifer.

Once the guests had their escort cards, the doors were opened to reveal the beautiful ballroom:

Barbara did a beautiful job mixing the short and tall centerpieces.  Here’s a shot of the Sweetheart Table:

The cake was provided by Lara at Fluffy Thoughts, and it was topped with the cake topper from Rob’s parents’ wedding!  There was even a picture of them cutting their cake next to it:

After dinner, DJ Dan Goldman of Bialek’s kept the dance floor hopping all night, including a VERY rousing version of the Hora!

As guests departed, they were treated to a favor of, what else, sunflower seeds!

Maya and Rob left the next day on what I’m sure was an AMAZING honeymoon to Africa!  I hope you guys had a great time and said hi to the zebras for me.  Congratulations again!

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted the photo of Laurie & Rod at Taco Bell?  There was also a link to the slideshow created by photographer Lara Swanson.  In case you missed it, I just got a full set of images!  Here’s my favorites:

Wasn’t Laurie such a pretty bride?  She didn’t let the rain bother her at all:

Okay, Rod looked pretty sharp too:

Laurie & I finalizing a few last-minute details:

A gorgeous indoor Meadowlark ceremony:

All set up for the reception after the room flip:

Maryam did such a great job.  Here’s a centerpiece up close:

Meadowlark after the sun has gone down:

The cherry blossom wedding cake with amazing detailed sugar flowers:

If that weren’t enough sugar for you, check out the rockin’ candy buffet:

And a whole lot of personalized M&Ms:

Laurie is one of my husband’s former coworkers.  Here’s the four of us during the reception.  I love how both the boys have the same odd expression on their faces:

As part of her services, Lara is now offering a photobooth!  It prints on-site in just a few seconds and is really a lot of fun.  Even though there was a seasonal martini bar (pumpkin pie martinis!), an extensive candy buffet, an awesome DJ, and a wonderful bride and groom, I think this photobooth was the life of the party:

I think the best part about the photobooth is that you get all the images included with your regular wedding photos.  Here’s a couple of fun shots it captured:

Like I mentioned above, these newlyweds and their bridal party decided to take a limousine to Taco Bell after the reception.  I’m a fan whenever couples stop in their favorite places (my husband and I did this at Ben & Jerry’s).  I love the vibrant images from their adventure:

Can you see what that hot sauce packet says?

For more information on the vendors at this wedding, check out the original blog post.  Thanks again Lara, for being so quick!

We barely got home from Laurie & Rod’s wedding when photographer Lara Swanson already had their slideshow up.  Wow!  She even incorporated their adorable first dance song.  Thanks Lara, for being so quick!

The ceremony and reception were held at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.  The ceremony was performed by Rev. Julie Price, catering by Marco Polo, floral decor by Maryam Flowers, cake by Fluffy Thoughts, photo booth by Lara Swanson, and entertainment by Evan at MyDeejay.com.

Here’s one of my favorite shots from the day.  The newlyweds and their bridal party decided to go for Taco Bell the end of the night:

Click here to check out their amazing slideshow