I have known this bride for a LONG time.  I began my career years ago at Wolf Trap and one summer, had a WONDERFUL intern named Julia.  Fast forward over 10 years later, and I see on Facebook Julia’s getting married!  I email her to congratulate her, and she says “oh, and by the way, I need a planner…”  Of course I signed right up!

Julia planned every last detail but Chris, a graphic designer, designed all of the paper pieces, including the menus, invitations, and programs!

I absolutely LOVE this photo of the couple, just after they were married, at the church’s entrance.  How gorgeous is that vintage fur stole, compliments of the bride’s grandmother?

After the ceremony, everyone headed to the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks to start the party.  This Marriott has a GORGEOUS cocktail area, made even more beautiful by the lighting from Swank Audio Visuals:

Throughout the planning, Julia kept talking about the “wow” factor in the ballroom.  Well, she definitely got it!  With a combination of the already beautiful ballroom:

Linens from DC Rental:

More lighting from Swank:

…and my favorite part, the centerpieces!  Chris and Julia had three different centerpieces.  Two of them were provided by a Wish favorite, Barbara Von Elm at Growing Wild:

And the third was designed by Julia and put together by my beautiful assistants and me! (and which you’ve seen before, as they’re for sale!)

(The small bride’s cake was based on Chris’ design from the invitations!)

As if that wasn’t enough sugar, Julia’s mom baked mini breads for guests to take home, sealed with the couple’s custom monogram (again, created by the groom) and gave them the recipe for the bread to bake at home!

A few more gorgeous pictures of the day:

Last spring we posted about Kelly & Jason’s wedding at Hollin Hall in Alexandria, VA.  I can’t believe I never shared their professional photographs, shot by Heather Z Photography!  Without further ado, here’s the day through Heather’s lens.

Here’s Hollin Hall, looking regal:

On the wedding day, it rained and poured all morning.  Kelly had wanted an outdoor ceremony in Hollin Hall’s beautiful boxwood garden but the forecast was looking grim.  We were watching the radar and trying to play weatherman, keeping hope out for what looked like could be a break in the clouds.  Meanwhile, there was nothing for Kelly to do but get ready:

Barbara at Growing Wild always makes the most stunning arrangements:

Kelly had the sweetest bridesmaids — don’t they look like fun friends?

I especially loved her light blue flats — perfect for their intimate, elegant, yet casual wedding:

The rain did indeed break just before the ceremony but the ground was too muddy to hold a ceremony in the spot we had wanted.  So – Kelly opted for Plan B and we moved the ceremony into the main house.  Here she is, getting ready to go down the steps and straight down the aisle:

I thought the indoor ceremony was just perfect.  We used pillar candles on the mantle and the altar floral arrangements on the floor.  Rev. Wesley Peyton performed a touching wedding ceremony like he always does:

And they’re married!  This is always my favorite moment at every wedding:

While their guests were enjoying cocktails, Kelly and Jason made use of some clear skies and headed into the garden for some portraits.  I’m so glad they were able to get some pictures outside:

Don’t these guys make a handsome pair?

Another cute detail — Jason’s white rananculus boutonniere:

Back inside, the cute escort cards are held up by wine bottle corks:

I love when couples display family photos to share with their guests — I think it helps the two joining families connect:

Outside, the rain was still drizzling but the dinner tent was nice and dry.  Check out these gorgeous tables:

We thought long and hard about the color of these chairs.  I think the natural wood color really makes the blue pop out, don’t you agree?

I couldn’t resist showing you their wedding cakes!  Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe is one of the couple’s favorite spots so it was only fitting to have cakes from there.  While Heidelberg does make some amazing traditional wedding cakes, Kelly & Jason wanted to share their favorite flavors with their guests.  This way, everyone got a flavor they loved!

Of course the cake aftermath isn’t pretty — but it sure is tasty!

Kelly & Jason — I know you guys have already passed your first anniversary so I hope you had a lovely first year of marriage!  I fondly remember your wedding day and hope you both are doing well.  Congratulations again!

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!

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.

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!