This weekend I had the pleasure of working at Cara & Dave’s wedding!  These two exchanged vows and celebrated at the Galleria at Lafayette Centre in downtown Washington, DC.  We had an all-star team of vendors who pulled of a beautiful event.  Check it out for yourself!

Guests arrive for the wedding ceremony, set in the main space at the Galleria.  I thought DaVinci’s Florist did a great job decorating the perimeter of the room with drape and uplighting it.  They also provided the chuppah and altar pillars:

This is a view of the aisle from the ground floor on the opposite side of the room.  Cara & Dave are getting married!

I really love the tall ceilings and glass atrium feel at the Galleria.  It’s so airy and spacious there!  In this photo you can see photographer Genevieve Leiper, doing her thing.  I can’t wait to see her images!

Since the ceremony and reception took place in the same spot, R&R Catering got creative and staged the tables behind the draped area.  Here’s the dinner tables off in the wings, waiting for their moment to shine:

I couldn’t believe how quickly the room was flipped!  Within 20 minutes, R&R Catering had brought out 18 tables, the DJ moved to a new spot, and DaVinci’s set all the centerpieces and adjusted the drape:

There was a mix of tall and short centerpieces to create some interest in the room and also fit the spacious feel of the room.  Here’s one of the tall ones:

Here’s the other tall arrangement.  It’s decidedly different and very modern, but still fits in with the decor of the party.  Granny Smith apples are stacked and submerged then one sprig of deep purple orchids crown the top:

I especially loved the low centerpieces.  Look at the vibrant colors!  There was a lush mix of hot pink, tangerine, lime green, and deep plum all in one arrangement:

The cocktail table arrangements complimented the dinner table pieces:

The Galleria is such a pretty place for a wedding!  Here’s the whole space as seen from the second floor balcony (where we hosted cocktails):

Did you see that?  The cupcake tree?  YES!  Cara & Dave ordered an acrylic stand which imitated a wedding cake design and displayed the cupcakes perfectly.  I really loved the big momma cupcake on the top.  Tim at Baked & Wired hooked us up with the yummy cupcakes:

Cara & Dave used the topper for the cake cutting ceremony then guests took their cupcakes directly from the stand:

One little detail I liked was that the tables were named after important places in the couple’s history together.  DC locals will appreciate this one:

Check out their adorable wedding flavors!  One of their friends handmade candy apples for all the guests.  She even used green candy coloring to match the wedding colors:

Another cute detail was the guest book.  The pages were illustrated!  Each illustration told a part of Cara & Dave’s story.  Guests then signed in the blank spaces around the illustrations.  Check it out:

I also really liked how she tied the guest book pens with colorful ribbon:

Another view of the party from above.  Cara & Dave are the first couple I’ve met who danced to a Chicago song for their first dance!  DJ Derek Romanoff from Bialek’s Music kept guests on the dance floor the whole night long (literally!):

A big special thank you goes to my assistants Kenlinishia and Megan, who were wedding day rock stars.  All those candy apples weren’t going to put themselves out.  Thanks guys!

Congratulations Cara & Dave!  I really had a wonderful time at your wedding and was glad to be a part of it.  I hope you have a FABULOUS time in Thailand later this week!

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!

This past weekend we helped Lindsay & Josh celebrate their nuptials!  Since Lindsay and Josh live in Atlanta, I worked almost exclusively with Linday’s mom Sue.  Since the church had their own wedding coordinators, Sue asked me to just coordinate the reception at the Omni Shoreham hotel in Washington, DC.    I think we put together a pretty great shindig!

The Diplomat Room at the Omni hosted our cocktail hour.  Alison at Distinctive Floral provided all the gorgeous floral arrangements for the event:

I have to admit that I was really proud of the escort card table!  The escort cards, ceremony programs, table names, and menu cards were all printed by The Dandelion Patch.  It’s very difficult to get all the cards evenly spaced on a round table but I think I did a good job:

Cocktail hour had to be moved inside because it was raining so hard on the outdoor patio.  Luckily the hotel plans for such things and it turned out great anyway.  The real gem is the Palladian Ballroom, though!  Check out our amazing reception:

Atmosphere Lighting did all the uplighting around the perimeter of the room and also pinspotted the centerpieces.  Lindsay & Josh named all their tables after DC-area landmarks and monuments.  This table was called “The Pentagon.”  I thought the table settings looked very elegant with Distinctive Floral’s silver footed pedestals:

Linda at Cakes by Linda created this gorgeous show-stopper of a cake!  The lace pattern mimicked Lindsay’s wedding gown and you could smell the sweet buttercream icing just by standing nearby:

The lace is just too pretty to not show up close:

Lindsay & Josh chose Marquise, a band booked through Andy Kushner Entertainment.  I always like working with Andy’s company because the bands they represent are phenomenal and their staff is very responsive. Marquise was wonderfully professional, energetic, and sounded great!  They kept guests on the dance floor the whole night.  You can see the band set up there to the left in this photo:

Later in the evening, the Omni staff brought the wedding cake to the dance floor for the cake cutting ceremony.  I thought this was a great photo because it shows you lindsay’s gorgeous gown.  It was satin with lace detail and had a beautifully elegant satin bow around the waist.  I wish I had a photo from the front but you’ll have to wait until I get the professional images from Freed Photography (Chris Newkumet was great!):

Sue, I had a wonderful time working with you on the wedding and am thrilled to have been a part of your family’s special event.  Lindsay & Josh, I hope you enjoyed every minute of the day and are having a fabulous time in Italy this week!

Nearly two years ago, I got an intriguing email from a guy named Ken York.

I’d never heard of him but promptly checked out his Father of the Bride Wedding Guidance blog.  Could it be that there was actually a dad out there who cared about the wedding further than the typical ‘how much will this cost me?’  Yes!  Ken is that kind of superdad and even went as far as sharing his trials and tribulations on a blog from the perspective of a bride’s father.

So back to the email.  Ken was planning to turn his blog into a wonderful asset for fathers of the bride — a book just for the guys!  Even better?  He wanted to use me as a resource and see if I’d write a small portion of the book.  WHAT?!?!  Me?  An author?  Well, I’d never thought about it before but was really fascinated by the prospect.

It took me quite a few weeks and I must have gone through dozens of edits.  Ken was a rockstar and helped me put the finishing touches on my submission.  I loved where it was going and was thrilled to see what portions would make the editor’s cut.

Well, days turned into weeks and I hadn’t heard from Ken.  Things got busy with weddings and weeks turned into months.  I thought about it from time to time and never really got around to checking in.  I was sure he was working on it and that he’d let me know if he had any news.

Flash forward to a couple weeks ago, when I got another out-of-the-blue email from Ken.  He wanted my address.  Oh and by the way, he was sending a few copies of the book my way.

I must have torn the package open in less than a second.  Here’s the beauty I found inside:

I stood outside by my mailbox for at least a few minutes and just stared.  Was that really my name on the cover of a book?  Granted my chapter didn’t cover more than five pages but Ken credited me on the cover.  What a cool thing to see!  I was shocked and thrilled and excited all at the same time.

Since I obviously can’t scan the whole book, I thought I’d at least give you a teaser of my chapter:

What do you think?!  Pretty awesome, eh?  I’m still pretty smitten if you can’t tell.

If you’re interested in buying a copy, check out the Amazon link to the right.  Or you can click here.  What better way to get dad involved than to help him understand the wedding world?  Obviously I’m a little partial but I think this would be a great gift for any dad whose daughter (or son!) is planning a wedding.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of coordinating Sarah & Abs’ wedding at the Torpedo Factory Arts Center.  What a gorgeous day!  We’ve worked at the Torpedo Factory several times over the years and it’s one of our favorite spots.  Sarah & Abs were really one of the most fun couples we’ve had this year.  I broke into a smile countless times just being around them and their friends.  What a great crew!

Let’s kick off with some pictures!  The professional images you see are from the very talented Kristen Leigh Photography.  Kristen is such a doll to work with.  Check her out if you’re looking for a photographer!  Images without her cute “K” watermark are ones I took with my iPhone.

Barbara at Growing Wild did a phenomenal job with Sarah’s bouquet:

Sarah’s green shoes pretty much sum up her personality.  Fun, vibrant, energetic, elegant, and unique!

Sarah and her ladies took some time before the ceremony to take portraits.  I loved this one:

Inside, the ceremony’s all set to go.  If you’re been in the Torpedo Factory during the daytime it looks totally different!  John Farr Lighting Design does an incredible job in making this building transform for events:

Sarah and her dad make it down the aisle:

A gorgeous wedding ceremony at the Torpedo Factory.  Sarah & Abs had a friend, Pastor Dave Saville, perform the service.  He was really wonderful!  It was light, touching, and heartfelt.  I really enjoyed working with Pastor Dave and happily recommend him to anyone who’s looking for a young and modern officiant.  It was a nice departure from the typical wedding officiants I see:

During cocktails, Kristen took photographs of the bridal party in Alexandria.  This cute spot is just around the corner from the Torpedo Factory:

Here’s what Kristen saw:

Kristen got some great shots of our newlyweds along the Old Town Alexandria waterfront.  This is near and dear to me since my husband and I took similar photos over three years ago!  I thought this particular one was so elegant….just a beautiful moment frozen in time while the rest of the world buzzes around them:

Couldn’t this easily be the front cover of a magazine?

Back inside, the party was in full swing!  To start, guests found their escort cards in these cute wheat grass boxes (provided by Growing Wild):

The other half of the Torpedo Factory (opposite from the ceremony) was set up for dinner even before guests arrived.  All we needed were chairs!  Once the ceremony ended and guests moved upstairs for cocktails, Windows Catering set the chairs in place around the tables.  I love this image because it shows a little bit of the wonderful lighting and centerpiece pinspots:

A few more shots of the reception area.  Nicole at Windows Catering is a doll to work with and her staff was phenomenal:

Look familiar?  Once the chairs were out of the way we used the ceremony spot as the dance floor!  Ray from Chris Laich Music Services did a great job keeping folks on the dance floor the entire night.  Doesn’t the space look totally transformed with funky lighting?

Windows’ accomplished pastry chef made the gorgeous and tasty cake.  Sarah & Abs chose to forgo the traditional cake cutting ceremony so this baby was just dislayed then sliced up by the caterer:

On a final note, I wanted to share a video of their incredible first dance!  Sarah and Abs must have practiced this for MONTHS.  Their guests were totally shocked at the last move…watch it and see what I mean!

Thanks, Melissa & TJ, for referring this wedding to me!  I’m honored you thought of me for your friends and am glad I got to see you at the wedding.

For more photos from this wedding, check out Kristen Leigh’s Blog.

Congratulations again, Sarah & Abs!

::Disclaimer!  Only the first photo in this post is from an event that Wish Special Events has planned or coordinated.  I’ve given credit to the designers where I can.  We can re-create what you see below for your event but these are not a part of our portfolio::

I’ve been collecting photographs of lanterns for a long time now!  This seems to be one of those decor trends that never quite expired.  Unfortunately it’s not the cheapest way to decorate a reception space but it sure is a beautiful one!

Photo: Sabine Scherer

If you’re not familiar, paper lanterns are made of a lightweight wire frame and covered in a light, translucent paper.  They come in all makes and models but the standard is a basketball-sized white version.  These are just so gorgeous in abundance:

Even when you don’t have a huge budget for a ton of lanterns, they can still jazz up a plain reception space.  This is a high school gymnasium (see how the basketball hoop is covered in satin?):

Whoever designed this event got pretty funky!  I like the combination of the round lanterns, the cone-shaped lights, and the twinkly string lights:

This wedding used lanterns only over the dance floor, giving the tent a beautiful focal point and also giving this spot a feeling of abundance (without going overboard).  Can you imagine what their cake cutting photos would have looked like if the photographer got low to the ground and shot upwards with the lanterns in the back?  ::swoon::

Lanterns can even be incorporated into a centerpiece.  Who said they needed to hang from the ceiling?

This creative wedding used them to dress up a tree!  Minty green and ‘Pepto pink’ are a little past their prime in trendiness but this was all the rage circa 2006:

Even standard white lanterns can look extra special when lit with a colored bulb or contrasted against a colored uplight.  In this case we have a pink uplight against the wall, round pink lanterns with white lights inside, and white cylindrical lanterns with white lights inside!  What a gorgeous statement for your bar and lounge space.  This scrumptious event was designed by David Beahm Design:

If the solid-colored lanterns aren’t your style, how about these funky ones?  I’m not sure where Ariella Chezar found these beautiful pieces but I love the photo just the same:

The same awesome lanterns by the same awesome designer, strung in a different space (must be the same event, right?):

This is an older image (2005 maybe?) but I could still stare at it for hours.  I love the combination of the natural-colored linens and chairs, the subdued but elegant and luscious centerpieces, the great natural trees with tables scattered between, and the strung canopy of lights.  Are these white paper bags??

I’m the worst about photo credits and have had some of these photos for a very long time.  If you know where they came from (or if they’re yours) please let me know!

Here in the DC area, Frost Lighting and Capital Decor are two wonderful companies who can install gorgeous lanterns like these.  There are a few other options but we always recommend these two.

Do you plan on having paper lanterns or another type of decoration for your reception?

Remember Kristan and Steve, one of our recent Meadowlark couples?  I just got professional images from Justine Ungaro and think they’re amazing!  I wanted to share since Kristan and Steve had such a beautiful day.

They chose to see each other before the ceremony.  I love the ‘reveal’ moment when the bride and groom see each other for the first time:

Seeing each other beforehand also allows plenty of time for formal photographs.  I think this portrait is really classic but edgy in it’s own way:

Off to the ceremony!  Daddy’s face is just priceless here.  Justine captured a lot of different emotions in this image:

Ceremonies at Meadowlark are always so idyllic:

This really, truly, sums up Kristan’s personality in one photo.  She was like this the whole day:

Maryam Flowers made these pretty bouquets for the bridesmaids.  Since the girls were wearing different colors, they had alternating bouquets to complement the dresses:

In my last post you can see the ‘behind the scenes’ view.  Here’s what Justine was getting:

The girls had so much fun with these paper parasols:

Great Blue Heron, the in-house caterer at Meadowlark, did a great job setting the tables.  I love these tall martini glasses that Maryam uses for centerpieces:

Norm at The Sweet Life brought this phenomenal suitcase cake.  Don’t you love it!?

I mentioned that Steve is a member of the great local band Gonzo’s Nose.  Hence, a lot of their friends are musicians!  Kristan and Steve were treated to a number of amazing acoustic live performances during the reception:

They had a DJ on hand, too, to really get the party going:

Once the sun went down the party moved outside!  The patio was the perfect place to mix and mingle under the stars:

I love this final shot that Justine took:

Congrats again, Kristan & Steve!

Last week we had the pleasure of coordinating Maggie & Tim’s big day!  Maggie and Tim are a special pair because they’re both pilots in the Navy.  Now that they’re hitched they’ll finally be stationed together!

Since our bride lives on an aircraft carrier most of the time, I worked with her mom Janet to pull the last details together.  Luckily we had an all-star cast of vendors so my job wasn’t too hard.  Meadowlark was the venue of choice.  Here’s Main Event setting up the beautiful ivory and gold linens we selected:

Alison, their sales manager, is there on the right.  I love that Main Event’s ‘corporate’ people get hands-on with the setup.  Working with Alison was a breeze and I will definitely be recommending her to more clients!

Here’s the gorgeous ceremony, held outside.  Eugene and his Signature String Quartet provided great live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour:

Photographer Anne Lord doing her thing during cocktail hour.  I’ll share more professional photographs later if she sends me some!  Can you believe Maggie flies helicopters and lives on an aircraft carrier?  She looks so dainty and girly in person but this girl must be a force to be reckoned with when you get her in a pilot’s seat.  Awesome!

The combination of the natural wood chivari chairs, the white and gold linen, and the hot pink flowers all came together really nicely.  Cute!

I really like the way Main Event sets up their buffets.  It’s a non-traditional twist on the standard ‘row of chafing dishes’ you see at most hotels and banquet facilities.  We reused the ceremony flowers from Karin’s Florist as a HUGE centerpiece on the buffet:

Wedding cake by the Alexandria Pastry Shoppe:

Eddie Grant from Davis Deejays kept the dance floor full all night long.  If you decide to book with Davis, please recommend Eddie!

Cutting the wedding cake:

Congratulations again, Maggie & Tim!  I hope you’re having a fabulous time on your honeymoon and that you stationed somewhere wonderful together.  Thank you for serving our country!

Kara & Art were our international couple of the year!  These two have lived all over the world, from Austria to Argentina to South Africa.  They chose Collingwood Library for their wedding this past weekend and their international guests enjoyed the gorgeous setting there.

It’ll be a while until we get professional images from photographer Rob Holley but I thought I’d share mine in the meantime.  We got very lucky that another couple left this cute sign behind:

Barbara at Growing Wild did a marvelous job on the ceremony decoration.  We had shepherd’s hooks lining the aisle, a huge arch at the front of the aisle, and two more altar pieces to mark each end.  She also decorated the gazebo with a big beautiful garland…I wish I had a photo of it but it was all really pretty!  We always enjoy working with Barbara and you can see why brides like her too:

If you’re not familiar with Collingwood (you should be!  It’s open to the public most of the time!), you must know that the best ceremony spot is ALL the way down the hill and far, far away.  I would estimate it’s at least 150 yards?  Luckily they have a golf cart to help elderly guests and the bride also gets a ride down the hill:

If you’re into long aisles, this is probably the LONGEST aisle in town!  It makes for tricky processionals since we have to time the music for different groups of people.  But, that’s why you hire a wedding day coordinator, right?  Here’s the bride and her uncle, on their way:

It’s all worth it in the end, though, when you have a picture-perfect riverfront ceremony.  Bialek’s Music provided a wonderful guitar/violin duo that was just the right touch.  Rev. John Hoffmann created a customized ceremony that included a fun reading from a Dr. Seuss book.  The big beautiful Potomac River makes this wedding spot simply unbeatable:

While guests gathered back on the porch after the reception, we put the finishing touches on the reception room.  Collingwood built this venue about a year ago and we’re glad to finally have it open.  The room doesn’t have much character on it’s own but with a little lighting and some fun colors, it really comes to life!

Here’s the ‘before:’

And after!  Andrew Cissna Lighting Design did a fabulous job for us, including stringing the bulb lights, providing a ceiling wash with a fun pattern, and also doing a monogram on the dance floor to define the space.  I couldn’t have been more pleased with how things turned out:

A close-up of the custom monogram that Andrew designed:

Susan at Federal City Caterers was a rockstar to work with through the entire process.  She was flexible, accomodating, friendly, welcoming, and all-around a joy to work with.  She even worked with their chef to recreate a Finnish recipe for the bride’s family!  I will be recommending them a lot more in the future.  I thought the way they set the tables was really pretty:

Another cool thing to note was their wedding cake!  Stephanie the Baker provided this fun international-themed cake.  She’s a former White House pastry chef and really knows her stuff.  What’s even cooler?  The fondant ’stickers’ all feature a place the bride or groom have lived:

The room looked even better when guests came in for dinner:

Kara’s mom lives here in Arlington and was our liasion for most of the wedding decisions.  Kara dedicated a special song to her mom and it was really a touching moment.  I’ve become so jaded that I rarely cry at weddings anymore…this one brought a tear to my eye:

Cutting the wedding cake.  It was tasty!

Andrew even lit the outside of the building to give it some pop.  I thought the Tiffany blue color looked really great:

Congratulations again, Art & Kara!  I hope you both enjoyed every minute of your day and are traveling safely to Mexico today.  Best of luck with your future lives in South Africa and wherever else your international travel bug takes you!