The adorable Kelsey Thompson photographed the day, and was AMAZING to work with.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that her pictures are gorgeous too!

(Okay, the subjects aren’t too bad either

The day started at the Mayflower Hotel, right in Downtown DC, with Hayden and her many bridesmaids getting hair and makeup done.  Krystal Morant (contact me for info) and Jet Miller did an awesome job — the girls looked GORGEOUS!

My assistant Jamie and I offered a little help getting the flower girls’ crowns on — I am SO not good with hair!

The girls were all excited when Diana from DaVinci’s, one of our absolute favorite florists, came in with the flowers!  (They did the crowns above, too.)

I got the boys into their bouts…

And then it was off to the church, the STUNNING St. Peters on Capitol Hill.

I stayed just long enough to get everyone down the aisle…

(LOVE the shots of the groom first seeing the bride…)

And then it was off to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to set up for the reception.

While the assistants and I were setting things up, along with the AMAZING staff at R&R Catering (thanks, Heidi!!), the bridal party headed over to the Capitol with Kelsey for some pictures

(Yes, Hayden’s sister was VERY pregnant!!!)

The bride and groom managed to get a little alone time in the limo on the way back to NMWA

I love how they’re checking out the bling   Here’s a close up…

LOVE the rings   (Hmm…someone want to pass that info along to my boyfriend?

Kelsey and her assistant arrived with the bridal party and were able to get some great detail shots before things kicked off

The bride did the embossing on the programs and the escort cards herself!

Tables were named after DC area monuments and were marked by pictures taken by the groom

More gorgeous flowers from DaVinci’s

Lighting by Exclusively Entertainment

Fancy Cakes by Leslie provided the GORGEOUS cake:

And the bride and groom danced to the sounds of DJ Philipz (a little note about the DJ — this kid is GOOD.  Like REALLY REALLY good.  He is just starting to get into doing weddings, and has mostly done club work.  But not only will he SERIOUSLY rock your party, but he’s crazy affordable too!  Definitely shoot him an email, you won’t regret it, the guests danced like CRAZY!!!!!!)

This museum is PERFECT for a bouquet toss — the balcony!  The chandelier!  I love it!

Guests were treated at the end of the night to a cookies and candy buffet, with the majority of the cookies and treats made by Hayden and her bridesmaids!

(I’m loving that linen!)

Congratulations, Hayden and Mike!!  Thanks for making me part of your day!

I’ll share professional images from Amir at Photo Fanatic when I get them.  For now, here’s my take on the day!

Jen & Brent wanted a candlelit ceremony so that’s what they got!  Aside from some twinkle lights on the trees rented from DaVinci’s Florist, the only other light was from dozens of floating candles down the aisle:

Unfortunately my camera’s not that great in the dark but you get the idea.  It was gorgeous!

The ceremony and reception happened in the same room so once the ceremony concluded we sent all the guests to a cocktail /bar area down the hall.  I didn’t get a photo of the built-in bar at Wolf Trap but here’s the big foyer area:

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Jen & Brent had a kelly green & gray color scheme.  Isn’t that fabulous!?  I was so excited to see how the colors came together.  Here’s her escort card table.  I loved the whole limes in the vase underneath that big hydrangea arrangement:

Meanwhile inside, we were busy setting up the reception!  Keep in mind that we had NOTHING set up for the reception during the ceremony, not even staged tables waiting in the back.  We re-used the chairs to save on the cost and flipped the room entirely:

We had three different centerpieces on the tables to break up the room and show some creativity!  DaVinci’s Florist was really flexible and rolled with all the ideas.  Here’s the tall arrangements:

See how we re-used the ceremony floating candles on the tables?  This arrangement was on the table where the bride & groom sat:

The final table arrangements, featuring submerged orchids and floating candles:

Hold on, did you see that?  The adorable table number?  Jen made these all herself!

Another cute detail was the favors, Hershey’s Kisses in tiny customized glass jars:

For such a late fall wedding, Jen and Brent wanted the room to be DARK!  I thought it was a gorgeous candlelit reception, perfectly romantic for the occasion:

I wish I had a better photo of Jen’s dress but believe me, it was stunning!  She offset the asymmetrical gown with a birdcage veil that was so perfectly vintage-inspired.  Her flowing hair was kept down and had finger waves.  How many brides do we see anymore who keep their hair down?  This girl’s got style!  Here she is dancing with her dad:

Guests enjoying their meal, catered by R&R Catering:

I have to mention the cupcake tree, which was made by Jen herself!  The cupcakes came from Hello Cupcake and fit perfectly on the kelly green stand.  Check out the way they stack up:

OK, I just wanted to rub in how delicious these things were.  Are you jealous yet?

Another lame attempt at getting a photo of Jen’s gown!  Here you can actually see Brent too (sorry for the lack of representation, Brent — we love you!):

…and they danced the night away, thanks to David from MyDeejay:

That’s all for now, folks!  Jen & Brent, I hope you had a fabulous honeymoon and are enjoying the new year together as newlyweds!

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!

Melissa and I first met at the Washington Bridal Showcase.  Right away I could immediately tell that this energetic bride would have a great wedding!  She proved me right and I enjoyed every second of their big day.

This couple chose Leesburg’s Raspberry Plain as their wedding venue.  If you’re not familiar, Raspberry Plain is a big, gorgeous mansion just north of historic downtown Leesburg.  Unfortunately over the past few years there have been a few subdivisions built nearby which means it’s not as remote and isolated as it once was.  However, it’s still a FANTASTIC spot for a wedding!  Unlike other historic venues, there is a large room built on the side of the mansion which means you can enjoy the beautiful architecture of the house but can still seat all your guests in one large space.

R&R Catering is the exclusive food provider at Raspberry Plain and they’ve really gotten it down to a science.  Working with Megan there was a pleasure as it always is.  Congratulations in advance to her and her husband on their upcoming little one!

Andrea Marie Photography was on hand the whole day to capture the images you see below.  She was on her toes the entire time and came up with some really beautiful and creative shots!  ::My photos are mixed in here and there…I’ll bet you’ll be able to figure out which ones aren’t professional::

Raspberry Plain, all ready to go:

Linda at Heaven on Earth Wedding Flowers made these beautiful bouquets:

I especially loved the big wreath Linda made for the front door:

Melissa got dressed at Raspberry Plain so there was plenty of time for photographs and sentimental time with Mom and Dad.  Her parents were the cutest:

Look how adorable the flower girl was!  Here she is in her pretty Tiffany Blue dress, holding one of the bridesmaid bouquets.  I love that the flowers are bigger than her head!

Raspberry Plain has two perfect spots for outdoor ceremonies.  This is the garden to the side of the house.  Melissa’s colors were obviously hot pink and Tiffany Blue.  I loved the combination…the hot pink rose petals just set off the aisle:

Melissa had so many adorable details:

R&R Catering set up a small lemonade stand so guests could get a refreshing drink before being seated for the ceremony.  Good thing they did — it was HOT outside!

The ceremony, in progress.  In the foreground you can see the Cherry Blossom String Quartet.  They always do such a beautiful job at weddings:

The gardens are a perfect spot for formal photographs too:

Inside, R&R was busy setting up the reception in the Atrium.  Raspberry Plain is large enough to hold about 200 guests, I’d estimate:

Melissa’s table numbers each featured a different photo of the newlyweds through their relationship:

The escort cards were displayed on these big boards.  I suspect they were large poster frames wrapped in black fabric but I couldn’t really tell!  Melissa wrapped blue ribbons around each of them and secured the cards alphabetically:

More and more we’re seeing non-traditional guestbooks at weddings.  Gone are the “sign a line” books that will sit on a bookshelf for the rest of their lives.  Melissa & TJ chose a “Make a Wish, Take a Kiss” station.  Guests filled in cards with their wish for the newlyweds.  In exchange, they could take a Hershey’s Kiss.  I always like seeing what advice gets passed on:

Debbie at Cakes by Design brought this gorgeous four-layer cake with Tiffany Blue ribbon.  Unfortunately the cake got bumped and had a slight frosting problem during transit.  Debbie fixed it right up on-site and it looked flawless before the reception began.  I snagged a small piece and it was DELISH!

When cocktail hour was over, the bridal party was introduced into the reception like at most weddings. However, each couple got to pick ktheir own song!  Jake from Dream Day DJs (who was awesome, by the way), mixed this especially for the wedding and I thought it turned out great:

Now for the highlight of the day!  Melissa and TJ spent HOURS practicing their first dance which was quite impressive.  It started as a fairly traditional ’stand and sway’ to an oldies love song then broke out into a series of hilarious dance numbers.  Even better?  This was a COMPLETE SURPRISE to EVERYONE!  Not even their bridal party or parents knew what to expect.  Here’s some photos from the big moment:

And we even have a video!  This was taken by my assistant, Nicole, who unfortunately had a less-than-perfect vantage point.  You get the idea:

Then later, Melissa and her dad switched it up again!  Their sappy dance turned into the Chicken Dance:

I even got a short video of the newlyweds cutting their wedding cake:

Melissa & TJ, I really had a great time working with you on this wedding.  Your families were wonderful and you have so many folks who truly love you.  I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon and I’m looking forward to catching up when you return!