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 weekend we had the honor of coordinating Lauren & Jake’s big day.  Their wedding ceremony and reception were both held at the Fairmont hotel in the west end of Georgetown.  What a beautiful hotel!  They chose the lower ballroom to accommodate all of their guests.  Using one half of the ballroom for the ceremony, we ‘flipped’ the room during cocktail hour and used the whole space for the reception.

Special thanks to Bob, Chack, and Lonnie at the Fairmont.  Their amazing staff took care of nearly every detail and really provided 5-star service.  I highly recommend this hotel to any bride looking for an elegant, easy, and top-notch wedding venue.

Lauren’s dress hanging in a window of the bridal suite, ready to go:

Petal’s Edge Floral Design did a fantastic job on all the floral decor.  Everything was fresh, fragrant, and most importantly delivered on time!  Here’s the bouquets:

Our couple decided to see each other beforehand.  Like many Jewish couples, they planned to meet before the ceremony to sign the Ketubah (marriage contract) anyway.  That meant we had plenty of time for formal photographs before the ceremony.  Here’s our bride and groom in the Fairmont’s beautiful garden:

A photo of the Ketubah after the signing ceremony:

A closeup:

The wedding programs from The Dandelion Patch:

The ceremony was just stunning.  Chairs were provided by Party Rental, Ltd.  Lighting was in-house at the Fairmont by SWANK.  Check out the beautiful chuppah by Petal’s Edge:

The escort card table, ready to go for cocktail hour:

The escort cards up close.  All the paper goods were provided by our family at The Dandelion Patch:

Lauren & Jake chose to have an Asian food station during cocktail hour.  They served all types of Asian-style hors d’oeuvres.  YUM!  I love how the Fairmont decorated the table with props:

The HUGE ovular bar in the center of the cocktail space.  This was taken before the event began.  I swear they moved those racks before guests showed up:

Here’s the ‘ballroom-in-waiting.’  This is how all the tables were lined up while the ceremony was taking place:

The wedding cake provided by the Fairmont:

At this point my camera’s battery promptly died.  Here’s what I captured from my Blackberry of the reception:

Escapade provided awesome entertainment all night long.  This wedding band was the BEST band I’ve seen in four years of planning weddings:

The candy bar was a SMASH hit!  I love how the centerpiece has Hershey’s Kisses below the flowers:

I hope to have photos from photographer Robert Isacson soon.  Hopefully I’ll be able to share those with you when I have them.
Congratulations again, Lauren & Jake!