Kristi & Josh.... These Two Know How to Party!!!

In June, I had the pleasure to be IN a wedding! My good friends Kristi and Josh got hitched and not only invited me to be a bridesmaid, but also my colleague Alison to be their day-of coordinator.

Josh and Kristi hosted about 180 of their close friends and family in Bluemont, VA at Whitehall Manor (one of my favorites!) for an energy packed evening of dinner, drinks and dancing. Kristi put so much thought into all of her creative touches - from "bling" in the flowers, on the cake and on the girls to personalized wine favors to a Redskins themed groom's cake. The colors were a magenta and purple and even the mothers were coordinated with the event - with the mother of the groom wearing the exact purple in the bridesmaid's sash, and the mother of the bride wearing the exact magenta of all of the accents.

Now, being that these are two of my friends, you can't be too surprised that they know how to party!! :) We had a blast the entire weekend celebrating with the couple.

Enjoy the gorgeous professional pics from Cassidy Duhon:

A sudden thunderstorm called for an intimate, standing-room ceremony inside Whitehall.
Surrounded by their friends and family, they tied the knot!

Kristi "blinged" out the flowers :)

Gorgeous flowers by Growing Wild Floral

80's gear came out late night, as did the sliders and fries!

The awesome vendors:

Venue: Whitehall Manor

Photographer: Cassidy Duhon Photography

Florist: Growing Wild Floral

DJ: Greg Haynes

Ceremony Music: St. Charles String Quartet

Cake: Connie's Cake Creations

Officiant: Rev. Daniel Kane

Transportation: Chariots for Hire

Day of Coordinator: Alison, breathe. event planning

A DC-Style Wedding for Mike & Nikki

Back in June 2007, Mike & Nikki contacted me feeling a bit over their head with planning their June 2008 wedding. With Nikki at UVA Law School and Mike traveling the world for his career, spare time was always a challenge and so they invited me in to help out. Their easy-going, trusting personalities made my job incredibly easy as their wedding planner and they were certainly one of my favorite couples to work with! Below are some pictures taken by the fantastic Roman Grinev:

Peach Bellini's as Guests Arrive to Top of the Town

A gorgeous cake made by Carolyn of Cakes by Carolyn

Instead of traditional favors, Nikki and Mike made a donation to three organizations on the part of their guests. Guests were given an option to select from three.




You can't beat the view at Top of the Town!

The Team:

Ceremony Location: Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Georgetown

Reception Location: Top of the Town, Arlington, VA

Caterer: Helga's Catering

Photographer: Roman Grinev Photography

Florist: Growing Wild Floral

Reception Music: Onyx, Washington Talent

Cake: Cakes by Carolyn

Alcohol: Ace Beverage

Valet: Prestige Valet
Planner: breathe. event planning, Lauren Freeman

A Vibrantly-Colored Garden-Style Celebration - ND & Yvonne

This group knew how to celebrate!! This summer was plagued with heavy and frequent rain, but that didn't slow this group down one bit.

The ceremony took place in Alexandria, VA at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church and was personalized with songs performed by close friends of the couple and members of a gospel choir.

The 350 guests later celebrated the marriage at the historic Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria, VA, former home of George Washington's nephew. The events of the evening took place under the very large 120'x40' tent in the gardens of Woodlawn.

Below are photos taken by the very talented Rodney Bailey:

Special thanks to the vendors:

Reception site: Woodlawn Plantation

Photographer: Rodney Bailey Photography
Videographer: Blue Sky Video

Florist: Beehive Events

Lighting: Frost Lighting

Valet: Prestige Valet

Bartenders: PBS

Flashback... to this summer... Julie & Eric

As promised, more out of order blogging :)

In July, one of my wonderful childhood friends, Julie tied the knot to the love of her life Eric... and Alison and I were fortunate enough to be part of their special day.

Ceremony and reception were held at Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, VA. The day was so great, Eric and Julie decided to keep the party going and extended for an extra hour! :)

Below are the gorgeous pictures from pro-photographer Rick Martin:

Photo album guest book

Julie's close friend Jackie surprised the guests with an amazing song for the couple

A perfect sparkler send-off!

Alison was on-site as their day-of coordinator and did an incredible job. Check out her review on Wedding Wire here! Thanks Julie! :)

Many thanks to the vendors that day:
Venue: Whitehall Manor
Photographer: Rick & Susan Martin
Florist: The Flower Gallery of Chantilly
Cake: A Piece of Cake
DJ: Aaron Couch
Ceremony Music: Crystal Strings
Officiant: Rev. Norma Jean Peyton

Jen & Graeme are Married!

What a great night! I've been so privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know such a wonderful family over the past 9 months. Since the winter, I have been working closely with one of my sweetest brides, Jen, and her parents to create a comforting and elegant wedding day at their Leesburg home. Working with families like the Luthers is what reinforces what I love about this job!

By combining the beauty and serenity of their home along with the "nature" theme and Jen's incredible graphic design talent, we were able to tie everything together perfectly last night and their 100 guests had an amazing time.

The only glitch of the day came when Mother Nature decided she couldn’t hold out just 30 minutes before the ceremony. So, with the entire ceremony set and guests beginning to arrive, the sky opened. But this is no reason to fret! Guests were escorted by our fantastic parking valet guys (Prestige Valet) to the Luther’s home, where they were greeted with lemonade and iced tea by the Celebrations Catering staff on the Luther’s large front porch overlooking Leesburg. Old friends and family visited with each other, took in the view and before we knew it, just 30 minutes later, the storm passed, we wiped down the seats and were back on track to get married! Considering the storms blowing through here the past few weeks, we felt VERY fortunate.

My pictures are no where near as great the pro-photographer Bob Updegrove’s will be, but in the meantime I just wanted to share a few. Enjoy!

The Vendors... they rocked! :)
Venue - Private residence, Leesburg, VA
Caterer - Celebrations Catering
Photographer - Bob Updegrove
DJ - Greg Haynes
Lighting - Atmosphere Lighting
Valet - Prestige Valet
Rentals - Perfect Settings, Select Rental and Capital Party Rentals
Restroom Trailers - Alpine Sanitation
Ceremony Musicians - Elan Artists
Florist - Lavendar Green
Cake - TaylorMade