We look forward to coming back with fabulous new wedding ideas, advice and style! See you then!

Image: Style Me Pretty

One of the best ways to get the dress of your dreams at an affordable price is to shop at an oh-so-sacred sample sale! So, for all of you brides who are still looking for “it”,  head to Carine’s Bridal Atelier, one of my favorites, this Sunday. And, please do report back – it is going to be fab-u-lous and I can’t wait to hear what you find!

The photographer is definitely one of the most important vendors that a couple chooses for their wedding day.  That’s why we made the decision to book Allison Britton very early in our planning.  We liked her photojournalistic style and light-hearted personality, and her photos from past weddings looked amazing.

As we were picking our photography package, we decided to add on an engagement photo session.  Chris and I only have very casual photos of the two of us, mostly ones we’ve taken ourselves by holding the camera above ourselves and pointing it down.  Also, we had heard that shooting an engagement session with your wedding photographer is a great way to learn to pose together and to get used to being photographed for the big day.

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

We decided on Georgetown as the first backdrop for our pictures, and then afterward, we went over to Rosslyn and the Mount Vernon trail, near where Chris had proposed to me.  Being from the DC area, it was important to me to have some quintessential DC shots with monuments in the background!

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

I’m never terribly comfortable having my picture taken, so the week before our shoot, I made Chris practice posing with me.  We also practiced for one particular pose over and over—the “holding hands while jumping in the air” shot.  However, Allison is so laid back and easy to work with that she immediately set us at ease and positioned us perfectly.  She listened to our ideas and found really interesting ways to incorporate the urban landscape into our shots.

A typical female, I was stressed about what to wear beforehand, but I’m so glad I chose a bright, vibrant color that really popped in the photos.  We also did a quick wardrobe change and I put on a little black dress for a more sophisticated, classic look for our shots by the river.  Looking at the photos now, I really like the variation between the two settings and dresses.

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

There are so many unique things couples can do with their engagement photos besides just having them in album.  We plan to use ours on our wedding website, have a photobook as our guestbook, and incorporate them into our thank-you cards.  Having just received the CD of photos, we couldn’t be happier.  Our engagement session was the perfect practice for the big day!

At their wedding in heart of Georgetown at the Halcyon House, Sara explains, “We wanted the overall vibe of the wedding to be fun and different, yet still have a very classic feel to it. We absolutely did not want a typical wedding venue, which made the Halycon House perfect.”  The venue allowed them to achieve this dream of “fun yet classic” for their wedding: the downstairs space is a blank canvas, and very modern, providing the couple with ample room to use their imagination and create their ideal setting, while the upstairs space is more traditional.

The variation among rooms of the house let Sara and Owen use a different color scheme and theme in each room. The end result was incredibly unique – full of fun, beautiful, and diverse décor by Amaryllis Florist, Capital Décor and Events, Pam Barefoot and Frost Lighting!

Dinner was served in the spacious lower level of the House, which had been transformed from a typical concrete basement into a classy, elegant dining room. Everything was lit with a red hue – so very romantic.

After dinner, the guests were led upstairs into a completely different environment than where they had just dined – suddenly they were stepping foot into a room with bright colors, fun patterns, and glowing colored lights. Sara and Owen loved seeing the looks of shock and awe on the guests’ faces as they saw the dance area – a total change of scenery from the dining room! They say that the unexpected, wild atmosphere “really let our guests know that it was not time to let loose and have a great time, which is ultimately what we wanted.”

After the ceremony and reception, Sara and Owen sped off to their Bahamas honeymoon in an elegant, vintage Bentley!

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony: Trinity Methodist

Venue: Halcyon House

Planner: Atrendy Wedding, Pam Barefoot

Caterer: Main Event Caterers

Photographer: Rodney Bailey

Florist: Amaryllis Florist

Band: Eleven Eleven Band, Jazz Trio

Décor: Capital Décor and Events

Cake: Fancy Cakes by Leslie

Lighting: Frost Lighting

Makeup: Leah McKay

Hair: Sachi Medlicott

Photobooth: M J Alexander

Transportation: Atlantic Valet, Fleet Transportation, Fairfax Limo

Photography Credit: Country Living, Wedding Bee

Sunflowers are rustic and cheerful, hopeful and bright, classic and country – the perfect accessory to tabletops, bouquets, or desserts…

Photography Credit: Style Me Pretty Image Gallery

For your ceremony, choose from the classic Greek portico complete with high, elegant columns and fringed with low-hanging tree branches or the ennchanting wedding grove, a romantic, intimate area surrounded by towering trees that filter in sunlight and provide a gorgeous, natural setting.

Woodend Sanctuary is ideal for beautiful photographs among the wildflowers, tall grasses, and lush green trees.

Inside the Woodend Mansion, elegant rooms complete with fireplaces and hardwood floors are lovely for your big day! Take your first dance in the glamorous Great Hall next to a warm, blazing fireplace and stately winding staircase…dine with your guests outside the French doors under the Tented Terrace. Available April through November, the Terrace can hold up to 150 guests and is so delightful!

One special feature of Woodend is that it is part of the Audubon Naturalist Society, the oldest and largest independent nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental issues — the ideal spot for couples hoping to host a “green” environmentally-friendly wedding.

In fact, Woodend Sanctuary will do all that it can to help you make your celebration as green as possible. Not only does the venue strive to maintain an eco-friendly reputation by allowing wedding parties to hold both the ceremony and reception at any of Woodend’s multiple spacious, diverse areas, thus reducing transportation, but they also encourage couples cut down on wasteful decorations by instead embracing the gorgeous, natural setting as décor in itself. Allow the blushing pink cherry blossoms, bright yellow wildflowers, and hundreds of trees painting the background every shade of green imaginable to provide a natural color scheme. It is likely that you will even see a few deer peering out from the woods.

Woodend works to reduce environmental waste. In addition to recyling, the venue uses efficient heating and cooling systems, lighting timer devices, low-flow toilets and faucets, environmentally sensitive cleaning supplies. Love it – so eco-chic!

For more information, contact Rebecca Robinson at rrobinson@audubonnaturalist.org.

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