District Weddings » Bayside Breezy

Preppy Annapolis Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:00:24 +0000

I am super excited to share photographer Abby Jiu’s recently re-designed website – tons and tons of pretty! Of course, re-design is a huge undertaking…and then, to do such a fantastic and lovely job, is even more impressive.

Today, we have Ellen and David’s wedding that Abby shot this past summer at the William Paca House. The wedding was on one of the hottest days of the year – over 120 degrees – but they didn’t let that ruin their day. The couple was married at St. Mary’s Church in Annapolis and then went to the historic William Paca House for their reception.

The bride grew up in Annapolis and wanted it to have that Annapolitan feel. Ellen chose preppy chic nautical decor complete with striped table cloths with navy and pops of bright pink. Favors were customized mallets with a packet of Old Bay Seasoning. Yummy and cute!

The fabulous vendor team:

Caterer and Cake: Palate Pleasers

Make up Artist: Meghan Dorsey

Band: Nightlife

Wedding Dress: Adrienne’s (Custom design in Manhattan)

Bridesmaid Dresses: Aria Dress

Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade

Photography: Abby Jiu Photography

Venue: The William Paca House & Garden

Memorial Day Weekend Bay Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 23 May 2011 10:00:12 +0000

This upcoming weekend kicks off the unofficial start of summer and boy-oh-boy do I have a wedding that will make you swoon for the season ahead of us!

There is so much to love about Fegan and Chris’ big day — thoughtful bayside details, lush gorgeous flowers, romantic historic properties and gardens, killer water views…well, check out the pictures and you will see for yourself why I am giddy over last Memorial Day weekend’s nuptials…

The ceremony took place at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, the oldest Catholic Church in continuous use from the original 13 colonies, first established in 1662.

I especially love Fegan’s dress which was designed from scratch and incorporated pieces of her mom’s dress in the sash and top – wasn’t she just stunning?! I adore this special detail!

After the bride and groom exchanged their vows, the wedding party, family and friends headed to Sotterley Plantation, a picturesque old tide water plantation — even older than Monticello and Mount Vernon.

With the Southern Maryland location, crabs played a big role in the wedding decor and details! Bushel baskets were used to hold ceremony programs, crabs appeared on the escort cards and table numbers (how fab is the escort card display by Amaryllis!?!), and bushel baskets with flip flops labeled “dancing shoes” were set for guests on the dance floor…love, love, love!

The dance floor was PACKED the entire night and Jack, the bride’s brother, even convinced the band, Back to Zero, to come back for 2 encore rounds. How fun!

Happy 1st Anniversary Fegan and Chris! ox.

The fabulous vendor team:

Rentals: DC Rental and Baileys Party Rentals

Ceremony: St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

Reception Venue: Sotterley Plantation

Tent: Baileys Party Rentals

Flowers: Amaryllis

Photographer: Eric Heisler, Chasing Light Photography

Dressmaker: Angie Cavallaro

Bridesmaid Dresses: J. Crew

Band: Back to Zero

Cake: Smith Island Baking Company

Catering: Bailey’s Catering

Sherwood Forest Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 10:00:44 +0000

Hello and happy Monday! Is anyone else feeling a bit of spring fever? This past weekend was beyond gorgeous…and the Cherry Blossoms are even starting to bloom – hooray!

To kick off your week, today I have Kristen and Mark’s blissful Sherwood Forest wedding day up for you. It was filled to the brim with charm and boy-oh-boy does it look fun! I am pretty sure that after you look at the pics, you will wish that you were there!

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony: Our Lady of the Fields

Reception: Sherwood Forest Clubhouse

Coordinator: Raquel Shutt at Wedding Savvy, Inc.

Linen/China Rentals: Party Rentals, LTD

Heaters: Grand Rentals

Caterer: Ken’s Creative Kitchen

Alcohol: Bay Ridge Wine and Spirits

Cake: Palate Pleasers, Caroline’s Cake

Band: Sam Hill Entertainment

Photographer: Amy Deputy Photography

Florist: Silverstems

Guest Transportation: Towne Transport

Décor: Event Dynamics

Limo: Lighthouse Limousines

Hair/Makeup: Jeannie’s Salon

Videographer: Marsh Video Productions

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:00:14 +0000

Elizabeth Meyer and Ryan Kirkpatrick were married at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Easton, Maryland. I don’t think that they could have had a more perfect outdoor fall day – it was beyond lovely! Michael Bennett Kress captured the celebration with such amazing attention to detail and emotion – I am absolutely swooning!

Elizabeth told us, “My family has had a home in Easton, Maryland for over 10 years and we all have fully fallen in love with the Eastern Shore of MD (including my Colorado hubby!), so it was the only place we had considered getting married. The Maritime Museum was the perfect setting for an outdoor fall wedding, and we were incredibly blessed with a perfect weekend of weather.”

The nod to the nautical setting was so very pretty – I love it! This just might be one of my favorite escort card displays of all time!

Congrats to Elizabeth and Ryan!

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Photographer: Michael Bennett Kress

Dress: Ines di Santo

Bridesmaid Dress: Vera Wang

Tent: Sugarplum

Caterer: Susan Gage Caterers

Florist/Design Team: Dragonfly Events

Planner: Michelle Hodges Events

Video: Suburban Video

Photo Booth: Booth-o-Rama

Snowy Winter Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:00:53 +0000

Okay, so I will admit…I am excited for the month of December and can’t help but wish for a bit of snow…yes, even after last year’s epic blizzard, I want to see more this year!

Today’s wedding takes place at the United States Naval Academy in a beautiful winter wonderland.

The bride is a Maryland native and a graduate of George Mason University. The groom is from Hawaii and recently graduated from the United States Naval Academy after gaining fame as the quarterback of Navy’s football team over the last few years. It was fitting therefore that their wedding ceremony take place at the beautiful Naval Academy Chapel, followed by a reception nearby at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Jennifer Cody, of egomedia photography, captured the incredible day!

Jennifer tell us,

“As the snow was falling heavily all day, and the best man was stuck in a ditch by the side of the road just two hours before the ceremony. Discover Annapolis trolleys sent their bravest drivers out and they successfully got the bride, groom, and guests to the ceremony and reception. It was truly impressive given the road conditions. Boots were the order of the day, as open toed shoes were not an option.

Inside the chapel, all was calm and quiet although the chapel coordinators had not been able to make it, the Pastor was there as were the professionals from Wedding Savvy. A lovely ceremony was followed by the traditional sword arch exit, when the Navy football coach took the initiative to try and shovel a path for the bride and groom, but they still pretty much ended up in a snow drift LOL. After taking family portraits inside (which I’m sure the Hawaiian relatives especially appreciated), we set off with Katie and Kaipo for some images outside. They were troopers and when I asked if they were too cold, Kaipo reminded me “I’m a Marine” -point taken.”

After photographs, guests headed to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, upstairs to the flag bridge which provided a great view of the field in the swirling snow and the scoreboard which had been personalized with a photo of Katie and Kaipo. Amusingly, that photo showed the couple during a visit to sunny Hawaii…

Guests were welcomed by Bo Brooks catering, who had called in their own family members to fully staff the event. David from MyDeejay was there to provide music throughout the evening.

I just love the guest book and can honestly say that I never have seen anything like it — Kaipo’s Navy football helmet. Everyone was also asked to submit advice for the newlyweds on cards marked “We wish you”; “The Key to a Happy Marriage is…” and “Love Is”. After toasts and a traditional Hawaiian lei ceremony, the bride, groom, and their families enjoyed dinner and dancing.

The fabulous vendor team:

Photography: egomedia photography

Ceremony: USNA chapel

Reception: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Caterer: Bo Brooks Catering

Event Coordinator: Raquel Shutt at Wedding Savvy

Music: MyDeejay

Videography: Neil Benjers

Chesapeake Bay Wedding by egomedia photography

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:25:50 +0000

Jennifer and Randy were married on October 24th, 2009 in the middle of a torrential downpour as friends, family, and their very cute Havanese dog, Milly, looked on. The extremely personal ceremony took place at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Philip Merrill Center, performed by well-known animator Kit Laybourn. The flowers were impeccable, by Multiflor (a District Favorite!)

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed a six-course gourmet meal, prepared by Design Cuisine. Dancing and conversation followed as everyone enjoyed the amazing music performed by Aria Hendricks and her band.

I especially love how clear it is that Jennifer and Randy pored over the details of their event and used their unique skill set (her BA in Film at Bard College and an MFA in Film & Television from New York University and his MFA in Film & Television from New York University) to create a vision for their eclectic, woodsy wedding style which was executed with perfection by their team of wedding professionals.

The mixing and matching of china is fabulous!

In particular, the green elements were extremely important to Jennifer and Randy — guests were transported to and from CBF via shuttle, carbon offsets were purchased for the wedding and guests’ transportation, invitations were letter-pressed (a greener form of printing), all printed materials and packaging utilized recycled paper, there was minimal use of flowers (and use of flowers in season and local) and the food was organic and local wherever possible.

Congrats to Jennifer and Randy!

The fabulous vendor team:
Photography: egomedia photography
Venue: Philip Merrill Environmental Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Caterer: Design Cuisine
Event Design: Syzygy
Floral: Multiflor
Lighting: Atmosphere
Music: Aria Hendricks
Officiant: Kit Laybourne
Wedding Planner: Wedding Savvy/Raquel Shutt
Wedding Gown: Amsale