District Weddings » Big City Chic

Mandarin Oriental Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:00:55 +0000

Chantal and McKinley, both D.C. natives, were married last year at the Mandarin Oriental and their wedding was modern yet elegant.

The couple incorporated her family’s Caribbean culture by having a steel pan player during the ceremony and cocktail hour. The favors were boxed pieces of “black cake”, a traditional home-made rum cake in Guyana, South America. Here is a whole bunch of pretty to get your week started!

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: The Mandarin Oriental, Washington, DC

Planner: Leslie Manning Events

Cake: Maggie Austin Cake

Photographer: Andrew Morrell Photography

District Favorites and Chic Longview Gallery Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:00:51 +0000

As we kick off 2012, I am delighted to introduce the updated District Favorites list today! This includes my favorite vendors in town and why I adore them — they are friendly, thoughtful, creative, and their work is phenomenal. In my opinion, they are the best. Check it out!

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Now, to continue this week’s start, on to today’s Real Wedding…

Kyle and John were married last spring at Longview Gallery. Their wedding is really their own and I am thrilled that Garrett Hubbard has shared the pictures of the day with us!

The fabulous vendor team:

Photographer: Garrett Hubbard

Caterer: Occasions Caterers

Makeup: Makeup by Brooke

Event Coordinator: RSVP Event Planning

Venue: Longview Gallery

St. Regis Stylish Black and Green Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:37:40 +0000

Debby and Branden were married a few months ago at the St. Regis and their wedding was full of personal style! A. Dominick Events teamed up with the couple on the design and plans and, lucky for us, Rob Garland Photographers was there to capture the big day!

The beautiful bride has shared a little bit about her day with us…first up, her inspiration and favorite wedding detail…

I always knew that I wanted a traditional, classic black tie wedding but I also wanted it to be a reflection of both Branden and I. We instantly feel in love with the St. Regis in Washington DC, it is known for its timeless elegance and that is how we wanted out wedding to feel. The ballroom is not overwhelmingly big which allowed us to capture that feeling of being at an intimate dinner party with the people we love the most in the world. The beautiful terrace outside allowed us to be a little whimsical and unexpected with tables covered in a beautiful black and white flower toile which created the illusion of being at a romantic garden party. We didn’t want our wedding to feel stuffy so we took inspiration from one of my favorite designers, Kate Spade. We wanted to use color in an unexpected way which she does often, so I chose rich Kelly Green Bridesmaid Dresses by LulaKate to bring in a pop of color and bright and light pink flowers for my bridesmaids flowers and centerpieces which added a sweet preppy feel.

My dress, Christos by Amsale, really captured the feeling we wanted for our wedding which was timeless and classic. The lace lent itself to the traditional black tie affair, but by adding a black sash that tied into a large double black bow in the back not only subtly reinforced the theme of our wedding but was a true reflection of me, for anyone that knows me, knows how much I love bows and that I can almost always be found in black.

For our wedding stationary we incorporated the pop of color with the front of the card in Kelly Green with the phrase “Debby and Branden are getting Married…” in gold and then on the back of the card in black and white we had fun including our wedding date which is my favorite detail of our wedding 09.10.11. Our invitations were simple and classic in black and white but we incorporated small details such as a black and white striped liner for both our save the dates and our wedding invitations which we carried over into black and white striped linen for our bars. The phrase “The Best is Yet to Come” which was printed in gold on the shoulder of our invitations and on our napkins is from the lyrics from our wedding song “Someone like you” I loved that these little details were unexpected and added an element of surprise.

Since the St. Regis in only about 2 blocks away from The White House you can’t not feel like you are a part of history as Presidents both past and present have walked the hallways of the St. Regis, this lead to us using Presidents names for our table numbers which is one of my favorite details from our wedding day as this was Branden’s idea.

It is hard to pick a favorite moment of your wedding day…but Debby did have a few that stood out to her!

1. Riding in a vintage 1964 Bentley that I surprised my father with. I remember just feeling so calm as we drove to the church together, I will always cherish those few minutes we had alone just laughing and talking and taking it all in. The best part of our drive together was how calm and relaxed I felt as we road through Georgetown.

2. There was a moment during the night that Branden and I took a moment to ourselves and stepped outside on to the terrace, we looked around and there were people outside drinking and laughing and then we looked inside at the ballroom and the dance floor was packed, it was a great moment to be surrounded by the people we love the most in our lives and see that they were having just as much fun as we were.

3. But, my absolute favorite memory is when the doors of the church opened and I saw Branden for the first time, as I walked down the aisle he was the only person I could see and when I got close enough he said “You Look Beautiful”, it was as if time stopped and it was just the two of us standing there.

And, as for any DIY projects…

I didn’t have too many DIY elements other than often creating Powerpoint presentations for my vendors so that they could really see my vision. My favorite presentation that I created was for our wedding website. I couldn’t find a template that I liked and that I felt that went with our theme and since this was an out of town wedding for everyone, Branden’s family is form Cincinnati, my family is from Connecticut and we live in New York it was important that our website be a tool that our guests could refer to and use to make their travel plans as easy as possible. I hired graphic designer Damian Barchowsky to make our wedding website and it still is one of my favorite elements of our wedding, especially the map that Daley Ann made. Our wedding website is http://debbyandbranden.com/

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: St. Regis

Ceremony: St John’s Episcopal Church Georgetown Parish

Cocktail Music: Celebrated Strings

Planning: A. Dominick Events

Photography: Rob Garland Photographers

Stationery: Cheree Berry Paper

Cake: St. Regis with flowers by K. Rose Cakes

Floral and Design: Multiflor

Band: Class Act Band

Lighting: Frost Lighting

Dance Floor: Perkins Productions

Candy Bar: Georgetown Candy

Rentals: Party Rental, DC Rental, La Tavola

Transportation: Atlantic

Vintage Car: Regal Limousine

Hair: George Salon

Make Up: Lindsay Steffens Montgomery

Freed Photography Fabulous Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:00:16 +0000

Emily and John were married this past May at Westwood Country Club and this wedding was filled to the brim with beautiful designs! Freed Photography was there to capture the big day – enjoy!

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony: Vienna Presbyterian

Photography: Freed Photography

Reception: Westwood Country Club

Music: Marquise Band

Florist: Amaryllis

Modern Orthodox Jewish Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:00:31 +0000

At District Weddings, many, many interesting weddings come my way. When photographer Deb Lindsey sent me Stephanie and Michael’s wedding at the Park Hyatt Hotel, it was clear that I needed to get it up on the blog ASAP!

This Orthodox Jewish wedding was filled with fabulous traditions and customs. There was the Tish, where the woman and men gather separately to greet and praise the bride and groom; the mothers breaking a dish at the signing of the Ketubah; and an oh-so energetic 40-minute Hora – now that is one long, fun Hora!

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: Park Hyatt Hotel

Photography: Deb Lindsey

Florist: Yellow Door Floral Designs

Band: Spectrum

Dress: Anne Barge from Hitched

Shoes: Badgely Mischka

Hair and Makeup: Bridal Artistry

Corcoran Gallery of Art Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:06:14 +0000

Happy Monday! The sun looks like it is trying to peek out over D.C. and I am hoping for sunshine today! To bring even more brightness to your Monday, I am posting a pretty, pretty, pretty Corcoran Gallery of Art wedding planned by Pineapple Productions!

Lisa and Dan wanted a traditional and classic art gallery wedding, but one that also incorporated important personal details. Lisa absolutely loves the color pink and for her wedding paired it with a deep navy blue. Her French style hand tied bridal bouquet featured dark pink garden roses, and the walls of the gallery featured brilliant pink canvases — a perfect backdrop for pictures!

From planner and calligrapher, Arney Walker, of Pineapple Productions:

Guest tables were a combination of round and rectangular tables. Some tables were dressed with navy blue taffeta, and others incorporated the use of sheer gold embroidered overlays placed over navy linens. Flowers were placed into a sophisticated mix of silver and glass pieces, with pillar candles and votive candles adding ambient light and romance. Floral designer Jack Lucky arftully arranged garden roses, French tulips, double tulips and hydrangea — all in dark pink tones.

Lisa and Dan both love to read. They wanted to incorporate books into their wedding in some way. Lisa’s Great Uncle was an illustrator and did illustrations for Jane Austen novels. Lisa wanted to incorporate those sketches into her wedding. She used one in her Save the Date, and then used a series of them to put on the bookmark escort cards and coordinating table number cards.

Lisa also very much wanted to include one of Dan’s great loves — baseball –throughout the wedding. The wedding cake whimsically featured a baseball “splashing” into the top cake tier. White cards were threaded with red baseball “seaming” and functioned as labels for late night snacks passed around the dance floor. The groomsmen even wore baseball cufflinks made from real baseballs.

It was a stunning. glamorous and personal event from start to finish. The decor, the lighting and the art from the gallery all together made it a very memorable event.

The fabulous vendor team:

Photography: Michael Connor and Andrew Harnik, Connor Studios

Flowers: Jack Lucky

Event Planning: Pineapple Productions

Catering: Occasions Caterers

Ceremony Location: St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.

Reception Location: Corcoran Gallery of Art

Invitations: Just Paper and Tea

Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Graphic Design (bookmarks and table numbers): Empress Stationery

Calligraphy: Arney Walker Calligraphy

Stunning Ritz-Carlton Jewish Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:00:16 +0000

Today’s wedding is going to knock you off your feet! It is chock-full of the most talented vendors in town – all for an incredible looking couple, Heather and Eric. This wedding is elegant, sophisticated, luscious, chic – just stunning! Happy Monday!

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony and Reception: The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC

Photography: Freed

Planner: Evoke DC

Florist: Edge Flowers

Music: Free Spirit

Bash National Museum of Women in the Arts Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:00:35 +0000

There is no doubt about it, that the National Museum of Women in the Arts is one of the most incredible wedding venues in Washington. It has a prime downtown location, lovely architectural detail, and beautiful art. Maya and Steve’s wedding was planned by Terri Eaves, the owner of the fabulous firm, Bash and it too matches all of the above adjectives

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: National Museum of Women in the Arts

Planner: Bash

Photography: Connor Studios

Catering: Main Event Caterers

Floral: Philippa Tarrant Floral Design

Decor: Capital Decor

Ceremony Music: Da Vinci Strings via Washington Talent

Lighting: John Farr Lighting

Band: Prelude

Videography: Dolce Studio Films

Longview Gallery Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:00:12 +0000

Today’s wedding is full of style! Robert and Mark are such a dapper couple, Longview Gallery is one of the coolest spaces in D.C. and the decor looks divine!

I told you this was a good one, right?! This is a great example of working with the space and using decor that compliments the venue!

Congrats to Robert and Mark!

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony & Reception: Longview Gallery

Photographer: Moshe Zusman

Planner: Cherry Blossom Weddings & Events

Lighting: John Farr

Caterer and Cake: Design Cuisine

Rentals: DC Rental

Florist: Greenworks

Plants: Plants Alive!

DJ: Jaime Easson

Pipe & Drape: Fabrication Events

Ceremony and Cocktail Music: Chris Dunn Guitarist

Valet: MarcParc

Top of the Hay Wedding

Danielle Freedman — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:00:46 +0000

The Top of the Hay, at The Hay-Adams Hotel, has always been one of the most breathtaking venues in the District. Now, after months of renovations, it is beyond words! The incredible team on the property is just beginning to host weddings and I am delighted to share one of their first, Kelley and Dave’s, with you today. This will sweep you off your feet!

For more pics, be sure to check out the fabulous Love Brunch images here.

The fabulous vendor team:

Venue: The Hay-Adams

Dress: Badgley Mischka

Veil: Sara Gabriel

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

Makeup & Hair: Up Do’s for I Do’s

Florist: Helen Olivia

Cake: Kendall’s Cakes

DJ: Chris Laich

Lighting: John Farr Lighting

Photography: Cicely & Jason of Procopio Photography