Washington, D.C. Wedding Blog – Real Weddings, Inspiring Ideas, Planning Tools, & Top Vendors in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia
As I get ready to kick off “wedding season” this weekend (stay tuned to see the pictures later this spring!), I cannot stop thinking about how the small, thoughtful details really set an event apart from the rest.
These escort card ideas are unique, stylish and inspiring. What are you doing for your wedding? Has anyone seen a display that they loved?
Many weddings are made unique, or given that WOW factor, through it’s small details. They can be found in the table settings, in very thoughtful favors, or in printed materials. This week, our expert vendor interview is with Jonathan Lane of Calligraphy Graphic Design Studio. With his extensive experience and unique flair, Jonathan will never cease to add that wow factor through his beautiful gift to form unforgettable printed materials for your wedding!
How did you become interested in calligraphy and what is your background?
Calligraphy was first a hobby and it all started when I unexpectedly found a teach-yourself calligraphy manual while browsing through a local library. I was delighted and charmed by what I saw, and was immediately determined that I would learn to write like the book’s author.
I have been studying calligraphy for over two decades now, and have been extremely blessed to have worked for or studied with many very talented local calligraphers and lettering artists. One of my greatest blessings was working in the White House Calligraphy Office for several years during the first term of the Clinton Administration.
When I saw Alexis and Mark’s wedding details, I knew I had to share them with you! Their wedding had so many customized touches – most found on one of our favorite sites, Etsy.
Married at Lansdowne Resort this past June, Mark and Alexis were absolutely glowing on the big day.
The paper was all created by Cami’s Paperie. Cami designed the fabulous save the dates, invites, table numbers, place cards, menu cards, programs and the little signs at the wedding. She even created a map for out of town guests. Quite the suite!
And, how good looking is this wedding party? The bridesmaids are so stylish, the groomsmen so handsome! The beautiful bridesmaids dresses are by Jenny Yoo, one of our fav designers.
At the reception, for the little ones, Alexis made crayon favor bags by melting crayons into silicon alphabet molds. Each child had little bags set out for them at the reception that had crayons spelling their names. So fun!
The cake topper was by Ann Wood Handmade – I think it is my favorite detail…okay, well one of my many favorites!
Thank you so much to Alexis and Mark for sharing their big day with us – it truly was so special – such an inspiration!
The vendor team behind this lovely wedding…
Dress: Monique Lhuillier from Hannelore’s of Olde Town
Florist: Devers Design Group
Photographer: Studio Kama
Makeup: Laura Bateman
DJ: Chris Laich
String Trio: Ensemble Elan
Julia’s stopping in today to share some VERY important information about creating the best website for your wedding… Oh, I wish I had known all of this before creating my own wedding website (though, I must say, I used www.weddingwindow.com and loved it).
Here’s Julia…
While we (well, I mostly) were busy making plans for the wedding and researching and choosing vendors, we started to get asked about our wedding day. All the time. People were asking where and when and who was in the wedding party. Some even asked when the save-the-date was going to be sent. So, as the first step, I knew I wanted to set up a wedding website. Most of my friends had sites that had details for their weddings. I really appreciated knowing details in advance – the date, location and times, especially for destination weddings where there were most pre and post wedding activities, it was nice to have a reference so we didn’t miss anything.
I embarked upon a research trip across the internet trying to find resources that would help me find the best wedding website designer. I knew I didn’t want to have my fiancé build one from scratch – he was already busy with a ton of home improvement projects before I moved in with him. I knew I wanted the website to look as customized as possible as well as easy to build. I didn’t find many resources online that had lists of wedding website builders so I could compare all of the different sites at once.
Instead, I stumbled upon a short 1/3 page review of 3 sites in Modern Bride magazine. From there, I decided to use WedQuarters.com…
I am happy with our site, but I have found several more sites after-the-fact that I think may have been better. I’d like to share those here, so you can do your own research and have all of the options before you make your decision.
Sites to check out: weddingwindow.com, weddingtracker.com, wedquarters.com, ewedding.com, weddingocean.com, weddingorg.com, wedpagedesigns.com, wedshare.com, nearlyweds.com, weddings.myevent.com, mymemorypage.com, elegantweddingwebsites.com, ourweddingplus.com, wedsimple.com, momentville.com
Bridal sites that offer website builders [you just can’t customize the URL (like www.meandbob.com)]: brides.com, weddingchannel.com, theknot.com, projectwedding.com/ourwedding/browse, weddingwire.com
Sites that offer information/reviews about wedding websites: weddingzen.wordpress.com, weddingwebsites.com
After the site was set up, it was onto our save-the-date. I browsed tons of ideas online – mostly photos of the knot “picks” and then a bunch of DIY ideas from blogs. I loved so many of the pretty printed invitation-like Save-The-Dates. I also loved the creative and crafty DIY ideas. But, I wanted it to be as simple as possible and I decided I didn’t want to use a regular picture of us. So, I asked my fiancé to design something since he’s a designer in his full-time job. He came up with something very artistic and modern (see photo below). I incorporated a very abstract black & white/washed out photo of us walking with our dog. It was very “us.”
I stumbled upon a website called www.printsmadeeasy.com. Not only would they print the postcards, but they would also print the names and addresses AND print indicia for postage. Talk about a one stop shop. We uploaded our design, uploaded our list in excel and pressed “order now.” A few days later, our guests started to receive the Save-The-Dates and visited our website. The wheels have started to roll…
Today, Lyndsay, our Bridal Contributor, is stopping by to share a few fun, fabulous guest book ideas!
From Lyndsay…
I love creative and special guestbooks!
As a bride, you want everyone at your wedding to participate in “signing” your guestbook, but that does not mean that they have to sign a traditional book. There are so many fun ways for your guests to express their good wishes and sentiments!
Photo: Brian Alesi
Personalizing your guest book will ensure that it is an extraordinary wedding keepsake for years to come!
Here are a few of my favorite ideas…
A wishing tree… what a beautiful way to add décor to your reception! Ask guests to write a wish for the two of you on a piece of paper and hang it on the tree. After the reception, you can compile all of your wishes into a keepsake!
Photos: Here Comes the Guide
Postcards addressed to the bride and groom… what a great way for guests to send you a message congratulating you on your marriage! Also, you will love receiving all of your special messages in the mail.
Photos: The Knot
A photo album filled with pictures of the two of you that has space for guests to write down their favorite memory with you, happy marriage advice, most memorable wedding moment, etc. After the wedding, you can use the photo album as a coffee table book!
Photo: Abigail Seymour (top); Jenne Hohn (bottom)
Thanks, Lynds! I’m a sucker for a good guest book. I’m still trying to figure out what we’ll do for our wedding. If you have a fun, creative idea, send it my way — I’d love to hear about it!
Punk Rock Bride is launching their 2010 collection! All of Stephanie’s new dresses will be shown at her launch party on March 4 from 7-9 pm in Washington, DC.
Stephanie has offered to give away 10 tickets to attend and be the first to see the new collection. Winners will also receive 20% off any Punk Rock Bride dress, have a few cocktails, get to meet Stephanie and some of Washington DC’s best wedding vendors. To enter, leave a comment at Foxy.
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