And, aren’t they just dashing?! What a classic and timeless bride and groom!

From the bride, Emily…

We originally wanted to have a small, casual, outdoor wedding.  But, a number of factors, including time of year and the guest count, quickly took over and we realized that our plan wasn’t very practical.  So throughout the planning process we looked for ways that we could bring our original vision into our more formal  event.  We selected Holy Rosary Church in part because of my Italian heritage and but also because it is such an intimate space.  It was so wonderful to look out from the altar and be able to see every one of our guests.

Union Station, our reception site, wasn’t originally on my radar.  But when we saw the space we were totally taken with the East Hall’s history and personality.  I was worried that the space was going to be too traditional.  But, working with vendors I laid out my ideas for a modern, organic, Mediterranean feel dominated by green, ivory and brown.  Once we landed on the idea of “bringing the outdoors in,” the whole thing took shape.  We brought trees into the reception space and hung lanterns from the branches. My cousin, who runs Butera the Florist and is a total floral visionary, came up with the idea to construct a life size tree in the Columbus Club.  He then carried the tree theme through to the East Hall, where he built amazing floral structures that dripped with unique choices like succulents, herbs and artichokes.  Design Cuisine made a fun crepe cake with Nutella and rasberry jam, and the florist topped it with lavender (which was also at guests’ place settings, along with rosemary).  With the lighting design it really felt like we were outdoors.

We also felt strongly about bringing in as many personal touches as we could. I do a lot of work on Latin American issues, so we hired Grupo Corozo to play for cocktail hour.  We are both bourbon lovers and the wedding happened to be on Derby Day, so we served mint juleps during cocktail hour.  Chris and I have traveled a lot and have strong connections to our Italian and Norwegian heritages, so we named the tables after cities where we, and our relatives, have lived.  Melissa Weller at Persnickety Invitation Studio and my artist mother did a great job figuring out how to create a cohesive design with a sense of humor (instead of place cards we had a big board titled “Where in the World Am I Sitting?”)  Probably my favorite element was the donations table.  Instead of handing out favors we selected charities that are meaningful to us and made donations in guests’ honor.  The florist used glass jars and Spanish moss to integrate the table with the feel of the event and we asked guests to toss stones into the jars labeled to select the charity of their choice.

Regarding the escort cards…My grandfather was a shoe repairman and he would tie small, manila tags onto his customer’s shoes to identify their owner. We spun this idea off for the place cards. Each tag had the person’s name on it, and we used ribbon to hang them on the back of chairs.  My aunt had some original tags from his shop, so we used those for the head table.  Persnickety created “knock off” tags (in different colors, to help the caterers) for the rest of the guests’ tables.  During cocktail hour, we displayed a photo of my grandfather and an explanation of the meaning behind the tags that served as a tribute to all of our grandparents.

When we started the planning I was overwhelmed by choices and unsure how we could reflect our personality and tastes, especially since neither of us had a strong interest of having a wedding.  But thanks to our amazing vendors we were able to create a a wedding that really felt like “us.”

The fabulous vendor team:

Photography: Kirsten Rose Photography

Ceremony: Holy Rosary Church

Reception: East Hall of Union Station

Florist: Butera the Florist

Wedding Planner: Jamie Sears, Simply Chic Events

Catering: Design Cuisine

Hair and Makeup: KPN Hair & Makeup

Transportation: Linder & Associates

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

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

Now that you’ve said “I will”…come meet, mingle and hear wedding expert Anne Chertoff and the best of DC’s wedding vendors give you inside tips and advice on getting organized and planning to say “I do”!

Get inspired with event décor, sample cocktails & decadent sweets, win fabulous raffle prizes and take home a wonderful assortment of goodies too.

Featuring: Hitched Salon, Design Cuisine, Ritzy Bee Events, Kate Headley Photography, Humanstory Films, K. Rose Cakes, Laura Hooper Calligraphy, Laura Bateman make up, Holly Heider Chapple Flowers and more…

When: Thursday, March 19, 2009 6 pm – 8 pm

Where: Hitched Salon {located in Georgetown} 1523 Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington, DC 2007

The event is complimentary and you must register to attend. Space is very limited and open to brides + 1 guest only. Please RSVP early to: fromiwilltoido@gmail.com with your first & last name, wedding date, email, phone, mailing address and guest’s name. 

Anna from Design Cuisine/DC Rental sent us these gorgeous photos of recent events from DC Rental…

A big thanks to Anna for sharing all of today’s pictures with us!  Design Cuisine sets the standard for catering in the D.C. area.  And DC Rental is the place to go for chivari chairs and beautiful linens for any color palette!

I wanted to get these photos to you as soon as I could, as I think they perfectly show why Design Cuisine is often rated the BEST catering firm in D.C.

Feast your eyes are these yummy creations…

Photo 1 – Amish Chicken (yum!)

Photo 2 – Soup & Sandwich (adorable!)

Photo 3 – White wedding cake with diamond design and gold accents (beautiful!)

Photo 4 – Sesame-crusted Crab Cakes with Wasabi Ailoi (tasty!)

Design Cuisine is known for its gorgeous presentation, as well as its delicious recipes.  The team at Design Cuisine is highly knowledgeable and professional, not to mention incredibly creative!  If you are looking for a caterer, I would highly recommend adding Design Cuisine to your list.  Ask for Anna Bryan — she’s darling and so fun to work with!