How pretty are these photos by Freed Photography  of this super stunning ceremony setup in the Columbus Club at Union Station?!

Syzygy, Edge Flowers, Plan It Parties and Showcall came together to create this winter wonderland this past November. Love it!

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

Oh, and did I mention it is absolutely gorgeous? Win, win!

Photo Credit: Kristen Rose Photography

For more information on the venue, contact Hillary Offutt at Hillary@unionstationevents.com.

Her engagement story is so sweet -

We got engaged this past October.  I knew it was coming and James had been taking me out a lot that month on “date nights.”  Every time we went out I thought “this it it!”  I would get dolled up to go do things as simple as going to get ice cream (this went on for weeks).  One Sunday night, I was exhausted from working a wedding the night before and he invited me over for dinner.  He was making chicken and green beans.  No big deal right?  So, I came over in my sweats and sure enough, this was the night.  After dinner, he asked me to make popcorn, which we make pretty often.  Not even giving it a second thought, I open up the microwave and there it was- a little black ring box.  He knew he had to catch me off guard and boy did he!  We celebrated that night, eating popcorn and calling all our family and friends.

Here, Hillary tells us more about her planning experience and, of course, photos of inspiration…

Do you think being an industry insider made certain aspects of your wedding planning process more effortless or more difficult?

I felt really prepared going into the process.  I had honest expectations of the costs and of the planning timeline.  Selecting vendors was tough though because I know and work with so many talented people.

What sorts of information were you privy to while planning your wedding that many of our readers would not be?

Being in the industry, the biggest benefit is the shared knowledge.  Everyone is so happy to help and share ideas.  It’s really fun!  I have also picked up a lot of tips from my brides– from numbering response cards to being introduced to www.etsy.com.

Did you find inspiration for your wedding from the events you have planned, or do you think being involved in so many weddings made you more clear of what you did not want for your own special day?

I find inspiration from every wedding I work.  I love seeing how each couple incorporates personal touches that really make each wedding so special.  Sometimes it’s as simple as a song, a great speech or a clever favor.

My biggest inspiration came from Cheree Berry’s wedding in Martha Stewart Weddings Summer 2009 Issue.  I had selected my colors early on – cherry red and a punchy orange.  Our wedding is planned for August and I wanted colors that were bright and cheerful.  It’s certainly not the easiest color combination to pull off but when I saw Cheree’s wedding photos- I thought ‘OK, I can do this!’

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Thanks so much to Hillary for sharing with us today – and we cannot wait to see her pictures after the big day!

Whether you met your fiancé on Capitol Hill or seredipitously on a train (yes, it could happen!), Union Station is a venue to consider.  For more information, contact Hillary Francis at Hillary@unionstationevents.com.