Go back to Part 1. For more professional photos from Mark Bettinger of Rodney Bailey Photography, click here. These are the ones I took.
Love the gerbera daisies popping out of a bed of wheatgrass by Petals Edge! A nice change of pace for the escort card table.
The Linden Grove all set for cocktail hour.
Ceremony in the garden
All set for dinner. Really loved the navy blue tablecloths in the library, accented with more orange gerbera daisy centerpieces.
Enjoy! Vicky
After several rain outs, Brian and Jill got married on Labor Day weekend to a beautifully sunny day. The best part of this wedding was that we had a Rabbi (for Jill), a priest (for Brian) and a minister (Brian’s long time friend) officiating the ceremony
Venue: Meridian International Center “Meridian House” (Jessica Blinn). The Linden Grove, the gardens and the mansion house are all so picturesque that no wonder it is always a top venue for DC weddings.
Catering: R&R Catering (Anne Portell)
Photography: Mark Bettinger for Rodney Bailey Photography. This is the second time we’ve worked with Mark and just love how easy going he is but yet, he still gets excited when he gets a great shot.
Floral Design: Petals Edge Floral Design. Love the arrangement they created with gerbera daisies popping out of a bed of wheat grass. What a cheerful look!
Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Music: Bellini Ensemble (Kathy Birch)
Band: Amaretto (booked through Bialek’s Music). Loved the energy of these guys! The brass section is just awesome. Best of all, after working with several high maintenance bands recently, these guys are generally really nice people and happy to be there, not to mention fantastic musicians.
Cake: Pastries by Randolph.
eaTip: The couple provided transportation from Marriott Wardman Park and Meridian House. Not realizing that there was a separate bus entrance to the hotel, the guests all waited at the main entrance. Luckily, my smart associate Megan was there and corralled everyone to the right location. Lessons learned for those with room blocks at Marriott Wardman Park.
Stay tuned for Part 2 for photos from the day!
– Vicky
Our second Expert Tips article on Surviving Wedding Season is up! This time, we wrote a mini tutorial on Hindu Wedding Rituals so that you know what to expect.
We wrote our first article, “To Bring A Date Or Not To Bring A Date That Is The Question That Is Not Up To You Wedding Guest,” addressing how to handle single wedding guests, back in June.
What other topics would you like us to tackle? Email us with your ideas!
– Vicky
It’s not secret that I’ve been on a search for modern or industrial spaces for wedding receptions in the DC area [see previous blog post here and here]. It’s tough to find a raw, industry, loft-like spaces for events here in DC. I think my wish finally came true!
A sketch of what Long View Gallery will look like
I visited Long View Gallery a few weeks back. Party art gallery and party event space, this is a welcome addition in the Shaw/Convention Center area. It is the space DC has been waiting for, a great contrasting alternative to the plethora of historical buildings!
Suzi Molak, Special Events Director, walked me through the then-unfinished space but my mind was on over-drive dreaming of all the possibilities. She brings a wealth of special events experience. Here are some of the specs:
Long View Gallery front glass roll-up/garage style doors
Images from Long View Gallery.
I cannot wait to work here!
– Vicky
The fall season provides many sources of inspiration for weddings. In this case, our clients used some of the fall’s cues for their wedding.
Just love this fall colors inspired arrangement with apples.
Brown chivari chairs. Cream pintuck tablecloth with brown napkins.
Centerpiece #1 has a cluster of 3 arrangements. In the foreground, you can see the table number written in Serbian and the squirrel design on the wrap around the Hershey bar.
2nd centerpiece design had a bowl of apples
Venue: Washington International School/Tregaron
Caterer: 3Citron
Photographer: Tracy Timmester. Check out her blog for more images.
Floral Design: Petals Edge Floral Design
Wedding Coordinators: Vicky and Juanice, Event Accomplished
You know I love my girls over at Haute Papier. They just recently launched their Personal Stationery line of 20 designs, which can be found in retailers across the country including Hitched in DC. Great idea for a gift for any occasion.
– Vicky
Photo by Three Lights Photography
I am very excited to introduce our new associate event consultant, Megan Farris. This is a huge step for Event Accomplished as we strategically grow and this is one of several announcements we will be making in the near term.
Megan adds several valuable dimensions to the Event Accomplished team. A Northern Virginia native, Megan’s extensive knowledge of the area will be an asset. She knows more about the people and places of Alexandria and its surrounding areas than anybody I know. Second, the ability to analyze an event and see where the risks are is an important skill for an event planner. Megan’s experience in risk management allows her to think about the “what if” of your event and to always think of workable Plan “B”. I was really impressed with her attention to detail, creativity, proactive attitude, and ability to read people – all traits that will ensure that your event is a success! Megan holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from James Madison University.
Here’s the real scoop. I like Megan’s personal style, a little bit classic and a little bit edgy. She loves beer, wine and food – and that’s why we’ll get along famously!
Welcome to the team, Megan!
- Vicky
Go back to Part 1 (the intro) and Part 2 (the pictures).
Here’s the vendor reviews. On days like it was, where it was raining buckets and we had to implement the Rain Plan and everything was just wet and messy, you really value having an exceptional vendor team to make sure everything still goes smoothly.
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Oxon Hill Manor. OHM is a beautiful mansion with lush gardens. It’s really a hidden gem. The challenges with this facility are that a) they have 2 events on Saturday; and b) if there is inclement weather and you need to hold a ceremony inside, the largest room holds only about 100 people. The staff is OK. They were flexible in allowing us in a bit earlier. Even though they have several event staffers, they don’t assign you one. So when you call, you never know who you will get and they are likely to not know much about your event.
Catering: R&R Catering (Natalie Seng, event designer). Good job as usual.
Photography: Laura Kay Photography. Love, love, love Laura’s approach to photography – so fresh, whimsical and fun and just a little edgy. The photos speak for themselves. Plus, she’s just a fun person to be around. Go back to Part 2 for the pictures.
Floral design & lounge furniture rental: Davinci’s Florist. At a location like OHM where you have a tight load-in time, Davinci’s was the logical choice to supply the lounge furniture, as opposed to getting a separate rental company. They were already going to be there to set up the flowers so it’s fantastic that they could offer both! The bridesmaids’ bouquets are some of my favorites all year because they were so cheerful!
DJ: Bob Artman, Artman DJs. Bob is so easy to work with and I was so relieved to have him there because I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about him at all. Great music as usual.
Salsa Lesson: Instructor from Dance Factory. Fun for all guests!
Lighting: Blue Ridge Light Forms. I worked with Larry Lustberg during the planning phase and he was fantastic. Always responsive. Our original plan was to have lanterns over the back patio. But because of the rain, the BRLF team went the extra mile to try to make the inside as nice as possible. They did uplighting in the dining room, a soft spot light for the ceremony and then changed it to a cool, rose color wash for the dance floor (in the same room). They were also able to light the outside columns. They also attempted to string some of the lanterns inside but the mansion staff wouldn’t let them. Their team is just awesome!
Hair & Makeup: Chaos Salon.
Bridal Gown: Distinctive Designs Bridal . A Pronovias design. I love Pronovias.
Alterations: Estee Livioco. Ina bought a sample which was many times larger than her dress size so I sent her to the one and only Estee, who also altered my dress. Of course she worked miracles and did a great job basically remaking Ina’s complicated dress. [Ina's yelp review of Estee]
We introduced you to another one of our lovely couples, Cyrus and Ina in Part 1. Go back if you missed it.
Let’s chat about the elements of this wedding because I had so much fun working with the bride and groom putting it all together.
Wedding Style: Ina and Cyrus wanted a homey, whimsical and relaxed style to their wedding. They chose a buffet for dinner, with a mix of formal seating for their relatives and lounge furniture for their friends.
The Dining Room with a casually elegant feel. Photo courtesy of Laura Kay Photography
eaTip: We chose walnut folding chairs for this wedding. We considered chivari chairs too but it would have been too formal to use chivari chairs and it would have strayed away from the homey feel the couple wanted. Be consistent in each design element you choose for your wedding.
Lounge furniture from Davinci's set up in the foyer in front of the candle lit fireplace.
Wedding Colors: we chose a soft color palette of creams/whites, sage green, a mellow yellow and a touch of brown to ground it all.
Personalization: Cyrus gets full credit for this one! To add some whimsical, personal elements to the wedding, Cyrus came up with the idea of setting textbooks they used (law for Cyrus – the thick one, and education for Ina), board games they liked to play, and music they played/sang (they both sign/play in a church music group) on the coffee tables.
It all makes sense for a bride who is a teacher: Composition book as a guest book. Chalk board frame. Little lunch-box type box for gift cards.
[Photos courtesy of Laura Kay Photography
What's with the Curious George lunchbox, you ask? Ina had this and I thought we just had to use it somehow. We tied a tag that said "Open Me" and inside the guests discovered school photos of the couple! So fun. Photo courtesy of Laura Kay Photography
Stay tuned for vendor round up!
- Vicky
When clients ask us to organize transportation for them, we almost always turn to Reston Limo. We are thrilled that they interviewed up recently for a blog post. You can read more about me and get some tips on planning for transportation. Hope you find it useful!
If you are planning an event Sunday – Thursday, buy 3 hours and get the 4th FREE for ANY Vehicle! *New reservations only. May not be combined with any other discount or offer. Based on availability.
- Vicky
