Jocelyn + Henry: Getting Ready

Another Saturday in May meant another wedding in Baltimore and we were thrilled to be helping this bride and groom with their wedding. Jocelyn and Henry share a culture, a profession (they are both docs) and even a last name (even before they were married) so when they were planning their wedding, they shared all the duties and decisions.

The bride's beautiful gown.
Dressed with a little help from her friends.

"First look". The bride and groom decided to see each other before the ceremony which is usually just as sweet and emotional as seeing each other from an aisle away.

Gorgeous photo of the diamond ring by Renee Michele.

The flowers were all from the uber-talented and super sweet Karen Lock.

Great photo of the back of the wedding gown. These photos were taken in historic Mt. Vernon.

In the limo and on the way to the church for the ceremony.

One last pose with the bridesmaids before walking into the church.

One of my favorite photos from the wedding. They were so happy.

Taking photos together before the wedding has wonderful advantages and tends to turn tension and nervousness into joy and calm as seen here.

Thanks to Renee Michele for all the beautiful photos in this post.

Invitation from Bloomingdale's In Tyson Corner

The (Very) Social Registry at Bloomingdale’s invites you and your bridal party to:
Bride’s Night Out
Wednesday, March 24th
6:00 pm – 8:30 pm.
The experts from the lingerie department will be on hand to assist brides with finding the best lingerie to go with your wedding gown and the perfect intimate apparel for your honeymoon. We hope to see you for a fun filled evening!!!

To Say “I Do,” please reply to 703-556-4640.

Leigh + Ward: The Details

This cute wedding sign is part of my "wedding stuff" inventory. It is from an artist on Etsy. She made several for me in different colors, some pointing right and some pointing left. We do many outdoor weddings so they get used quite often. Our clients always have the option of using any wedding items in our inventory at no cost.
I know some prefer to forgo the champagne toast these days but I happen to love champagne and the elegance it brings to an event.

Caterer Carlton Walker prepared this fabulous crab salad, made of lump crab meat, to serve for the first course.

A dinner buffet which included Rockfish, Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Roasted Potatoes and Rice Salad awaited the guests.

The entree served on clear glass plates.

A slice of wedding cake with seasonal fresh berries is always refreshing and just enough.

A Crane escort card (in envelope) and a calligrapher's special touch.

You know it is one of our wedding if there is a basket or two of flip flops on the dance floor. One can only wear those heels for so long.

A really good band "makes" for a successful reception.

We love the Adesso guest books with the Polaroid photos. Our inventory also includes a nice supply of the now hard to get cameras.

Loane Brothers hung paper lanterns in the trees with lights for a great night time glow.

Tiki torches with citronella oil are a must for an outdoor wedding in Maryland.

Thank you Renee Michele Photography for the wonderful photographs featured in all four blog posts for Leigh and Ward's wedding.

Leigh + Ward: The Reception

It was an evening wedding so Renee Michele was able to capture this really great shot of the bride and groom at sunset.
It must have had special meaning to the groom's family to host the wedding at their farm.

This is the part that makes me nervous - waiters carrying the cake to the cake table.

Isn't this table so pretty? We designed it with rentals from Party Rental Ltd. The base linen is Back Bay Blue cotton and the square top cloth is 100% linen with a hemstitch edge. The napkin is also white linen hemstitch with a sheer ribbon tie.

We used white-washed (called "raw") chivari chairs, Premier glassware, Violet Pebble glass charger and Carnegie Hill flatware, all from Party Rental.

The centerpieces were made the morning of the wedding and were a combination of garden flowers including peonies.

The pretty (and great tasting) wedding cake was made by the caterer, Catering by Carlton. This very pretty sheer embroidered cake table cloth is called White Whisper sheer.

The "first dance" to "You're the One" by Black Keys.

The toast between groom and best man (and brother).

An evening view of the beautiful tent by our favorite tent company, Loane Brothers.

There was nothing tame about the dancing part of the reception as the band Onyx cranked it up. The dance floor was packed.

Guests circle around for the last dance.

They had a really good time!

Leigh + Ward: The Ceremony

A string trio from Elan Artists played prelude music as the guests arrived at the home of the groom's parents for the wedding ceremony. The moms walked into the ceremony to the traditional "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", but the bride added a contemporary song when she processed into the ceremony with her dad to "The Winner Is..."
One quick photo of the bride with her bridesmaids before they walked down the aisle. The bridesmaid dresses are from J Crew.

We used natural color wood folding chairs to compliment the color of the century old stone on the house.

A view from the back of the aisle.

The dad escorting his daughter.

Proud and happy parents of the bride.

The exchange of wedding rings.

Just married and coming back down the aisle to the music of Led Zeppelin (All My Love).

Showing off the new wedding ring (it was stunning).

The bridal party.

Finally a moment alone.

All these lovely photographs are by talented photographer Renee Michele. We love her work and love her charming and calm personality.

Leigh + Ward: Getting Ready

Even though I am still catching up on wedding posts from last year, I can assure you that I remember the details of this wedding. This Saturday in May was most certainly the most beautiful weather day of the year. Despite the rain the day before, the day dawned with a crystal clear sky and perfect temperature for an outdoor wedding.
Photographer Renee Michele captured these gorgeous images the morning of the wedding as Leigh got ready at her parent's home in Baltimore accompanied by her bridesmaids. Long time hair stylist Bridget Moran was there to make sure everyone looked beautiful.

As pretty as this wedding gown looks on the hanger....

with all the fabulous detail...

it looked simply stunning on Leigh.

The bridal bouquet, made by family friend and florist Jay Jackson, was simply made of

the most beautiful color peonies. I think the simplicity of the bouquet is perfect with the gown.

The bridesmaid bouquets were just a deeper shade of all peonies.

While the bride added the finishing touches...

the groom was waiting at his parent's home where the wedding would take place.

When your family owns a famous men's clothing store, you better look great.

All suits, shirts and ties are from Joseph Bank.