Colleen + Joe: The Reception

The guest tables turned out really beautifully with linens and napkins from Table Toppers, flowers from Murdoch Florist, menu cards from Aunt Donna, and white wood chairs from Loane Brothers.

Speaking of Loane Brothers, they are responsible for the lovely tent, the lighting, the very posh restroom trailer, the tables, and much of the party rental equipment used for the wedding.

The caterer for the wedding was Ken Upton from Ken's Creative Kitchen in Annapolis. He is a fabulous caterer and the food was delicious and the staff (under the watchful eye of wonderful Helen) was hard-working and courteous. They really helped to make the event a great success.

A favor box filled with salt water taffy was a wonderful treat. Love that they were able to find the perfect color ribbon.

These photos of the tent are lovely, but being there to see this perfect wedding venue was the best way to appreciate it. When I first saw the gorgeous home of Colleen's parents on the water in Queenstown, I knew we had a spectacular venue in which to have her wedding. We had over a year to plan and in that time, her dad even made the property more incredible by adding an abundance of landscaping (which included a running stream!)and an outdoor built-in grill with a bar area. The perfect party house!

As many know, flip flops are one of my favorite ways to spoil the women guests at the reception. Baskets of various sizes and colors of flip flops are placed on the dance floor so that stilettos can be kicked-off and the dancing continues. My favorite source for inexpensive flip flops, but still great colors is Old Navy (go online for best selection).

How fun is this photo? We handed out confetti fountains to the folks on the dance floor as Colleen and Joe began their "last dance". Our deejay, Carl Brashears of Classic Disc Jockeys was so great at keeping the dance floor absolutely packed all night.

Congratulations Colleen and Joe and thank you for being such great clients.

Colleen + Joe: The Ceremony

All images in this post are courtesy of Anne Sachs of Artful Weddings. This photo of the bride and groom was one of the first taken of them on their wedding day. This couple is an inspiration to all who know them. They are a team in every sense of the word and they are kind, smart, and fun to be around. I had the pleasure of working with them on the wedding for 18 months and now that they are married, I miss talking with them.

This is one of my favorite photos because of the relationship between bride and dad. Colleen's dad was very, very involved in the wedding planning. Sadly, Colleen's beautiful mother had passed away just a year before the wedding so her Dad stepped up and was by her side during all the wedding decisions offering support and ideas. It was a touching moment for all of us to see him walk her down the aisle.

The wedding ceremony was on a stage built by Loane Brothers directly on the edge of the water. The fabric and flowers are from the talented folks at Murdoch Florist in Centreville, Maryland.

This cute wedding sign was purchased from Etsy, the website for all the very best handmade wedding elements for brides everywhere.

The bride's Aunt Donna was instrumental in coordinating many of the paper elements of the wedding like the favors, the ceremony programs and the wedding invitations.

Other Ceremony Vendors:

Classic DJs: sound system

Castaglia Trio: flute trio

Black Tie Video: video

Bayside Limousine: shuttle buses

Lisa Yaffe at Hair and Faces: hair styling and make-up

Colleen + Joe: The Wedding Attire (!)

The dock at the bride's parent's waterfront home on the Eastern Shore was the perfect backdrop for these wonderful photographs. All the images here are from very kind and very talented photographer Anne Sachs from Artful Weddings. Colleen and Joe made the smart decision to have all the formal photos taken before the wedding ceremony which gave everyone plenty of time to relax and have fun even before the guests arrived. The weather was once again perfect for a wedding day.

It was clear that Colleen put a lot of time and thought into the attire for herself, the bridesmaids and the groomsmen for the wedding. Look how amazing it all looks.

Aren't these bridesmaids dresses fabulous? They are Coren Moore "Nolan" in Mango Silk Shantung (cost $ 242.00) from our friend Mia at the lovely Garnish Boutique in Mt. Washington.

As a thank you to his groomsmen, Joe purchased suits for each guy. What a great gift! The ties (from Macy's $ 45.00 each) are the perfect accent to the bridesmaids dresses. Notice that Joe chose a lighter color tie which is a genius way to differentiate himself as the groom. Not surprising because he is after all, a rocket scientist (not kidding).

Is there anything cuter than these flower girl dresses? The dresses are from Flower Girl Dress For Less (an on line vendor) and only cost $ 60.00. The fabric is an ivory satin bodice with an organza skirt and accented with an organza sash.

I have always loved the Pronovias line of wedding gowns. Colleen chose the "Daven" purchased at Juliet's Bridal Salon.

More great images to come. Wait until you see the tent!

Annie + Hunter: The Reception

This wedding reception was pretty much a wild, crazy, fun party. The food was served as a buffet (featuring beef tenderloin and Maryland crab cakes)in the Barn by caterer Kim Wharton who has a reputation for doing great cooking for parties in the beautiful "horse country" part of Baltimore County. Because Boordy Vineyards does many public events like concerts and wine tastings, the "Saloon" was the perfect place for a huge bar which would accommodate serving drinks for 400 people.

These fabulous images are from the always pleasant photographer Cappy Jackson, another familiar face to all the locals. Cappy probably knew more people there than anyone. She has a wonderful style and calm about her and is so quick to get all the formal photos so that the bride and groom can thoroughly enjoy their guests and their day.

The adorable mason jar glasses were a find at Party Rental Ltd along with the natural look chivari chairs. The linens from Gala Cloths were perfect for the barn setting.

The decor of the party was enhanced by the clever lighting installed by Perkins Productions as they not only installed uplights and pin spots in the most strategic places, but also provided the really cool rustic chandeliers which hung in the Barn. The tabletop lanterns were theirs as well.

The Jody West Band is one of our all time favorite bands and they came through again and really made the party jump as they played and played and played. The reception had an official end time of 11:00 pm but the party continued on and on until finally the police stopped by in the wee hours of the morning to say it had to come to a close.

Other fabulous vendors:
Loane Brothers - china, glassware, flatware;
Posh Photo Booth - old fashioned black and white photo booth
Freedom Services - the best shuttle van company anywhere
Marriott Hunt Valley Inn - over 50 rooms were taken here by wedding guests and they did a fabulous job of making everyone feel comfortable.
Maryland Portable Restrooms - no explanation needed
Sweet Bakery - the wedding cake!

Annie + Hunter: The Ceremony

Despite a rainy rehearsal the night before, when the wedding day arrived in the beginning of June, the sun was out and the temperature perfect for an outdoor ceremony and reception for 400 guests.

The bride's home is also the site of the popular Boordy Vineyards in Baltimore County. The family owned vineyard was the perfect setting for a Provence inspired wedding to take place.

Annie’s wedding dress for the ceremony was Monique Lhuillier and her dress for the reception was a CHANEL dress (photos in another post). She first saw the CHANEL dress on the runway in Paris years ago and vowed to dance at her wedding in that dress. Her earrings were CHANEL Fine Jewelry Camelia. Her veil originally was worn by her great, great grandmother and was antique lace.

The bridesmaids wore Vineyard Collection in French Blue and the Groomsmen ties were Vineyard Vines French blue with wine bottles and corkscrews.

Another cool detail was a lovely watercolor painting which the bride’s great grandmother painted of the farm which was reproduced for the save the date cards, ceremony programs, and welcome book that were included in the hotel gift bags. In each welcome gift was a bottle of Boordy wine with an "Eat, Drink, and Be Married" label, and a Boordy cork screw. The wonderful trousseau of stationery was from The Pleasure of Your Company stationers.

The wedding flowers were so beautiful and were created by the very talented Carol Westerlund, the grand dame of flowers in Northern Baltimore County. Because there were so many guests, we asked Dan Hawkins of Music Masters to bring in a sound system complete with wireless mics for the ceremony so that all could hear the vows.

Getting a wedding party of 24 down the aisle is no easy feat, but luckily we had Pam, Carly and Kelly from our staff there to coordinate the processional that (only) seemed effortless. The piper played as all the buses brought the guests from the Hunt Valley hotels to the ceremony and the guests walked over the small foot bridge to be welcomed by the program attendants and wheelbarrows filled with ice cold bottled water. There were white paper fans on each ceremony chair and the ceremony musicians were from BK Trio.

Jennifer + Bryan: The Reception

The dining room at The Baltimore Country Club is a wonderful setting for a seated-served wedding dinner. Our group of nearly 150 guests were seated at guest tables with beautiful "Camden" linens and napkins from Gala Cloths . The silver chargers belong to the club as do the chivari chairs. The menu cards were created by Chelle Paperie who had also designed the "save-the-date" cards, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, table numbers and place cards.

Beside the fact that the bride and groom are wonderful human beings and that the bride's mom is one of the most gracious and kind women on the earth, the details stood out at this wedding. Jenn provided flip-flops for dancing feet, amenities baskets for the restrooms, a coffee table book of Italy (honeymoon site)as the guest book, and upgraded decor elements throughout the venue (like a lighted curtain behind the band). It was lovely.

The Baltimore Country Club consistently exceeds our expectations in both food and service and they are so easy to work with on the wedding day. The other star of the evening was the band Onyx who kept the dance floor completely full all evening. Their energy is contagious.

Congratulations Jenn and Bryan. It was such a pleasure to plan this wedding with you.

Other Wonderful Vendors:
Lighted Band Curtain: Accent on Events
Wedding Cake: Mary Elliott
Sound System for the Ceremony: Music Masters
Hotel Guest Rooms: The Inn at the Colonnade
Transportation: American Limousine
All Images are Courtesy of Brian Slanger Photography

Jennifer + Bryan

It was the gorgeous Sunday of Memorial Day weekend when Jenn and Bryan were married. The Baltimore Country Club was the setting for the outside ceremony followed by a cocktail hour (also outdoors) and a lovely seated served dinner inside the club's beautiful dining room. After dinner, the formalities melted away and what followed was a spirited, fun and lively dance party facilitated by one of our favorite bands: Onyx.

The images here are from talented photographer Brian Slanger. Jenn and (her) Bryan decided to have a photo session before the ceremony so their "first look" photo is pictured here. The cloistered garden walkway at BCC is the perfect, private setting for a bride and groom's first moments together on the wedding day.

Jenn's gown was a wonderfully detailed Ramona Keveza dress from Betsy Robinson's Bridal Collection and the groom and groomsmen's tuxedos were from Tuxedo House. The bridesmaids chocolate brown (short) dresses were by Thread and purchased at the fabulous Garnish Boutique on Falls Road in Mt. Washington.

The bride's hair and make-up were flawless and the work of Lorraine Ross (hair stylist) and Jamie Leboe (make-up artist). These are two women that I turn to many times to provide a bride and her girls with terrific styling in a friendly manner. The bride looked stunning.

The flowers in these images were designed by the amazing Carole Langrall of Garden of Earthly Delights. She is talented, creative and kind and we loved working with her on this wedding. She incorporated the wildflowers that Jenn loves so much while keeping the florals formal enough to match the venue.

Next post: the (very fun) reception.

Ashley + Evan - The Reception

When almost 300 guests arrive for a wedding reception on a Saturday night, a good time normally follows. This was the case on the beautiful summer evening when the wedding guests drove up to the magnificent, historic Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore Hotel and were met by friendly valets.

The guests were invited to enter the Versailles Room at the hotel for a lavish cocktail hour which included many passed hors d'oeuvres and a premium open bar. The director of catering at the hotel, Jay Day, is a wonderful, experienced, smart and hilarious person who has spent many days coordinating Baltimore's best parties. It was such a pleasure to work with someone who was so intent on making the evening wonderful for the bride and groom and everyone there. He is a true asset to the hotel.

After the cocktail hour, the guests were invited to The Calvert Ballroom which in my opinion is the prettiest hotel ballroom in the city. Because the wedding party was so large, we designed a spectacular, long bridal table which seated all the wedding party and their dates. As the doors opened, the fabulous sounds of Tony Berry and New Money Band could be heard. Tony and his fellow band members are so nice and so talented. The excitement could be felt from the very beginning of the party.

Ashley looked amazing as she and Evan floated to the dance floor for their first dance to "Into The Mystic". A welcome speech by her dad, toasts by the honor attendants and a blessing by Baltimore's famous Father Jack all led into a delicious dinner served by the hotel banquet staff.

After dinner the band exploded with music that kept the dance floor packed the entire evening. There was craziness and mayhem and everyone seemed to be having a great time. It was a wonderful party.

During the reception we went to Ashley and Evan's suite to add some romantic touches like rose petals, candles, champagne and custom pillow cases.

Congratulations Ashley + Evan!

Other Outstanding Vendors:
Flowers: Romance of Flowers
Wedding Cake: Sugar Bakers
Table Linens: Table Toppers
Chairs and Table Top: Party Rental Ltd.
Make-Up: Gregory Dean
Hair Stylist: James Bryant
Wedding Gown: Betsy Robinson's Bridal
Collection
Bridesmaids Dresses: Garnish Boutique
Dance Floor and Stage: Event Dynamics
Favors: DeBrand Chocolatier
Limo Bus: ZBest Limousine

Ashley + Evan

Even though the morning started with a little rain, soon the skies cleared and it was a glorious day for Ashley and Evan's June wedding. These beautiful images were taken by photographer Jennifer Domenick from Love Life Images in Savage Mill.

It is so important to start a wedding day with friends and calm and food and drink like Ashley and Evan did. While Ashley and her girls were getting dressed and ready at a lovely (huge) suite at The Radisson Lord Baltimore Hotel, Evan and his groomsmen were chilling at his home in Baltimore. And there were plenty of friends! Ashley had 2 honor attendants, 10 bridesmaids, 1 junior bridesmaid and 2 flower girls while Evan had 1 best man, 9 groomsmen and a ring bearer. A wedding party of 26!

The historic SS Philip and James Church was the site for the Catholic ceremony and the incredible flowers were designed by Victoria Claussen at Romance of Flowers.

The processional music of Canon in 'D, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring and Trumpet Voluntary was led by Wally Ford, the music director and organist at the church.

Everything was captured on video by our friends at Black Tie Video and the very cool vintage Rolls Royce is from City Lites Limousine.

Stay tuned for more photos of this fabulous Baltimore wedding.