A Cherry Blossom Wedding at The Mandarin

Last week brought my first wedding of the Spring season and what a way to kick things off! Mila and Chip's wedding was such a fun, beautiful event that I feel like I am spoiled for the rest of the year. I had such a great time working on the wedding with the bride's mother, Christine, and the bride. They both had great taste and a fabulous sense of fun. While the wedding was elegant, it was also full of whimsical touches.

Both the ceremony and reception were held at the amazing Mandarin Oriental Hotel with the flawless assistance by Director of Catering Michael Deltette. It is always such a joy to work with Michael! The bride was made even more stunning by the skills of makeup artist Carl Ray and hairstylist Ishmael, both from George's Salon at The Four Seasons. After getting into her slinky gown and fabulous burgundy shoes, the bride took some time for portraits with the fabulous team from Ever After Visuals. This easygoing and charming group of photographers was a joy to work with!

The ceremony featured soaring arrangements of cherry blossoms hung with tiny votives by the talented John Duffy of Yellow Door Floral Design and white chiffon draping by Fabrications.

Chris Grasso provided lovely music for both ceremony and cocktail reception, while DJ Andres kicked things up later on for the party. The cherry blossom theme was carried through the reception in the centerpieces, menu cards and cake (a fabulous white chocolate confection by Kendall's Cakes). We brought in rental chairs and linens from DC Rental to really make the room pop, all in shades of deep wine to pink. The Oriental ballroom really looked stunning!

Of course what I loved most about this wedding were the fun touches like the digital portrait station from Fotobriceno, the donut machine from Smoothie Time that turned out unbelievably delicious donuts, and the Easter candy station (it was the day before Easter, after all). It was so much fun watching the guests discover each surprise throughout the evening. I love creating the WOW factor over and over during an event and this party definitely had lots of those moments.

Aside from the fun details and fabulous design, the bride and groom were so wonderful and clearly head-over-heels in love. And on top of all of that, the families were delightful and the guests were lovely. What more could a wedding planner ask for?