A St. Regis Wedding with Heart

A couple of months ago, I had the distinct honor of working with Jennifer and Andres on their wedding.  I actually didn't meet the bride until about a month prior to the wedding and didn't lay eyes on the groom until the wedding weekend. Jennifer's mother and I did almost all of the planning together with the bride weighing in from overseas.  Very far overseas. You see, both the bride and groom were military doctors stationed in Afghanistan.

Luckily, the Mother of the Bride had exquisite taste and really worked hard to select things she thought her daughter would love.  Jennifer got home just a few weeks before the wedding and was able to come to the tasting and select linens and see the floral arrangement but the groom returned later so he missed all that fun.

After being pampered at the Andre Chreky Salon, the bride slipped into her gorgeous gown for some pre-wedding photos.  I love the Empire waist on this gown and the exquisite beading!

Then she was whisked off to the  ceremony at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

She was ready to start the ceremony even before the priest was!  I love a bride who is on time.  We were perfectly on schedule (and most of the time a bit ahead) the entire day!

After the ceremony, the couple returned to the St. Regis Hotel for the reception.  Guests were entertained by a Latin guitarist from MSE Productions (a tribute to the groom's Colombian heritage) while dining on hors d'oeuvres.

The St. Regis looked gorgeous with stunning flowers from the always fabulous John Duffy of Yellow Door Floral Design and lighting from the talented guys at Event EQ.

We chose dark blue pintuck linens from DC Rental to set off the white and cream flowers.

The menu cards (all invitations, programs and menus courtesy of Michelle's Memos) tucked into the napkins had coordinating dark blue ink and we included "wish cards" at each place so guests could give the couple some advice or a wish for the future.

The pastry chef at The St. Regis created this breathtaking Wedgewood blue wedding cake!

 The couple practices their first dance with the amazing band, Nightsong, before guests come into the ballroom. Love this sweet moment and the gorgeous lighting! Nightsong kept the guests dancing the entire night and was so much fun to work with!

This was a very happy couple! Don't you love the pretty beaded ribbon tied around her hair?

What I loved about this couple was their perspective.  After living in a war zone for 6 months (and the groom actually volunteered after the bride received orders so he could be closer to her--how's that for true love?), they simply didn't let little things bother them. They never lost sight of what was important on the wedding day: getting married!  I felt very privileged to be a part of such a special day.  I had such fun working with the mother of the bride and loved getting to know the couple a little!

Thanks to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this wedding so wonderful.  Haydee Gamez from the St. Regis was phenomenal; the St. Regis staff from our amazing captain, Luis, to the front desk managers to the banquet servers were so amazing; Linda and Esther from Linder and Associates ensured flawless transportation; Bill Bowen from Suburban Video was the pinnacle of professional and unobtrusive (and we can't wait to see the video!); and my assistant, Alison, was invaluable.  Special thanks to Steve Canning for sharing the gorgeous images!

Congratulations to Jennifer and Andres!
Laura