Ryan and Lee got married on a beautiful, hot day in June at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. This fabulous couple met in Charleston so there was plenty of Southern charm on hand for this wedding weekend.
The bride and her girls got ready at the club. Ryan's hair and makeup team were old friends of the family who came in from Delaware to get her ready for the big day. The ladies had such a fun, relaxed time! One of the bridesmaids was even the younger sister of a past bride, which is always a fun blast from the past!
The bride wore a gorgeous Gail Garrison gown and carried flowers by Petal's Edge. The bride chose a sophisticated palette of whites and greens for the wedding with blooms like peonies, calla lilies and orchids. Love it!
She and her father waited outside St. Bartholomew's Church in the air-conditioned limo while the rest of the bridal party walked down the aisle.
We loved the short, sassy bridesmaids dress and the fresh, green color. We also loved that the bride's two sisters wore white versions of the dress with green sashes to set them apart.
The priest was a pretty funny guy (and a bit unpredictable). Love this shot of the bride and groom laughing!
This was one happy bunch of people (and everyone was so nice to work with) from the ecstatic couple to the sweet families to the fabulous bridal party!
After the ceremony, the happy couple hopped back into the limo, while guests boarded shuttles that took them to the Congressional Club, where a kilted bagpiper greeted them outside into cocktail hour! Kudos to the bagpiper for wearing wool in 100 degree weather and direct sun! And thanks to the limo driver who zipped off during the ceremony and bought champagne for us. Talk about service!
While Ryan and Lee took portraits, guests drank Arnold Palmers with sweet tea vodka, in a nod to the couple's southern heritage. These fun drinks were a tradition from their engagement party, where they'd been a huge hit!
A rare shot of me working on the bride's bustle with the bridesmaids. It takes a village to do a bustle! Then the bride was off to do her first dance in the ballroom. We used lots of pillar candles along the mantles to give a romantic feel to the gorgeous ballroom and alternated high and low white centerpieces.
Photographer Paul Morse has a fabulous eye for creative, unexpected shots, like this one of Lee's feet in their Kentucky blue socks (the groom is a huge KU fan)!
Gorgeous calla lily centerpieces alternated with sprays of dendrobium orchids and low bowls filled with roses and peonies.
This crowd could dance! The incredible Midnight Movers could get anyone on the dance floor, but not every reception has a dance-off between east-coast and southern guests. At the engagement party, the Southern boys won but this time it may have been a draw! Even the moms and dad got into the action!
The bride shares a special moment with her grandmother.
A lounge area allowed guests to take a breather from all the dancing, but no one sat out there long!
The talented Curtis Pope from Midnight Movers kept the energy high. We love Midnight Movers! They were such troopers for playing cocktail hour in the blazing sun.
When the band stopped, the party moved to Garrett's in Georgetown for an after-party that went into the wee hours.
Special thanks to everyone who made this day amazing: Donna Chin at Atlantic Services Group for the transportation, MSE Productions for the bagpiper, Marlene at Congressional for all her help, and Suburban Video for taking care of us with video coverage that we added last-minute.
And, of course, the talented Paul Morse for the gorgeous images that truly captured the spirit of the day. Paul was a White House photographer who also shot Jenna Bush's wedding and is one of the nicest guys I know. His work is breathtaking and he is a dream to work with!
Thanks to my assistant, Alison, for being my patient go-to person and to Ryan and Lee and their lovely families for letting us share in this beautiful day. We had so much fun!
Laura
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