Meridian House Romance {Suzanne +Colin}

August 29th held a special meaning for Suzanne and Colin. Not only was it the day they would say “I Do” but it was also the exact day, 40 years ago, that the bride’s parents said their “I Do’s”. The newlyweds honored the bride’s parents with a beautiful introduction to their 40th anniversary dance that took place later in the evening.

The couple, who met in high school but didn’t start dating until much later, chose to hold their ceremony and reception at the historic Meridian House, located in Washington, DC. The wedding weekend began with an intimate, family style rehearsal dinner at the trendy Darlington House, located in Dupont Circle.

All week the family and I had watched the pending storms tease us with the threat of showers on their special day. But, luckily, their day arrived and so did the blue skies. The bride and bridal party began the day getting made up by the talented make-up artist, Carl Ray.

The ceremony took place in the side garden with the ceremony being led by the sister of the groom. After the ceremony, the guests were moved to the rear garden for cocktails. Lighted, white lanterns hung among the trees while the drinks flowed and Celebrated Strings played. After cocktails, guests moved inside to enjoy their meal and the night’s entertainment.

Kiley of the Catering Company of Washington worked with the family to design a tasty menu for the guests to enjoy that included fun hors d’oeuvres such as pig in a blanket, curry crepes, and jalapeno shrimp. The couple had not only a beautiful, but tasty, cake designed by Lara of Fluffy Thoughts. Everyone danced and partied all night to the tunes of Night Song from Entertainment Exchange. While the party was in full swing, guests were treated to a “crazy” photo booth where they could take pictures of themselves using crazy props. These and all of the wonderful memories of this special day were captured by Kurstin Roe of Kurstin Roe Photography.

Congratulations to Suzanne and Colin!

Christine

True Love {Francessca + Jimmy}

I am so excited to share a glimmer of Francessca and Jimmy's wedding day with you all! They were the most wonderful couple to work with and all their family + friends couldn't have been happier for them. Garrett Hubbard Photography was awesome to work with and obviously captured some incredible moments during the day.

The entire day took place at the Westfields Marriott Hotel in Chantilly, VA. The staff there was great to work with and the Chef really out did himself. Dan Goldman from Bialek's Music took care of all our music needs including ceremony, dinner and dancing. As you will see in the photos below, he definitely had his work cut out for him as the guests showed up to have a good time on the dance floor!

And it may have taken me all morning but I have finally figured out how to do my own Inspiration Board on the Style Me Pretty site! I am loving it!! Check out my first board below... a fabulous montage of wedding day photos!

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Amy Lorraine

Two Designers. Two Dates. Too Fabulous To Miss.

Hitched Bridal Salon in Georgetown is throwing their Fall Trunk Show and anyone who's anyone knows a trunk show equals fabulous perks not seen otherwise. Carin + Julia, Hitched Owners, are good friends of ours and definitely make the gown buying process an enjoyable one.

Where: Hitched Bridal Salon 1523 Wisconsin Ave NW
When: Modern Trousseau (for bridal gowns and mother of the occasion- bonus!) on September 11th & 12th!
Anna Maier/Ulla-Maija on September 25th & 26th!
How: Book early by calling 202-333-6162 or email the Hitched crew at appointments@hitchedsalon.com

Soiree at Josephine!

Last Thursday was one of those rare occasions when the party planners got to play! Along with Pam Barefoot and Jamie Sears (all of us above), Engaging Affairs hosted an end-of summer networking bash for the D.C. area's event professionals. The sexy Save-the-Dates and invitations were created by Saima Says Design and let guests know they were in for a special evening. We held the evening party at the hip nightclub Josephine, and because of the namesake, we played up the rich decor and the French connection.

Guests were greeted curbside by the sharp-looking guys from MarcParc Valet who provided flawless valet service. The amazing staff at Josephine managed the door beautifully and kept the drinks flowing. We served specialty cocktails like The French Martini, the Napolean and the Josephine. The Josephine (a peachy drink garnished with a tiny peach-colored flower) was my personal favorite!

Kelly Jenkins from Capital Decor created a stunning shelvinf unti to hold desserts with Jospehine Bonaparte's portrait as a backdrop. He also fashioned two ornate French chairs into cupcake displays using glass shelves. So much fun!





Nick Perez from Multiflor provided sultry floral decor that included chic, low arrangements with lots of feathers and rich colors to go with the rich fabrics on the walls and furniture. Of course, we used lots of candles.

The amazing food (which included crab salad spoons, mushroom chopsticks, watermelon and feta skewers and my newest addiction, mini candied apples) was provided by Joel Wolke from Occasions. All of their food is amazing but the dessert display was downright sinful!

The fabulous mini cupcakes were provided by Kendall Barrett from Kendall's Cakes. My personal favorite is the lemon curd but Sara is in love with the carrot cake. She also brought chocolate, coconut and red velvet. And since they were the mini versions, you could eat a bunch without feeling guilty. Heaven!


For another European touch, we brought in Patricia Rice to paint a classic oil portrait of the party as it unfolded. It was such fun to watch her paint and see the image evolve from a blank canvas to a beautiful painting. If you look closely, you might notice some familiar faces in the painting!

Guests had a wonderful time mingling and networking. It was great to see so many of our colleagues in a purely fun environment!

The ladies from Engaging Affairs were out in full force. Check out the Engaging Affairs team below: Amy, Sara, Laura, Christine and Grace.


Lara Stuckey of Fluffy Thoughts made the black and white French macaroons that guests took away at the end of the night. Since I ate mine in the car on the way home, I can attest to the fact that they were delicious!


A huge thanks to my fellow planners, Pam and Jamie, and to all the vendors who made the party so gorgeous and such a big hit! A special thanks to Juan Carlos Briceno of Fotobriceno for the gorgeous photos of the event and all of the special details.
Merci,
Laura

Relief for you Feet! (And a Great Favor Too)

I must admit, for the most part, the days of personalized match books and candy almonds are behind us. The candy bar has come and gone and a multitude of other chochkie options have followed. The point, we all want guests to remember our wedding and be able to take something tangible away with them. Personalized M&Ms, custom tea bags, anything of the food nature is sure not to go to waste. For many of my outdoor weddings, and even some of my indoor ones where the forecast for the evening was going to be dance till you drop, flip flops have been provided for ease of partying.


So, I just found, and thanks is due to my fabulous bride Lauren, a sandal option that takes the cake! Sandals4Events is a personalized sandal company featuring full grain leather sandals. Move over Old Navy flip flops, these soles have more than a fancy color to boast. All of their sandals come in a great shoe box and drawstring satin bag. They make great bridesmaids gifts, bachelorette party thanks your and wedding favors. You can have them personalized with names, dates, etc. and you can be sure your guests will remember you with every wearing.


I recently asked owner Julia Bornstein how the business was born and here's what she said.

It actually all started when I was making a Bat Mitzvah party for my daughter. I was going through websites looking for something fun and different for a party favor..I

was getting very frustrated with the task.

After talking to my husband about different ideas, he said "let me take care of it, I have an idea"

Well, my husband has been in the shoe business for many years, and so he brought home a sample of beautiful patent leather thong sandals, personalized with my daughters name and date of her affair. Along with the sandals was a matching satin drawstring shoe bag also personalized.

I loved it! and my daughter could not believe she had sandals with her name engraved.

The night of the party we handed out a pair of personalized fuchsia patent leather flip flops with a matching satin shoe bag to each female guest and a pair of personalized brown leather flip flops with a black satin shoe bag to each male guest and they were flipping with admiration. Even the dancers from the entertainment company could not stop gushing about how great they were.

Weeks later friends and family would call me to say what a great idea the sandals were and every time they slip on their sandals they think of my daughter.

I couldn't have asked for a better reaction! So, I started investigating to see if anyone else out there was possibly offering the same product. After much searching,

I found that nobody offered the same quality or ability to personalize leather fashion flip flops for parties. And the rest history..

The first thing I did after setting up my website, was to research wedding planning websites and send out a mass mailing along with an e-mail mass mailing to introduce myself and my company to as many wedding planners and party planners, I could find.

I can tell you that I do not have as much contact with brides as a wedding planner would have...but I can tell you that 2 days after launching my website, It was a Friday and I was leaving for a weekend trip out of state. I called into my business line from the airport just after arriving at my destination.

I had a message from a wedding planner in Nappa Valley asking me if I could overnight to Nappa 200 pairs of sandals for a wedding!! I wanted to cry..!! There was no way I could get this done so quickly and from so far away!

Well Julia, we love your product and can't wait to use it again!

Sara