So You're EnGAYged!

I first heard of the fab new website So You're EnGAYged on my good friend Justine Ungaro's Unbride blog. Since we are doing more commitment ceremonies, I had to check it out.

What a fun site! I love the real weddings section. Some of the weddings have such great details. I had to crack up at the wedding that had guests throw mini marshmallows at the brides instead of rice! I like the fact that they have real couples blogging about their wedding planning experiences, as well. You can also find gay-friendly vendors by area of the country.

I had the good fortune to meet the site's creator, Kelly, at the blogging seminar a couple of weeks ago. Not only is she a lot of fun but she is a talented photographer. Check out her work at Film Noir Photography. And be sure to check out So You're EnGAYged!


Laura

Tips on Surviving a Wedding Dress Sample Sale!

So here it is. Insider tips from a former bridal shop employee and a recent sample sale survivor on how to work a bridal gown sample sale and find your dream dress for a steal!

We were inspired by the tales from our summer intern, Ashley, about her experience at the recent sample sale at Hitched and thought we would share her insights as well as real insider tips from one of our assistants, Alison, who also used to work at a bridal salon. Oh, Ashley did find a gorgeous dress for about half off and had fun doing it so sample sales can be worth the effort.

It must be said that the sample sale at Hitched is a civilized and orderly affair (they even had a DJ to make it more fun!) but some sample sales are wild, free-for-alls. Know your temperament and tolerance before you go.

1) Get there early. There will probably be a line out the door before the store opens.

2) Wear underwear. Nice underwear. You will most likely be changing in communal dressing rooms or in an open room with everyone. This is not the time for modesty nor is it the time to go commando.

3) Make friends/be nice to the sales staff. If a girl gives up a dress that you've been eying, they can potentially bring it to you, or point you to dresses similar to the one you like.

4) Be nice to other brides. Pushing and shoving really doesn't do you any good. If you make friends with other girls, you can exchange dresses that you don't like and help each other out. Being a bridezilla is so five minutes ago.

5) Follow the rules.

6) Remember that a dress is a whole lot easier to take in than let out. That said, dresses with lots of embellishment or complicated construction will be harder to tailor. Think about how much work will need to be done to the dress to make it fit properly.

7) If this is an all-day affair, bring water. Eat before you go in case it is hot and crowded. Fainting is no good.

8) Look over every inch of the dress before you buy so you know what you're paying for.

9) Make sure you have the proper payment method. Check before you go.

10) Bring someone (mom or a bridesmaid) to help and keep you company. This may be a good time to bring your most agile bridesmaids.

Hope this helps. Good luck and good (dress) hunting!

Laura

An Afternoon at the Hay Adams

Monday afternoon I had the pleasure of being a guest at an intimate chef's tasting table at the Hay Adams Hotel. I arrived to find the always lovely Alison Okobi waiting in the lobby to take me down to the kitchen, perhaps one of the only places I have not ventured in this hotel. The group was small as we shared a drink and some fantastic new summer hors d'oeuvres Chef was preparing.


After about 20 minutes, we were all invited up to the rooftop with that famous view of the White House, National Monument and Jefferson Memorial. And what a view it was on Monday. It was absolutely crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky, if you can believe that from the weather we have been having!

The exiting feature of the fabulous rooftop was the new summer lounge furniture. Just like sitting out in the best backyard in the country. Chef prepared a fantastic five course lunch right on the rooftop with us. Cantaloupe and Mint Soup, chilled of course, Seared Diver Scallops with Orange and Lemon Risotto and a Pear and Almond Tart were just a few things we dined on.


So, what's in it for you? I learned the Hay Adams is doing some great summer events for all of those who believe in the staycation this year. To go along with the cumfy, casual new lounge furniture, the hotel is offering a package for guests who book a Sunday night stay. The option is to attend the Sunday bar-b-que on the rooftop for dinner and a view. This is such a treat since the roof is not normally open for hotel guests to wander up there. What a wonderful, relaxing getaway, to book an evening outside the home and not have have to worry about what to do for dinner!

If Sunday nights on the rooftop are anything like my lunch was Monday, I'll be booking many a staycations with the Hay Adams this summer!

Sara

Engaging Affairs' Wedding in the News!

If you happened to see the Style section of today's (Sunday) Washington Post and New York Times, you may have gotten a glimpse of my wedding from last weekend. Melody and Marland's amazing wedding got big write-ups in both papers! They are a fabulous couple so it is great to see their wedding and love story get so much attention.

I will be doing a live online chat tomorrow at 11 am at Washingtonpost.com if anyone has any questions about the planning or just wants to say hi! I will also be posting a longer blog entry all about the wedding details and vendors when I get "official" wedding photos from our photographer, Greg Gibson, so stay tuned.

Above photo courtesy of Marvin Joseph and The Washington Post. Photo at the top of the post is courtesy of The New York Times and Michael Temchine. Thanks Marvin and Michael!

Laura

Memorial Day Wedding at The Mellon

No, no. Don't adjust your screens or wonder if you've accidentally landed on a biker bride blog. The gentleman in the less-than-formal attire next to the bride is NOT the groom. "Bones" was one of the many bikers on the Mall over the Memorial Day weekend when my amazingly fun couple, Sarah and Danny, got married at The Mellon Auditorium. Some brides would have been thrown by the thousands of bikers creating traffic gridlock near her wedding but Sarah took it all in stride and decided to have fun with it.

After getting ready at The Willard Hotel (Giselle worked her magic with hair and Leah McKay with makeup artistry), the bridal party hopped in a shuttle bus and zipped off to the National Mall to take some fun shots with the crowds. Sarah was even the (un)lucky recipient of a very wet kiss from Bones!

The ceremony had lighthearted moments, as well, despite the gorgeously formal setting, dramatic lighting and beautiful chocolate brown taffeta from A Vista that hung from floor to ceiling between the columnns. Capital Decor created the stunning floral chuppah in the bride's palette of bright pinks, oranges and yellows while John Farr Lighting set the mood with uplighting. All Stage and Sound managed to tuck hidden microphones throughout the chuppah so we didn't have any unsightly mics on stands--love the incognito technology. A brass quintet from Entertainment Exchange added the just the right element of pageantry and made for an amazing processional!

After cocktails in the Green Rooms, guests returned to find the main hall of the Mellon transformed with stunning, vibrant flowers and a collection of round, square, rectangular and hollow tables with huge palm trees coming out of the center. Susan Gage Caterers served a flawless dinner that ended with a decadant dessert buffet while Free Spirit kept guests on the dance floor (with the crowd even chanting "one more song" at the end of the night until the band obliged).

The one word that could define this wedding was FUN. The bride and groom were fun, the families were fun, the decor was fun. Even the little bags of warm donuts for guests to take away at the end of the evening were fun, fun, fun!

As I know you're getting sick of hearing, I have amazing couples. Sarah and Danny truly enjoyed each other and laughed throughout the entire day. They were so easy-going throughout the planning process and their wedding day was no different. Sarah and Danny were truly a wedding planner's dream!

Weddings at The Mellon are always a production because of the logistics involved with working at a government building, and I couldn't have pulled off this amazing event without the hard work of everyone involved behind the scenes. Nicole from The Mellon was there every step of the way, making set-up go smoothly and even making the break down fun! Atlantic Valet provided the shuttles and sedans while Marc Parc Valet handled the parking seamlessly. I have to give a special shout-out to the team from John Farr Lighting who, at 4:30 a.m., ran out to the scene of a horrible car accident a block away and pulled a person from a burning car. Seriously. I'm not kidding when I say weddings are never dull!

My Official Wedding Day Favorites:

Favorite wedding moment: The bride getting cheered by the rowdiest, roughest bikers you can imagine!

Favorite behind-the-scenes moment: Carrying the bouquets from the Mellon to the Willard with my assistants Alison and Christine. The bouquets were all in vases full of water (read: heavy) and we were all wearing black in the middle of the day (read: really hot) and the faster we walked, the more the water sloshed on us. We ended up making three round trips (it would have been silly to keep driving two blocks and reparking), but only one with flowers. I'm lucky to have great assistants who can appreciate the humor in life.

Favorite detail: The bags of mini-donuts-to-go with pink and orange"Sweet Dreams" stickers on them. I ask you, what is better at midnight than hot donuts?

Special thanks to photographer Matt Mendelsohn for sharing his amazing images with us and to videographer Jenny Lehman who has some great footage of our "biker bride" on her blog! Until next time . . .

Laura

It's a Dress Extravaganza!

Wake up Ladies! Summer is upon us and it's the perfect time to get your dream wedding gown. One of our favs, Hitched Bridal Salon, is having their sample sale. "Slip on and slip out with a Steal!" The event is Thursday, June 18th from 5-8pm and it is first come, first serve. So, no appointment necessary!


So many beautiful dresses, but they have to make way for the new season's threads. Many fabulous gowns are 50% off. Here are some more details. Hitched Have a ball!!

Wedding at The Inn at Perry Cabin

No “Wedding Crashers” at this wedding at the Inn at Perry Cabin.

Upon learning that I would be doing a wedding at the Inn at Perry Cabin on the Eastern Shore, all of the stories about the celebrities who have stayed there and the infamous “Wedding Crashers” movie that was partially filmed there began pouring in. While I have to admit, I was pretty excited about seeing the property, I was more concerned about the imminent threat of the rain since we were planning for an outside wedding and cocktail reception.

The wonderful wedding weekend began with a cozy dinner at the Inn at Perry Cabin for the bridal party and families and a crab feast for all other guests in attendance at the St. Michael’s Crab and Steak House. Shuttles were provided to ensure guests would have transportation from the Inn to the restaurant and back. A wonderful evening was had by all.

Wedding day morning was spent glued to the Weather Channel in order to make a decision about whether to hold the wedding ceremony and cocktail reception outside or not. The final decision was made to have Liz and Nick’s wedding outside overlooking the calm waters of the Miles River. The decision was a good one because the rain held off until the cocktail reception concluded and all guests were moved into the dinner/dancing tent for the evening’s festivities.

Check out the fabulous shades of pink and red throughout the wedding. Love the pink flowers against the bridesmaids' fuchsia dresses. The fuchsia linens looked so fabulous on the back lawn--love that pop of color. Even the paper lanterns in the tent were pink! I also love the detail of the "Mr." and "Mrs." heart-shaped pillows hanging from the bride's and groom's chairs. So cute!

A fabulous shot of the famous waterfront inn and the sharp-looking groomsmen processing down the aisle!

Liz and Nick wanted their guests to have as much fun as possible so when the dinner and dancing concluded at 10pm, all guests were led into the inn for an after-party including mini burgers, fries and great music.

It would not have been possible to throw such a wonderful event without the fabulous team that I had surrounding me. Grace from Engaging Affairs was my right-hand woman throughout the wedding, and Joanna Mumford at the Inn at Perry Cabin was there to assist us with any questions or needs we had on-site regarding the property. The beautiful pink-on-pink flowers were created by Edge Floral Event Designers, a division of Plants Etc. The party was kept alive all night by the sounds of The Source from Elan Artists. All of the special moments were captured by Gary of Rodney Bailey and Associates. Thanks for the great images!

Christine

My Big, Fabulous Greek Wedding

I gave a sneak peek a few weeks ago of the beautiful Greek Orthodox wedding that I did at St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church but here is a bit more. I love the pageantry of Greek Orthodox weddings. The candles, the crowns, the chanting. It is all so formal and beautiful.

Laura and Mike were such a fun couple that nothing (including pretty steady rain) could dampen their excitement. Everyone involved in the wedding was lovely to work with from the bride's parents to the groom's large family to the eight ring bearers and flower girls!

My favorite memory of the wedding is the traditional Greek money dance where everyone danced around throwing money at the couple. The Alpha Orchestra from New York kept everyone on the dance floor the entire evening even after the money stopped flying!

My favorite detail of the wedding had to be the custom matchbooks that we tied to the bundles of sparklers we handed to the guests at the end of the evening. Sure, it took three assistants and me cutting and tying ribbons for over an hour, but it looked great!

I had a lot of my usual dream team vendors with me for the wedding so the day was pretty flawless. The Willard team was, as always, amazing. Christina is always fun to work with and she did a great job pulling all the hotel details together. I love working at the Willard because they make my life so much easier!

Linda from Linder and Associates coordinated the transportation and did an outstanding job. For those of you in the event industry who work with transportation, you know how crucial it is to have good people and Linda is tops. I never have to worry about a car running late or getting lost when she is on the job (and I don't want to tell you the horror stories I've had with some other companies). The bride and groom rode in style with a classic car from Regal Limousine. John Bays is the classic car guru in town. I have used his cars for the past fourteen years and he has never let me down.

The bride wore a stunning Reem Acra gown from Carine's Bridal Atelier with a custom-made bolero jacket. The jacket was the perfect touch for the ceremony and then the bride took it off for the reception. Carine and her entire staff were wonderful to the bride and she couldn't stop raving about them! We love you, Carine!

It is always fun to work with Neil from Blue Sky Films. He is unobtrusive and laid-back--just the way I like videographers.

I also got the chance to work with some new vendors who were friends of the couple. Jennifer from Atelier Floral Design was lovely and so easy-going. Her cherry blossom centerpieces were so pretty and looked amazing in the Willard ballroom. We brought in gold linens and chivari chairs from DC Rental to complete the formal and dramatic look.

The photographer, Joyce Boghosian, knew Laura and Mike from their White House days. She and her brother, Haik, were so nice and got some really gorgeous images. A big thank you to them for letting us borrow some for the blog!

This was a fun wedding to plan and an even more fun wedding to attend. As I've said many times, I have amazing clients. Laura and Mike were no exception. They were so much fun every step of the way, and it is always nice to work with a couple that is so crazy for each other (and these two were head-over-heels in love). To quote the bride (who had the best laugh ever), "Love it!"

Laura

Mervis Diamond Trunk Show

It seems that there is more going on this weekend than my big wedding downtown and Sara's in Delaware. Imagine that! If I didn't have to be on my feet at a wedding for the next 14+ hours, I would be at the Verragio and Diana diamond trunk show at Mervis Diamonds Importers. Love the bling! This is a great time to get your wedding bands at a great price and check out fabulous flowers from Multiflor. This event is cosponsored with Wedding Wire so it should be lots of fun for brides and grooms. Seriously, though, what could be more fun than diamonds?

Where:

1900 Mervis Way, Tysons Corner, VA 22182

&

1775 Rockville Pike, Rockville MD 20852

When:

Saturday, June 13, 10-6

Sunday, June 14, 12-5

Questions? Call 703.448.9000 or email jmervis @ mervisdiamond.com

Book Review of FATALLY FLAKY by Diane Mott Davidson

As some of you know, I keep one foot in the mystery writing world and I love to read anything that has to do with weddings. I especially love checking out other mysteries involving weddings to see if the author got it right. I have read plenty of novels featuring mysteries that miss the mark completely and make me spend most of the book thinking "that would never happen at a real wedding." So I was excited to see how one of my favorite mystery authors, Diane Mott Davidson, would handle brides. She has dealt with weddings in previous books but this one features a wedding cake on the cover so it seemed to up the stakes.

One of the things I love about Davidson's books are the rich characters and the relationships she has developed between them. The book centers around caterer Goldy Schultz and the antics she gets into catering various parties in a small town in Colorado. This is her fifteenth book so I have come to love Goldy's vegetarian assistant chef, Julian; her wacky best friend, Marla; her son, Arch; and her lovable cop husband, Tom. The mysteries are always fun but it is the characters that readers come back for.

FATALLY FLAKY centers around a wedding for a true bridezilla named Billie. Her name should say it all, of course. This bridezilla gives any one I've seen a run for her money. She is awful! But Goldy manages to handle everything bridezilla throws her way (including changing the wedding venue two days out!) along with a couple of dead bodies and solves the mystery without spilling a single drop of champagne.

If you like mysteries and reading about wedding craziness, this book will keep you turning the pages. FATALLY FLAKY is as delectable as it is deadly. Plus, you get recipes in the back of the book for the dishes that Goldy whips up. Fatally Flaky cookies, anyone? I could use about a dozen of them to get me through my wedding this weekend!

Laura