A Romantic Military Wedding {Elisabeth and Seth}

The wedding of Elisabeth and Seth was a personal favorite of mine for many reasons. First, I loved, loved, loved the couple. Second, I loved, loved, loved the bride's family (with whom I worked closely  on the wedding). And last, but by no means least, the bride and almost her entire family and bridal party were fellow Duke alums! This was a good year for Duke (ahem, basketball national champs) so we had a fabulous time planning the wedding amid all the excitement.

But no amount of college basketball excitement matched the excitement of the day during the planning when the groom came home from Iraq after his second tour of duty. I met Seth right after his arrival at our menu tasting at Design Cuisine.  You've never seen anyone appreciate excellent food as much as he did! It was so nice to finally meet the groom after hearing so many wonderful things about him (all of which were true).

The planning was a dream, the wedding day was a (slightly warm) dream and everyone involved was a dream to work with!  We started the wedding day at the bride's home with the amazing Kim from Beauty Mark and the lovely and talented Giselle from Elegant Hair by Giselle.  These women are all-time favorites of mine.  They make brides look amazing and stay calm!

Elisabeth's beautiful dress was an Amsale from Engaging Affairs favorite Hitched. I love the grosgrain ribbon belt and broach detail!

Meanwhile, the guys were getting ready at The Hotel Sofitel downtown. Nothing like mixing beer and sabers!

The bride and groom took a couple of hours before the ceremony to meet and take portraits at the monuments with amazing photographer Greg Gibson. We love this shot where the bride seems to have run into a Quinceanera party on the way to meet the groom!  Now that's a lot of pink!

Then it was off to Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church for the beautiful ceremony. We had plenty of men in uniform, which is always fun!

The bride chilled out with her girls in the church basement and got some final touch-ups from Kim before going down the aisle.

I loved that this group had so much fun at every point of the day.  No stress or worry.  Just lots of joy; the way a wedding day should be!

The fabulous Mother of the Bride in an equally fabulous (and sassy) dress.

This is the solution to a shy flower girl and a large pomander. I think the flowers look great with his uniform!

Love this dramatic aisle!

The groom's face as the bride comes down the aisle is always a favorite photo of mine!

Happy couple!

The sword arch was such a fun way to end the ceremony!

One hilarious group shot in front of the Lincoln before heading off to the reception at Decatur House! We have been at Decatur House lots this Summer and it has been so much fun.  What a beautiful venue and great staff!

Sugarplum (our go-to tent company) provided the lovely white tent and the talented and lovely Susie from Heavenly Hydrangeas created the gorgeous green and white floral arrangements throughout.  A jazz trio from MSE Productions welcomed guests into the reception and set the stage for the festive evening.

Family wedding photos surrounded the guest book. I adore the photo of the groom's parents getting married in furs in Alaska!

The green and white sheer leaf linens and green rimmed china from DC Rental were perfect for a summer wedding in an tented courtyard.

Kendall's Cakes provided the delicious wedding cake that the bride and groom cut with a sword. Yum!  Always love sampling Kendall's cakes for quality control purposes.  It's a tough part of the job!

DJ Aaron from Chris Laich kept the evening moving smoothly and the dance floor packed. Not only was he polished and professional (no cheesy yammering), he played a great mix of music.  Thanks, Aaron!

As the bride and groom dashed off for a final photo shoot, guests tossed eco-friendly confetti from biodegradable paper cones made from plantable seed paper. Very eco-chic!

Thanks to our amazing team who did another stellar job: Linda at Linder and Associates for being all over the seamless transportation; Christine and everyone at Design Cuisine for the fabulous food (including my personal favorite: baked Alaska brownie sticks!); MarcParc Valet for efficiently parking all the cars; and Arioth at the Decatur House for ensuring that everything at the house was perfect.

Special thanks to Greg Gibson for the stunning images (Greg is always so much fun to work with and has an amazing eye) and to my assistants Alison and Maeve for being part of the 3-woman fan relocation team (did I mention that it was a tad bit warm?). And a huge thank you to Elisabeth, Seth and their wonderful families for letting us be a part of such a special day! 
Go Duke and Go Army!
Laura

Henna Love {Mehndi Parties}

I really love the artistry of henna. The skill is so impressive and it looks so cool! Here are a few fun photos from a Mehndi party for one of my recent Hindu-American weddings.  I am loving the contrast of the henna feet in the wedding shoes!

The ladies check out the henna design book! My favorite part of the bride's design was the groom's name hidden within the designs on her hands. It was tricky to find but I love the sweet symbolism!

The bridesmaids show off their hands! Everyone had so much fun at this party. The Mehndi party is an idea I want to steal for all my weddings!
Laura

Monsoon Wedding Inspiration Board

Photo credits: elephant (zweddingblog.blogspot.com), skyline (Style Me Pretty), couple (Style Me Pretty), canopy (Brides.com), elephant decor (Style Me Pretty), ceremony rows (The Knot), cake (The Knot), bracelets (The Knot)

Not only do we love the movie "Monsoon Wedding" (it's one of my favorite wedding movies of all time) but we love the rich vibrancy of Indian weddings.  The colors, the music and the energy are so inspiring that we decided to have a little fun with an inspiration board inspired by our recent Indian weddings.  Enjoy!

Laura and Alison 

Lucky Duck Winner!

The winner of the Lucky Duck gift certificate is S. Fields.  Congratulations!  Email us and we'll hook you up! Thanks to everyone for entering!

Amazing Dandelion Patch giveaway!

Here at Bridal Bubbly, we try to make the prizes and giveaways we offer things that our readers all over the country (and world) can enjoy. Today’s giveaway is a bit more geared toward our DC-area readers, but it was such a wonderful opportunity we didn’t want to pass it up. Check out this amazing opportunity for our DC area brides: if you schedule an appointment with The Dandelion Patch and mention Bridal Bubbly, you will receive $100 off your in-store purchase!!

The Dandelion Patch is a charming northern Virginia stationery store that offers the largest selection of custom wedding invitations in the DC area, and complete in-store printing for fast turn-around time. The store’s owner, Heidi Kallett, was kind enough to answer some of our questions about her business and the wedding paper industry in general. Read on for Heidi’s great insights and advice. 

How did you start your business?

Actually, The Dandelion Patch was started in 1994 and I purchased it from the Founder in 2005. However, the company was nothing like it is today. Since that date in 2005, we've remained focused on exceeding our brides' expectations, providing superior service, having the largest selection of wedding invitations in the area, and offering honest advice and feedback. I guess we're doing something right because we've grown by 425% over the past 5 years and have accumulated much recognition and respect from the industry!  

Describe your style and the style of your shop.

I'm so glad that you asked this question! Our philosophy is that our store should feel like a "girlfriends' home" so our stores have many features you'd see in a home. From barstools and kitchen tables, to molding and carpet, we are more residential than retail. Our brand and style is comfortable but not "slouchy," we're traditional but yet up-to-date, and we're a bit preppy but don't scream pink and green. We'd like to think Trina Turk, Tory Burch, Lilly Pulitzer, Jonathan Adler and Martha Stewart would all be comfortable here.  

How have you seen wedding stationery market change over the past 15 years?

Honestly, I can only speak for the past five years, but in general I think brides are becoming more aware of the Green movement and are trying to do their part in hosting an eco-friendly wedding. To respond, we've invested tons of money on new vendors and lines that carry tree-free paper products, soy based inks and non-mass produced products plus we've spent tons of hours training our whole team on Eco-Chic options.    

What are the current trends in wedding stationery?

From a wedding invitation perspective, we are seeing blind embossing coming back with a vengeance right now! And we love, love, love it! Letterpress is certainly a hot item and engraving is back on the scene too.  Peacock colors-- greens/blues/purples-- are the rage and we are loving to partner those accents with platinum instead of black or brown. For design features, we're seeing more "white space" than year's past and less stylized patterns. As a fun twist, we are excited about the die cuts that are being shown in today's invitation suites. Rounded edges, scalloped sides, and non-traditional shapes are all in vogue at our stores. Call us crazy, but we get fired up about the details!  

How has the "green" movement changed your business?

The Green movement has made our job more fulfilling because we get to 1) create stunning one-of-a-kind invitation suites that reflect the couple, AND 2) we get to educate our brides on all the lovely options (think gorgeous letterpress and bamboo paper) they have by way of a wedding stationery wardrobe. Our philosophy is that "in addition to conserving resources and supporting Green business, having a Green wedding is one way to infuse one of the most important days of a couple's life with meaning and purpose beyond the marriage ceremony." Thus, we feel privileged to help guide, lead and share in this effort.

What do you love about weddings?

We love weddings because ultimately, weddings are about celebrating hope. And seriously, what's not to love about a hopeful future? :-)

What I love most about being involved with the wedding of a couple is the chance to forever be connected with them in one small way-- long after their "dream day". We have love to see our couples grow and celebrate the many milestones through the years- from babies to birthdays and promotions to anniversary parties. It's all the more special because we were there at the "beginning."   

What is your favorite new "find"?

Belly bands are our new "accessory of choice" because they are super cute and functional. Although pocket folders have a usefulness when a couple has many additional pieces to their invitation suite (like directional cards, weekend activities or reception information), for most couples once their guests send the reply card back, they are left with a lone reception card in the pocket. With an uber-chic wide belly band, guests can keep information together and organized plus couples can print graphics, names or dates along this band to further expand their theme.  

What do brides often forget when shopping for paper products for their wedding?

Budget appropriately. I can't tell you how many times our brides come in with pictures of fabulous wedding suites that they've torn out of a bridal magazine but they have no idea of their costs. Simply put, individual greeting cards cost upwards of $4 each and they are mass produced by the thousands. A wedding invitation is completely customized to your name, date, colors and theme and I would guess that you need less than 50,000? Add to that, any "extras" (layers, ribbons, embossing, letterpress, belly bands!) and you get the picture. A basic baseline for a custom invitation is roughly $10 each, with the "extras" adding up from there.

What is one bit of advice you'd offer brides?

A wedding invitation sets the tone for wedding, and is the first glimpse your guests will get into your vision for the "big day". We encourage our brides to weave as much personality into the invitation as possible so their guests feel they know more about the couple through the design or paper choices. Although the choices may seem overwhelming at first, a good stationer should be able to navigate you through the plethora of options and will educate you about common etiquette guidelines. Remember that you will spend many hours with your stationer, so make sure to find one that fits your style, personality and decision-making process.    

And finally, once the invitations are ordered, don't forget to continue the theme on your paper products-- from programs, escort cards, table cards and favor tags. A reputable stationer should be able to easily thread that same color, font, graphic or theme into all of the remaining pieces that make a memorable event even more personal.    

Thanks, Heidi! We couldn’t agree more about the wedding invitation setting the tone for your big day. And now for our DC area brides, a special opportunity: if you schedule an appointment with The Dandelion Patch and mention Bridal Bubbly, you will receive $100 off your in-store purchase. 


There are two great Northern Virginia locations: Vienna and Reston.


Vienna
111 Church Street NW
Suite 101
Vienna, VA 22180
703-319-9099


Reston
11923 Market Street
Reston, VA 20190
703-689-2240


Have fun and tell them we sent you!
Alison

A Cool Garden Party

While most people were relaxing inside enjoying the quite hum of their air conditioners last Saturday, we were hosting 50 fabulous party goers in the garden of a private residence in Old Town Alexandria.  They were there to hear Beth Lilienstein, a soprano and also a member of the Washington National Opera, (accompanied by Patricia Palombo on the piano) perform a Recital of Lieder.

The newly renovated garden was fully covered by a massive tent provided by Sugarplum Tents.  The shade from the tent along with the fans that Sugarplum installed help to keep temperature down quite a bit even during the prime time of the day.  

Guests were able to cool down by ordering drinks at the outside bar that provided everything from water to the specialty drink of the evening, Pimm’s Cup.  We placed a few cocktail tables throughout the garden so that guests could mix and mingle while enjoying the beauty of the space.   The green linen we chose really blended in with the natural setting of the garden.

During the hour long performance, guests were able to lounge in brown chivari chairs under the tent.  The chairs also worked beautifully with the natural colors of the environment.  

After the performance was over, guests eagerly moved into the cool air of the historic home (built in the 1700’s), where they enjoyed cold beverages and a delicious appetizer bar provided by Geppetto’s Catering.  Some of the fun finger foods were curry chicken on toast points (my favorite!!), cucumbers topped with crabcakes, and potato pancakes with sliced tenderloin.

Thank you to Boyd’s Piano, where we rented the piano for the evening.  They delivered it on time and perfectly in tune.  Such a wonderful evening was had by all! 

Christine

Ice Blue, Black and Silver Inspiration

Photo credits: Place setting (The Knot), ring (Brides.com), chandeliers (The Knot), bridesmaid dress (Brides.com), groom (Brides.com), couple on dance floor (Style Me Pretty, Cake (Martha Stewart Weddings), wedding gown (In Style Weddings), favors (Martha Stewart Weddings), shoes, water bottles (The Knot), earrings (The Perfect Palette), invitation (Elizabeth Anne Designs)

Okay, truth time.  This inspiration board was inspired by the colors I'm using to redo my bathroom.  Not very glamorous, I know, but there you have it! I love the combination of pale blue, black and silver and have always loved it for weddings. It works in summer or winter and looks both sophisticated and fresh.  For those who know a little about Alison, they know that this shade of blue (some might refer to it as "Carolina blue") is near and dear to her heart.  Anyone fans of this color combo (or any Carolina fans) out there?

Laura and Alison

The Bubbly Bride Winners!

Congratulations to 5 lucky readers who have won copies of "The Bubbly Bride" by Natalie Bovis-Nelson:
Erika Pitera
Jennifer Thomas
Elizabeth Cabell
Catherine Jolly
Kristen Juchem

Shoot us an email (weddings@engagingaffairs.com) with your snail mail address and we will zip them out to you.  Cheers!