Gotham Hall Glamour {Nadya + Jordache}

 An unusually windy and intense rain shower was not going to stop Nadya and Jordache from making the most of their wedding day. After almost a year of planning and many missed connections over 22 years, Nadya and Jordache’s wedding day finally arrived. 

This couple has a really special love story.  Their parents went to dental school together and eventually shared an office and at about the age of 8, they ran into each other there. A few years later, they saw each other again at Nadya's Sweet 16 birthday party. It wasn't until the Summer of 2002, 5 years later, that they ran into each other again at (of all places) Best Buy in Rockville. At that meeting, he had to remind her who he was, because she nearly walked past him.  They eventually exchanged phone numbers and have been together ever since.

With the wedding taking place in New York City at Gotham Hall and the couple living there as well, a lot of the planning had to take place over the phone, over email and in short visits to the Big Apple.   Thanks goes to Cindy Altunis and Walter Figueroa at Gotham Hall.  Their team is a well-oiled machine that makes the wedding day (and the planning) a rather enjoyable experience!

The bride began her day at the Trump Hotel Central Park West, surrounded by her attentive bridesmaids and adorable flower girls.  Makeup artist, Stacey Richburg, and her assistant arrived bright and early to begin working on the girls.  After several hours of getting ready, the girls got dressed in their bright purple dresses with a pink flower added to the shoulder, a fun accessory added by the bride.   The colors of the wedding included iridescent purple, pink and blue.

Shira Weinberger, an extremely talented photographer, who is just as great to work with as she is talented, took the girls around NYC before the ceremony to get some really unique shots.  One of my favorites is the bride and bridesmaids in the middle of Grand Central Station.  Our videographers from Open Eye Media, worked alongside of Shira to capture the day’s events.  I can’t wait to share the video!

While the girls and guys were around NYC, there were many vendors hard at work at Gotham Hall.  Bill Enright of Edge Flowers along with Syzygy Events worked on building the larger than life ceremony structure.  Cherry blossom trees lined the aisle and over 400 votives lined the old teller walls.   The lighting for the ceremony, provided by Bentley Meeker, was a blue-ish purple. 

Cool Groove Music provided the ceremony music that included Josh Groban’s "You Raise Me Up" and "When I First Saw You" by Jamie Fox and Beyonce. 

 Following the emotional ceremony, the Harlem Gospel Choir surprised the guests by singing from the mezzanine for the recessional.   It was definitely quite a surprise to everyone! 

Guests made their way to the upstairs mezzanine for cocktails while the florist, lighting, audio visual and band worked to change the room from the ceremony to the reception.  Mirrored tables were mixed in with traditional rounds.  The cherry blossom trees that had lined the aisle were now 1 of the 2 different centerpieces.  Lighting changed from blue-ish purple to an iridescent pink to an iridescent purple as the night went on.  Photos of the couple’s grandparents were enlarged and placed in frames around the room. 

As guests made their way down from cocktails, they were greeted by a 7 foot tree where strand of crystals held each of their escort cards.  This escort tree later was changed into a candy buffet.  

Dinner tables were decorated with votives, boxes of rum cake decorated with the couple’s monogram and personally made by the bride’s aunt, round menu cards placed in the center of the chargers, table numbers that had corresponding pictures of the couple at the age of the table number, just to name a few details.  Stunning linens for the round tables, candy buffet and cake tables were brought in by DC Rental.

The cake was just as detailed as the rest of the wedding, thanks to Chef Benny at City Cakes NY.

Guests enjoyed delicious food provided by caterer Thomas Preti .  After the meal, guests danced the night away, on a seamless white dance floor, to the band The Rhythm Dogs.  DJ Oats, a friend of the couple, came in to turn the party up later in the night.  Those who weren’t dancing chose to get a caricature done by one of the two caricature artists we brought in.

Thank you to everyone who worked on making this event a truly memorable affair.  I could not have done this without all of you!

A special thanks to my assistants for the wedding, Alison and Elissa!  You guys rock!

And finally, congratulations Nadya and Jordache!  I hope you are having a great time in Thailand!

Christine

Pingg and Hello Lucky Giveaway!

From now until Thursday, May 26th, brides who send their Save-the-Date or Engagement Announcement with pingg.com will be entered to win one of 4 Wedding Invitation Packages from stationery designer Hello!Lucky! 

Prize packages will include 150 digitally printed wedding invitations and reply cards! Four lucky couples will be randomly selected to win and one winner will be announced every Friday during the month of May.

For more details on how to enter, visit pingg!

The Knot Bridal Blowout

Is my husband a closet wedding nut?  After this post, I'm sure he'll never send me anything again.  How could I out him?  But, he's always sending me little things about the wedding industry he sees and hears.  He's one of those last few who reads like 4 papers a day (on line of course) to get his news variety. Here's his latest find!

The Bargainist spotted that TheKnot.com is having a sale on their personalized wedding favors, up to 65% off!  So, if you're running last minute but want to make sure your guests have more than amazing memories to take home with them, check it out and take advantage.  Happy saving!

http://www.bargainist.com/deals/2011/04/the-knot-wedding-shop-personalized-favor-blowout-save-up-to-65-off-/

Sara

Wedding at New York's Gotham Hall {Sneak Peek}

This is just the tiniest sneak peek from Christine's recent wedding up in New York at the stunning Gotham Hall.  I love these amazing photos from Shira Weinberger and can't wait to show you more of Nadya and Jordache's amazing wedding!

Wedding Timelines {Planning Tips}

We all love the fun and pretty parts of wedding planning: the color palette, the decor, the perfect details. But there is a lot of nitty-gritty that goes into making a wedding day run smoothly.  And, trust me, if the timing is bad and your day not well thought-through no one will remember those pinch-me-cute favors.  So here are just a few important things to think about when you're planning your wedding day time line.

- Leave some wiggle room. Okay, a lot. If your schedule is packed with no room for error, you will be in big trouble when the makeup artist runs late or the limo gets lost getting to your house.

- Check for any road closures, parades, festivals or major events going on near the route to and from your wedding. Don't be surprised on your wedding day by construction blocking the way you told everyone to get to your church!

- Test drive the route to your wedding on a Saturday (or whatever day of the week your wedding falls on) to get an idea of the traffic and how long it really takes to get from the church to the reception.

- Get an estimate from your caterer or hotel how much time it will take them to serve dinner so you can plan the rest of the reception events accordingly.

- Make sure you know how many breaks your band will take (and how long) and put those in your schedule.

- Arrange for a time for your vendors to eat (preferably when you and guests are eating). Some of the people working for you on your wedding day put in very long days (photographers, videographers, wedding planners) and it's always thoughtful to arrange for food for them.

- For special dances, specify the song and artist and double check that the band knows the song or the DJ has the song in his repertoire.  There are multiple versions of many songs and it is never a nice surprise to be dancing to the wrong song!

- Get cell phone numbers from everyone involved in your wedding when you're confirming final contract and delivery details.

These are just a few quick tips to think about. My best advice is to hire a good wedding planner to coordinate the wedding day and put together the schedule for you. They will think of so many things you won't and a good one is worth his or her weight in gold. Good luck!

Bunny Love!

 

 Bakerella

A couple of years ago, I had a wonderful Easter weekend wedding where we did a twist on the usual candy buffet and instead had tiny Easter baskets for guests to fill with traditional Easter candies. Guests loved stocking up on Peeps, Cadbury eggs, malted milk eggs, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans in all colors! I loved seeing how excited adults got when they saw the candies they had loved as kids. 

 So Not An Expert

So here's wishing everyone lots of fabulous candy this weekend whether you celebrate Easter or not. Easter has the best candy! Cheers!

Poppies, Poppies!

www.easybloom.com

The sight of fluttery, bright poppies makes me happy so I was thrilled to see them on the cover of Martha Stewart Living this past month! Poppies aren't an often used wedding flower but I think their beauty is overlooked so here is a tribute to poppies and some lovely ways to incorporate them into your wedding. 

Both of these rustic weddings feature stunning poppy bouquets!

Jen Huang

Charley Star via Once Wed

A tailored poppy bouquet for a swanky affair!

Pacific Weddings

Poppy centerpieces! Love their versatility: fabulous in tea tins or in flats of grass.

MSW via Oh, My Darling

In the Now

Talk about a sophisticated take on poppies. I love this muted still life!

Real Simple

Poppilicious paper products!

Style Hive

 

Etsy

Love these poppy cakes!

Cap Classique

Australia Entertains

Have a great day and enjoy the poppy inspiration!

Enchanted Atelier Styling Nights!

So you've picked out your gorgeous gown and scored the perfect pair of shoes but you seem to be at a loss when it comes to finding your bridal bling. Sound familiar? Well no need to worry, Hitched is here to help!

Beginning on Thursday, April 21st, they'll be hosting monthly Styling Nights where the Hitched Gals will be on hand to help you find the veils and jewelry to perfectly suit your big-day style. While the usual collection of baubles will be available for viewing, Hitched is so excited to also be featuring the amazing accessories from Enchanted Atelier. There will be a plethora of belts, headbands, headpieces, fascinators, and birdcages at your disposal and Enchanted Atelier's designer, Liv, will be there to answer any questions and help you pull together your total "look".

What: Hitched Styling Night featuring accessories by Enchanted Atelier

When: Choose a night and RSVP
Thursday, April 21st, from 5pm to 8pm
Thursday, May 19th, from 5pm to 8pm
Thursday, June 23rd, from 5pm to 8pm

Special Treat: As an added bonus, Hitched is offering 10% off all accessories purchased during the event!

RSVP: 202.333.6162 or appointments@hitchedsalon.com
(Please specify which date you'd like to RSVP for!)


Have fun!

April Showers...Bring Smiles

As I drove into DC Saturday, all I could think was, "this just isn't fair".  Todd and Lissette deserved magic at their wedding and rain or shine, that's what we made happen for them.  The rain passed before we began the ceremony and the rest of the night was smooth sailing thanks to my great team of Design Cuisine, the Corcoran, Yellow Door Floral, Digital Lightning, Jenny Lehman and DJ Andres.

Here's a sneak peak of the new hottness, Boxi.  It's a photo booth for the Facebook age.  You don't get a print out, you e mail it to yourself so you can post it, well anywhere and you don't have to worry about losing your pictures, EVER!  Check out out "test shots".

Kathleen from the Corcoran and I took the first practice shot. 

And there's me and the happy bride.

And then Maeve and I decided to dress up.



Stay tuned for more images from Lissette and Todd's "Tornado Watch" wedding!

Sara

Death on the Aisle {Chapter Fourteen}

After a short delay, Annabelle and crew are back. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fourteen

            “Well, I’d say that went really well,” Kate said as I maneuvered my car through Georgetown. “We’re less than a week away from the wedding on the yacht and we now have one dead body and a security crew camped out on board?”

            “It’s not our smoothest wedding so far, I’ll give you that,” I said. “But at least we have a security crew to make sure nothing else goes wrong.”

             “When were they getting to the boat?”

            I looked at my watch. “Probably around now. Reese said it wouldn’t be more than an hour.”

            “Speaking of Detective Reese . . .” Kate let her voice trail off.

            “What?” I tried to sound normal but my voice came out high and nervous.

            “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two picked up right where you left off,” Kate said. “You looked pretty cozy to me.”

            “Where we left off was Reese walking away a few months ago,” I said. “And how did you notice anything surrounded by all those attentive cops?”

            Kate shrugged. “I have special radar for people being hit on.”

            “Reese was not hitting on me. He was doing his job and investigating my connection to the murder scene.”

            “Um hmm.” Kate didn’t sound convinced. “Are you going to tell Ian you ran into your old flame?”

            I opened my mouth to protest that Reese was hardly a flame when I realized that I hadn’t thought about Ian all morning. “I don’t know.” A wave of guilt swept over me and I gnawed at the corner of my lip. Should I mention running into Reese? Was it sneaky not to mention it or was it even worth mentioning?

            Kate glanced at me then changed the subject. “Well, at least we’re going to make it to our appointment on time. If we’d stayed much longer we’d never be able to get the fish market smell off us.”

            “And we got rid of Leatrice,” I said. We’d just dropped her off at my apartment building after practically dragging her away from the crime scene at the docks and convincing her that there was nothing more she could do to help console Brody, the bride’s brother, or help Detective Reese.

            Kate sighed. “We got rid of one crazy and now we’re going to meet two more.”

            “Debbie and Darla aren’t crazy,” I said.

            Kate gave me a look that said she disagreed.

            “You have to admit that they’re our most fun clients.” Debbie and Darla Douglas, the mother-daughter duo from the Deep South, had been planning Debbie’s wedding to Turner Grant the Third with us for what seemed like years but it was finally just a few weeks away.  Debbie and Darla loved anything pink, anything preppy and anything that came out of a cocktail shaker (and had been known to carry full cocktail shakers around in their preppy pink purses).

            “Of course they’re fun,” Kate said. “They’re always three sheets in the wind.”

            “Three sheets to the wind,” I muttered. “And they’re not always drunk. We just see them when it’s almost happy hour.”

            “The breakfast meeting we had at their house?”

            I cringed. It was hard to explain away Bloody Marys at nine in the morning on a weekday. “But they’re so much fun and they always send in their payments on time.”

            Kate shook her head. “You’re a cheap date, Annabelle.”

            I couldn’t help but to laugh. “Look who’s talking!”

            Kate ignored my comment and motioned to a street parking space on 31^st Street right across from glass-fronted flower shop, Lush. We were meeting Debbie and Darla for the final floral meeting before the wedding day. Usually we did the final floral run-down over the phone but they’d changed the look so many times that we thought an in-person meeting would be a good idea.

            The shop was called Lush but the shop’s floral designers, Buster and Mack, went by the title Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers in the Christian biker world, and I’d never been able to think of them as anything else.

            As Kate and I stepped out of my car and started across the street, Mack stepped out the glass door of Lush and waved from under the pale green awning. To say that Mack didn’t look like how people imagined florists to look would be an understatement. Although he didn’t have any hair on top of his head, he sported a red goatee, a pierced eyebrow and wore enough black leather to make a vegan weep.  At slightly under six feet and three hundred pounds, he was the smaller of the two men.

            “Come on in, sweeties,” he said, hurrying us over. “We just got an espresso machine for the shop, and I’m playing barista. Can I make you a cappuccino?”

            “That would be perfect.” I followed Mack into the shop and hopped up onto a metal stool. I normally only drank coffee that came Frappucinoed but after the morning at the docks, I needed something to get me back on track.

            “Do you have skim milk?” Kate asked.

           

            While Mack fiddled with the elaborate espresso machine in the back, I looked around the uber-stylish floral studio. There was nothing frilly about Lush, just concrete floors and galvanized metal buckets of flowers on chrome racks lining the walls. I sat at the long, high metal table that ran the center of the room and took in the vivid hues of blooms lined up in square glass vases in front of me. Pale blue hydrangea, fluttery pink roses with orange edges, crisp green orchids, buttery yellow ranunculus, peach stock. I took a deep breath and inhaled the mix of sweet and crisp.

            “Two skinny caps with just a touch of chocolate shavings,” Mack said, balancing two bulbous white cups on their saucers as he walked toward us. He set them down on the table. “Do I sound like a barista?”

            “Mmmm.” Kate made an appreciative noise as she took a sip from her cup.

            “Can you make me one?” Buster appeared from the back of the shop where there was an entrance to their workroom. “I need some energy before this bride and MOB get here.”

            He came over and pecked me and Kate on the cheeks.  Buster was the more imposing of the two men with an extra few inches and quite a few more pounds. His goatee was dark brown, he didn’t have any piercings and he kept his motorcycle goggles perched on the top of his head but he shared Mack’s penchant for black leather.

            “Remind me why we’re meeting again.” Buster sank onto a metal stool next to me and it groaned from the impact.

            “Because they were too tipsy at the last meeting to remember what we discussed,” I said, sipping at my frothy cappuccino.

            “Well, this time we can dry them out with coffee,” Mack called from his post at the espresso machine.

            “Unless you plan to make it Irish coffee, good luck getting them to drink it,” Kate mumbled.

            I suspected that Kate was right. Debbie and Darla had been on a “liquid” diet for the wedding since we’d started the planning. They avoided anything that wasn’t clear and served straight up. I think their only exception was for olives.

            Buster sniffed the air. “Do I smell fish?”

            Kate slapped me on the arm. “I told you we stayed at the docks too long. I’m going to have to rewash my hair for my date tonight.”

            Buster cocked an eyebrow. “What were you two doing on the docks?”

            “We have a wedding on a yacht there this weekend,” I said.

            Mack brought Buster his coffee and then folded his arms over his chest, causing several of the metal chains to jingle together. “Who’s doing the flowers?”

            “The bride’s stepmother brought in a designer from New York,” I said, hoping to mollify Mack. “It was out of our hands.”

            “He’s a nightmare,” Kate said.  “Can you please come push him overboard and take over?”

            Mack uncrossed his arms and gave Kate a playful push. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing?”

            “He’s dreadful,” I agreed. “He’s trying to do a South Beach meets South of France theme.”

            Mack wrinkled his nose like he’d gotten a whiff of fish, too. “How perfectly awful.”

            “What’s his name?” Buster asked. “We know some designers from New York.”

            I took a sip of my cappuccino and wiped the foam off my top lip. “Jeremy Johns.”

            Mack sucked in air and staggered back a few steps. Buster’s face darkened and he muttered a few words I’d never heard escape the Christian biker’s lips.

            “They do know him,” Kate said to me.

            “Consider yourself warned, girls,” Buster said while Mack fanned himself with a smilax leaf he pulled from a nearby bucket. “Jeremy Johns is not to be trusted.”

            I was beginning to think that about almost everyone involved in this wedding.