Sneak Peak at the Mellon

This is just a sneak peak at my amazing wedding at the Mellon recently.  They say, " happy wife, happy life" but I wish there was some connection to happy bride, happy planner.  This bride was thrilled and no one deserved it more than her.

Sara

A Planner's Paradise Part Two {Amanda & Luke}

The wedding day!  Although I didn’t have my Robek’s smoothie to start me out (an Engaging Affairs wedding day tradition)-- I did have a large coconut to drink out of to start my day!  Shenique Higgs with Sheque Perfection got the mothers, maid and matron of honor and myself ready to walk down the aisle!  Shenique has also worked with other DC planners on destination weddings-- small world! 

 As I said before, I love color.  I knew the coral of the local bougainvillea would look amazing against the ocean!  The Alexandra Resort (thank you Anette Mullings) was the perfect backdrop!  Their rooms and service were absolutely amazing.  Oh and did I mention the views!  I’ve always loved yellow so I had my girls wear a casual yellow sundress to compliment the tropical background.  I wanted this ceremony to be personal so I asked my dear friend and mentor, Sandra Hoehne, to preside.  It was absolutely perfect!  We chose poems by Wordsworth and Whitman for our readings and gave our own vows (think “I vow to come second on Greengenes nights” and “I vow to let our kids be Ravens fans”).

 

The one difficult part about me is the photography.  As a girl who does not look her best in candid photos and constantly has her “photo smile” on but loves photojournalism wedding photos-- it was quite hard for me to imagine being obsessed with my wedding photos.  Introducing Jon Nickson of Eyespice Photography!  He was able to put my whole family and myself at ease!  He promised to yell at me if I started to get too “planner” on him as well!  I knew I wanted to come away with amazing photos and even go a little out of the box-- so I went swimming!

After a change of dress it was on to the reception at Mango Reef Restaurant.  Alexis took such great care of us and the whole party was delighted at the amazing food and service!  My favorite parts of the wedding were the toasts.  My father, who is known to be slightly sarcastic, did a wonderful job pulling out my 8^th grade creative writing booklet.  The toasts went on to include my oldest and dearest friend, my beloved sister, a memorable salute from the best man, a 90210 ode, a college throwback, and a video montage narrated and made by Luke’s mom.  Lots of talking (very fitting)!   

 We had a custom cake topper made from The Little Gift Box (you can see it here on their site http://www.etsy.com/listing/100171139/wedding-cake-topper-custom-painted-wood) which is a local shop in Alexandria, VA!

 

After the cake cutting it was time for DJ William John put on some amazing dance tunes and the rest of the night was a dancing blur! 

Thank you again to all of these amazing vendors for making my dreams come true and letting us all celebrate in paradise!

Xoxo,

Amanda

A Planner's Paradise {Amanda & Luke}

When I sat down to write this blog, I couldn’t decide what angle to take-- it is my own wedding, after all!  The more I thought about it, I realized I should do what I always do-- thank the vendors!!

I got engaged last July (first thank you is to Peter Boone at Boone & Sons in Chevy Chase for my most fabulous engagement ring) and was then stuck with the task-- plan my own wedding?!  Sounds harder than you think for a planner!  After toying with a bayside Annapolis wedding, an elegant DC affair, or the many other local choices, I finally decided to head 1,214 miles away to Grace Bay Beach in Turks & Caicos.  Although we did lose some guests due to the distance-- what a blast we had!  A little secret though-- we were already married!

Luke and I got married about a month before our T&C celebration at St. Charles Chapel in Arlington, Va.  It was a simple ceremony with just some close family and a gorgeous bouquet!  The talented duo of Rick and Christopher of Amaryllis provided me with a gorgeous display of peonies, sweet peas, and ranunculus in shades of pink-- I still dream about that bouquet!

If you know Luke and I-- we LOVE color!!  Our first stop was to work with the wonderful Jen Liljegren of Lilypad Weddings!  She created gorgeous invitations for us in our color scheme of sea green and coral.   Jen also created amazing coasters, menu cards, escort cards, and programs for the big day!

I hired Teresa Brunner, a local wedding planner with Tropical Destination Management, to help me with logistics!  She was absolutely wonderful and I was so thankful to have a contact on the Island!  One of the wonderful things about having all of your guests with you on vacation-- you can plan fun activities!  Luke took some boys bonefishing and I got to go snorkeling with a boat full of my friends!  We had an awesome beach BBQ bonfire party to kick off the celebrations!  Thank you Kissing Fish for doing such an amazing job!

Up next: Day Two of the Destination Wedding Weekend!

Ceremony Readings {Practical Matters}

As you may imagine, we hear a lot of ceremony readings. A. Lot. Most of them are similar. Lots of Corinthians (although it's a good one). One of my favorites was a reading from "The Velveteen Rabbit" about real love. That book gets me every time!

If you're looking for some more off-the-beaten path readings for your ceremony, try one of these.

“The Passionate Shepherd To His Love”  by Christopher Marlowe

“How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“On Marriage” by Kahlil Gibran

“Sonnet CXVI” by William Shakespeare

(Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments . . .)

“My True Love Hath My Heart”  by Sir John Philip Sidney

“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” by Edward Lear

“Love’s Philosophy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Address of Ruth to Naomi”  from The Bible, the book of Ruth

“Give All to Love” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Love’s Growth” by John Donne

Psalm 103 (A Psalm of David) from The Bible, the book of Psalms

From The Holy Koran: Chapter 49 Al-Hujraat Verse 13

  

Excerpts from “Gifts from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“Apache Song” by Unknown

“Love” by Roy Croft

“Songs of the Open Road” by Walt Whitman

“This Marriage Be Wine” by Persian Poet Rumi

Impecable Style

If I had a quarter for every time I heard, "I want my wedding to be simple and elegant", I would have a lot of quarters!  The truth is, those two words are used some much as descriptors in the early stages of planning the end result rarely ends up that way by virtue of the options brides sift through over the months.  It's interesting only when those words are not uttered, the the result truly is, in my opinion anyway, simple and elegant.  And I'll throw classic in there for good measure.  It is one of my biggest goals to make sure my couple's won't regret what they did for their weddings 5, 10+ years down the road.

On a clear day in May, Elise and Mike had just the wedding I described above.  Elegance started with the venue, the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  Simple was the stunning dress that fit the bride so perfectly.  Classic was the white flowers and decor that made a modern look so timeless.  So no more words, I'll let the pictures from the talented K. Thompson do the talking.

I love a happy bride~

Their precious pups!

A favorite, first dance to Prince's "Kiss"

Special thanks to

K Thomspson Photography

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Frost Lighting

Susan Gage Caterers

Edge Floral

Blue Sky Films

Pattie Martin  make up

Sara