Valentine's inspiration

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and while we aren't doing any Cupid-inspired weddings we thought these "heart"felt details were sweet. Love the ice cream sandwiches made out of meringue cookies!



Above photos courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Winter Wedding Show Update!

As the winter weather warnings grow more intense and everyone races to collect the supplies they lacked for our first storm in December, the powers that be organizing the Engaged! Wedding Show tomorrow evening at 5 downtown DC hotels have decided to postpone the event to keep all you lovely brides safe, warm and dry. While we are all disappointed we won't get to meet each one of you tomorrow, the hotels are busy arranging a new date to reschedule all the fun festivities. So, stay tuned. We will update you as soon as the new date has been announced!

Don't Miss the Engaged Show on Friday!

Our team at The Willard is getting really excited for the bridal show this Friday. This show promises to be full of amazing inspiration at 5 different D.C. hotels with teams of planners, florists, and musicians at each location creating wedding vignettes.

Although all the teams have been pretty secretive about their plans, I can let you know that our team will be channeling Hollywood glamour throughout the hotel. We will also have fabulous cocktails by Moet & Chandon and two amazing bands playing on two stages. Couples can

Couples will also have the opportunity to win one of SEVEN honeymoons! The Willard is giving away two honeymoons to the Intercontinental in Paris, France! The odds of winning are pretty good since you must go to each hotel to enter its honeymoon giveaway. In addition, all the vendors are giving away some great prizes and the first 300 attendees will get a fabulous swag bag!

This is one show to put on your calendar and brave the weather for! Go to the Engaged site to buy tickets. Hope to see you there!
Laura

Loving "The Other Pages"

I am so excited about our new ad that will appear in "The Other Pages," which is a swankier version of the Yellow Pages for the LGBT community in D.C. I have had a great time working with Daniel in marketing and had such a fun time designing this ad!
Laura

Miss Now Mrs. giveaway!

Did you know that you don’t need to wait until after your wedding to begin the name-change process?

Whether you are in the planning stages of your wedding, or are now celebrating being a newlywed, you may complete transitioning from Miss…Now…Mrs in 3 easy steps: Questions, Forms, File. You will have up to 6 months to access your online account, so that you may complete your forms at your leisure.

MissNowMrs.com was created to save you the hours of time typically spent on research and form completion. They assist you in changing to your married name, answer questions, provide you with your options, and most of all allow you to focus on the fun of being a newlywed!

It's time for another fabulous giveaway! The wonderful folks at MissNowMrs.com are offering one lucky Bridal Bubbly reader a gift card to use for their name changing services. So if you're considering changing your name but think it sounds too daunting, send us a message telling us you'd like to win and you may have your name changing problems solved!

We will pick a winner this Friday so be sure to check back to see if you've won. If we don't hear back from the winner within 24 hours, we'll pick another winner. We hate for fun prizes to go unclaimed! Good luck!

New Year's Eve Wedding at The Monaco {Eliza and Micah}

Since I have two small children, most of my New Year's Eve celebrations nowadays are pretty tame and I'm lucky to make it until the ball drops. This year, however, I had the distinct pleasure of spending New Year's Eve at a fabulous wedding and with an amazing couple and their families!

I know I go on and on about how wonderful my clients are but Eliza and Micah were truly an amazing couple. From the moment we met, I loved the fact that they wanted to have as "green" a wedding as possible (getting all recycled paper products and using as many organic flowers as possible). And they wanted it to be fun! The planning went so smoothly, even when they had the amazing opportunity to take two long trips abroad during the middle of it. Luckily, Eliza's mother and sister were able to step in and we didn't miss a beat!



Eliza and Micah loved the Hotel Monaco's unique design and the fact that it wasn't a cookie-cutter hotel. And this wedding was full of personalized elements from the bride's cool, vintage-style dress to the bright orange and purple palette of the ballroom to the fabulously kitschy New Year's Eve trinkets.




The bride's gown and her mother beautiful dress came from Hitched. We love the new Mother of the Occasion dresses at Hitched. So much nicer than traditional MOB gowns! Eliza searched high and low for the perfect wrap for her dress (since it was darn cold on New Year's Eve!) and finally happened upon a vintage white stole in a Silver Spring consignment shop.



I love the Hotel Monaco's staircases. They make for amazing photos and a great spot for the bride and groom's "big reveal."




The Hotel Monaco is one of my all-time favorite wedding spots in the city. Not only is it a fabulous looking hotel with a really unique ballroom but the catering staff is the best. Buddee Clinton is a dream to work with and Betty, the banquet captain, keeps the events moving perfectly.



The super-talented and so-sweet Jennifer Domenick with Love Life Images took the couple around the hotel for some great portraits before the wedding. The Monaco is a photographer's dream hotel!

The bride and groom steal a moment aboard the shuttle bus heading to the Sixth and I Street Synagogue with the extended families. The groom is one of six children so we needed a shuttle bus for the families!


The couple signed the ketubah before the ceremony surrounded by family and friends.

My new favorite ceremony site is the Synague at Sixth and I Streets. Not only is it stunning but the staff there is so phenomenal. They helped us set up the chuppah cover that the bride's mother hand-knit and made the wedding day go so smoothly. Thank you, Matt!



The groom's father conducted the ceremony, which made it even more meaningful for Eliza and Micah. The grandparents and parents each read one of the Seven Blessings during the ceremony. I loved seeing a wedding with so many proud grandparents in attendance!




The gorgeous cake cake from the amazing Kendall from Kendall's Cakes. The inside was delicious carrot cake. Yum!




What is New Year's Eve without funny hats? Everyone got in the spirit of the night and had a great time wearing them!




We also tucked colorful horns into everyone's napkins and guests really got into blowing them from the moment they sat down! The tables were each named after a country that Eliza and Micah had recently visited and since they had been trekking in Cambodia, Nepal, Vietnam and India, it made for quite the conversation starters. Framed photos from their trip were tucked on the bookshelves around the room.



The gorgeous flowers were designed by the uber-deluxe Nick Perez from Multiflor. The purple and orange blooms looked amazing on the shimmery silver linens from DC Rental. John Farr Lighting provided the perfect lighting to create a festive yet sexy mood.




A romantic first dance.



This wedding had some wonderful toasts and really nice moments. It's impressive when a wedding veteran like me gets teary!






A brave groom goes "hands-free" during the hora!




The band "Nation" from Elan Artists was amazing and kept the dance floor packed all night! Plus, they were so easy to work with.





When the clock struck midnight, the air above the bride and groom filled with confetti. Special thanks to the staff at The Monaco for being such good sports because it looked fabulous but made a bit of a mess!

A huge thank you to the amazing team of wedding professionals who helped make the day such a success. The guys from Monachetti Video were a blast and I can't wait to see the video; Miles Stiebel provided beautiful strings for the ceremony music; Linda and the wonderful drivers from Linder and Associates who got the guests to the wedding on time. My assistants Erika and Krista were super stars and I couldn't have done it without them!

It was such a delight to work with Eliza and Micah and both of their families. I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of their wedding day. Best wishes and lots of love from all of us at Engaging Affairs!
Laura

Music to My Ears

Well, it's that time of year again. Weddings have slowed down a bit for the early year freeze but at Engaging Affairs we are hard at work turning the wheels for our upcoming spring brides and looking towards the newest trends for your big day. And we have a huge spring coming that we can't wait to share with you.


But in the mean time, let's talk entertainment. Music surrounds each wedding day from the pre wedding hair and make up mix your MOH has put together, to the music that meets your guests at the ceremony entrance and the change that walks you down the aisle with your father. From the MARIACHI band that surprises your new husband during the cocktail hour to the band or DJ that obliges your guests with "one more song" when the party insists it's not quite over. You wedding entertainment sets a feel that carries you across the threshold of your wedding night bedroom.


So what are the options? Classic ceremony consists of a string trio or quartet or the glorious, old organ in the church balcony. I have spiced these options up with a trumpet solo or jaw dropping saxophone as the bride walks down the aisle. Another favorite was the angelic sounds of a boys choir when the wedding party entered and the unforgettable "Seasons of Love" from Rent preformed by a Broadway group signaling the beginning of a ceremony. The unique options I have helped to orchestrate just keep coming back to me.


But let's move on to cocktails. This is the perfect place to spice up your wedding. Season and location depending you can use steel drums, a jazz trio, mariachi band or dohl and sitar player. Of course, the string group playing a more popular mix of selections is also a nice way to introduce a relaxed feel to your event.
I'm reminded daily the enormous range different bands cover. My personal favorite is 80's music. There are some AMAZING 80's cover bands out there. If your concerned that some of the "wedding" bands you hear create too generic of a sound, I can assure you that they don't. But if you want to go a step further for a real authentic entertainment experience, those bands exist as well. A new personal favorite, although not for everyone, is an all male group called the VIPs. You can catch a performance by these guys at the Engaged! Bridal show at the Willard on Friday, Feb. 5th with yours truly!

So, whether your wedding starts in a house of worship, an outside space or a ballroom and continues through to a historic home, hotel or tented backyard, make sure the music sets the mood you're looking for. If you can imagine it, it's possible.

Sara

Modern Trousseau Trunk Show

Join the Hitched ladies and Australian-born designer Callie Tein on Friday, February 5th and Saturday, February 6th for the Modern Trousseau Trunk Show!

As an added bonus, they’ll be having a Modern Trousseau Mother of the Occasion trunk show on Friday, February 6th. Modern Trousseau’s mother’s collection is sophisticated, elegant, unfussy and anything but frumpy! Make a separate appointment for your mom or future mom-in-law, and let Callie help her find a beautiful look she’ll be proud to wear at your wedding!

What: Modern Trousseau Bridal Trunk Show

When: Friday, February 5th and Saturday, February 6th
(by appointment only)

RSVP: 202-333-6162 or appointments@hitchedsalon.com

What Else:
~10% off all Modern Trousseau bridal gowns purchased during the trunk show
~The chance to see Modern Trousseau’s newest bridal collection
~The opportunity to discuss customization options for your gown with designer Callie Tein

Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase

Wanna help save the world for tomorrow while you celebrate today? This is totally the wedding show for you. Make your day a beautiful shade of green with the Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase.

We promise you won’t be bombarded with loads of junk from overly-aggressive salespeople. Instead, spend a relaxed afternoon exploring the gorgeous Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on the University of Maryland campus and discover must-have eco-options perfect for the sophisticated couple.

• Get face time with the area’s hippest, greenest wedding vendors
• Find fresh, original ideas for your day
• Enjoy a swanky Eco-Fashion Show in an Eco-Fashion Lounge
• Relax in the Man Cave with a locally brewed beer and watch the big game on a big screen
• Enter to win stylish, eco-swag
• Sample phenom food, off-the-hook cakes and local wine
• Discover romantic honeymoons

This showcase is perfect for any stage of planning – whether you are newly engaged or just putting the finishing touches on your Big Day.

For the groom, Dad and the rest of the guys – we have a Man Cave, equipped with a big-screen TV showing the big game. Seriously. And a bar serving locally brewed beer.

The Green Wedding Showcase includes a fun and fast DJ spin-off and a wine bar to sample the finest in local reds and whites.

For the bride and her maids… the Eco Fashion Show. This incredible swanky catwalk fashion show will feature eco-couture gowns, bridesmaid dresses and tuxes on professional models.

The Mid-Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase is the ideal place to check off every item on your wedding wish list. We will fit together every piece of the puzzle from green venues and caterers with local, organic offerings to eco-chic décor and your glamorous fantasy dress.

Engaging Affairs will be there hanging with other fabulous green wedding vendors so come check it out! You can buy tickets here. Hope to see you there!

Laura

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Kathryn for winning two free tickets to the Washingtonian Bride and Groom show this Sunday! Kathryn, send me an email (laura@engagingaffairs.com) with the names of the two people attending and we will get you hooked up. Thanks to everyone for entering!

Even if you didn't win the free tickets, you can get your tickets for the show at 25% off the regular price by entering special promo code WEDD at online checkout: www.washingtonian.com/unveiled

See you there!
Laura