Engaging Affairs Wedding Featured in Essence and The Bride's Cafe!

We are thrilled to have one of our recent weddings featured in Essence and The Bride's Cafe on the same day! How fun is that?  Tiana and Ferman had such a gorgeous wedding on the water at Sequoia and a wonderful love story.  We're so excited that their story (and amazing photos by A. Britton) are being shared with an even wider audience.  Be sure to check out the fun article at Essence and the amazing photo feature on The Bride's Cafe!

Engaged in Washington 2011 {Hay-Adams Hotel}

We will be on the rooftop of the newly remodeled Hay-Adams Hotel this Sunday, March 6th for the amazing Engaged in Washington Show.  We have some gorgeous tabletops in the works with DC Rental and Janet Flowers Floral Design. Don't miss it!!

Unique Wedding Dates

Not that EVERY wedding date isn't unique and special, but I'm literally talking about the DATE on the calendar.  We've had so many one of a kind dates is recent years.  First that comes to mind is 7-7-07.  The lucky date that none of us at Engaging Affairs had to work a wedding, but I was lucky enough to attend a wedding of good friends in Baltimore.

 Last year, the date was 10-10-10 and we were all in wedded bliss.  I had been working with Kendra and Ed for over a year to make sure their wedding at the City Club of Washington, Franklin Square was absolutely perfect.  I have to say, the details came together quite well.  Thanks to Steve Canning for the following images.

 

 

 

A highlight of the afternoon was the New Orleans Two Step Rag Time Bands that led the bride and groom out of the reception in true traditional getaway style.

Such a classic couple!

This year, I have a beautiful couple getting married on 9-10-11.  Stay tuned!

Sara

Vegas, baby!

photo by kristen joy photography

This past week I was in Las Vegas for a convention with 16,000 wedding photographers so I thought I'd share just a few great Vegas wedding shots I found.  While Vegas isn't known for elegant and refined affairs, there are some fun places to photograph couples.  And, wow, there were brides everywhere! We saw one couple about to do their "big reveal" with the groom blindfolded and the bride chain-smoking around the corner. Only in Vegas, right?

You have to give the city props for over-the-top energy and plenty of bling.  I do love the retro neon (and the neon "graveyard" where old signs go to die). Have a great weekend everyone!
Laura

The Best Wedding Advice {Be Happy!}

Photo by Greg Gibson

Today's post is more practical than anything. I've seen way more than my fair share of weddings (well over 450 but who's counting?) and know a little bit about what makes a wedding successful. It isn't the color scheme or the world-class band or the perfectly coordinated details (although those are lovely). What takes a wedding from perfectly nice to downright amazing is the couple and the way they handle the day.

I've seen brides decide their day is ruined because the shade of the ribbon on their bouquet wasn't exactly right or have a drop of water on their dress send them into a tailspin. On the flip side, I've had brides with real wedding day disasters that have no easy fix (traffic-stopping protests and severe food poisoning) take it all in stride and have an amazing day.  What dictates the energy of your wedding day is you!

Happiness is contagious so decide to be happy on your wedding day no matter what. The best weddings are the ones where the couple is loving every minute of it and let any issues roll off their back. Let's face it, there's a chance that something may not go 100% percent right on your wedding day. Hopefully, you have a great wedding planner who will be there to fix any issues that arise but just remember that if you don't make an issue a big deal, neither will your guests. So remind yourself about the whole point of the day (and the months of planning): you're marrying someone you adore. And in the grand scheme of things, that's really all the matters. Have an amazing wedding day!

Wedding Bash at Gaylord DC

I worked with such a great team over the summer at Lynn and Jason's wedding extravaganza.  It was the first time I had tag teamed with another planner.  Sara Bauleke of Belle Notte and her team handled all the small details as I ran the overall big picture, which included 300+ guests, a horse and carriage, a dove release, driving a car onto stage for a grand entrance and a performance dance troop just to name a few.

The couple married at Sligo Creek Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The massive ballroom felt more cozy and personal thanks to flowers, lighting and decor elements from Amaryllis, Digital Lightning and Party Rentals.

The bride surprised her groom with this sword to "cut" the cake with.

Special thanks to all of the other members of this hard working team

Gaylord Resort's hard working sales, event and AV team

Bryan Blanken of Freed Photography

Blue Sky Films Tonya and Martin

Entertainment by Onyx of Washington Talent

Kendall of Kendall's Cakes

Sara

Signature Cocktails {Cherry Blossom Cocktails}

As the weather turns warmer (for a day or two, at least), my mind turns to all of our Spring weddings.  And what is Spring in D.C. without cherry blossoms?  So I thought I'd pay tribute to the gorgeous Spring blossoms (and one of my favorite wedding motifs) with a couple of custom cocktail.  Cheers!

The Cherry Blossom

1 oz Cherry Brandy
1 oz Brandy
1/8 oz Triple Sec
Dash Grenadine
1/8 oz Lemon Juice

Mix ingredients in  shaker with ice. Pour into a rocks glass and serve.

A Japanese Cherry Blossom

2 oz  Sake

½ tsp Umeshu, a traditional Japanese plum liqueur

1 tsp Lemon juice

Sparkling Wine

Maraschino cherry for garnish

Stir sake, umeshu, and lemon juice in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a Champagne flute.

Top with sparkling wine, garnish with a maraschino cherry, and serve.

Hotel Monaco Elegance {Kelsey and Nick}

I know I talk a lot about how wonderful my clients are but Kelsey and Nick and their families were so fabulous!  Everyone involved with the wedding was amazing and you could feel the joy throughout the day.  This wedding was a wedding planner's dream!

I also loved the sweet and elegant details about this day.  This was a classic D.C. wedding with lovely touches that made it so special for the couple.

We started off the day with a little hiccup: the custom-made satin and crystal sash for the bride's gown went missing!  Even worse, the bride had gotten this sash overseas so there was no way to get a replacement in a matter of hours. Luckily, my dear friend Sandy Leone, owner of Love Couture Bridal, had a selection of satin sashes that she let me borrow and rush down to the bride.  Kelsey picked out a gorgeous sash that everyone loved even more than the original.  Crisis averted and a bride happy! Big thanks to Sandy for saving the day!

The bride and her maids and mom enjoyed the rest of the morning getting hair and makeup by the fabulous Kim Steele and tossing back some champagne.

The full mass at St. Patrick's in D.C. was gorgeous, and then the bride and groom dashed out with the super-talented Greg Gibson for photos around the city before the evening reception.

St. Patrick's is such a stunning stone church and right in the heart of the city!

I love that each bridesmaid's dress was slightly different: one was one shouldered, one had spaghetti straps and one had a ruffled neckline. And the color looked great on everyone!

The reception kicked off at The Hotel Monaco in D.C. with cocktails in the Athens Room and then dinner and dancing in the Paris Ballroom.  We love working with Buddee Clinton and his team at the Monaco!  Guests enjoyed the sounds of a Latin guitarist from MSE Productions during cocktails and DJ Michael Tate kept them on the dance floor after dinner.

Kelsey chose lush flowers in soft tones to go with her classic palette of royal blue, gold and cream.  The lovely ladies of Petal's Edge created beautiful arrangements which had an elegant European feel. Menu cards echoed the elegant swirly design of the invitations and programs.

Fluffy Thoughts designed the lovely cake with sugar flowers and satin ribbon around each layer.

One of my favorite things about the Monaco's ballroom is the built-in bookshelves that couples can personalize with framed family photos.  Kelsy and Nick went one step further and put photos in the pages of books!  Love it!

Guests signed a beautiful framed art print of a gold heart instead of a guest book.

For a take-away treat, guests were given bags to fill with gourmet macaroons from Michel Patisserie. I can speak from experience: yum!

 

Thanks to Kelsey and Nick for letting us share your beautiful day and thanks to Greg Gibson for always providing such stunning images!

Laura