An Indian-American Love Story {Lianne + Vishal}

We love planning "fusion" weddings! The blending of two cultures into one day (or several) of celebrations always creates twice the beautiful moments and truly gives couples the best of both worlds. We loved the vivid colors and joyful music of Lianne and Vishal's Hindu ceremony and then the romantic sweetness of their Western ceremony PLUS they were held at two stunning D.C. venues (both of them Engaging Affairs favorites).

First, the bride got ready at The Willard for the Hindu ceremony.

And then the groom arrived on horseback. The Barat is one of our favorite parts of Indian weddings!

The ceremony took place in The Willard's Crystal Room. What a gorgeous setting!

Then Michael Connor from Connor Studios did some beautiful portraits of the couple. Amazingly, these outdoor photos are in downtown D.C.!

Then it was off to get ready for the second part of the day at The Meridian House with hair by the lovely Remona and make-up by the fabulous Nikki Fraser!

The gardens at The Meridian House are such a breathtaking backdrop for a ceremony!

Then portraits in the historic house . . .

And gardens . . .

And on to the reception where guests found their names written by Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy on a window panes hanging between the trees!

Lush flowers by the supremely talented Holly Chapple topped the guest tables along with vintage-style china.

What a gorgeous ruffled cake by Maggie Austin!

After a romantic first dance, DJ Jag from Event EQ (an Engaging Affairs favorite!) kept the dance floor packed!

Thank you to my fabulous team of vendors who made this day amazing! Michael Connor, as always, captured such spectacular images and was a dream to work with. 

Hindu Ceremony Venue - Willard

Western Ceremony and Reception: Meridian House

Florist: Holly Chapple
Window Pane Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy

Caterer: Occasions

Cake: Maggie Austin

DJ: Jag, Event EQ

Ceremony Musicians (for western ceremony): Sage Strings

Photographer: Connor Studios

Videographer: Belvedere Films

Hair: Bridal Hair by Remona

Makeup: Nikki Fraser

Henna Artist: Mala Amin

And a huge congratulations to the beautiful couple. It was such an honor to be a part of their day!

xoxo
Christine

Happy Snow Day!

Lovely Lounges and After-Parties!

Image by Regeti's

We love lounges at weddings. Whether they are part of the set-up inside the ballroom or in a separate room or even as a separate after-party, lounge furniture gives a wonderful vibe to a wedding. They can be sultry and sexy with great mood lighting or sleek and simple with natural light.

Image by Holland Photo Arts

Draping can create wonderful "rooms' for lounges.

 Images by Justine Ungaro

Tents are perfect for lounges!

Image by Juan Carlos Briceno

Bold accent pillows and intense pink lighting make this lounge so fun!

Image by Justine Ungaro

Paper lamps and candlelight create a wonderful setting for an after-party!

Image by Greg Gibson

Happy lounging!

Sneak Peek of a Gorgeous Indian-American Wedding!

We love this lovely wedding of Christine's that combined Indian and American traditions. Image by Connor Studios. More to come!

Win Free Wedding Photography! {Giveaways}

We’ve worked with Garrett Hubbard on multiple occasions and his studios is all about telling and sharing great stories. GH Studios has heard some great engagement stories from their clients over the years and they want to hear more! Share your story with them and the couple with the best one will win the grand prize - a FREE engagement session and a $2,000 wedding photography credit.

GH Studios will be accepting entries for the next few weeks and then voting will begin on Facebook. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day. Enter the contest here. Good luck!!

Zola Registry {Fabulous Finds}

One often frustrating part of the wedding process is the registry. Not that it isn't great to receive gifts but having to register at multiples stores to cover all your bases can be tiresome. And let's not forget those couples who have everything they need and would rather have a great honeymoon.

Well, now there is a great new single site registry that covers all of that! Zola is the only site that allows couples to register online for products, experiences, services, cash funds, and anything else from any store. They take care of all transactions on their site, which means your loved ones won’t find themselves bounced to outside sites, and you won’t receive duplicates of third-party items. So long to ten sets of candlesticks!

What we loved is the variety of gifts from unique experiences (Love Art, anyone?) to practical services (house cleaning--woo hoo!) to the tried and true china and flatware. And if you really don't want any kind of gifts (even the cool honeymoons), they have the option of a cash fund.

And it is super-easy to get started building a registry with Zola's Starter Collections like the "Top 10 Kitchen Items" and "Build Your Bar." Props to Zola for making the process simple and fun and for having so many cool options. Happy registering!

Love Couture Bridal {Vendor Love}

You may have noticed that our own stunning Christine Godsey got married this past weekend down in Puerto Rico. And you may have seen photos of her in her amazing wedding gown. That amazing gown came from the fabulous bridal salon, Love Couture Bridal, in Potomac.

We have adored Love Couture since the day it opened! We adore Sandy Leone, the owner, and all of her wonderful staff (below: Sandy, Laura and Amanda).

 We adore the selection of stunning designer gowns for brides, moms and maids plus shoes and one-of-a-kind styling details like belts and baubles. Such an amazing array of bridal eye candy!!

 We adore the spacious dressing rooms and the beautiful salon decor, as well!

We adore the easy-to-get-to location right off the beltway and all of the free parking (woo-hoo!). But what cements Love Couture as an Engaging Affairs favorite is their customer service and how well they treat each bride. We have had so many happy brides get gowns at Love Couture! If you're looking for a gorgeous gown and want the full "bride experience" be sure to make an appointment at Love Couture!

Happy dress shopping and lots of love to our friends at Love Couture!
xoxo
Laura, Christine and Amanda