Events in the City: Beyond the Skyline

Washingtonian Unveiled Show!

We absolutely loved participating in the Washingtonian Unveiled Bridal Show. We certainly met some amazing potential clients, chatted with our industry colleagues and were blow away by all the talent in our great city. Take a gander at we dreamed up and brought to life. We are so thrilled that everyone loved our color scheme, play on patterns and of course, our Pantone inspired gown  Enjoy the eye candy! 

You can also check out some highlights from the show, and cough cough slide seven, from BizBash's coverage, HERE.

Florals Designed by: Holly Chapple Flowers
Calligraphy Crafted by: Meant To Be Calligraphy
Photos Graciously Taken by  Imijination Photo

 

Sherri & Mike: 30% Precipitation,100% Anticipation

Sherri and Mike were married at River Farm in Alexandria, VA in January 2011 adn we still reference this winter stunner often. We had the absolute honor of working with them over the three months in designing and booking all aspects of their wedding. For the creative types that we are....this was a dream come true. Sherri was working hard at both her job and a growing baby bump (if you've even seen a more beautiful pregnant bride at 6 1/2 months let me know...she was stunning as you can see). And now proud mama of a gorgeous baby girl.

They wanted to keep this very VIP. We had 22 guests in total which were mainly immediate family and a few close friends. This allowed not only a lot of wiggle room for creative touches but a lot of personalization.

We brainstormed together during our first meeting back in November and kept up the momentum over the holidays in gathering ideas, items big and small and hiring the perfect vendors to make such a beautiful historical venue POP in a new way!

Check out this great wedding that kicked off a record year for Events In The City....

Hotel Monaco in Old Town Alexandria is one of my favorite hotels to send clients to. Its location can't be beat and I have always had such a great experience with their staff.

Sherri wished for snow and SHE GOT IT! She's wearing boots under her dress here. Mike and Sherri were troopers as they pranced around the grounds at River Farm. What amazing shots with the icy Potomac River in the background!

Janet Flowers created gorgeous bouquets for the bride and Matron of Honor. Plus this gave us an opportunity to use anemones...the white and black flower you see here...one of our current obsessions.
Glad the one odd shaped birch placecard holder I had came in handy for this perfect picture! Sherri's engagement diamond looks stunning, like a piece of ice, fit for a queen. Mike's bevelled wedding band also goes well with this natural theme.
This wreath hung on the front door at River Farm and greeted guests as they arrived. Sherri loved it so much, we packed it up for her to take home and enjoy the rest of the week on their front door, at home they now share together in Old Town Alexandria.
The parlor inside of River Farm served as our ceremony location. We moved the furniture out of this room and into the small foyer for seating during cocktail hour. Frost Lighting lit the room with a candlelit glow. The picture window served as the perfect backdrop.

And now for the reception.....we want to Thank Sherri and Mike for trusting our vision and crazy ideas. We are so pleased that is turned out the way that it did and something we've never attempted at River Farm by transforming their ballroom into a winter wonderland....

So your probably thinking....whats with the panels on the walls? River Farm has local artists feature paintings inspired by their gardens, as River Farm is the headquarters for the American Horticultural Society. Though they consist of beautiful water colored flowers, it just didn't go with this theme. Since we can't remove them and pipe & drape was just out of budget, we did the next best thing....GO TO IKEA! We bought fabric panels and had one of our handy interns (thanks Madeline!) construct 16 panels to hang over the paintings. In each corner we had birch tree panels (yes, what a perfect coincidence this pattern was available) to accent Janet Flowers huge birch and crystal trees.


Another great find...the Birch Tree forest picture. It served as a great way to cover up a photo hanging above the mantel and create a "window" into the path ahead that Mike and Sherri will travel together. The happy couple kept this canvas to have in their house. What can we say...we love a double duty item you can use again!

I also have to mention the blue lighting was a leap of faith but it really did work well. I personally never noticed that amazing tooth-like crown molding inside the ballroom. So pretty.Vases were wrapped with bark, we used tablerunners from Crate and Barrel to outline the satellite pieces that ran down the table. And even though I had to convince Sherri just a bit to go with these unique Murano glasses from DC Rental, it really amped up the regal factor for this winter wedding.




Having only 22 guests made this long table an easy choice to fill this room in a special way. We had the bride and groom sit in the middle facing all of their guests. What a stunning scene to walk into and see this! Guests all gasped as they walked in...I think everyone felt very special and honored to there.

GORGEOUSNESS!


WOWIE ZOWIE!!! Like I mentioned before we were fortunate enough to be able to personalize so many aspects of this wedding because of the VIP guest count. We picked up coffee mugs from Anthropologie and stuffed a single serving of hot chocolate and a peppermint swizzle stick in each mug. Barbara Fleagle from Details, Details in Leesburg calligraphied these recycled luggage looking tags with each guests name. They picked these up on their way out....and trust us, no one left theirs behind like at other weddings!(and yes we couldn't help but squeeze in some fake snow for the mugs to sit on!)

Another amazing birch bark vase from Janet Flowers. It was actually accordian folded which worked really well for arranging these flowers onsite.

One of their family traditions is for these disco baby blue tuxedo jackets to be brought out during every wedding and be passed around to all the male guests. Sherri arranged for disco music to accompany their entrance back into the reception!

(I was secretly hoping for a coordinating orange sherbert jacket, top hats and canes to bust out for a Dumb and Dumber act but Mike set me straight in the coat closet on that what the back story was...hehe)

We wish Sherri and Mike all the luck in the world and were just so honored to be apart of this special day. We had so much fun....as you can see!

Thank you to all our vendors that made this production so easy and beautiful:

Venue: River Farm - Janet Daniels

Florist: Janet Flowers Wedding and Event- Janet Flowers

Catering & Cake: Ridgewells - Deirdre Feely

Rentals: DC Rental - Liz Waylan

Lighting: Frost Lighting - Fred Elting

Transportation: A La Carte Transportation - Rick Ghannam

Photography: Jan Michele Photography - Jan Graves

Officiant: Father Tom Lenhard

Harpist & Music: Grabielismo Productions - Pablo Grabiel, Jan Holland

Hair: Sommer Seneca

Makeup: Faces By SAM - Suzanne A. Minskey

Hotel: Hotel Monaco - Mauricio Quiroga

A'Hoy Matey! Blue Seas Ahead...

We're completely on board with the continuing trend of nautical navy & white striped patterns. Navy is the new black in our world and are looking forward to some amazing weddings this year using some of these ideas.

In the meantime, you don't have to be coastal to add these colors to your home, personal wardrobe, or private event. Bon Voyage!

Picture #1: Kathryn Foley on Pinterest. Picture #2: Coastal Creations & Design. Picture #3: Allison Banta on Pinterest. Picture #4: Marie Claire "Fashion on Deck".

Meredith & Lewis' Rustic Virginia Barn Wedding

October 15th was a date that I was looking forward to for almost a year. We had been dreaming of the perfect barn wedding and when this one came in over the phone I felt an instant connection to the bride and mother of the bride. It was such a joy to work with Meredith and her mom, Mary Ann, on this special occasion. I loved the simple and unique details and the personal touches throughout. It was a joy to be involved in everything from assembling their Virginia themed welcome bags, boxing up their Catoctin Popcorn favors and threading their deep love for the Chinese culture by using the Double Happiness symbol in the wedding itself.

Meredith and Lewis were married at the stunning, hidden gem of Weather Lea Farm in Purcellville, VA on a sunny but very windy afternoon. We hired a local bluegrass band to play for her ceremony and cocktail hour. The Naked Mountain Boys were authentic and adorable and truly set off the laid back mood of the day. After the ceremony the bridal party held chinese paper umbrellas and led the wedding guests through the fields to a secluded vineyard for cocktail hour.

Meredith had been saying she wanted to have her reception in a red barn, and my goodness she found the sweetest one Ive ever seen. Under strung twinkle lights her friends and family sat around clean lines and modern china from DC Rental and amazing, thoughtful centerpieces arranged with love by Holly Chapple Flowers. They then danced away to Round Midnight's music, dined on Ridgewells amazing food catered specifically with local cuisine and some family favorites like soup, and capped the night off with local pies by Heider Farm in Lucketts.

The gorgeous menu cards and out of towner info card were made by The Dandelion Patch, Stickers for the around town envelope & favor boxes as well as the hand cut leaf escort cards and straw flags were all done by our girl Michele at Intrigue Design Studio. When we say its all in the details...this is exactly what we are talking about!

Enjoy this Virginia wedding and all its delicious details all captured by Tracy Timmester.

 




















Photography from Timmester Photography

Three Weeks to the Wedding of a Lifetime

So you may have noticed there has been a one month hiatus on the bloggy blog. Why you ask? Well we were honored to be asked to plan, design and execute an entire wedding in three weeks. From invitation (via email of course) to the entrance of the bride, we were running at full speed ahead to make this happen.

The clients, Linde & Frank, are both in their mid 60s and obeyingly followed our lead as we made their wedding come to life. The groom had never been married and Linde has been a single gal for decades. This lovely duo are not only extremely attractive, vibrant and adorable...but very much in love and have the banter between them already down pat....even though they had only been engaged since late July! They had known each other for years but we don't believe its until recently did Frank catch his girl and make this partnership official. Beyond the love they share as a couple, it was also obvious that both Linde & Frank were very loved by their friends when 130 guests from all over the country made the last minute trip to watch this beautiful soiree happen! From Linde's "Breakfast Club" to Frank's boating buddies...it was a full house of fabulous stories and reminiscing rendezvous between old friends. We feel blessed to be apart of this new memory they will all talk about for years to come in this gorgeous night.

  
We called in favors of some of our favorite vendors, Design Cuisine, Holly Chapple Flowers & Timmester Photography to whip up contracts and just trust us. Thankfully we were right at home at one of our favorite venues, River Farm in Alexandria. With NO time and IN NO time we had an amazing wedding happening in front of us and confirmation that we really can pull off anything.

Take a quick peak below at just a few highlights of our escort card table, a gorgeous and unique cascade bouquet, the amazing garden inspired tablescapes and the cutest bridal party (all great nieces of the bride & groom) you could dream up.

Love our table numbers, thanks Michelle from Intrigue Design Studio for all your printing, invitations and patience during this crazy quick turnaround!

 


 
 An amazing band played all night, The Grandsons, were a big hit with guests....of all ages!

Photos Courtesy of Timmester Photography

Tablescape Tuesday

We are loving peaches & pinks with a robins egg blue accent. And to celebrate me actually unpacking all of our milk glass this morning since ordering it months ago I thought this tablescape was just right! I guess this picture also serves a great reminder why peonies are so sought after too.....gorgeous.

 

 Picture: Martha Stewart

Red & Blue, Who Knew?

 On Saturday, May 28th, 2011 Katie Donovan and Chris Connors got married at Lansdowne Resort. It was a magical night with lots of surprises including an appearance by Neil Diamond (impersonator), a horse and carriage ride,  a killer band Go Go Gadjet and a totally unique ballroom space to entertain the 250 guests all night long.

This wedding, as I mentioned last weekend, was super special to me as I have been family friends with this bride since we were born and being apart of this was incredible. The adrenaline I had rushing all night was crazy and I cannot be happier about how everything turned out. Take a look at our hard work come to life....Special Thanks to The Donovan family for letting me do my crazy ideas!

Holly Chapple created an amazing bouquet for Katie that incorporated the essence of the day. Her bridesmaids bouquets were such a rich blue!

 
 The favors were mini martini shakers which I have been DYING to have a client take on. Each were tied with an escort card and reciepe for a Dirty Martini. Inside were two blinking ice cubes that guests toasted with later on in the night. The kiddies got old fashioned soda bottles instead!

Martini Glasses were intertwined in the arrangement that sat on top of a huge martini glass! 
An 8ft Baby's Breath Arch for the ceremony took 2 hours to build onsite and was STUNNING. 
 And now for my masterpiece....I am obsessed with juxtaposition of colors....blue & orange, pink & green and here you see my absolute fav, red & blue. Sounds scary but look how stunning this turned out to be? This slate grey blue crush linen and the deep red chairs rocked. The flowers made is elegant, the placesettings from DC Rentalmade is modern and the ambiance from the blue lighting and pinspotting from Frost topped it all off! Enjoy.....

 
More pictures to come I am sure once the professional photos start rolling in....I just couldn't wait any longer!  For more check out Andrew Reilly Photography's preview as well: Katie + Chris's Big Day!

 Photos Courtesy of Events In The City
 
 
 
 
 

Today's Bride Circa 1987 & 2011

Working in this industry there are the occasional opportunities to help out a friend who is getting hitched. Lucky for me, I have been honored to be asked by highschool classmates, sorority sisters, coworkers, and now a childhood buddy. To be involved in the designing, planning and coordination of their special day has me walking the line between consummate professional and chummy friend; something I think I do very well. Events In The City has the esteemed honor of finally executing one of the most most beautiful weddings I've ever done.....the wedding of Katie Donovan and Chris Connors on Saturday May 28th, 2011 at Lansdowne(drool worthy pictures and details to follow after this weekend fo' shizzle)

Katie's father, Jim Donovan, and my late mom worked together for years and we were very close family friends. So close that The Donovan family was literally present when I was born and we spent many a holiday and weekend bbq together. Needless to say they moved to Dallas, we stayed here and life took place. Fast forward approximately 15 years since our last meeting and Katie comes back into my life like a breathe of fresh air, now living back here in Arlington and conveniently with a wedding to plan. With nine months to go her parents, her fiance Chris and I tightened up and designed a wedding to top all weddings. To say I am excited to finally see and share this very special day with everyone is just touching the surface. But more importantly it was a fabulous chance for us to rekindle the friendship that we started in our childhood. 

Katie and I at one of my childhood homes...around 1987 if my calculations are correct. Which are purely based on my matching mom-jean cuffs and suspenders, in conjunctionwith Katie's gynormous bow and Osh'Kosh overalls.

  
 Katie and I at her out of towners dinner party on The Odyssey dinner cruise on Thursday night. She lost the bow and I am obviously missing the triangle of bangs but still the same two silly girls at heart.

 

On a side note, I would like to thank one of the most amazing mother of the bride's I have ever dealt with, Jane Donovan. If I didn't know her since I was born (really) I would say she was too good to be true. Not only am I in awe of the generosity they have towards their guests this weekend but also the true love both her and Mr. Donovan have for their daughter. I am SO thrilled to have them back in my life....and I know this weekend is just the beginning of a wonderful marriage, a renewed special friendship and something very beautiful for all. Thanks Donovan's for having me along for the ride!

 

 Pictures Courtesy of Events In The City and a family album from The Donovan Vault

Something Old… is Something New

I have to start by saying I just love that we are seeing this more and more. Brides are taking vintage pieces and breathing new life into them. Three cheers for milk glass! There isn't a person out there that hasn't come across milk glass in their travels. Whether it was in your grandmothers china hutch, on your 3rd grade teachers desk, or perhaps you even received a pink carnation in it from  a Valentine's secret admirer. Milk glass has a special place in many of our hearts. I fully applaud the return of the classic milk glass paired with bright, fresh, and full of personality buds!

 

One of our brides from last spring made a huge statement with her  arrangements and I just love the contrast and repitition of design elements. The Meridian House in Washington, DC was the perfect setting for this gorgeous wedding. Atmosphere lit the space with a sunny yellow to carry our theme and drench the wall in a festive glow.

 
Milk glass comes in all shapes and sizes and worked perfectly giving height, dimension, to these crisp memorable centerpiece. The tight pops of yellow flowers were placed by Growing Wild Floral Company.

The bride handmade the tablenumbers with picture frames, knocked out the glass and wrapped the backing with a navy blue and white damask print. The numbers themselves were housenumbers from a home store like Home Depot! We were even lucky enough to find votives from Crate and Barrel that had similar dipples to the milk glass and... 
 ...we found the perfect glass chargers from DC Rental that repeated the dipples!
 
 Keeping with the vintage look, paper products can really step up the uniquness and compliment your vintage milk glasses. The bride handmade these yellow flowers poofs and we tied them on accordian folded white napkins. We did this days before to save time the night of the event itself!
 

The bride and I decided that using day to day household items instead of the traditional gift card box would both be interesting and great for down the road. We always believe that if you can use something again, its worth it! Here the bride knocked out the back of picture frames of all different sizes, and we arranged them on the Meridian House's grand ballroom table. Placecards sat inside!

We used gorgeous white lanterns for a gift card holder...which the bride has in her house to this day! 
 
If you've ever been to the Meridian House you know their Linden Grove is so special. Since cocktail hour was held outside, the paper lanterns were a great way to accent these amazing trees. 

Photo Credits Etsy  &  Timmester Photography