Rachel & Adam

July 14

Washington, DC

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Q & A with the Bride

What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

We knew we wanted to have a city wedding but didn’t want a traditional, formal hotel.  The Hotel Monaco in downtown DC was exactly what we were looking for in a reception venue:  fun, colorful, and modern yet full of history as the former General Post Office of DC.  The hotel maintains so many original details like marble columns and stairways, and the ballroom is in the old  library.

We were lucky to find the historic Sixth & I synagogue right down the street for the ceremony.  More than 100 years old, it was absolutely stunning with a beautiful domed ceiling and an intimate atmosphere.  It was perfect.

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

Green Flowers: I wanted bright lime and green flowers to contrast with the teal bridesmaids’ dresses and teal ties for the groomsmen.  My florist used green roses, hydrangeas, orchids, berries, and more.  I loved how it all came together, and it matched my lime green peep-toe heels.

Our Cocktail: Adam and I love spicy cocktails, so we opted for a special drink to kick off the evening.  Chili and horseradish vodka, grapefruit, fresh basil, and seltzer.  Did everyone love it?  Probably not – but we did – and that’s all that matters!

Mom’s Toffee Favors: My mom’s homemade chocolate toffee candy is a favorite treat, and we wanted to share it as parting gift to all of our friends and family.  We gave Adam’s mom and aunt the recipe, and they starting baking and packaging it up weeks in advance.

If you could offer one piece of advice for other couples planning their wedding, what would it be?

Outsource!  Hire a planner and enjoy the ride.  The last thing you and your family want to do on wedding day is worry about details. 

Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about.

Strolling through the streets of DC, our photographer in tow, following the big reveal.  Even though there were crowds of people around, it felt like we had the city to ourselves.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of Adam, and I couldn’t stop smiling.  

Maggie & Justin

July 28

Union Mills, Maryland

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Q & A with the Bride:

What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

The simplicity of the barn and the overall setting. It was beautiful on its own, so we knew it would be beautiful with any of our personal touches.

Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The oversized red balloons

2. My son and nephews coming down the aisle in a red wagon

3. The vintage bottle centerpieces

If you could offer one piece of advice for other couples planning their wedding, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to do something different; thinking outside the box will usually allow you to not only make it more personal, but also less expensive.

Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about.

As my husband and I said our vows my seven-month-old son decided to put in his two cents. Jackson shouted out gibberish as I was about to say my vows it was perfect time and nice to have his approval.

Amy & Brett

September 10

Lenox, Massachusetts

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

Growing up, I spent summers in Lenox at camp and have always loved the Berkshires. My husband and I enjoyed a number of weekend getaways in Lenox and celebrated a joint family Thanksgiving there in 2009 not long before we got engaged. I had read about Stonover Farm in a few magazines and wanted to stay there. In January 2010, we were on our way up to Deerfield and decided to spend a night at Stonover Farm. Even though it was the middle of winter, we fell in love with it. When we got engaged, we didn’t consider any other venues. We knew that Stonover Farm would be absolutely perfect. It offered everything that we were looking for – a beautiful setting that was relaxed and sophisticated at that same time. We loved the idea of having multiple and distinct events (ceremony on the lawn, cocktails by the pond, dinner under a tent and dancing/dessert in the barn) at the same venue. Not to mention the fact that the blue trim of the buildings perfectly matched our colors of navy, light blue and pink!

2. Which three details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The locket pin on my bouquet – my grandmother died of cancer about a year before we got engaged. Attending our wedding would have meant so much to her, and it broke my heart that she was not able to live to be there in person. I found an antique fleur de lys locket on Etsy, put her photo inside of it and attached it to the ribbon on my bouquet. It meant a lot to me to have her with me while walking down the aisle and throughout the day. After the wedding, I gave the locket to my grandfather.

2. The food – my husband and I love good food and having a caterer that could deliver delicious food for a large number of people was really important to us. Our florist recommended Savory Harvest and Michael was incredible. He really listened to our guidance and came up with menus for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding that were delicious and reflected our tastes. Lastly, my friend from childhood, Katzie Guy-Hamilton, who is a pastry chef in NYC (and a former contestant on Top Chef Just Desserts), made homemade pies (neither my husband nor I like cake that much) that added a personal touch and were incredible.

3. Drawings – My husband’s dad is a talented artist, so we added his handiwork to the day in the form of the design on the welcome bags, a hand drawn map of Lenox, and cards (included in the welcome bags) featuring his pen and ink drawings of the barn at Stonover Farm and other local landmarks.

3. Give us the one moment from your wedding day that you can’t stop thinking about. 

Our ceremony! Although it was over in record time (less than 20 minutes!), when Amanda asked me and Brett to pick our favorite photo from our wedding for a blog post, we each picked a photo from the ceremony. A friend of ours, Jim, was able to officiate our wedding thanks to Massachusetts’ “one day pass” system. Having a friend perform our ceremony made it so much more personal and special. There were touching moments and quite a bit of laughter. Standing up there with Brett, Jim and our closest friends and looking out at everyone, who came to celebrate with us, is one of my favorite memories of the day.

Joni & David 

July 6 

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

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Q & A with the Bride:

1. What was the one thing about your venue that made you know it was the one?

We both love great food, so initially our venue’s reputation for amazing food is what piqued our interest. After seeing the beautiful view at the ceremony site and the beachfront area for the reception, we knew that this venue was “the one.” It was gorgeous and low-key at the same time, which was exactly what we wanted. We were treated wonderfully by staff of Hacienda and really couldn’t have made a better choice!

2. Which four details from your wedding were your favorites?

1. The music-We had a trio for the ceremony, and a mariachi band for the reception. I walked done the aisle to “Sweet Child of Mine,” and the recessional was “Home” by Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes. The trio did such a great job of making this fun but still classy. We the song “Home” because it is so fitting to our life. Dave and I will travel around the world for his career, so home will be “whereever I’m with you (him).” The mariachi band was amazing, and the perfect touch for the fun celebration we wanted our wedding to be!

2. The flowers- Oh my, what can I say about the flowers? They were amazing! The tables at the reception were my favorite. It was like an absolute dream. The flowers were so beautiful, and the places settings were so perfect. I adored the napkin and flowers at the place settings. There is one photo of the tables with the ocean in the background that is to die for! My bouquet was amazing as well! 

3. The lace aisle runner- This detail gave my wedding a little bit of the vintage feel I wanted. I had a hard time deciding between a beach or vintage style, and Amy, our event designer,  did an unbelievable job at incorporating both!

4. One last thing- Amy surprised us with a caricature artist at our cocktail hour and reception. It is definitely not something I would have originally thought to include, but it was so great. He was very professional and really kept people highly entertained as well as giving them a memento to take home! 

3. Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about. 

Walking down the aisle with my mother, who I love dearly. The photos of that are absolutely priceless to me. Also, seeing David at the end of the aisle smiling at me and having no control over the giant smile on my face in return! He held my hand the entire ceremony and for some reason that sticks in my mind too. 

Caroline & Ryan

May 26

Charleston, South Carolina

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Q&A with the Bride:

Which details from your wedding were your favorites?

The first detail that was one of my favorites was my dress!  Ever since I first tried it on I never wanted to take it off.  When I put it on for our wedding, I just couldn’t believe that I was lucky enough to be wearing such a gorgeous dress.  The second detail would be that we were able to have our fur babies in the wedding.  We had thought of the idea a long time ago, but we just didn’t know how everything would work out.  In the end we were so happy we put the dogs in the wedding.  Our two Siberian Huskies, Samson and Mya, were perfect, and they looked so cute with Samson wearing his light blue bow tie and Mya wearing her light blue and brown tutu.  The last detail, which I am so grateful for is that all of our closest family and friends were able to attend.  We weren’t sure how that would work out with us choosing a destination wedding, but when they all showed up to celebrate with us it just made our day even more special.

Give us the one moment in your wedding day you can’t stop thinking about.

The moment that I can’t stop thinking about is the moment where my dad and I first turned the corner to walk down the aisle.  I will never forget this moment for two reasons: the first is seeing Ryan’s face at the end of the aisle.   Words cannot describe the emotions that were pouring from his face at that point.  When I saw his face, I saw all of the genuine and pure love that he has for me, and at that point I knew how wonderful of a man I was about to marry.  The second reason I love this moment is because I had the first man I would ever love, my dad, walking me down the aisle to meet the man who would take his place, and he never faltered one step.  My dad was there for me at that pivotal moment, fully supporting me and my decision to get married, which just showed how deep his love for me is.  So to be in that moment with the two men who love me the most was just breathtaking.