Centerpieces, Schmenterpieces....

Ugh. Centerpieces. Should I be excited about this? I feel totally lost on what to do. At first, I was just so uninspired by anything I could find online. Nothing felt right to me, or represented my taste and sense of style. i wanted something chic and unique.Floral centerpieces are gorgeous. I see that, but I am not the biggest flower person and I think alternative ideas are an easy way to save money. But what? My original idea, to my Mother CP's dismay, was goldfish. I have this vision of various odd shaped vases with navy stones and goldfish. 3 or so on each table. How cute, right? I couldn't find a good picture but kind of like this.

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The worry was the fish dying during dinner and then having to have someone on goldfish duty. I mean, can you imagine eating dinner, enjoying your dinner and seeing a dead fish floating in the centerpiece? There is also the problem of what to do with them afterwards. Would people take them? Should I supply goldfish food and baggies? I still love the idea though and am trying to think I fit would work for the cocktail hour centerpieces, but to have 20+ fish may not be the smartest idea.
So on to a new idea. What about odd shaped candle holders? I love this picture and it would look gorgeous in a room with no windows.

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I have always loved floating candles. They are romantic and make the room glow. So maybe something like this?source

So I was flipping through a Pottery Barn catalog, I came across some lanterns. They were colorful and modern and were totally my style. Could they work for a wedding? A black tie wedding, specifically? I rushed over to the store to see them in person. And then I bought 18 of them. What do you think? They are much bigger than they appear. Imagine Pillar candles in them, and tea lights all around them.

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Here are the ones I actually got, sitting on my window ledge. Aren't they unique and just so pretty? I plan on using a mirrored tile under and little tea lights all around it.

Have you thought of, or seen any unique ideas for non-traditional centerpieces?

To DJ or not to DJ

As fiancé and I have recently - finally - compiled a budget, we decided on a $500 budget for the DJ. It's not a do or die thing - I MUST HAVE A DJ - no no, it's not like that. I'd prefer one but upon some first searches, most of the DJ's I've come across thanks to DC Knottie Reviews and similar sites, is most are between $600-$1000 that I've seen.

So I ran the idea by Fiancé - we're paying for a dance floor but perhaps we could just do an IPod wedding. Perhaps it might not be so bad. Our planner at our reception hall offered to Emcee it for us if we so desired, and could put the IPod behind the bar so that we can't mess with it (because I know myself and I totally would) .

But do I want entire control of the music? We have our first song picked out, I have the father-daughter dance picked out, we haven't really talked about the mother-son dance, but really? I know what songs I want played. I'm just...nervous. What if the IPod dies? I could see that happening. What if it runs out of battery? Guh. There are too many what if's for me to concern myself with but then there's the bigger what if - what if we can't find a DJ in our budget? With our guest list still about 20 people over where we want to be, we don't really have the room to go over anywhere else in the budget. *sigh*

Does anyone have any experience with Ipod Weddings? What are your thoughts on the DJ v. IPod debate?

A Heart Attack in Waiting

We got an email from our planner at our reception hall (well, restaurant) yesterday. He started the email by saying "this is worst case scenario, we can talk about all options next week."

110 people. Open bar, roaming appetizers, and steak for entree's for $13,000. I did have the heart attack as our planner suspected I might. But then I thought about it and in all reality isn't that horrible. Especially considering I know people who have spent $50k on weddings.

Unfortunately, my budget is much much smaller than that. I'm blessed with a father who's giving us a decent chunk of change, unfortunately that chunk is not even half of the $13,000. I have a mother who is trying to help, future in laws who want to help and well...Fiancé and I are just trying to pay down debt and save. The two aren't exactly helpful...but it's what we got and we've gotta make like Project Runway and "make it work."

We managed to look at the proposal last night, the options we were given, and knock it down to around $4500 not including tax and gratuity. Not too shabby. Of course we're also knocking a chunk of our guest list down, inviting about 100 people instead of 120 and expecting about 75 because about 90% of our guests are from out of town. This is down from an original guest list of about 150.

Earlier in the week, I was about to have a major bridezilla moment if I didn't get that proposal, considering we expected it back in September. Luckily, I kept Bridezilla GP in the box and tamed myself. Glad I did because despite the fact that the planner has been slightly MIA over the past month and a half he's a good guy and wants to make this into exactly what we want. Awesome. It is entirely doable, we might not have a lot of appetizers, but we've been at weddings where the appetizers were all devoured, at weddings that had a sushi chef, various carving and pasta stations as well as a stir fry sous chef - while it's all lovely, I could barely eat my meal after that and was so stuff I could barely dance. I don't want that at my wedding, maybe a nice cheese spread, maybe. Knowing my family, they'll all be crowded around the bar anyhow. But for me it's an extra $2,000 that well...to be honest, we can't really afford.

My family members from Vermont aren't exactly... super classy. Many of them are borderline...hillbillies, bless their hearts, I love them to death but they are. My family (either side fyi), have not had the classiest of weddings over the years. For example, of the weddings that I've been to of family members; one of my cousins wedding was in her mothers back yard with my younger cousins getting drunk in the basement (I was 19 and no, I was not in the basement, I was driving). Another cousin's wedding, which I was a flower girl in at the age of 4, ended up with two family members in a fist fight. My grandmother's wedding in 2001 (yes my maternal grandmother remarried at the age of 70) had my uncle and cousins doing jello shots. So I don't think appetizers are a deal breaker in whether my family has fun or not. Fiancé's family is a bit more classy than mine, but I think the FMIL would rather invite ten more of her friends (that the room won't fit) than have appetizers - if it came down to that option (which it won't). I'm not a scrooge here, or even a "bridezilla." I just know that my family, at the very least, will likely all be getting down on the dance floor with their Miller Lights not enjoying the baked brie or crab dip during the "cocktail hour."

What about you all? Are appetizers - roaming or a spread - a necessity at your wedding or just an added cost that you don't want to deal with?

36 Hours in Charlottesville

Attention all you CVille brides out there! The New York Times just published an article on what to do, where to eat, and where to stay when you have 36 Hours in Charlottesville. This would be GREAT to send any of your out of town guests (in our case that was everybody!) or include in their welcome bags. 

I'm also really happy to say that my reception site (and the reception site of Miss Charlottesville), The Clifton Inn,  was featured as an Editor's pick for top place to stay and top place to eat!  So if you are thinking of having your wedding there I think you might have just gotten a little more competition. 

And if you're looking for a place to do a mini-moon I highly recommend getting away to Cville. 

Say "I Do" to the Open Bar

This beer's all ready for the black-tie wedding!
from beeradvocate.com

I am fortunate in life to have wonderful friends with many and sundry unique talents such that I never want for advice or assistance when life presents me a problem. Helping me with all my alcohol problems (haha, beer humor) is my friend and bridesmaid, A. Not only is she a beer enthusiast, but also a beer professional as she works for a national distributor bringing delicious beverages to your favorite watering holes. She asked if she could share some of her knowledge with all of you via a guest post and I jumped on the opportunity...so without further ado:

Dearest DCNearlyweds,

I am a bridesmaid in Miss Fairfax’s wedding next October, and have really enjoyed reading all of your posts these past few months (every workday needs a distraction!) There was one post in particular, from Miss Gallery Place, about her concern over providing an open bar on a small budget. Let’s be honest, weddings are less fun without open bars. I myself have been to five weddings already this year (with another one this Sunday!) and belieeeeeve me, nothing says “I Don’t” like paying for drinks.

BUT FEAR NOT!

Not only am I a bridesmaid, but I also work for a beer distributor here in DC and do lots of event planning. And when I read Miss Gallery Place’s post – I begged Miss Fairfax to let me provide everyone with a little beer math in the hopes that at least some of your wedding planning pains might be eased. The main question you have to ask is – do I want liquor at this event, or just beer and wine? I personally think that liquor is a little trickier (and makes guests a little sloppier). But here’s a suggestion:

My boyfriend’s sister got married last year - and they just went to the ABC store in Maryland (go there, it’s cheaper because alcohol isn’t regulated by the state like it is in VA and NC) and bought x-dollars worth of liquor and told the bartenders at the reception to pour until it ran out. After that, you were out of luck. They also had light beer (Miller Lite cans).* And they didn’t run out. There was a small corkage fee at the reception hall, but nothing compared to the total cost of allowing a reception hall to run your open bar. Yikes.

Now, if you’re just into beer and wine, think of it like this:

The estimate I came up with is based on Miss Gallery Place’s 80 person count, this can be adjusted for your guest count, and a budget of $800.00.

If there are 80 wedding guests in attendance, and you are also serving wine, assume about 50 guests will drink beer. Be generous with your guests (especially the guys) and assume that everyone will have a maximum 6 drinks apiece. Therefore:

50 guests x 6 drinks = 300 drinks

300 drinks / 24 (beers in a case) = approx. 13 cases (I rounded up)

The five most common beers served at any reception are Miller Lite, Yuengling, Corona, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams Lager. Twelve-packs of these brands should be available for under $15.99 in the District (Corona has the lowest pricing here in DC than in any other market in the country) and in some cases will be even less (like $10.99 per twelve-pack).** For the sake of math let’s say you buy 26 12-packs (13 cases) in an assortment of flavors:

26 (12-packs) x $15.99 (per case) = $415.74

$415.74 + $37.42 (9% sales tax) = $453.16

This leaves you roughly $350.00 of your $800 budget for wine and non-alcoholic beverages (if that isn’t already included in your per-plate total). Harris Teeter carries an excellent white Mediterranean wine for about $6.99 and Trader Joe’s has a great red wine (a cab-sauv mix) for $5.99 a bottle.***

The conclusion to this novella of a post? Open bars are soooo do-able, and for relatively cheap. I hope this helps – good luck everyone!

*Don't dis the can! It's the perfect excuse to offer your guests the wedding favor of choice for all the young prepsters down south, the WEDDING KOOZIE! And as my dear friend who has quite a collection advised me, "don't forget to order enough to give out at all your showers, engagement parties, and reception and also send the whole bridal party home with 15 after the wedding."Koozie and matching programs from clared23 on flickr

**While Costco is not always cheaper, doing a price comparison with your local grocery store can be worthwhile. Costco is also a great place to get your N/A bevs like water and soda.

***If you have a neighborhood wine shop, check them out too. They may be able to assist you by finding a distributor that supplies a wine you like at a price point that fits your budget. We love Unwind in Alexandria, and have already been in to talk to Vanessa about wines. She's going to help us find wine and Champagne at our price point. More on this later...

Curse of the Open Bar

Our friends like to drink. Now, they're not alcoholics, not anymore at least, or rather, I hope.

Given this, an open bar is important to us. Unfortunately, our budget (which I still haven't figured out...) is not open bar friendly.

So I did some thinking, and some more thinking, and thinking how less fun all those open bar weddings we've been to the past two years would have been if they hadn't been open bar. Especially the ones we traveled to. Thus, I want to pay my pals the same courtesy. They're all traveling from Boston, Vermont, Connecticut, etc...so I want to give back to them and you know, not make them pay $10 for a drink.*

I thought some more. Daddy GP is giving us a set amount of money for the wedding. Unfortunately, my parents can't pay for the whole thing thus the limited budget. So I thought, and I thought, and hey! What about a set amount of money for the open bar and after that they pay?

So say we have 80 people, at $30ish/plate that'll be about $2500 give or take with another $x thousand for the open bar and wham bam thank you ma'am each person gets about 3-5 drinks, for the five hour reception. Where as if we have full open bar, it's about $80/person. Meaning not including tax and gratuity? Roughly $6500 or so. Definitely out of our budget. With the new option though, Daddy GP's money, we should be able to pay for more than 3/4 of our reception.

Fiancé wants to also consider limited open bar (beer and wine), and see what the real price difference is. Considering we haven't met with our planner since we put down the deposit, we should probably do that sometime so we have a better idea how much we need to save up for in the next eleven months (eep! Already 11 months?!?!). For the past few months I've been of the mindset "whatever the 'rents don't pay for, we'll pick up." Unfortunately, that is becoming less and less of a realistic option since you know, we're not millionaires.

For all you gals on the baby budgets, how are you all handling the open bar question??

*I heard a story of a gal I knew who didn't have an open bar at her wedding and some friends had to pay something like $8-$9 for a lighter beer. That will not be my wedding. I promise.

Miss Capitol Hill Wedding Recap - Some Details

I promise I'm going to finish recapping my wedding even if it kills me. My only excuse is that life really does go on after you get married and you slowly emerge from the wedding fog.  So to make up for my absence I'll post some shots of the one thing most of you care about...Details!

As always, all photos below the work of Linda Wallace 

^This is what our large main table on the verandah of the Clifton Inn looked like before the flowers. I like this pic cause you can see the beautiful chairs that come included with the rental price of the Inn. 

^ Escort Card Table

^As I mentioned earlier, all the paper was done by Etsy seller andbear 

^Each guest had a name card and menu (both courtesy of andbear) as well as a little favor waiting for them at their seat. 

^These are our adorable and affordable favor boxes that I blogged about so long ago. Inside each we had a chocolate wrapped in foil that matched our kelly green theme.  The great part is the leftover boxes can be used to decorate our first Christmas tree together. 

^Menus by andbear 

^I LOOOVED our reception flowers from Blue Ridge Floral. Crisp, clean, elegant...exactly what I wanted. 

^These calla's were repurposed from our ceremony 

^This was the flower girl's pomander that she quickly discarded

^A nice shot of our guests enjoying themselves at dinner

^A quiet moment while the rest of us were on the dance floor outside 

Vendors So Far:

Video- Monachetti

Photography - Linda Wallace

Hair/Makeup- Daphne Latham

Dress Designer - Vwidon

Dress Salon - Promise for the Savvy Bride

Shoes - Vera Wang new from Ebay

Bracelet- Carolee

Veil- Occansey Design

Purse - Belk

Hair Flower - Ella's Alley

Flowers - Blue Ridge Floral

Suits- Men's Wearhouse

Ties - Wild Ties

Socks - The Gap

Bridesmaid Dresses - Maggy London from Nordstrom

Flower Girl Dress- Rare Editions from Dillards

Sportscar - Sports Car Rental

Reception/Accommodations - The Clifton Inn

Getaway Streamerthrows - Aerotechnic

Paper - Andbear

Candy Bar & Wedding Packaging

FI and I decided to steer away from the traditional favor, and we are opting to offer our guests a candy bar/candy buffet during the reception, so they can select their favorite sweet treats. It took us a while to find the right packaging for the candy, but thorough research paid off, and I found Nashville Wraps. They sell commercial and bulk packaging, including bags, cakes boxes, and takeout containers. They can custom print your items, and they even offer eco-friendly packaging options.

I've compared pricing to local craft stores and discount stores, and Nashville Wraps had the best pricing for what we wanted. Their products are of great quality, and they specify which packaging is food grade. We ordered the 200 printed cello bags that we wanted, and they arrived pretty quickly. So far, we've also purchased about a dozen apothecary jars or varying shapes and sizes. We'd like to have our candy bar look something like this when we are finished.

Our Pseudo-Destination Wedding

Hello Nearlyweds! I am Miss Glen Allen, the newest addition to your favorite blogging team. FI and I are getting married on Good Friday, April 10, 2009 in Glen Allen, VA, just north of Richmond. Our wedding will be held at Virginia Crossings Resort, a tiny, tucked away golf resort that we just love. Everyone always asks us why we're getting married in Central Virginia when FI is from NY. I am from NJ, and we live in Howard County, MD. So, here's the reason. A couple of years ago, I moved to the Richmond area to take a new job. Not long afterwards, we got engaged and the search began for the perfect location. Naturally, our families wanted us to get married closer their homes in NY or NJ. However, we have a fairly modest budget for our wedding. We are hosting the wedding ourselves, and we have no desire to pay the $200 per person that is so common at venues up north. We expanded our search to PA, where my brother lives; Maryland, where we both went to college (Morgan State - Go Bears!) and where FI still lived; and finally VA, my home at the time. We found that the farther away the venues were from major metropolitan areas, the better the pricing got, without compromising quality. I remember the when I discovered the perfect place. I was "working" one day, really looking at Virginia wedding venues online, when I stumbled upon Virginia Crossings Resort listed on a common wedding site. I visited the resort's website, and loved what I saw. I thought the round courtyard was just so cute and unique. They are also the featured venue for the NBC12 Dream Wedding. I looked at their address and thought, 'Wait! I live off of that street.' When I mapped it, I found that it was actually a mile away from my home. I went to VCR that same day, drove through the gates, and I was blown away. It has that WOW! factor that every bride can appreciate. You would never guess that this little piece of heaven is tucked right there. 20 acres of immaculately maintained golfers' and romantics' paradise, nestled in amongst new home communities and quaint villas, but still convenient to major highways, railways, and the airport. Their standard wedding package offers all the features that other places consider extra. Our wedding is costing less than $100 per person, and we are getting a great value. I never wanted to get married at some huge place where six weddings are going on at once. VCR is small enough that I will be the only bride on our day, which is great because I don't want to see anyone else in a white dress on my wedding day. Even our flower girl will be wearing yellow.

This is Virginia Crossings Resort. The building on the left holds the ballroom, meeting rooms, and restaurant. The building on the right holds the guest rooms. I will be walking down the long aisle from the center, mansion-style building.


We decided to have an outdoor ceremony in the round courtyard, and in the center building on the second floor, just above the columns is a beautiful little dressing room for the bride and her attendants. I'll be able to look out the window of that room and see everything and everyone in the courtyard.



Our reception will be in their Henrico Ballroom.

So after researching venues in 5 states, and DC, VA worked out best for us. Our wedding will end up being a pseudo-destination wedding. We live 2 1/2 hours away from the venue, and I love it! It's close enough to home and to our family that everyone can get to it with minimal travel expenses. None of our wedding guests live in Virginia, so the wedding can be a nice little weekend getaway for them. Also, since FI and I don't live close to the venue, it makes us plan our time well when we visit the Richmond area. We schedule several wedding meetings on the same Saturday, so we don't have to take time off from work. Since our vendors know that we live far away, they are more inclined to accommodate our scheduling needs. During these wedding day-trips FI and I take together, he is actively involved in every meeting, idea, and decision that day, and it works out well. We each have a great time and feel like we've accomplished alot in that day.

Miss Capitol Hill Wedding Recap - Why You Should Have a Receiving Line

In continuation of my wedding recap - Husband and I left the church and drove down the road to our reception site at The Clifton Inn.   For my reception I was sure of a couple of the things from the start and one of those golden rules was : There would be absolutely no MC/DJ type introductions of the wedding party or of Husband and I at dinner.   I hate these at weddings...I hate being part of them and I hate watching them...it always makes it seem like a circus or a production to me instead of a nice gathering of friends and family. I was going for intimate and warm not Price is Right "come on down!" 

What I wanted instead was something that is kind of going out of fashion...a receiving line. I really wanted to greet people at the door of our cute Inn and welcome them to our reception...as though I was welcoming them into my own home. I wanted them to feel a personal connection immediately and not stand around waiting for the bride and groom to make an appearance.   All over the wedding world I see comments about how horrible receiving lines are, but I think that's probably b/c most people don't do them right.   

I think in order for receiving line to be successful you should adhere to a two key rules

1) You need to have a small wedding.  Sorry, but receiving lines take too long and get jammed up if you want to say hello to each of your 400 guests. Part of the reason people hate receiving lines is because they have to wait around. And really if you have a large wedding then intimacy isn't probably one of your main goals to begin with and the receiving line would just seem mechanical cause you couldn't actually spend time talking to each guest. 

2) It needs to be just you and husband.  This might be controversial especially if your parents are hosting but when you start adding parents, grandparents, wedding party, etc. then that's what slows the line down and people are standing around and waiting again.  Plus many guests may not know your parents or your maid of honor so they will probably feel awkward having to shake their hand and say some niceties.  But everyone there knows either you or your husband and they are all their too see you, so no one feels awkward saying hello. 

The bonus of the receiving line is that you don't have to go around table to table later, since you've already talked to everyone at least once....this means that you and Husband actually get to eat! 

All photos below the work of Linda Wallace 

^Waiting at the door of the Clifton Inn as our guests arrived

^Hugging and laughing with Husband's extended family

^We were lucky that there was only one way into our reception site so all of our arrivals were staggered since they had to drive in one-by-one. We never had a line of people waiting. 

^You might recognize this couple from Ben's awesome travel blog The Flashpacker and from their wedding last November. 

^Still more hugs!

^Our photographer was able to catch pictures with us and many of our friends and family during the receiving line. The artsy shots are great, of course, but honestly these types of pictures are what your guests will probably put in a frame or print out for themselves. And if you live in Chicago and are looking to buy or sell a house then make sure you contact that smiling face above! 

Miss Capitol Hill Wedding Recap - The Video

I know I've been major MIA lately, but I'm back to go through the details of my wedding day!

Unlike most brides who like to reveal the wedding to you piece by piece starting with the beginning of their day I'm going to do the exact opposite and show you the whole thing all at once and then go back to the details! I'm going to start with one of my favorite wedding vendors, our videographer - Michael Eller from Monachetti.

Check out our awesome video below (don't worry it's only about 6.5 minutes, so it'll be a good little break from the work you're supposed to be doing).

^Needless to say much of the video quality is lost when it's played through youtube, but the original is full sized, super crisp, and the lighting is better.

I've spoken before about my earlier disdain for wedding videography, so no one was more surprised then me that one of my favorite things from the wedding is something I once swore I didn't even want.

Here are just some of the reasons I'm thrilled with Monachetti -

1) Unobtrusive - Mike from Monachetti was barely noticeable throughout the day. I've seen videographers at other weddings with huge cameras, bright lights, and the cameraman literally in the face of the bride, groom, and guests. But with Mike there were no lights and no giant cameras, and he definitely wasn't in my face...just him and a handheld. I barely noticed he was there.

2) Open - For the most part, I'd like to think I'm not too demanding of a bride but I did have a couple requests. I wanted the video to be in black and white and I wanted the music to be completely un-wedding related (and no country). I didn't want any of the good ol' standards like "at last" or "the way you look tonight." This wasn't a problem. And even after all the editing was done and I wanted a couple extra things added they had a new version done up in less then 24 hrs.

3) Real - Husband and I aren't super models. Our wedding isn't going to be in the next issue of Martha Stewart. We're real people, with a real wedding, and I wanted an authentic video of the day. I LOVE the documentary style of our video. What I hate most about other forms of wedding videography is the overuse of what I call "tricks" - like putting everything in slow motion to make it seem more dramatic, or using soft focus to make things seem romantic. I didn't want our wedding to seem like a Hollywood production. I wanted it to be real. I wanted our video to show us how we truly are....real people---not movie stars. I wanted our video to reflect how our wedding really was. I think Monachetti really captured the spirit of the day.

4) Unique - I've said it before and I'll say it again. No one in our area is doing what Monachetti is doing. Their work is unique, and in my opinion exceptional. I truly believe that other videography companies in this area will have to adapt and follow Monachetti's lead. They represent the new generation of wedding videographers. Modern brides will never look back.

The Get Away!

photo credit

Since we're having an early afternoon ceremony and a cocktail reception, we'll be leaving our reception at the lovely yet early hour of 8pm. When we first chose the cocktail reception, I was a little sad to think we wouldn't be dancing into the night, but then I realized it opened the door to all kinds of fun after reception options! Among the many ideas we've considered are dinner with the wedding party or an after party at a favorite bar, both of which require a get away car (and get away outfit...more on that later).

In my wedding dreams, I see us departing the ceremony in a cool old classic car, maybe something baby blue with fins? Our venue has an awesome driveway that loops around right at the entrance, which would make for a spectacular exit and dash into the back seat!

My dilemma? Where on earth do you find a classic car for hire (with a driver please--gotta have a DD) in the Metro area??? Help a sister out, ladies!

photo credit

Cue the Mission Impossible Theme Song...

I'm off tonight for my first recon mission...I mean wedding! wedding, since getting engaged. It's kind of a big deal because:

a) it's the marriage of two dear college friends
b) it's the first cocktail wedding reception I'll have ever attended!
c) first wedding at The College

So safe to say I'm be taking TONS of pictures, probably shedding a few tears, and taking lots of notes.

Also, a little UPDATE on my flower experiment: I purchased the flowers around 11am Sunday, had them in water around noon and they looked GREAT! when I went to work yesterday morning, but by the time I got home last night the hydrangeas were definitely done. The peonies are holding strong ( I did pick 3 brown petals of one of the blooms, but with no detriment to the arrangement) and the daisies and roses look like they are in it for the long haul. The roses blooms were about half open when I bought them Sunday, and were full on open by Tuesday evening. Full disclosure: we keep our house at 70 degrees (Mr. Fairfax is my lil' space heater).

Thanks to Gary on Picasa for the picture of Wren

Rustic Elegance On Sale

If you liked the natural rustic elegance look of the wedding of Maria and Michael (as photographed by Chenin Boutwell)


And as featured in the wedding of Alexandra and Jeremy (as photographed by Woodward and Rick Photographers via the Southern Wedding Style Blog)




Then you need to get yourself over to the Crate and Barrel Summer Sale and pick up the Savannah Candelabra. It's been marked down from $119.00 to $49.95. Talk about making an impact, and it costs less then the price of most centerpieces.

The Other Side of Yellow

If you've been planning your wedding anytime in the last year then you are surely familiar with the bio of knottie SpringChic. Hers was the wedding that launched a thousand yellow & black themed nuptials throughout the country. And it was featured in pretty much every wedding blog...over...and over...and over again. Brides everywhere have copied her entire wedding wholesale.

And with good reason....it was fun, it was fresh, it was simple, it was modern....it's pretty much the perfect wedding. But the other day I ran across the below images from the wedding of Ellen and Caro on the Next Exit photography blog and thought it was a great example of what two different brides can do with the same space to create a different vibe.

Obviously both celebrations took place at at the Viceroy in Palm Springs. And the one thing both brides did right was work with their venue and not against it. Yellow is a key component of the design charm at the Viceroy and if they had tried to ignore it or work around it, it would have been expensive and probably unsuccessful.

Springchic used black and white as accent colors which really made the yellow vibrant and alive. Ellen and Caro used brown as an accent color which I think added a warmth to the wedding. Springchic had two gowns...both beautiful and structured which created a modern vibe while Ellen had a beautiful, unstructured, yellow Jenny Yoo gown which gave a soft and casual feel to the wedding.

I know when I was planning I loved seeing what other brides did with my venue...though none of them had the same look I was going for it was great to see how one bride's vision could transform the same space.

All photos below credited to Next Exit Photography

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Not only are the details of Demi & Frederick's Mexico wedding amazing, the photography from Parker J Pfister is simply breathtaking. I can't wait for his new site to be up and running.


^Although they look nothing alike I can't think of a bride that more resembles Grace Kelly then Demi does in this moment. Look at her elegantly gloved hands.


^Her dress was a classic


^Beautiful shot


^Don't think your bouquet has to be large to make an impact. The small size was the perfect compliment to her outfit and the bouquet brooch is amazing.

^Don't forget the bridesmaids. They all looked so elegant...and the bride's dress choice really did compliment all their figures.

^They each carried these simple yet elegant bouquets.

^Love that pop of blue. Very fitting with the Mexican location, but the white keeps it toned down and tasteful

Giving Props

Being a green and white bride myself, I naturally gravitate towards that color scheme. I really love what Jacob and Rachel did with it and how unique their wedding centerpieces were. Using props on the table alongside flowers really made their centerpieces unique and my guess would be that they cost less since the use of fresh flowers was minimal. See if you can also spot the use of fauna in addition to the flora.

All photos credited to Sarah Bussey Photography







^ I know this HAS to be the first time you've seen a turtle shell used in a wedding. If it isn't then I definitely need to hear details.

Lush from Labbancz

Now on the complete other side of the spectrum from Jenna Bush's casual soiree is this lavish wedding that Marie Labbancz had on her blog today. Even though my personal tastes learn towards the modern and subdued, it's a bit of voyeuristic fun for me to see really romantic style weddings like the one below. Hey, if you're going to go lush then you need to go all out!


^The Brides dress was a Pnina Tornai gown from Kleinfeld Bridals . I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen a white dinner jacket and tie combination (as opposed to bow tie) but I'm liking it.


^Check out that back! Silk Roses were a theme throughout the wedding


^I've often expressed my love for long tables as opposed to round...need I say more?


^Silk roses were incorporated into the invites as well


^Normally I really hate when flowergirls are dressed up as little brides (as I'm sure you can tell by my flowergirl dress) . But this dress is just so much fun I think any little girl would feel like she was in heaven in it.


^Both of the tuxes were custom made


^And of course we can't forget the cake

For more pics check out Marie's blog.

Centerpiece Alternative from CB2

I got a new CB2 catalog in the mail today and I spied a great option for a centerpiece alternative. In general I'd say most flower centerpieces average between $60-100 in our area. Multiply that by 10-20 round tables and you're looking at a $600-2,000 flower bill just for reception centerpieces.

I think the below Lumiere Candleholders bunched into groups of 5 or more would be a really modern and chic alternative. And if you're like me and hate round tables imagine how amazing these would look all lined up in a row down your long tables? I can just see the warm glow of the candlelight now.


^ The candleholders come in a clear hand blown glass style (strong as a chem lab beaker glass). They have both large ($9.95-$12.95) and small ($3.95-$4.95) styles.

^As well as a style of the same glass that has been painted silver ($4.95-5.95)

Below are some more views so you can get a feel for the overall look.













Depending on how many you get for each table and how many tables you have you could decorate your reception tables for as cheap as $250 (5 of the $4.95 candles for 10 tables).

Afterwards you could use some around the house, sell some online, or let your guests take them home (that's better then a centerpiece that dies in a few days!)

Professional Lighting...Is It Really A Must Have?

Over the last five or so years having professional lighting done for receptions has becoming increasingly common and now it's a virtual must-have for many brides.

I'm really kind of torn on the issue. On one hand I've seen really boring and horrible spaces transformed into wonderlands and I'm truly amazed at the difference it makes. And the conventional wisdom says that a bride can spend less on other decorations like flowers and get more bang for her buck with lighting. Not to mention the visual impact it has on your guests.

The other part of me feels like it's just one more thing that's been added to the "must have" list for brides and if you can't afford it then it's just one more thing your wedding is "lacking." And as much as I'd like to tell myself that brides will skimp on other decorations the reality is many will feel pressure to have amazing flowers AND lighting.

We're not going to have professional lighting done..mainly because we don't have the extra couple thousand to spare, but our space is also quite small and because it's already so beautiful it really doesn't need to be transformed into anything else.

For those brides out there who can't afford professional lighting I thought I'd include the below photos from Night Notes and Wine Spills, the photography blog of Ben Chrisman. Isn't it amazing what you can do with simple candle light???

What are your thoughts on lighting? Are you having it for your wedding?

All photos below credited to Ben Chrisman.

Sharp Wedding

If you've been reading this blog for a while then you know from previous posts that one of my favorite non-wedding blogs is Sharp Lily. Sharp Lily is a shopping blog devoted to posting great fashion finds for less $$$. Well the author of Sharp Lily is also a newlywed! She had a lovely December wedding with a classic preppy plaid look. I loved her bouquet and thought the dress was so elegant. To see more pics check out her blog and her photographer's blog.

All photos below the work of Jeff Reeder Photography

Déjà vu

You know you've been reading wedding blogs for too long when you see a Bride's photos on a blog and get excited because you know the bride...and then you realize that you don't know the bride personally at all...you know her from her blog posts! Time for me to get married...

I ran across some images from Mrs. Lime's wedding on her photographer, Michael Norwood's photography blog and she had such a lovely red and aqua wedding with such beautiful details that I thought I'd share a few shots that I hadn't seen before.

All photography below the work of Michael Norwood.

All About the Accessories

I went over to check out Marie Labbancz's blog last week after seeing her work on The Bride's Cafe, and saw the lavish wedding of Kristina and Peter. I think most of us have one item we're willing to splurge on for our attire...a fancy bag, designer shoes, sparkly stones, but this bride rocked every single fab accessory. I'm not sure, but I think her accessories might cost more then my dress...


^ She had these beautiful 5″ (yes 5!) Christian Louboutin shoes!

^She had 2 beautiful head pieces custom made by Leah C. Couture Millinery

^ And yes that is a Prada bag

^Here is the whole look. The dress is Atelier Aimee. I know the gown might be too much for some tastes (i like very simple, streamlined designs), but I love that it's 100% unique and she really works her own style. She "owns" that dress and it looks amazing on her. No one will ever mistake her for a typical bride.

J'Adore Details

Ahh the details...how we do love them. And we aren't the only ones! Southern California based photographers Jasmine Star, Drew Bittel, Trista Lerit, and Ameila Lyon love them too. So much so that they came up with a brilliant idea. They've created a website devoted to the great vendors they've worked with over the years and the little details that make for fabulous weddings.

I know you're probably thinking "how do a bunch of great California vendors help me plan my D.C. wedding?" The pictures of course! The J'Adore Details website is filled with beautiful pictures for inspiration. Click on the websites of the recommended vendors and you'll have even more details to drink in.

And as if that wasn't enough, be sure to check out the J'Adore Details Blog as well. It has just begun but with four talented photographers contributing I'm sure it will be filled with amazing photos. The blog will be updated with great little details from the brilliant weddings they shoot.



^Photo credited to DrewB Photography

^Photo credited to Jasmine Star

^Photo credited to Jasmine Star

Summer Breeze

This is the time of year when I really start to crave the warmth and color of spring. Winter still keeps trying to hang on, but I know it's on it's way out. I stumbled across these shots on the photography blog of photo artist Marie Labbancz and they totally got me in the mood for summer. It reminds me of a summer harvest but the shot of purply blue makes it new and fresh.

Marie shot this table scape for Bride and Bloom Magazine. The flowers were done by the extremely talented Donna O'Brien of Beautiful Blooms (check out her site for major floral eye candy) and the tablescapes were put together by Kendall Brown of Eclatante Event Design.

Showcasing the Cakes

Having numerous smaller cakes instead of one big cake has been a trend for a while now, but usually they are put on cute retro cake stands. I have to admit, though, the display below is pretty kicka** and very original.

Photo from photographer Jose Villa.

McPhee Wedding Photos

Ah celebrity weddings...always fun for eye candy. I like looking at celebrity weddings but honestly I haven't seen too many that I felt like I wanted to copy. I'm often struck by just how typical their weddings are. Sure there are more flowers and the cake is bigger but it's still just a wedding. This one isn't an exception. Don't get me wrong it certainly looks nice, but if I had all the money in the world to spend on a wedding I just wouldn't have chosen so much....pink. To each their own.

All photos from celebrity wedding photographer extraordinare Joe Buissink via People.com.

^Come on now you know the bride had to sing! I believe the gown was Manuel Mota a designer for the Pronovias line.

^That flower girl looks thrilled.

Just A Few More

And here are a few detail shots I snapped from the same wedding. Not as cool as the pro pics, but you get the idea.


^This is the metal gazebo they were married under with hanging votive lanterns.

^One of the flower displays. The wedding wasn't matchy-matchy with colors. The bridesmaids wore brown but they all carried flowers with light green and dark deep purple flowers.

^Cool lanterns were spaced throughout the site. This was one of the cocktail tables.

^Instead of a cake they had this cool dessert tray.

Modern Inspiration

Last month I wrote about my friend's wedding that I went to in Atlanta and posted some shots from her photographer's blog. I also feautured some of the unique brides they had photographed in the past. Well yesterday they posted a few shots of her wedding so I thought I'd share some of the detail pics so you could get a feel for what a cool wedding it was.

All pictures credited to Our Labor of Love

Autumn Blue

Remember in October when I spotted pastel blue in an autumn table setting at Caspari and thought what a unique but unexpected wedding color it would be for a fall wedding? Well go check out the wedding of Viola and Philip over at Anna Kuperberg's blog. I know we're all tired of Tiffany blue and brown at weddings, but when you add autumn orange to the combo it seems very new. The blue just adds a breath of freshness to the typical fall colors.

Sam Hill Entertainment

When looking at music for the wedding Fiance and I were pretty sure we wanted a band as opposed to a d.j. Fiance is a huge live music fan and we both liked the atmosphere that a band can create. Unfortunately, bands usually cost a lot more then a d.j. and Fiance and I didn't want to spend a ton of money...which meant we had to research, research, research to find a good but reasonably priced band.

Hands down the best resource we found for researching bands was Sam Hill Entertainment. They are a booking agency based out of Charlottesville but they book all along the East Coast (focusing mostly on D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina). What sets Sam Hill apart from the other booking agencies is their website and their customer service.

They were the only booking agency we found that listed the price range of the bands on their website. This was so incredibly helpful. We didn't have to contact an agent just to see if the band we were looking at was expensive or not. Fiance and I could look at bands that were within our budget range and not get our hearts set on something we couldn't afford. We could see videos, listen to music clips, and read reviews of the different bands as well. It was also a great learning tool...what's the difference between a $10,000 band and a $1,500 band? Take a listen and see.

Some other agencies I contacted were less then helpful and actually refused to give me a price list for their bands...so there was no way I could compare bands or figure out what fit within my budget. I felt that any place that would refuse to share prices of the product they are supposed to be marketing was probably pretty unethical and trying to hide something so I didn't give them my business. I didn't want any financial "surprises" on my wedding day.

When you look through Sam Hill's site make sure you put in the correct region your wedding will be in...part of the pricing on the bands depends on the location of the band....so a band based out of Philadelphia will be cheaper if your wedding is in Philly and more expensive if the band has to travel from Philly to D.C. Hiring a local band can save you a couple hundred to a $1,000+

Moroccan Vows from Rebecca Bouck - Part III

If you come from an ethnic background consider wearing native dress for some part of your day. It's such a great way to honor your heritage and if you don't feel comfortable wearing it all day then consider doing it for just the reception, part of the reception, or in day after shots. Your guests will probably be more impressed and fascinated by that outfit then they will be by your wedding dress and your parents will be proud.

Be sure to check out Rebbecca Bouck's blog as well. I've added it to my list so I can keep up with the beautiful things she photographs. If you watch reality T.V. you might also recognize this couple. What a happy ending story...you can see their wedding in her portfolio as well.

All photos below by Rebecca Bouck

Moroccan Vows from Rebecca Bouck - Part II

I love the idea of weaving in details either from your own culture or from the cultures of your favorite places. Think of adding in native instruments or singers, common flowers from the country, or traditional decorations. You don't need much to add the right flavor.

Rebecca's prices start at $4,000 which is pretty competitive for our area and considering the caliber of her work I think it is very reasonable. If you look at her portfolio you will see a wedding she did in Maryland so you know she's willing to travel to our neighborhood :) All photos below from Rebbeca Bouck.

Moroccan Vows from Rebecca Bouck - Part I

I ran across this beautiful wedding in the portfolio of talented Arizona based photographer Rebecca Bouck. The wedding was in Morocco and I love how the couple tied in Moroccan themes without being over the top. This is actually something that I think could be very easy to create even on this side of the world with the right accent pieces.

Clifton Inn Tour Part III

Lying parallel to the indoor veranda is the outside porch. We will be using the porch to set up the band and dance floor. Some of the tables you see pictured here and some of the furniture from the inside will also be placed on the porch to create a lounge area (no extra charge!) so that people that don't want to dance can still sit and listen to the music. I love that people will get to dance beneath the stars and if there is a threat of rain the Inn uses a clear plastic tent so people will still be able to dance beneath the stars (the tent is extra so cross your fingers for good weather.)

Some brides that rent the Inn use the porch for a happy hour or they set up tables for the actual reception and move the dance floor to the lawn below.


^View of the porch looking towards the pool/gazebo side of the house.


^This is the side of the Inn that has the gazebo and in the distance you can see the infinity/waterfall pool.


^View of the porch looking towards the garden side of the Inn


^This is the garden on one side of the Inn. Many brides set up chairs here and have their ceremony.

Clifton Inn The Tour Continues

Following on from my last post on my venue. If you keep on walking straight as you enter the front door you will walk onto the covered veranda. This was the room that sold me...I don't think you could find a more perfect space for one long table. The tables will be pushed together with openings so that people can get up to go to the restroom and the servers can serve people.

I like that all the chairs, linens, and china were all included in the price of the rental. They told me we could rent different chairs, linens, and china if I wanted but I love these chairs! I also know I'd have to pay out the nose to have something as cool as these if I were to rent them myself. And since I hadn't picked any wedding colors or themes when I first saw pictures of the place I decided to work with what my venue already had instead of coming up with colors that didn't work with my venue. White linens fit perfectly with my green/white colors and the sea glass colored china will also be complementary although I do have a choice to go with all white china as well.

Lesson learned: Save money by picking a venue that fits your theme/colors or build your theme/colors around your venue so that you don't spend a ton of money renting fuchsia linens and silver chairs to try to "transform" your venue.


^The view of the veranda from the far right. The veranda will seat about 60 people.


^View of the veranda from the far left.


^Connected to the veranda is another dining room which we will use for the extra 25 guests. They will be at one long table in this room. The room connects to the veranda in an L shape.


^Fiance and I will sit right where you see that man sitting so that we can see all our guests sitting down the one long table on the veranda and all our guests at one long table in the dining room.

My Reception Venue - The Clifton Inn

While we were in Charlottesville fiance and I also visited our reception venue...for the first time. Yep, that's right, fiance and I chose our venue and signed a contract without ever having visited it. That was about 9 months ago and we haven't seen it in person until now. I know that sounds crazy, but as I said before, fiance and I often have to live overseas for our jobs so we weren't in the country at the time we were doing a lot of our wedding planning. If I had waited until I returned to the U.S. I would have only had about 9 months until the wedding and I didn't want to wait that long and risk missing out on same great venues.

So how did we chose our venue? Very Carefully. We looked at a ton of pictures and read all the reviews of our site on TripAdvisor. I had a few requirements....it had to be small and intimate, no ballrooms, and it had to be able to accommodate one long table for all the guests. When we first looked at the Clifton Inn online I counted it out because it seemed to be beyond our budget. With the help of a planner, though, we were able to make it work. The main requirements for renting the Inn are that you have to rent all 18 of the rooms on the grounds for the weekend. This was too pricey for us, but since we are having a Sunday wedding we only had to rent all the rooms for one night instead of two. We also have a lower food/beverage minimum to meet then a normal Saturday wedding has. The lesson here is ALWAYS inquire...don't just assume you can't have something...a lot of places are willing to negotiate. That's not to say miracles can happen but if a place is a little bit more then your budget will allow then you should at least inquire to see what they are willing to do for you.

After negotiating the price of the rooms with the Inn we were able to rent the Inn for an equal price as you would pay for some of the nicer venues in D.C. The only difference is that instead of paying to rent a nice place in D.C. for 5 hours we get rooms for a large number of our guests and get the Inn for 24 hours. Oh, and did I mention that afternoon tea and breakfast is included in the cost of rental? We are splitting the costs of the rooms with the guests who will be staying there (the bridal party and close family members) but you could pay for it all yourself or have your guests pay for the rooms since they would be paying for accommodation normally anyway.


^Driving up to the Clifton Inn


^The front of the Inn


^Looking at the lawn from the front porch. Brides with large guest lists often set up a tent on this lawn.


^View right after you walk through the front door.

Over the next couple days I'll take you on a tour of the Clifton Inn. Fiance and I were very relieved at how great the Inn was...we feel like we really lucked out.

Keeping Things Small

I adore this wedding photographed by talented California photographer Chenin Boutwell of Boutwell Studios. Compared to most I'm having a pretty small wedding, just 75-85 people. I really want only the closest and most important people in our lives to be there and not people I know by six degrees of separation.

The couple below only had about a dozen people at their Fiji wedding but it was filled with unique and heartwarming traditions. The bride was escorted by Fijian warriors to a raft that took her across a bay to her fiance and wedding guests. The warriors then carried her to her groom. The local village choir provided the ceremony music and the couple invited people at the resort they were staying at to witness their traditional ceremony.

After the ceremony the wedding guests had an intimate dinner on a pier looking out on the Fijian waters. I'd love to achieve even a fraction of this intimacy. Check out Chenin's amazing blog, Afternoon Delight, for more pictures of this wedding.

All pictures from Boutwell Studios. To enlarge any picture just click on it.

Wedding Recap

I'm back from the wedding I went to this weekend. The wedding took place in Connecticut and had a 40s theme. As I posted earlier, I was a bit hesitant about the theme wedding but it actually turned out quite well. The 40s theme was subtle and not over-the-top at all. I won't post many photos since not everyone likes having their personal life posted to the entire world but I will share some of the detail photos.

The good:
1) The bride had a really great hair pin...the picture barely does it justice. It sparkled as she walked down the aisle and since much of the time she had her back to the congregation it was a great piece of hair jewelry to stare at. Her curls were perfect and stayed through the night. Lesson: Don't forget your backside! Your guests will be staring at it for a long time.

2) The reception space was very elegant without having to spend a ton of money on flowers. The couple used candelabras as centerpieces on top of mirrored plates with just a few flowers and votives scattered around the candelabras. The candles created a very warm glow at nightfall. The tablecloths were black with white organza overlay. Lesson: You don't have to spend a ton of money on flowers to have an elegant affair

3) During the happy hour the couple had a fake "casino" (think Rick's Cafe from Casablanca) with blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker. Each person got 1,000 fake "mr. and mrs X" dollars to exchange for chips. At the end of the night gift baskets of wine, glasses, and fine liquors were given to the biggest winners. This was a lot of fun and was a great way to loosen people up and keep everyone entertained. It was also a fun alternative for the non-dancers or the people just taking a break from the dance floor. Lesson: Music and dancing is important but there are other creative ways to make sure your guests stay happy through the night.

The bad:
1) The limo for the bridal party broke down right before it was to pick everyone up. After some scrambling to get cars and vans together everyone got to the church on time. The couple was disappointed but in the end it was a small inconvenience and it really didn't put a damper on the day. Lesson: Remember there once was a time when nobody had limos or special cars and everyone just drove to the church in the family car! If you're trying to cut costs then cut the pricey limo...you won't miss it.

2) Despite the officiant asking the congregation to turn off their cell phones someone left his on! And it rang! During the ceremony! And as IF that wasn't bad enough, the ring tone wasn't just some beeping sound. It was a song! And the song was..."Fat Bottomed Girls"!!! No, I'm not kidding. The bride was so gracious about it, but honestly, if there is one thing that would send me over the edge it would be that. How freakin' rude. That guest owes them a BIG wedding gift. Lesson: I don't know what more one can do besides asking guests to turn off cell phones except maybe 1)threatening pain of death 2) making them give them up at the door 3) or asking your officiant to announce no cell phones and then asking the congregation to reply at once "i promise my cell phone is off."

3) It was a great party and by the end of the night the groom had enjoyed himself ...a lot. So much so that he forgot where he had put a large amount of money needed to pay off some of the vendors. Finally, we figured out he had given it to a random guest for "safe keeping," but there was definitely about ten minutes of panic. Lesson: Don't bother yourself with money issues on the day of. If you need to pay off vendors that day then give it all to your coordinator, maid-of-honor, best man, mother or father...anyone responsible. That way you can enjoy yourself as much as possible and not worry about where you put the money or your checkbook.


^The bride's hair pin and curls


The reception tent and candelabra centerpieces. Black tablecloths with white organza overlay.


^The beautiful glow at nightfall


^The tables for happy hour were very simple but elegant..table lamps (with votive inside) and a single orchid wrapped with black ribbon. Big impact without major expense.

No Round Tables!

I have two major requirements when it comes to the reception: no round tables and no wire hangers. O.k. I'm joking about that last one, but totally serious about the first. The main feeling I want to convey at my reception is intimacy...I want people to feel more like they are at a dinner party with close friends then a wedding. We are hoping for only about 75-85 people and I want to seat most if not all at one long table. I also wanted to do this without having to set up a tent anywhere so the lengthy search began for a reception venue who could do the long table idea. I'm happy to say I found a place but I'll save that for a later blog.

I've been to a lot of weddings (including some that had 800+ people) and I really don't want people to feel like they didn't spend any time with fiance and I or barely saw us. I don't want my guest to be one chair at a ten person table with 20 tables to a room where they might have to turn his/her chair to get a better view. I also love the idea of sitting down to dinner and being surrounded by everyone that cares about us the most.


^Source: The Knot


^Source: Julie Skarratt Photography


^Source: Easton Events


^Source: The Event Co.

Speaking of Venues...

D.C. based photographer Rodney Bailey has a gallery on his website for D.C. area wedding venues. He has pictures of almost FORTY different D.C. venues. I can't explain what a great resource this can be when you are looking at places. First it helps you think outside of the norm and consider places you may not have considered before but more importantly you can browse from the comfort of your living room. Narrow down your choices to the few you really like and THEN go do the visits. What a time saver... Just go to his website , click on "menu", then click on "gallery", and finally click on "Washington Venues."


Evermay ^


The Torpedo Factory ^


Halcyon House ^


National Museum of Women in the Arts ^

Holland Photo Arts

In honor of Miss Alexandria finding a reception venue she likes I had to blog about my favorite photographers, Holland Photo Arts. Anne and Bill Holland are another husband and wife team who have won numerous awards for their photography. They are based out of Charlottesville but regularly travel to D.C. to photograph weddings. I love how they capture the everyday aspects of a wedding and make them look spectacular. I'm a sucker for vivid color in photos as well. Starting at $5,400 they are slightly out of my photography budget but when you consider that you are getting two very talented photographers I don't think that's a bad price at all. Many D.C. area photographers cost that much for just one shooter. They regularly update their blog and it is a great place to browse for wedding inspiration.












I know you are asking yourself "what the heck does this have to do with Miss Alexandria and her wedding reception location?" Well after I saw the pics of her place I remembered that Holland Photo Arts shot a wedding there last year. Check out this slideshow of Carrisa and Farrell's wedding at the Ronald Regan Building (International Trade Center) to see all the great pics you can get there.