Getting ready at the Ritz Carlton Multi-tasking bride Shouldn’t we be doing something? Oh, right! Good work ladies! Punch it in! Let’s get this show on the road. But first a few pics The guys arriving at the school. They had it so easy… Some ceremony details The gals and I arriving And here we go! My dad gave everyone a good giggle when he forgot his cue to sit down Some of our formal shots I love this pic showing what taking these pictures was actually like. “Act natural!” Now we party! We started with cocktails in the courtyard. A latin jazz trio played Colombian music in honor of my heritage. The refectory before people arrived Our sweetheart table We set up one long table in front of the fireplace for the wish bowl, cards and gifts All along the walls are graduating class portraits. Evan’s in the center. The lead singer of OK GO is to the left of him which I think is kinda funny. My dad giving his toast, which was very sweet Our first dance We had an incredible R&B band. So everyone danced! And danced! And uh… danced? Whew! Time for cake [ The big finale was to “Shout!” People were really bummed when it ended Goodnight!

Stationary by Gaddis Design The Save the Date The Invitation The Ceremony Program

Bachelorette Party ~ Hillsborough Vineyard, VA Two of the gals rented convertibles and we all drove out to a gorgeous vinyard in VA. We had about 4 picnic baskets of goodies and a whole slew of wine -- It was fun and different, and exactly what I'd hoped for. Of course though, we did hit the bars in DC later :) Here's the hilarious postcard invite that we all received in the mail, courtesy of one of my BMs.

Vendor Reviews Day of Coordinator: Meredith Sellers of Elegant Engagements, A+ I'm putting this at the top because I can't say enough how happy I am that I hired Meredith. Having a Day of Coordinator was hands down the best decision made during this process. We met 1 month out and she worked with me to create a detailed timeline of the day. Then she took care of everything starting about 1 week out. The whole site looked gorgeous. The event flowed extremely well. And if something went wrong, we had no idea. Which is exactly what I wanted. Photographers: Holland Photo Arts, A+(!) The photography was a very important element to us, so we met and booked Anne and Bill before our site was even definite. We're so happy we did as they are the nicest and coolest folks to have around you on your wedding day. They even have little earbud radios that they use to stay in contact with each other. How cool is that! :) Seriously though their work speaks for itself. A true photojournalistic approach and absolutely amazing! Ceremony and Reception Site: St. Albans School, B This site would only be of interest to someone who was an alumni, which Evan is. So I won't go into the difficulties of dealing with them. The end result was really nice though. Cake: Cakes by Linda, A+ Deee-lish!! White cake with almond and a bavarian cream filling for 2 layers, while the 3rd was chocolate with a rasberry filling. All in a fabulous vanilla buttercream frosting. We received so many positive comments on how yummy and pretty it was. Evan even wanted to eat the top layer when we got home. In addition, we found her prices to be extremely competitive. Cocktail Hour Music: Con Candela, A+ We hired them as a trio though Elan Artists and they were exactly what I was hoping for. They played nice updeat latin music, including cumbia, that sounded fantastic. They were so much fun people were even dancing during the cocktails! Elan Artists was pretty easy to work with as well. Reception Music: Jimi Smooth and the Hittime Band, A+(!) I l.o.v.e. Jimi Smooth! Evan and his friends had hired them for parties in the past so we knew they would be a lot of fun. But they were also total pros, handling all of the announcements. Think Otis Day and the Knights from Animal House (fun R&B & soul), but more professional. They got everyone dancing. And I mean everyone! They ended on such a fun high note that folks were saying they wished our 5 1/2 hour long reception was even longer! We booked them through Sam Hill Bands, which has great customer service. No problems at all. Linen Rentals: Party Cloths, A I ordered the linens direct as St. Albans wouldn't work with someone they hadn't worked with before. It was a lot of fun though ~ I visited their showroom in Silver Spring one day and worked with a rep to pick out nice combos. They have a very nice staff and even let me pick up the napkins several days early to fold them. I did notice at the reception that a few tables looked like they had ill-fitting linens, but that could be St. Alban's screw up. Flowers: Petal's Edge, A+ I had very specific ideas for my flowers and Gerry and Rebecca were able to take those and go to town. They were absolutely gorgeous! Very fresh, large and vibrant blooms. During the planning process they were really great to work with. Always easy to reach, and very quick to respond. They even came out to the ceremony/reception location before hand to see everything in person and come up with some new ideas. I recommend them to anyone and everyone! We received tons of compliments on how elegant they were! Limos & Shuttle Buses: RMA Limos, B We booked a limo for my in-laws, another to take the bridal party to the church, and two shuttle buses to take guests from different hotels to the site and back. The cars were clean and modern, and the driver (that I met) was very courteous. Meredith dealt with them the day of and she reported that they were on the ball. Everything ran very smoothly. However, I had a ton of billing issues with them afterward. They ended up correcting everything, but for that they only get a B. Get Away Car: Regal Limousines, A+ We rented a white 1960 Bentley to pick us up from the reception and take us on a little tour of the DC monuments before heading back to the hotel. It was so elegant and so nice to have the time with Evan to relax and talk about the day before heading to the hotel. We worked with the owner, who is a very accomodating gentleman. You can tell he's very excited about his cars, and once we booked he sent us the car's full history ~ a fun insight. It was a bit of a splurge, but I feel well worth every penny spent! Stationary: Gaddis Design, A+(!) I can not say enough good things about Melissa at Gaddis Design. She did our Save the Dates, Invitations and Programs. People raved about how different and creative they all were (which was the goal). Melissa is incredibly easy to work with, extremely creative, and a total pro. Iif you're looking to have custom stationary created I HIGHLY recommend her. Totally awesome! Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Lori, A Lori did our outer and inner envelopes. She is on the West Coast, but was really easy to work with. She works often with Gaddis Design clients, so Melissa just sent the envelopes directly to her. She doesn't get an A+ only because we had 3 invitations returned due to the Post Office being unable to read the calligraphed numbers in the zip codes. She had extra envelopes though, so she quickly redid and fedex'd them to me. Which was totally fine. Favors: Krispy Kreme, A What can I say, it's Krispy Kreme. We ordered 130 of their 2-doughnut boxes ~ perfect for favors once you slap a personalized sticker on them. The only drawback is they don't do delivery so my MOH kindly picked them up that day. People loved them though ~ we sat them out at the end of the night to surprise folks as they left, and they were thrilled. You can not go wrong with Krispy Kreme :) Dress and Veil: Matthew Christopher from Jeanette’s Bridal, A I checked out a few shops before purchaing my dress at Jeanette's: PLawrence, Bridal Images, Lady Hamilton & Hannelores. By far, Bridal Images was the worst experience. The rest were fine though. I ended up going with Jeanette's because they were just so darn nice. These gals were good ~ my dress came in early, they custom made my pretty veil, and the alterations were very well done. I was just a little irked that my consultant left without anyone telling me. And my account hadn't been reassigned. So I called to check in on my dress to find out that it had been there, but no one called to let me know. Not a big deal ~ everyone else went smoothly. But I would have preferred to have had 1 person take care of me the entire time. As for the dress itself, Matthew Christpher is a relatively new designer so I got a very well made all silk dress at a much lower price than what just the fabric would normally dictate. I love it! Hair, Make Up & Manicure: Andre Chreky Salon, A+ I used Mindy for hair, Azi for make up and Josephine for nails. I didn't have any trouble whatsoever with the salon ~ I go there for cuts and color so am familiar with the scene. I found it to be very relaxing. I had a hair and make up trial the weekend before, so I knew it was going look great ~ but I was still surprised at just how nice the final product was. Azi shaped my brows the Thursday before, which I'm definitely going to regularly keep up. If you're looking for a good brow artist, look no further! She applied much of the make up with an air brush, making my skin look flawless. And it stayed perfectly fresh until 3 am. I am a make up kinda gal, so I really encouraged her to go for a dramatic look with false eyelashes, smokey eyes and hints of sparkle. It came out perfectly. And of course I absolutely loved my hair! It was very complex but didn't budge the entire night. And I received tons of compliments on it. Shoes: Zappos, A+ I ordered a pair of awesome Anne Klein New York shoes from them.The first pair I ordered was too big. But their return policy is a piece of cake, so I very quickly had the right size in hand. They arrived wrapped very carefully and looking beautiful. Hair Comb: Janet’s Jewel Box, A+ They were easy to work with and the Magnolia pin I ordered was very well made and well sized. It looked like it cost much more than it did. Bridesmaid Dresses: Jim Hjelm through Netbride, A+ Boy do I highly recommend Netbride to everyone. We went and checked out/tried on dresses at other shops (including Hannelores) to pick the one we wanted. Then I placed the order on everyone's behalf which was pretty easy (they allow you to submit multiple credit cards and shipping addresses, albeit for an extra charge). They were a snap to work with ~ the dresses came in early, at a fraction of the normal cost, and in perfect condition. Cashmere Pashminas for BMs: Nordstroms, A+ Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and in a huge variety of colors. Pricey but worth it. Votives: Cudge.net, A+ Dirt cheap, only one out of 300+ arrived broken, they lasted all night and looked pretty. What more can you ask for? Lanterns for Cocktail Hour: Jamila Garden I found this site late in the planning process. They have lots of well priced glass decorative items. I ordered 7 of their red and amber lanterns to hang from a tree. Fast service, pretty lanterns. Miscellaneous Paper Items: Paper Source, A I did a few DIY projects, like the menus and placecards. I bought stamps and paper at the location in Georgetown where the staff was courteous and helpful. They turned out pretty nice if I say so myself. Rehearsal Dinner: Paper Moon Restaurant, A+ We needed a restaurant in DC with a private area for 60. Paper Moon was perfect! It's located in the heart of Georgetown and has a private upstairs room (with its own bar) that overlooks the restaurant. It's prices are relatively affordable with set menus starting at $31 pp. The nicest thing about the set menus is that there are still several options within each course for your guests. The food was delicious, and the management was very accomodating. Wedding Night Accomodations: The Ritz-Carlton, A+ We stayed all weekend at the downtown Ritz-Carlton. They charged us only a third of the normal cost of a suite because we booked a room block with them. The Ritz's rep has suffered a bit in recent years, but we found it to be wonderful. Our suite was huge, the staff was gracious, and they continually surprised us with nice touches... They sent up fruits and chocolates the night of the rehearsal dinner. And we came back from the wedding to find the bedroom decorated with candles and rose petals ~ along with chilled champagne and chocolate covered strawberries (my favorite!). We were so bummed to come back to our apartment in Arlington :) Room Blocks: The Ritz-Carlton & Embassy Suites, A+ We chose the Embassy Suites in Friendship Heights solely at the request of my MIL (it's close to their house). So the Ritz-Carlton was our more central location and served as "base" all weekend. Our guests have reported no problems so far. OOT bags were delivered. The Ritz has a great bar/lounge that everyone hung out at each night. All in all a success. Citronelle, A+(!) We went to dinner there the night after our wedding, and I have to include it because it was literally the most incredible meal I've ever had ~ and we're big foodies. We had the multi-course tasting menu (I think there were around 8 courses) with the wine pairing. I had no idea food could be that good or that interesting. Run there, do not walk, for your next special occasion!

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