Bio

britt | and | chad

We were married on September 15, 2007.

Our ceremony and reception was at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA.

If you use the pictures from below please credit Greg Gibson for his work.

britt | and | chad
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My friend Rose (tying the bow here) did all the girls hair and make up! She did a FABULOUS job. And she can tie the PRFECT bow.

Gram arrives!

Bride, Grandmom, Mom and Sister (MOH)

Rose had to tie her bow herself... there is nothing she can't do!

See! Perfect!

One of my favorite pics!

Getting Emotional as all my boys come in (my dad, step dad, brothers and God father)

Rose is my make up messed????

Are you done back there?

I didn't have a big poofy dress, but it still took like 5 people to dress me!

Something old and something new.... my great grandmothers diamond ring and my gift from my husband - David Yurman pearl bracelet. He did GOOOD!

My dad and my sis

There's my husband! Isn't he ADORABLE?

The wind catching the veil was amazing.

Me showing him the back of my dress - the best part!

We "bump it" before the ceremony!

The girls wanted in on the fun with mirrors!

BM Bouquets

Getting ready to go....

Bree (pregnant with twins)

Carly

Mary Colleen

Rose

Jenna

My beautiful sister and MOH Jordan

Another favorite - my mom and step dad

Vows

This was really funny.... the Reverend was saying "Brittany" for Chad to repeat but I said "Yes?" And she was like "I wasn't talking to you." Everyone laughed. It was pretty funny.

Great Shot of Ceremony on the Terrace

Really fun.

Family Portrait

I mentioned that Greg was in some of our favorite memories of the day.... this is one of them. The sun was setting and Greg wanted to get one more shot so he said we had to run up hill before the lighting was lost. We were sprinting up this hill and of course he was snapping away! He was really impressed by our athleticism though.... I was in 3 inch heels for crying out loud! A great picture though!

THE PICTURE

Centerpieces

Looking in from outside....

First Dance

Dance with my Dad

Mom's Welcome Speech

Jordan's MOH Speech

Toast for the Best Man's Speech

I love the lights in the distance

I wish I could tell you why Chad and his brothers tied napkins to their heads and danced around, but I can't.....

A must have pic - My grandmother and her 3 sisters

Model Arm!

Adviso ry Board Girlies!

Adorable

So much fun!

Last Dance

Last Pic

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Reception Location - Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (A+)

We waited 18 months for the place so it goes without saying - we loved it. The gardens were beautiful for pictures, the terrace perfect for the reception and we recieved so many compliments from guests on the uniqueness of the atrium. It takes a lot of stress out of planning because the greenery and flowers in the atrium are really set th e perfect mood for a romantic garden wedding. I will say that we invited 190 and had 130 guests attend the wedding. There were not seats at the ceremony for all the guests. There was plenty of room in the atrium for all guests but I feel much more than 130 would have been crowded! We did not use the back section for any tables, I would imagine with more than 130 you would have to use the back are a. Wayne and Bernadette were both great to work with. They know what they are doing, if you are getting married at Meadowlark you are in good hands. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Caterers - R&R Caterers (B+)

I hate having to give R&R a B+ because they were really great to work with and the food was DELICIOUS. I worked with Dianna Gilbert, she is AMAZING. She was responsive, knowledgable and accomodating. Also the day of she was very service oriented. She actually drove me around back when guests started to arrive and I didn't want them to see my dress. Dianne made sure we had champagne to toast before the ceremony and appetizers to snack on. She was very service oriented. So onto the negative, and there were a few BIG ones. First, I specified before hand that I would give R&R menu counts but I wanted them to check with guests at each table an d take orders the night of the wedding. A member of the staff went to my mom and was flipping out about how I did not give them the menu count per table and this was going to delay the dinner. It wasn't a big deal AT ALL and maybe took an additional 10 minutes. Also, when my dad went to pay the bill he sent R&R an e check. He coninuiously called to confirm that the check was recieved and they kept telling him it was not recieved. About 5 days before the wedding they said they still had not recieved the check and my dad would have t o pay via credit card with an additional 5% charge. So my dad paid with credit card which they charged immediately. He then called the bank (very annoyed) and the bank informed him that the check had been cashed A WEEK earlier. Turns out they credited my dads check toward ANOTHER wedding. It took another 10 days to get my dad's credit card charge to be reimbursed. Lastly, I w arned Diane that my Irish Catholic family and Penn State friends would drink a lot. I asked for two bars at all times, there was only one and the line at the cocktail reception was SUPER long. In addition they ran out of almost all alcohol, including Vodka and Jack Daniels which are the only things my husband and I drink. Oh and they also tried to close the bar an hour before the reception ended.... I thought my husband was going to kill some one! Again,I do want to say that the food was great, Diane was fabulous and their help at t he end of the night (doggie bags since we didn't eat as well as ALL of the extra cake)was tremndous. But so to the service issues I have to say RECOMMEND WITH RESERVATIONS.

Cake Creator - The Amphora Bakery (A+)

Great cakes, adorable bakery. Ingrid is fantastic to work with. She was short on t he phone and when my FI and I arrived she seemed a bit co ld, but this is just her style. She was so helpful, personable and knowledgable in th e end. They are very reasonably priced and DELICIOUS. We had four tiers and an extra sheet cake to be sure we have enough - we had PLENTY and got to take home a whole sheet cake. The cake was AMAZING lemon chiffon cake with vanilla buttercream icing with pink cherry blossum flowers consolidated on the top teir and trickling down. It was the perfect cake for a garden wedding! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Florist - Petals Edge (A)

I loved working with Gerry! I completely changed my color scheme after my initial visit, she was so easy going. They really have an eye for what looks great - which I appreciat ed because I am NOT a flower person. I LOVED the bouquets. I wish they had taken a bit more creative liberty with the centerpieces as I had no idea what I was talking about! They were affordable and they delivere d the gardenia for my hair to my hotel free of charge. The gardenia actually held up great all night. RECOMMEND.

Photographer - Greg Gibson (A+++++++++++++++++++)

I will never be able to write a receommendation to do Greg justice. My pictures were incredible. I wanted to look back on my wedding pictures and remember exactly how I felt, I wasn't as concerned with pictures of centerpieces or seating cards. He is truely a genius and he did a fabulous job. He is very accomplished so I act ually felt a bit intimidated to work with him, but he approaches your wedding as if he feels honored to be there. He is very professional and at times a little intense (He gets all worked up about lighting) but some of my favorite wedding memories have him in it which is funny! My husband also enjoyed his company to the point where he didn't complain about taking 45 minutes of pictures which is a mazing in itself. I will say he is expensive but it is TOTALLY wirth it. HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Videographer -

Disc Jockey - DJ Jake Ritchie (A)

He was affordable and VERY professional. He did everything I asked and kept timing on the day perfect. There were a few complaints that he did play very many slow songs but I had a BLAST. RECOMMEND.

Musicians - Cherry Blossum String Quartet (A)

The string quartet is for the ceremony and cocktail hour, a must have for an outdoor wedding. I worked with April Maddox who was sweet and very responsive. They also sent me a CD which I thought to be so helpful in chosing music for the big day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear a lot of the music but guests said they were great and they helped to set the perfect mood for our day. RECOMMEND.

Invitations - White Aisle

My big thing was I wanted an invtation that centered around a theme that I could use throughout the whole process - white aisle was perfect for that. I used the venice in sage with black type. The Save t he Dates were perfect and I just got the invitations which were perfect as well. I plan on doing programs, table numbers AND seating cards from them as well. Rebecca is a quick response on email and very helpful My ONLY gripe would be that pay pal is sometimes fr ustrating to use (this is the only method of payment they take).

Tuxedos - Jos. A. Banks

The tan suits were great. The guys liked them and they were on sale for $150. RECOMMEND.

My Dress - Hannelores (B )

What can I say that ha sn't been said about Hannelores? Their customer service leaves much to be desired. I went in three times, every time I had a different associate who thought I was some one else! I ended up buying the dress there because they the ML trunk show first. The last associate I had was the most helpful so I was glad she got the sale. Bottomline: Great selection, not the best help (if you go make an appointment with Kim). Also they did not notify me before shipping my dress! When the dress arrived at my mom's the box was BADLY damaged! The dress was ok thankfully. RECOMMEND WITH RESERVATIONS.

Bridesmaid Dresses - Priscilla of Boston (A)

The dress was $200 and buying it bridesmaids week will dave the girls an additional $20 - hey every little bit helps. The material was GREAT not bridesmaidy at all and the line s were flattering. Even my bridesmaid who was 3 months pregnant with twins was able to pull it off! We used Ann Taylor sashes in champagne to coordinate with the tan suits. RECOMMEND.

Hair Stylist - Salon Nordine Reston (A+)

Jeanette did my hair, my sisters hair and my moms hair. I had three trials with her and she did a PHENOMENAL job! I loved my hair. She was able to get inside my head and know exactly what I wanted! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Makeup Artist - Lucy from Laura Mercier Bloomingdales (A+)

Affordable, sweet, natural perfect make up :) She came to the hotel to do my make up and my sisters. It looked great and stayed on all day. Looked great in photos. HIGHLY RECOMMEND (tell her I sent you!)

Honeymoon Destination - Tahiti, Bora Bora and Nui (A+++++)

AMAZING - more to come.....

Travel Agent - Teresa Belc her Honeymoon Islands (A+)

Teresa was great - all transfers, flights, hotels were outstanding. She was helpful and patient with us through our planning process. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Other Vendor - Hyatt Regency Reston - Hotel Block (B)

Again to start with the positives.... the hotel is REALLY nice and you can't beat the location. Guests loved being able to shop and dine at Reston Town Center. Working with the sales contact and room block coordinator prior to the wedding was great - they were service oriented and accomodating. The bridal suite (which was a 2 bedroom suite) was GREAT! We had a ton of space to have the bridal party there to get ready together. Alsom my photographer raved about the light:) Service at the hotel during our stay was TERRIBLE. I was paying for my room and my parents roo m with points from my credit card and it couldn't be more challenging. They charged me $2 per guest bag and several guests did not recieve them. They nickle and dimed us for EVERYTHING. I mean we had over 50 rooms in our block and they didn't even clean the bridal suite unless we called to ask! We called for extra glass... there was another $20. Several guests were not able to check into their room before the wedding (which was late - started at 6 pm)!!!! RECOMMEND WITH RESERVATIONS.

Other Vendor - Alterations, the Great Angie (A+++)

OUTSTANDING! She had to do SO much work on my dress because Hannelores ordered me the wrong size (2 sizes too big). It fit like a GLOVE and for only $200. I LOVED my dress (Scarlet Monique Lhuillier) - HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Other Vendor - M&S Grill, Rehearsal Dinner (A+)

Great room, Great space, AMAZING food. Worked with Lucinda who was great. The staff was so service oriented. We had a GREAT experience working with them. HIGHLY RECEOMMEND

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