[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Our primary color was a powder/french blue with peachy coral, blush, and ivory as accent colors.
We established a base color palette that featured blue and green hues, and found ways to add interest and warmth through earth-tones like taupe and ivory. Our floral partner, Nature Composed, helped us tie it all together with a beautifully imagined tent entry with overflowing baskets of grasses, toffee roses, and a myriad of hydrangeas. [/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]Our vision was to have an intimate wedding that felt elevated and classic, yet whimsical and unfussy. Someone said to me early in our planning that our venue “doesn’t need a lot of lipstick.” We stuck with that mindset and tried to play off the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape as much as possible.
Lauren and Alex of Lauren Bliss Events helped us achieve the look we wanted by bringing in color and texture in a way that felt natural and not overpowering. It was their creative genius that pushed us to use the existing structures of the space to showcase some elements of design. For instance, we hung our escort cards within the ivy vines of a stone wall near our cocktail hour.
There was a seamless flow to the evening as guests moved from a ceremony on one side of a towering, ivy-covered wall, through a gate to a cocktail hour surrounding a glistening pool on the other side. The reception took place under a sailcloth tent in a hayfield just a stone’s throw in the distance. We lucked out with the most beautiful early summer day. The sun set directly behind our tent as guests dined and danced all night to tunes from our favorite 90s cover band, White Ford Bronco.
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[field title=”Proposal Story”]Derek suggested we go hiking one Saturday in Shenandoah National Park, which is a couple hour’s drive from where we live in DC. Because we had discussed the possibility of getting engaged, and because hiking wasn’t something we did often, I completely knew what was happening. Sure enough, at the top of the mountain, Derek got down on one knee and popped the question! But little did I know, this wasn’t the only surprise he had in store for us. Unbeknownst to me, Derek had planned a romantic weekend getaway in the Middleburg, Virginia area complete with post-hike celebratory drinks at Crimson Lane Vineyards, a dinner at the quaint Ashby Inn, and an overnight stay at the Salamander Resort & Spa. He had even packed us each an overnight bag and had them hidden in the trunk of the car. It was such a beautiful and fun weekend, we knew we wanted to return to the Middleburg area for our wedding.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
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[board_carousel title=”First Look”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]The bride wore a Anne Barge gown
“I knew I wanted something classic with a twist for my dress. A few months before getting engaged I had the opportunity to visit the Anne Barge Flagship store in New York City with my sister who was looking for a dress for her own wedding. The brand’s timeless and elegant styles immediately spoke to me. For my own dress shopping experience, I went to Elegance by Roya in Old Town Alexandria. I had seen a photo of the Anne Barge Confetti dress online and had a feeling it might be the one. It’s a strapless a-line silhouette with the 3D leaf embroidery from top to bottom. I didn’t even know if the store would have the style in stock, but thankfully they did because as soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one!
For my second look, I wanted something fun and less bridal but still elegant. I landed on an Etro jacquard mini dress. The garden trellis pattern reminded me of the lining of our invitation envelopes – a detail probably no one noticed but me!”
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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]I told my sister, who was my maid of honor and only bridesmaid, to wear whatever she wanted. She chose a strapless De Loreta dress in a paint-inspired floral print. The green and blue fabric complemented the colors of the wedding and surrounding landscape perfectly. [/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Derek wore a traditional black tux from Ralph Lauren paired with sterling silver Scully & Scully cufflinks engraved with our wedding date and our initials.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]
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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]Our signature cocktails were a French 75 and a Whiskey Smash. During cocktail hour, guests enjoyed lamb skewers, mini quiches, and white fish rillettes, along with cheese and charcuterie. Dinner was a two-course meal where the standout starter was a creamy, green pea velouté. Seared salmon and beef tenderloin were served alongside in-season vegetables that came straight from the venue’s own farm and garden. The meals were paired with local Virginia wine. [/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]Our request for florals was that they not be overly-formal, overly-stuffed, or overly-dramatic. Jenn of Nature Composed nailed the look. She supplied stunning, colorful, in-season florals composed of delphiniums, roses, ranunculus and more. Her team incorporated an arching floral design into the ivy wall that stood behind Derek and me during our ceremony. It provided the perfect, natural frame for our photos. We were even able to repurpose some of the ceremony florals for our reception. We used lanterns, potted flowers, baskets, and greenery to create an inviting entrance to the tent. Each table received a mix of bud vases and larger arrangements, nestled among tapered candles and votives.
I knew I wanted a mix of patterns and color for linens. We alternated Broad Powder, a block print from Stradley Davidson with solid blue linens from Select Event Group, and then used contrasting napkins on each table. Honey brown rattan chargers brought texture and a natural element to the design.
I flexed my creative skills by taking on the task of creating all of our day-of paper and signage. With the help of a few Etsy templates, I made bar menus, personalized dinner menus, escort cards, and table numbers each in a whimsical, french-blue design. All of the paper elements were cohesive, yet not too matchy-matchy, which is exactly the look I wanted.
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[field title=”Wedding Cake”]We conducted our own, at-home competition for our cake tasting experience, trying the same four flavors from two local bakeries. The clear winner in all categories was local Arlington pastry shop, Heidelberg. Ultimately we landed on a classic carrot cake with cream cheese filling covered in a white buttercream. The cake had three tiers and was decorated with a simple swiss dot pattern.[/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”][/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]The most unique element of our wedding was by far our band. Instead of a traditional wedding band, we hired the famed 90s cover band, White Ford Bronco. We were both long-time fans of their music and had seen them play around DC, but didn’t know that they did weddings. A post on Reddit tipped us off to this fact, and we knew we had to reach out. It was fate when they told us June 8 was the only weekend they had open all summer! We even managed to find the perfect 90s ballads to do our first dances to, opting for “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith for our first dance and “Kind and Generous” by Natalie Merchant for our parent dances. Our dance floor was packed all night, even the older generations couldn’t stay away. Everyone raved about the music for weeks after. 100/10 the best decision we made in all of wedding planning! [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″]Upon arrival at our various hotel blocks, guests received welcome bags full of snacks and treats from our favorite local and non-local businesses. The bags included cold brew coffee and draft lattes from La Colombe, bagel chips from Pearl’s, our favorite DC bagel place, chocolate chip cookies from Union Kitchen Grocery, and local Route 11 chips among other items. [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]We worked with Melissa of Sycamore Studios to design custom matchboxes. She was able to create a sketch of the ivy wall where we held our ceremony which was featured on one side of the box. The other side included our names and wedding date. We put the matchboxes in our welcome bags and also had them displayed in rattan baskets on each bar. [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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Photography: Sarah Shank Photography | Event Planning: Lauren Bliss Events | Floral Design: Nature Composed | Wedding Dress: Anne Barge | Cake: Heidelberg Pastry Shop | Band: White Ford Bronco | Ceremony music: Atoka String Quartet | transportation: Road Yachts | Wedding Venue: Goodstone Inn | Beauty: Anna Breeding | Linens: Stradley Davidson Linen Collective | Rentals: Select Event Group | Rentals: Rent-E-Quip
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