Sandhya and Steve's Alexandria, VA Wedding at Torpedo Factory

Sandhya and Steve were basically my first clients upon moving to DC and launching The Plannery. So I’m not gonna lie, I have a soft spot for these two. Sandhya was one of those brides that was convinced she was a bridezilla and was in fact my dream client: super smart, super savvy, super fun, super sweet and deeply in love (I’m a romantic, what can I say?). She and Steve were so much fun to work with - from tastings to photographer meetings to walk throughs to the day-of. Plus it didn't hurt that they lived near my neighborhood and frequented my favorite Mexican restaurant - so obviously they had great taste.

They got married in one of my favorite venues, The Torpedo Factory. The Torpedo Factory is in my hood (whassup Alexandria!!) and is modern, funky, non-traditional, and very fun. As you shall see. The day was captured by the ever-awesome Leo Druker.

Sandhya is half-Indian so while she didn’t do an official (epic) Indian wedding, she did want to incorporate elements into her ceremony and the reception and I thought she did a beautiful job. She wore the white sari her mother wore on her wedding day, and her uncle did a traditional blessing as part of the ceremony (those garlands… THOSE GARLANDS. sigh). And can we just say that my new favorite way to end a ceremony is with a high-five?? BEST.

After the ceremony they did some beautiful portraits in Old Town and by the waterfront.

Then Sandhya changed into her RAD reception dress (let’s hear it for non-white dresses, ladies!), and sat down for a great meal. After the speeches, her sister played a song for them on her violin - so lovely!

They kicked off their dancing with a ridiculously awesome first dance to Fly Me To The Moon.

Dancing and partying ensued thanks to Evan from MyDeejay.

And the night ended as only the most amazing wedding can end: with an impromptu push-up contest.

Sandhya and Steve's vendors:

Event Planning: Katie Wannen, The Plannery

Venue: The Torpedo Factory

Photographer: Leo Druker

Caterer: Main Event

Music: Evan from MyDeejay

I'm an animal when it comes to wedding planning

I'm off on a long weekend vacay with some family. But thought I'd share some fun and fabulous photos Sarah of Val & Sarah took recently. Val & Sarah (aka the most kick-ass photography duo the world has ever seen) are uber talented. As another coordinator recently said (and I wholeheartedly agreed), you basically want them to follow you around and document your entire life.

Enjoy!

Linn and Dave's DIY Outdoor Wedding, Patterson Park Baltimore

Linn and Dave got married in Patterson Park, Baltimore this summer. I worked with them as their Month-Of Coordinator to help their beautiful outdoor celebration go off as planned. I have to say, I adored this wedding. It was a perfect example of an easy, breezy, budget-friendly celebration. They worked with the parks department to rent one of the park pavilions - got married  under a tree in the park, with a reception catered by Blacksauce Kitchen and beautiful (seriously... BEAUTIFUL) photography by Debi Parker.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This wedding was a serious labor of love for these two, their friends, and their family. It was a hot day in June, and they thoughtfully supplied personalized water bottles to all the guests as their favors. They provided their own lace linens, DIYed beautiful bunting, and created lovely floral arrangements themselves. They lugged a generator to the park (which stopped unexpectedly in the middle of the party - thanks to a log provided by the caterer from their wood oven, we propped the generator back into position and it worked like a charm the rest of the evening). They provided their own kegs of beer, chalkboard menus, and stunning placemats (designed by Bmore Papercuts).

This is the kind of work you need to be prepared for when DIYing a wedding. For example, one’s day-of coordinator might have to run around cleaning up knocked-over flower arrangements before the guests arrive because the wind was too strong. And she might have to re-clip all of the arrangements to a lower height so they stay put the rest of the night. Hypothetically, of course.

But.

It’s worth it. Cause with all that hard work, come amazing moments like these:

A gorgeous ceremony

A tasty, family-style meal

An evening of drinking, dancing, and laughing with family and friends

And beautiful flower arrangements one would (hopefully!) never notice had been cut 2 inches shorter than originally intended.

Worth. It.

And p.s. Reason you should have a day-of coordinator? She'll have the parks permit on hand when the cops roll in

Shira and Graeme's VisArts Rockville, MD wedding

Shira and Graeme got married at VisArts in Rockville, MD this past June. I worked with them as a Month-Of Coordinator which was interesting because they both live in London. We communicated mainly via phone and email, and I finally got to meet this fab couple the day of the rehearsal!

VisArts is a wonderful venue - gotta say that off the bat. It’s a super fun, modern option that still has a fairly traditional ballroom-style room (with a built in dance floor to boot) that maintains its chic edge. Cocktails are held in the Artists’ Concourse and the Gallery can remain open during cocktail hour for guests to view some awesome artwork (though drinks are not allowed).

Shira and Grame did their first look in the gallery at VisArts which I thought was a beautiful backdrop - but frankly, how can you even notice the artwork when there’s such exuberance and love on this guy’s face?? That’s a man in love.

They did some beautiful portraits around Rockville (all photos shot by the always talented and always awesome to work with Amber Wilkie), and then headed to the synagogue for their ketubah signing.

Shira’s father is a Rabbi and he performed their ceremony at the beautiful B’nai Israel Congregation.

And that herbal chuppah. The chuppah, as well as the centerpiece herbs (we’ll get to that shortly), were provided by Willow Oaks Farms. That synagogue smelled AMAZING, people. Use the herbs if you’re into it - your sense of smell is the one most connected to memory so how great would it be to smell rosemary (or mint, or thyme, or whatever herb you love) for the rest of your life and think of your wedding day?

After cocktails, Shira and Graeme’s reception was beautiful, simple, with a touch of rustic. Their tables were so warm and inviting, and their centerpieces were herbs designed for guests to take them home (I may or may not have one of the leftovers on my back porch).

And then... the dancing began. Guys. This was the hora to end all horas. It was about 30 minutes of incredible movement, joy, dance, silliness, and love. Basically, the best.

And they served lamb as their main course. Apparently this was somewhat controversial, but I adored the choice and am officially recommending more couples serve lamb at their weddings. Do it. Tasty, amazing and why not stretch your guests' palates a bit?

The evening ended with a little more dancing, some final blessings, hugs, and beautifully fragrant favors clutched in the hands of some very happy guests.

Shira and Graeme's wedding vendors:

Event Coordination: Katie Wannen, The Plannery

Ceremony Venue: B'nai Israel Congregation

Reception Venue: VisArts

Photographer: Amber Wilkie

Florist: Willow Oak Farms

Caterer: Glorious Kosher

Music: Cherry Blossom Music Associates

Lighting: Precon Events

Becky & Melanie's DIY Arlington VA Wedding

Photos from the weddings I’ve worked on this year are slowly coming in and I’m so excited to share them with you!

First up are Becky and Mel, two fabulous ladies who are not only total sweethearts, but DIY goddesses. Seriously. I’ve never met a craftier bunch (as you’ll see from the photos, below). These wonderful women contacted me in January wondering if it was possible to plan a wedding in 4 months, and a DIY one at that. As you know, there aren’t many rules in my planning book, so I of course said that anything was possible.

Becky and Mel got married and had their post-ceremony reception at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA. All you thrifty brides and grooms out there should know that St. George's has a meeting hall that they rent out even to those not performing their ceremony in their church. It’s a great deal and a great space as long as you’re willing to give it a little TLC (which Becky and Mel were - with a little help from yours truly).

The wedding day was captured beautifully by Crystal at Lily B Photography (And did I mention this was the first wedding she’s ever done? She was a friend of the brides and a member of the church and while a super-talented photographer had not yet done a wedding. I thought she did an amazing job).

First of all, you have to love Becky and Mel because they had fabulous green shoes. That just needs to be mentioned straight away.

They got dressed (with a minor wardrobe malfunction which I was able to remedy) and then headed off to pre-ceremony portraits.

Followed by the ceremony in St. George’s beautiful sanctuary

Earlier in the day, and during the ceremony, I, along with some hired servers and awesome friends of the brides, were putting the reception together. This was a big job. Becky and Mel were the ultimate DIYers in that not only did they do all their own decor (down to the most amazing details), they self-catered their brunch reception as well.

There was a bloody mary bar. A waffle bar. A candy bar.

Basically - a ton of great food, awesome details, and a big ton o’ fun.

And did I mention the photobooth?

There was a photobooth

There was also Becky’s father who talked me into the photobooth with him

All in all, a really wonderful start to my wedding season, and a great day! And the best part about DIYing your wedding? You get to keep all the leftover booze.

Becky and Melanie's vendor team:

Venue: St. George's Episcopal Church

Photographer: Crystal Hardin, Lily B Photography

Photo booth: SillyShotz

Rentals: DC Rentals

Event Coordinator: Katie Wannen, The Plannery

Queen Mary 2 recap (non-traditional wedding venue, anyone?)

I’m baaaaack. And I didn’t sink OR sing the Titanic theme song (though another crazy woman at karaoke did).

Let me back up. My Dad used to travel a lot for work. A lot. He recently retired and a couple years ago went on the Queen Mary 2’s transatlantic crossing. He loved it. So he wanted to do it again and make it a family trip. My husband and I love to travel and while we never would have thought to do a transatlantic crossing on our own, we jumped at the chance to join him and the rest of our family.

It has a reputation (which is somewhat valid) for being a boat full of old people. And let’s face it, generally only old people can afford to take that much time off just to hop across the pond. But in the summer months, there are a few more youngins and the whole experience was actually super rad and far exceeded my expectations. It’s also worth mentioning I think this would be an awesome honeymoon (in the warmer months), as well as a swanky and unique venue for a wedding. Just sayin'.

First of all, as my Dad said “it’s a very civilized way to travel.” And it so is. The boarding of the boat was a breeze - a BREEZE - compared to air travel. It was so easy and lovely and basically 15 minutes after boarding we were already in a bar on board having a beer. Plus, the service and accommodations were outstanding - this is not your normal cruise. This is a crossing.

What I enjoyed the most was that it was a really lovely way to unplug and enjoy some peace (hello, you’re in the middle of the ocean) while at the same time the boat had a ton of fun activities so you never got bored. We did some ballroom dance lessons, lectures, a champagne tasting, afternoon tea every day, karaoke, pub quizzes, got a massage, and danced our butts off every night. But we also just walked or read on the deck, enjoying the air, the sea, and the quiet. Plus, I was there with a big group of family and it was wonderful to spend time with them.

Once we landed, my husband and I spent a few days in London...

and then I headed home for a wedding!

I’m so excited to be back. I've been getting some beautiful photos of the weddings I've worked on this year which I can't wait to share with you! And things are really picking up speed here - I’m busy busy busy and loving every minute of it.

But when I need a moment of peace I’ll just close my eyes and be back on that amazing Atlantic ocean once again...

Friday Links: Anchors Aweigh!

I'm still not blogging as much as I'd like to, but I hope to do more as my wedding season slows down... in 2-3 months. Ah well, I'll keep doing what I can. Til then, I'm actually getting ready to head out on vacation. I'll post about it when I return, but very much looking forward to being unplugged (by force, but sometimes that's the best way) - starting to think unplugging at least once a week is the way to go. Please, please, please, can we stop expecting wedding gifts to be worth a certain amount and then being horribly tacky and bitchy about it when they don't live up to your crazy expectations? Thank you.

Moving on to the real stuff, The Atlantic had an awesome article about feminism, the sharing of household duties, men vs. women, and marriage. It's really fantastic and I highly recommend it. Thoughtful stuff (though it is not very gender neutral, so apologies to LGBT folk).

The NY Times published a Vows story that got super hyped up and I have to admit was rather fabulous (professional juggler falls in love with artist who sets things on fire? Rad.)

Remember my Say No to the Dress post? Well here are a couple more options for ladies who want to wear pants to their wedding

And finally, the photos from the weddings I've been doing this year have slowly been rolling in. The amazing photographer Amber Wilkie just blogged about Shira and Graeme and I adore her pics. It was an awesome wedding and while I hope to do my own blog post about it in the future, check it out now cause it'll undoubtedly make you smile.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! I'll catch you on the flip side...

Musings on Equality

“The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.” It's been a pretty great day. DOMA was overturned and the ruling on Prop 8, though not the complete victory it could have been, at least means Californians get the marriage equality laws they want and most likely gay marriage will become legal there. Inequality is still out there (my marriage is recognized in GA while other same sex marriages are not), but I think the steps taken today are huge and important and historic.

My decision to be quite open about my support of same sex marriage wasn't a difficult one for me to make (as I've discussed previously here). But I've recently been reminded that it's a decision that others appreciate. I had an amazing time at the Say I Do Expo recently, and met some truly remarkable couples (that I'm dying to work with - call me, please!). Beyond that, I recently had a vendor at a wedding take me aside at the end of the evening. He said he'd taken a look at my website and that he wanted to thank me for being so open about my support, because he was going to his sister's wedding the following week. She was marrying another woman. His quiet and simple thank you really struck me. It reminded me that though my support is easy and I don't give it a second thought, there are a lot of other people out there who still don't support marriage equality and same sex couples. So here's hoping today is yet another step in the right direction. Love is love. And rights are rights.

p.s. Edith Windsor rules

Say I Do Expo 2013

I'm baaaaack! Wow. Wedding season hit and I disappeared from this blog. I'm going to try and be better for the rest of the season!

One of the things keeping me so busy, besides the lovely weddings I've been working on, was the Say I Do Expo which I was honored to attend this past Sunday. It was a wonderful day - I met a bunch of amazing LGBT couples about to get engaged, some who had just gotten engaged, and others very close to their wedding date! I wasn't sure what to expect from this expo but it was a truly wonderful experience and had a great turn-out. I also met a lot of awesome vendors as well - one of whom took some pics of my booth and was kind enough to share them with me! Big thank you to photographer Chris Ferenzi - you all need to check him out. Looking forward to working with some of the couples I met at Say I Do this year and next!

(I look a little tired... perhaps doing a wedding the day before with a 15 hour work day wasn't the best idea?)

Friday Links: Downton, mutual proposal, and great expectations

I was terrible about my blogging this week, but at least I have some interesting links for you this lovely Friday!

This post on A Practical Wedding made me way more emotional than I expected. I think it's a gorgeously written piece that struck me because it so beautifully illustrated how the "traditional" engagement isn't the only way to do it. It made me really feel for the first time how romantic and lovely a mutual engagement can be. I really encourage everyone to read this because rather than just talking theoretically about how "men don't have to do a big, grand, surprise proposal to a woman" - this shows you how it could be. And hot-damn, it's really lovely.

I had very mixed feelings about this couple who recently wed in my town of Del Ray. They had their first kiss at the altar. I think at the end of the day, I gotta say that if it works for you, good for you.

Very interesting piece on NPR about how the gender imbalance in China is impacting marriage. The scarcity of women is now giving them bargaining power when it comes to marriage. Negotiations, bride prices,... very different perspective on marriage.

Finally for some fun stuff - I loved this piece on babble about disneyland surprises gone wrong. This may seem off-topic, but I thought it really illustrated very well how important expectations are (yes, especially for kids - but for lots of adults, too). Whether it's setting your family and friends up to have realistic expectations for what your wedding celebration will be like, talking about marriage and commitment before a surprise proposal, or just creating epic fails like these hilarious disneyland surprises, it's always important to remember how important plans can be to some people, and how changing the plan and thereby messing with their expectations can often cause big issues. Plus, these videos are just hilarious.

Great giveaway on Spoonflower (an awesome site where you can design or buy custom fabric) - you can get a custom wedding print. The giveaway goes til May 1st, so enter now!

Finally, I had to end with my favorite random link of the day. You all know I love me some Downton, and I love me some musicals. Hilarious sneak peak at their new season - Downton's musical episode.

Happy Friday!