Modern Garden Wedding in Washington, D.C.
When you typically think of garden weddings, you probably don't think of modern, but that is about to change. Because after you take at peek at this pretty captured by Ampersand Photography and planned by Bliss Weddings And Events, you'll see modern and garden blend beautifully. This gallery is filled to the brim with all the reasons why, and you can get lost in all the lovely right here.
From the Bride...Our wedding was held in the back garden of the Textile Museum in the Dupont Circle area of Washington DC. The Textile Museum was formerly an ambassadors residence and is on a tree lined street with many old DC buildings. It was the perfect setting for our wedding that mixed modern and traditional.
Ceremony: Our ceremony was a mix of non-traditional elements with Jewish cultural traditions. My father hand made the chuppah we stood under out of fallen branches from Rock Creek Park. The Tallit sewn into the fabric cover was my maternal grandfathers (passed). My bouquet of calla lilies was wrapped in a handkerchief from my maternal grandmother (passed). Our ceremony program was designed by one of my bridesmaids and dedicated to my paternal grandmother who could not make the trip from Wisconsin.
Reception: I wasn't the girl who knew what her wedding would look from the age of 13 so instead my now husband and I came about our design by looking at different interior design element we like. We tend to lean towards modern minimalist so we decided on clean lines and geometric shapes. We chose Sperry Tents for the gorgeous shape and hue of their sail cloth. We chose individual rectangular tables and my mom hand made each of the table runners from two types of geometric patterned fabric. (For those that don't sew Stich-Witch is a girls best friend). The floral arraignments carried the geometric pattern theme through with interesting shaped orchids, different square and rectangular vases and different height candle holders. The white table linen mixed with the grey and white runners, grey napkins and silver chairs with the pop of purple flowers gave the tent a crisp and airy feeling. My bridesmaid dresses from Monique Lihuiller also echoed this design.
Details: We wanted the event to be about our now shared life experiences. My husband is from San Francisco, is Italian and served in the Peace Crops in Africa. I am Jewish, Dutch and a native Washingtonian.
Cocktail Hour:The Family Tree: There was a gorgeous giant oak tree where we held the cocktail hour. I collected old black and white wedding photos from both our families, going back to great, great grand parents and hung them around the tree. It was a wonderful way to remember all the beautiful couples that came before us.
Hor de orvers: Dual of crab - My husband and I have an ongoing debate on whether west coast Dungeness crab or east coast Maryland blue crab are better so we served blue crab on Old Bay chips and Dungeness crab on Sourdough bred and took a pole of our guests on which they preferred. The debate continues.
Guest Book: Both my husband and I have traveled a lot. I have friends all over the country and he has friends all over the world so we chose a watercolor map as our guest book.
Cake Toppers: Our cakes toppers were figurines from The National Zoo. I chose a panda because I traveled to China several years ago and held a baby panda at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center. I haven't stopped talking about it since. My husband chose a wolf because he works on environmental issues including the protection of wolves.
Dessert Table: This was probably the most fun to put together! Instead of having a big cake we decided to have a cookie bar that represented each of us. We ordered windmill cookie direct from Holland and Jewish rugelach from NYC and a dutch cream puff tower. We sourced amaretto cookies from a small Italian deli and traditional Italian jordan almonds. The most special dessert were the purple mini cupcakes made by a friend with an amazing baking talent. She matched the icing color to our flowers and handmade mini flags with our initials and wedding date. I knew we would have plenty of dessert so we provided little bags for guests to take sweet treats home with them.
Favorite Parts of the Big Day: Its hard to choose one favorite part of the day. Getting ready in a hotel suite not far from the venue was wonderful. My maid of honor, two bridesmaids and one brides-man (best friends since we were 2) were with me all day. A dear friend came down from New York to my hair, which was amazing) and we had a gorgeous balcony to take photos on. My parents were there as well and I had a special gift for them. I had printed out a baby photos of me with each of them and gift wrapped two boxes with them. Inside the boxes where embroidered handkerchiefs with a special note of thanks to each of them. We are big criers in my family and the handkerchiefs were put to good use that day.
Parent's Speech: My dad gave a speech with my mom accompanying him, that brought down the house. He and I have always loved the movie the Princess Bride and he ended with speech with his own toast that culminated in the best movie line ever, "AS YOU WISH". My friends still talk about that speech.
The Moment: Brandon and I chose not to do "First Look" photographs and for us that was the right choice. I still gush when I think about the moment I walked through the doors to the back garden on my parent's arms and saw Brandon standing under the chuppah waiting for me. The walk down the aisle to him was something movies are made of. The entire world went away and it was just me and him, together forever. We were able to take great photographs after the ceremony, have a moment to ourselves and still make our cocktail hour!
Dancing in the Air: The Horah is often the highlight of any Jewish wedding and ours did not disappoint. Brandon and I were hoisted 6 feet in the air and between moments of sheer terror and uncontrollable laughter, danced upon high, a napkin linking us together. Our photographer did an amazing job capturing all the emotions of that moment.
Together: Brandon and I will be forever grateful that so many people came from all over the country to celebrate with us; 13 states and Mexico. We were so overjoyed that everyone had an amazing time. Our dance floor was never empty, thanks to DJ Rusty B. The music never stopped and people never stopped smiling, singing and rapping! Our photographer sent us almost 1600 hundred picture, nearly double what she normally does) because there were so many wonderful candid shots of our friends and family having fun. I can't think of any better way to start a new life together.
Ceremony: Our ceremony was a mix of non-traditional elements with Jewish cultural traditions. My father hand made the chuppah we stood under out of fallen branches from Rock Creek Park. The Tallit sewn into the fabric cover was my maternal grandfathers (passed). My bouquet of calla lilies was wrapped in a handkerchief from my maternal grandmother (passed). Our ceremony program was designed by one of my bridesmaids and dedicated to my paternal grandmother who could not make the trip from Wisconsin.
Reception: I wasn't the girl who knew what her wedding would look from the age of 13 so instead my now husband and I came about our design by looking at different interior design element we like. We tend to lean towards modern minimalist so we decided on clean lines and geometric shapes. We chose Sperry Tents for the gorgeous shape and hue of their sail cloth. We chose individual rectangular tables and my mom hand made each of the table runners from two types of geometric patterned fabric. (For those that don't sew Stich-Witch is a girls best friend). The floral arraignments carried the geometric pattern theme through with interesting shaped orchids, different square and rectangular vases and different height candle holders. The white table linen mixed with the grey and white runners, grey napkins and silver chairs with the pop of purple flowers gave the tent a crisp and airy feeling. My bridesmaid dresses from Monique Lihuiller also echoed this design.
Details: We wanted the event to be about our now shared life experiences. My husband is from San Francisco, is Italian and served in the Peace Crops in Africa. I am Jewish, Dutch and a native Washingtonian.
Cocktail Hour:The Family Tree: There was a gorgeous giant oak tree where we held the cocktail hour. I collected old black and white wedding photos from both our families, going back to great, great grand parents and hung them around the tree. It was a wonderful way to remember all the beautiful couples that came before us.
Hor de orvers: Dual of crab - My husband and I have an ongoing debate on whether west coast Dungeness crab or east coast Maryland blue crab are better so we served blue crab on Old Bay chips and Dungeness crab on Sourdough bred and took a pole of our guests on which they preferred. The debate continues.
Guest Book: Both my husband and I have traveled a lot. I have friends all over the country and he has friends all over the world so we chose a watercolor map as our guest book.
Cake Toppers: Our cakes toppers were figurines from The National Zoo. I chose a panda because I traveled to China several years ago and held a baby panda at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center. I haven't stopped talking about it since. My husband chose a wolf because he works on environmental issues including the protection of wolves.
Dessert Table: This was probably the most fun to put together! Instead of having a big cake we decided to have a cookie bar that represented each of us. We ordered windmill cookie direct from Holland and Jewish rugelach from NYC and a dutch cream puff tower. We sourced amaretto cookies from a small Italian deli and traditional Italian jordan almonds. The most special dessert were the purple mini cupcakes made by a friend with an amazing baking talent. She matched the icing color to our flowers and handmade mini flags with our initials and wedding date. I knew we would have plenty of dessert so we provided little bags for guests to take sweet treats home with them.
Favorite Parts of the Big Day: Its hard to choose one favorite part of the day. Getting ready in a hotel suite not far from the venue was wonderful. My maid of honor, two bridesmaids and one brides-man (best friends since we were 2) were with me all day. A dear friend came down from New York to my hair, which was amazing) and we had a gorgeous balcony to take photos on. My parents were there as well and I had a special gift for them. I had printed out a baby photos of me with each of them and gift wrapped two boxes with them. Inside the boxes where embroidered handkerchiefs with a special note of thanks to each of them. We are big criers in my family and the handkerchiefs were put to good use that day.
Parent's Speech: My dad gave a speech with my mom accompanying him, that brought down the house. He and I have always loved the movie the Princess Bride and he ended with speech with his own toast that culminated in the best movie line ever, "AS YOU WISH". My friends still talk about that speech.
The Moment: Brandon and I chose not to do "First Look" photographs and for us that was the right choice. I still gush when I think about the moment I walked through the doors to the back garden on my parent's arms and saw Brandon standing under the chuppah waiting for me. The walk down the aisle to him was something movies are made of. The entire world went away and it was just me and him, together forever. We were able to take great photographs after the ceremony, have a moment to ourselves and still make our cocktail hour!
Dancing in the Air: The Horah is often the highlight of any Jewish wedding and ours did not disappoint. Brandon and I were hoisted 6 feet in the air and between moments of sheer terror and uncontrollable laughter, danced upon high, a napkin linking us together. Our photographer did an amazing job capturing all the emotions of that moment.
Together: Brandon and I will be forever grateful that so many people came from all over the country to celebrate with us; 13 states and Mexico. We were so overjoyed that everyone had an amazing time. Our dance floor was never empty, thanks to DJ Rusty B. The music never stopped and people never stopped smiling, singing and rapping! Our photographer sent us almost 1600 hundred picture, nearly double what she normally does) because there were so many wonderful candid shots of our friends and family having fun. I can't think of any better way to start a new life together.