When talking about frame-worthy, this wedding photographed by Leslee Mitchell will forever come to mind. One look at the image of the Bride and Groom kissing outside of this D.C. church and I promise you, you’ll want to slap that pretty picture on your wall. Because it captures the true spirit of this wedding: timeless elegance loaded with the kind of details we go crazy for. Whether those details are the layers of white blooms by Holly Chapple Flowers or the Groom literally sweeping his gorgeous Bride off her feet, this wedding is filled to the brim with them and you can see it all unfold right here.
From Leslee Mitchell: The opportunity to photograph a wedding in our nation’s capital was an unforgettable experience. Truthfully. Everything about Kristina and Andrew’s wedding was magical. I will always love and always remember standing above the confetti as it was fell to the dance floor during their last dance. The confetti images will forever remain special pieces in my portfolio. Kristina and Andrew are very special clients to me. I consider them friends.
From the Bride…Everyone has those prefect moments when time stops and a memory is made. We will always remember fondly our romantic weekends in Washington DC that culminated with brunch at the Army Navy Club. With such affection we chose to have our wedding in Washington DC. I wanted the wedding to truly capture the beauty of the city in the midst of the holiday season. The early winter also brought to mind the wonderful black-tie grace of the inauguration and all balls that accompanying it. With the vision in mind, the Army Navy Club was a prefect fit for the reception. No place in Washington DC (except maybe the White House) captures the illustrious rich history of the city with a dash of holiday charm. Greeted by portraits of familiar faces in American history and paintings that belong in the National Gallery, the club instantly turns any reception into a special affair filled with the tradition and elegance of past times. Still, the giant Christmas tree in the center of the lobby surrounded with neatly wrapped presents adorned with bows reminds you that everyones favorite time of year is just around the corner. As I visoned my traditional romantic winter wedding in the beautiful Capital I knew I wanted to capture a winter white wonderland so with that in mind I kept with the simple, clean, crisp, and elegant color scheme or white, ivory, with splashes of gold accents.
To accentuate the holiday feel and satisfy my serious sweet tooth, we personally designed a charming and unique dessert buffet that captured the sweet joy of the season. Baked and Wired, a delicious local bakery, provided delicious handcrafted peppermint bark and gingerbread cookies that had every guest feeling like a kid again. The Army Navy Club specially made warm chocolate molten lava cakes for the reception. Andrew and I shared a chocolate molten lava cake on our first date together back in college thus making it our personal favorite dessert of the evening. The scrumptious dessert buffet was accompanied by a hot coco bar complete with wall your favorite additives such as candy canes to dress up your favorite holiday treat. An ode to dessert and flowers (two of my favorite things) was our wedding cake. The chocolate hazelnut truffle cake frosted in Frangelico flavored meringue butter cream made by Craylon Taylor was covered head to toe in a mix of sahara and spray roses that completely rounded the rim of the cake, she did an excellent job in designing exactly what I wanted.
Making the day even more special was being able to wear my ninety three year old grandmother’s fur stole. This stole was one of the few possessions she was able to bring from Cuba when she fled in 1959. Another family touch to my attire was my veil. The veil was made of lace from my mother’s wedding dress. I was so touched and overjoyed to wear such family heirlooms on our day. These items also added a vintage touch to the day that brought to mind the classic black-tie events of decades past.
Wedding invitations and the stationary are the guests’ first glimpse into the special day, for that reason I put great effort into adding my own touch to the paper. Abby from Flaire Design in St. Louis created a classic motif that was imprinted on all paper items. Keeping with my vision and infusing some of Southern upbringing, we created a classical cursive custom monogram of our first initials and centered in Romanesque wreath. This was the perfect combination of the tradtional and classic feel mixed with a nod to the holidays. From the invitations to the menu, to the wedding program and personalized cocktail napkins, all them were adorned with our unique design.
Looking back at the most magical day of my life I can truly say the highlight was being surprised by a sliver confetti shower during the last dance. Dancing with my new husband to Fly me to the Moon the Wellie Nelson version under this soft snowlike sliver surprise was truly the most romantic way to end our classic Washington, DC winter white wedding. I have many people to thank for making my wedding weekend unforgettable and everything I wanted. From the vendors to my family everyone was supportive and played a major role in brining my vision to life. Still, I would especially like to thank our photographer Leslee Mitchell and my make up artist Kara Gaylor. Both their passion and support for my vision were important and added to the enjoyment of the weekend. Kara’s constant assistance and diligent work was an invaluable part of the weekend. Leslee’s unbelievable eye and willingness to capture the weekend from every angle was everything I could ask for and more. Thanks to her magnificent work, we will always be able cherish and relive our wedding weekend as if we were still there.
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Photography: Leslee Mitchell | Wedding Planner: The Posh Planner | Floral Design: Holly Chapple Flowers | Ceremony: Holy Rosary Italian Catholic Church | Reception: Army Navy Club of Washington DC | Stationer: Flair Designery | Car Rental: Regal Limousine | Wedding Cake: Taylor Made Cakes | Desserts: Baked and Wired | Makeup + Hair: Kara Gaylor | Bridesmaids Dresses: Bella Bridesmaids | Tuxedo Rentals: Wedding Creations| Invitations + Save the Dates: Paperzest, LLC