There’s just enough sparkle in this Washington DC wedding to really catch our eye. It’s an emerald green and gold affair at the beautiful DAR Constitution Hall with fun, modern twists like shimmery dresses, a library cocktail hour and donuts for late-night snacks! Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography captured the Bride (flawless thanks to Real Doll Makeup) and Groom on their special day in the full gallery right here!
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From the beautiful Bride… John and I spent over half of our relationship long distance – he’s from Pittsburgh and I’m from Texas, and his job kept him on the road for most of the week. Although we’ve seen more than our share of airports and cities, DC is the place that we’ve made our home. It became even more special to us when John proposed to me at Reagan National Airport last winter!
Even though we are both in notoriously intense and unfunny professions (John is a consultant, I’m a lawyer), we are both huge fans of comedy shows. One weekend, we went to an Aziz Ansari stand-up comedy show at DAR-Constitution Hall, right across the street from the White House. While waiting in line outside, all I could focus on was how stunning the building was and whether the venue allowed weddings. Luckily for us, it did, and it was the first vendor we booked! The second vendor we booked was our incredible photographer, Adam Barnes of Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography. We fell in love with his work the instant we saw it; he did a beautiful job capturing the day and was also a wonderful person to have alongside us the entire time.
Our wedding is incredibly special to us because it was 100% tailored to us – we both wanted a traditional, elegant wedding at the core, but with a modern, personal twist, which we executed through DIY projects and lots of Etsy. ;) The DAR was perfect for us because it’s a classic DC venue, but also has gorgeous lighting and details without being too ornate or over the top. The space was beautiful and fit our needs perfectly – our ceremony was outdoors, the cocktail hour was in the library (the check-out desk became a bar!), dinner was in the O’Byrne Gallery, and dancing was outside under the Portico.
We were able to make the wedding our own with all of the details, big and small: huge gold XOXO balloons, the processional music (our wedding party walked down the aisle to songs originally by Michael Jackson and the Beach Boys; I walked down the aisle to “Can’t Help Falling In Love”), the wedding cake made by my talented sister, beer from Pennsylvania and Texas, photos on the mantle of our parents and my family dog who had sadly passed away the day before our wedding, Krispy Kreme Donuts and late night snacks, an American flag sendoff (did I mention John wants to be President one day…?), and other homemade touches – John’s dad and grandpa built our wedding gift box, and John built the arch that we got married under. We put a lot of work into the wedding to make sure everything felt like us, and seeing how it all came together was indescribable. Our month-of planner, Jen Bryan of Elegantly Chic Events, took away so much of the stress that comes with wedding planning and made sure the entire weekend went off without a hitch. Our DJ, Michael Cruz from Bialeks Music, did a perfect job reading the crowd and helped make the night so much fun. At the end of the night, we were able to donate all of our flowers to nursing homes, hospice care and shelter facilities through Repeat Roses.
One of the most special parts of the day was standing under the arch John built, saying the personal vows we had written for one another. I loved hearing what John had written, and laughed when I realized we had even made some of the same references in our vows to one another. I love that we can someday put the arch in our backyard and be reminded of that memory.
Since our wedding was in the fall, we chose a color scheme of emerald green, blush pink, and gold. The bridesmaids wore emerald green dresses, while my three older sisters (Matrons of Honor) wore the same dress in a sparkly gold. I knew my wedding dress would be tulle from Day One, and when I found my trumpet cut tulle dress at a boutique in Dallas, I knew it was the perfect choice for me – made even more perfect when my wedding dress tailor, Angie Cavallaro, created a silk organza bow for the back of the dress to add some extra oomph! In one of my favorite fashion choices of the day, John wore a custom-made navy and black tuxedo to stand out from the groomsmen. It fit him like a glove and he looked extra handsome that day!
We had such a fun and incredible time surrounded by people we love, and couldn’t be more grateful for our beautiful day!
Photography: Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography | Videography: Toy Box Productions | Floral Design: Davinci Florists | Wedding Dress: Mori Lee | Bride's Shoes: Kate Spade | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Rent The Runway | Catering: Main Event Caterers | Makeup: Real Doll Makeup | Hair: Styled By Anna Fazio | DJ: Bialeks Music | Groom's Attire: Suitsupply | Wedding Venue: DAR Continental Memorial Hall | Bride's Headpiece: Nordstrom | Flower Donation: Repeat Roses | Furniture Rental: Vintage Affairs | Getaway Car: Vintage Limos | Groom's Watch: Breitling | Month-of Planner: Elegantly Chic Events | Programs: Wedding Paper Divas | Vases: DFW Vases | Wedding Dress Tailor: Angie Cavallaro