Julia and Joe // Longview Gallery, Washington, DC // DC wedding coordinator

Julia and Joe got married this past March at Longview Gallery - a venue I've been dying to work in, and was so happy I finally had the chance. It unfortunately started raining right as their photos were supposed to start in Blagden Alley - but thankfully The Columbia Room offered up their space and they got some beautiful pre-ceremony shots! Their ceremony was in the front gallery, under a DIY'd arch and officiated by a friend. Well Dunn catered a beautiful reception, and Washington Celebrations kept people on the dance floor, and also did beautiful string lights for the space! But my favorite parts of the wedding were the more personal, fun details, including a video that Joe created of the two of them that was projected on a wall, their District Doughnut dessert, as well as the late night pizza from Pizza D'Oro that was delivered later in the night! Finally, we have to talk about what a hip, stunning couple this is. Julia's dress (and lips!) were so gorgeous and Joe was working it in that suit. Go Kate Shoot shot the beautiful pics you'll see below - enjoy!

Julia and Joe's Vendors:

Coordination: Katie Wannen, The Plannery

Venue: Longview Gallery

Photographer: Go Kate Shoot

Caterer: Well Dunn

Florist: Sill Life Florals

DJ and Lighting: Washington Celebrations

Hair/Make up: District Beauty

Donuts: District Doughnuts

Cake: Paisley Figg

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Kara and Mike // Studio Theatre, Washington DC wedding // DC wedding coordinator

Tarra recently coordinated this modern wedding that took place at DC's Studio Theatre and I had to share. As an ex-theatre gal, I was SOOO bummed I couldn't coordinate this wedding myself! But Kara and Mike were in great hands with Tarra - more words for Tarra, below along with some stunning photos:

Sweet is a complete understatement when it comes to Kara and Mike. This prompted me to look up synonyms for the word: Dear, Pleasing, Precious, Treasured, Well-liked, Admired, Esteemed, Near to One’s Heart, and what do ya know, DARLING!!! Darling makes me smile considering it was the actual first name of their photographer (who I must add lives up to the word and who took these BOMB photos!)

So, basically I was surrounded by the most awesome people ever during this wedding.  From Kara and Mike themselves, to their beautiful loving families, to their awesome friends, one who served as the officiant and others as cake and flower delivery team, to Darling and her assistant, to the lead and her team at Eat & Smile Catering, to Nikki at Studio Theatre who was beyond amazing, and to DJ Stereo Faith.  

I feel very blessed to have been part of the sweet dream team who made this April wedding in DC come together so perfectly.   And by perfectly I am including the inevitable bumps in the road that come along with wedding planning and executing. It is not a question of will they happen, but rather when they happen how will we respond?  Kara and Mike’s ultra laid-back demeanor helped the final planning processes go scary smoothly! That same demeanor carried over to the big day, making it seem like I was hanging out with them rather than coordinating their wedding. If Kara and Mike ever want to remarry (to each other of course!) PLEASE sign me up to coordinate/attend that wedding 100x times over. Just take a look at their gorgeous photos - can’t beat their infectious smiles, super tasteful wedding party attire with stunning bouquets, and a sick venue with no-fuss fresh décor! Enjoy!

Kara and Mike's Vendors:

Coordinator: Tarra from The Plannery

Venue: Studio Theatre

Caterer: Eat and Smile

Photographer: Darling Photographers

DJ: DJ Stereo Faith, DJ DMAC and Associates

Flowers: Little Shop of Flowers

Cake: The Cake Room

Hair and Make-up: Alina Karaman

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Hip Bridesmaid Fashion

care of Lena Dunham's Instagram yo

I had to pop by to do a quick blog post on the bridesmaids outfits everyone's talking about.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram know, I flipped when I saw Lena Dunham's Instagram post featuring what she and fellow bridesmaids wore to her BFF Audrey Gelman's wedding. They wore sequined skirts customized by J.Crew's Jenna Lyons, along with dusty pink tops and gold shoes.

Can we PLEASE start doing more of this? It's sequined and shiny and sparkly so you know it's festive and fancy. But these ladies can WEAR THESE SKIRTS AGAIN. Plus, they're customized (see detail below) which is just sweet as hell. I adore that they're still appropriately dressy while still being untraditional and chic as all get out. Plus, I don't know who that pregnant woman is on the right, but she is killing it.

care of Lena Dunham's Instagram yo

Rebecca and Mike // Union Station, Washington DC Wedding // DC Wedding Coordinator

This wedding - my first for 2016 - was so much fun, and was the perfect match for me. It's a great example of how weddings don't have to be all one thing or the other - super offbeat or super traditional. We're all complex people and it makes sense that our weddings are, too. From a distance, this looked like a fairly traditional Jewish wedding. Lots of guests (260), large beautiful venue (Union Station is so lovely), and many of the wonderful Jewish traditions. Look closer, however, and you'd see that they had no announcement, no cake cutting, no first dance or parents dances. Most importantly, Rebecca proposed to Mike. Which I straight-up LOVE. Here's how their engagement happened, in her own words:

We had just bought a house and knew we would get married but I am a planner and Mike is not.  I had decided it was time to get engaged if we were going to get married and that we should get married in January 2016! I started asking Mike to marry me everyday.  His typical response was "Not quiiiiiite yet".  Then, we agreed that when I had asked him 100 times, he would have to say yes.  I started asking multiple times a day and then he got smart and made a one time a day rule :) By the 100th time, he was in! Neither of us believe in a traditional "surprise" engagement (which is generally not a surprise!) or the man having to ask the woman.  These decisions are made as a couple and we wanted to throw (somewhat sexist!) tradition out the window.  I also did not want an engagement ring so we surprised both our parents with the news and started planning.  The only problem was when no one actually believed we were engaged since there was no engagement ring and no engagement story!

We NEED more of this you guys. It was such an honor to work with a couple like this and support them and their families. I swear it makes my heart grow and my bolsters my feminist spirit. It's so ridiculous that our society doesn't "believe" people are engaged because they don't have a "story" or a ring (ummm... that story above is an EXCELLENT story). So please let's all continue to break traditions we don't care about and embrace the ones we do.

Now that I got that out of the way, let's move on to the beautiful photos of this lovely day. They took some portraits at Hotel Monaco before heading over to Union Station for some more. After the photos and Ketubah signing, they had a beautiful ceremony - Rebecca's father, a rabbi, officiated! Petal's Edge did such a great job with their romantic chuppah, and I especially loved the modern arrangements for the centerpieces. Design Cuisine along with Kosher Kitchen killed it with their food and service. As you'll see, Onyx kept them dancing all night long - and Charles Archambault captured it all in these fantastic photos. Enjoy! And congrats again to my most bad-ass of couples, Rebecca and Mike!

Rebecca and Mike's Vendors:

Coordinator: Katie, The Plannery

Venue: Union Station

Caterer: Kosher Kitchen and Design Cuisine

Photographer: Charlie Archambault

Band: Onyx

Florist: Petal's Edge

Rachel and Andrew // Josephine Butler Parks Center, Washington, DC Wedding/ DC Wedding Coordinator

Full disclosure - this wedding happened a long time ago. But I just got my hands on the stunning photos, and I simply HAD to share. So close your eyes and pretend for a moment that we're not in the depths of winter, but instead on the cusp of fall - and then open your eyes and sink into these beautiful photos by Sarah Gormley (which features one of my very favorite first-look shots of a groom EVER).

I was coordinator for Rachel and Andrew's October wedding. They were such a wonderful couple - so easy-going and fun and in love! In addition to their modern, fall colors (guys, those bridesmaid dresses are my FAVORITE - not to mention the lovely florals by Eight Tree Street), they also incorporated DC-related items including a Metro theme for their table numbers, menus, escort cards, and even bottles of wine they had guests sign for various anniversaries (love this) - and their Fluffy Thoughts cake was adorned with DC monuments. They had a slightly non-traditional menu with different themed stations/buffets rather than a plated dinner. And then they part-ayed the night away (as you shall see).

Very belated congrats to the wonderful Rachel and Andrew!

Rachel and Andrew's Vendors:

Coordinator: Katie, The Plannery

Venue: Josephine Butler Parks Center

Photographer: Sarah Gormley

Caterer: Spilled Milk

DJ: Derek Romanoff from Bialek's Music

Ceremony Music: Palm Strings Trio

Uplighting and Photobooth: Bialek's

Florist: Eight Tree Street

Hair/Make-up: Modern Bridal Studio

Cake: Fluffy Thoughts

T's 1st Birthday Party

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As some of you who follow me on Instagram know, my daughter recently turned 1 (which, as a side-note, is totally nuts... can't believe how fast that flew by!). I often like to share personal posts about parties I host in order to keep it real - to show you what I do to keep the stress low and the good times high. We ended up doing what you aren't supposed to do for a first birthday - invite a ton of people. But my husband's extended family all lives in the area, and we thought it would be a fun excuse to get family together. We did, however, try to embrace it being a casual affair, what with it being a 1 year old's birthday party!

To keep things simple, we ordered food from Pork Barrell BBQ - a great BBQ joint in our Del Ray neighborhood. We picked up some pulled pork and buns, mac and cheese, cole slaw and other fixings and it was a huge hit. My husband made some deviled eggs, and we had some simple chips and dip and salsa out for guests when they arrived. Beer was on the back porch in coolers. And we used paper plates and napkins and utensils (except we did use real wine glasses since not too many people were drinking wine and it's just so much nicer to drink out of real glasses!). My husband baked the cake which I decked out in some Target treasures - a yellow "1" candle and mini gold bunting.

For decor I also tried to keep it simple. We went with a yellow (her favorite color), pink and gold theme. I picked up some simple bunting (again, from Target), and we got some balloons from a nearby party store. My Mom swooped in and saved the day by helping me repurpose some of the bunting she made for my baby shower (!), adding pink "1's" she cut out and glued on (while I napped. Best. Mom. Ever). Similar to the food, we decided to also delegate the flowers and I reached out to one of my favorite florists, Emily at Love Blooms, to see if she'd be willing to make a fun pink and yellow centerpiece (and did she ever!).

Tallulah was enough entertainment, but in addition to her cake eating (which, btw, she ended up picking up the entire slice of cake and diving in... killed me!), I put out some notecards and asked guests to write a note for her to open on her 10th birthday. I was so surprised and delighted by how many people took it really seriously. I'd see family members go off in a corner, deep in thought - and one of my friends wrote on the front and back! This was a really simple way to create what will hopefully be a fun treasure for her later in life. I like to go for meaningful activities and this one was perfect.

So there you have it. Enjoy some glimpses into the party details below - and remember that even event planners take it easy when it comes to throwing a bash!

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Kerrin and Antonio // St. Francis Hall, Washington, DC Wedding // DC Wedding Planner

Kerrin and Antonio got married this past October at Luther Place Memorial Church, followed by a reception at St. Francis Hall. Kerrin was a partial planning client - I didn’t meet Antonio til the day of the wedding, because he lives in Mexico! (though you may recognize them from their DC engagement session we featured here!). Kerrin moved to Mexico to be with Antonio shortly after the wedding, which is just damned dreamy. Speaking of dreamy… these photos from Sarah Gormley Photography are ethereal and lovely and amazing. She is one of my favorites and I just love the way she captures the day.

Kerrin was a flutist and fifer with the US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and therefore has a ton of musician friends. She added some beautiful musical touches by having a musical prelude at the church, and then surprising guests with a flash mob of fife, drum and bugle players at the reception!

This was such a fun reception because they really wanted to meld their two cultures. Main Event did a great job of providing delicious food (and of course, margaritas!), and DJ Anthony from MyDeejay introduced some latin music to the usual dance hits. The last special touch was that their wedding day was on Kerrin’s mother and father’s 40th wedding anniversary! So after the cake cutting they did a special tribute to them. It was a wonderful evening and wishing Kerrin and Antonio all the best in Mexico!! Congrats!

Kerrin and Antonio’s Vendors:

Planner: Katie from The Plannery

Venue: Luther Place Memorial Church and St. Francis Hall

Caterer: Main Event

Photographer: Sarah Gormley

DJ: Anthony from MyDeejay

Florist: Love Blooms

Cake: Fluffy Thoughts

Videographer: CinemaBride

Groomsmen gift ideas

Gifts for your bridal party aren't necessary - I'm gonna just say that outright. However - a lot of my clients really want to thank their bridal party with a special something. And finding that special something can be hard - especially for guys.

But I recently learned about an online shop, Groovy Groomsmen Gifts, that has a bunch of great options for couples wanting to thank their groomsmen (or brides men, fyi!), in a personalized fashion. Full disclosure, they sent me a free sample in exchange for a 100% honest review. While they had a ton of fun options to choose from - you have to check out the Your Buddy's Buddies, their Prohibition Classic Flask, and the Cap Catcher - I opted for the hand stamped tie bar because I liked the idea of giving a gift of something the guys could both wear the day-of, as well as use in the future.

I personalized it for my husband (why not?), and since his first name is three letters, I did his full first name rather than his initials. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Frankly, from the photos I was concerned the metal would be a bit flimsy. But it arrived and I gotta say, it's really awesome - plus, the hubby really loves it! First of all, I like that it's classy with a bit of a funky touch: the hand-stamped lettering (meaning each piece will be different) funks this classic piece up nicely and makes it really unique and one of a kind. Also the weight of it and durability are way better than what I'd expected. It feels expensive (I know that sounds strange, but think of how it feels to pick up a light piece of silverware... sort of crappy, right? This FEELS good to hold and give someone).

And most importantly, it looks great! Check out www.GroovyGroomsmenGifts.com yourself!

Oscar and Blaine // Mexican Cultural Institute Wedding, Washington, DC // DC wedding coordinator

The Plannery's fab coordinator, Tarra, brings you this blog post about Oscar and Blaine's wedding at the Mexican Cultural Institute. I was so bummed I was unavailable for this one, but was very glad Tarra was able to assist these wonderful men. Take it away, Tarra!

Blaine + Oscar = Bloscar! This is the one case where I would say merging the couples’ names together was sheer genius. In many ways, Blaine and Oscar are complete opposites…Oscar love to dance, Blaine does not.  Blaine is very (self-admittedly) Type A, Oscar is not…but Bloscar truly had a personality of his own! Evidenced by a wedding full of details representing both Blaine and Oscar’s personalities and backgrounds.

On the one hand, this special day represented your traditional style wedding (tuxedos, bowties, a formal Episcopal service, etc.)  On the other hand, this wedding gave off a modern, laid-back yet sophisticated vibe - and of course it was extremely FUN!  I think this blend is exactly what Bloscar was going for.  The perfect Greek and Mexican amalgamation. Notable examples include the beautiful Greek crowning tradition performed at the ceremony, and the reception held at the Mexican Cultural Institute featuring a kick ass mariachi band! Even the menu created by Spilled Milk was inspired by Greek and Mexican cultures.  The best part was the Mario Bros photo booth theme!!! Granted, the Mario Bros are Italian, but still somehow it fit in like a glove!

The final thing I will mention about this fantastic wedding was the crazy déjà vu experience I had.  Same-sex marriage + Impeding Hurricane Joaquin = Tarra wondering how the heck she was in this boat again! What are the chances I would experience this two times, in two different roles…first as a bride, then as a wedding coordinator?   Never fear, Bloscar was in excellent hands if I do say so myself!  And it truly my pleasure working with them - Congrats again, Oscar and Blaine!

Oscar and Blaine's Vendors:

Coordinator: Tarra, The Plannery

Venue: Mexican Cultural Institute

Catering: Spilled Milk

Photography: Khalid Naji-Allah

DJ: Khelan Bhatia

Lighting: Protech

Photobooth: Snapshot Moments

Cake: Touche Touchet Bakery

Food Truck: DC Slices

Alyssa and Ali // Meadowlark Botanical Garden, Vienna, VA wedding // VA wedding planner

I thought it would be a nice break from the freaking freezing weather we've been having to take a look back a balmy outdoor wedding. I did partial planning for Alyssa and Ali - helping them nail down their major vendors and then stepping back in to coordinate their day. They got married outdoors on a fairly steamy, but beautiful, September day (does anyone remember hot, sweaty weather?). Cocktails and reception followed, along with some wonderful toasts, food, cupcakes and dancing!

Alyssa and Ali were awesome - first of all, can we talk about how I love a bride in glasses? It's ridiculous that I have to say that, but I love that Alyssa wanted to look like her beautiful self on her wedding day. Alyssa was also a DIY master. She did all of her own flowers - which is no joke. And they were stunning. She also DIY'd an entire candy bar which was a huge hit and so much fun! She did a Mr. vs. Mrs. bar with all of his and her favorite candy. Big thanks to Bonnie Sen for capturing this day so well, and congrats again to Alyssa and Ali!! Now enjoy these lovely photos and daydream about sunshine and flowers!

Alyssa and Ali's Vendors:

Wedding Planner: Katie, The Plannery

Venue: The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Catering: Great Blue Heron

Photographer: Bonnie Sen

DJ: Rusty from DJ DMAC and Associates

Cupcakes: SophistiCAKE

Flowers: The bride!