Worldwide Wednesdays - South Africa through Julie Lim's Lens

The past few weeks I've been religiously following Julie Lim's blog posts about her time in South Africa. Julie is an amazing up and coming photographer and is the lucky duck, who wedding photographer Christine Meintjes, personally choose to document all of her own upcoming wedding events. What and honor!  Below are some of the gorgeous images that Julie has captured of Cape Town during the last few weeks. To read about Julie's adventures and to see all the super cute details of  Christine Meintjes'  wedding events be sure to hop on over to Julie's blog. 

Karli & Rich Married and Featured on Style Me Pretty!

In early September of this year we helped design and coordinate Karli and Rich's fall wedding at Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, Virginia. Karli looked drop dead gorgeous in her Legends by Romona Keveza dress, and her bridesmaids strutted their stuff in chic deep red dresses by Aria Dress.  Holly Chapple Flowers created the picture perfect bouquets and flowers, and Tracy at Timmester Photography captured all the details, including Karli's grandparents as they patiently waited for the ceremony to begin.  The gorgeous fall wedding was just featured in Style Me Pretty and we think it deserves the attention. Read Karli's & Rich's story here and how Karli felt the first look was her favorite moment from her wedding day. 

Earlier this year we were grateful to help Liz Guthrie of San Jose Wedding Consultants surprise a deserving couple with a dream wedding from San Francisco Dream Wedding Giveaway.  You can see photos & info here and press about the wedding and our video surprise here. Vanessa & Mike, the winning couple, were both Air Force Academy graduates, Michael returned from deployment, and Vanessa was in the midst of fighting stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Virginia. 

During the giveaway, Liz, decided to take the next step and founded Wish Upon a Wedding.  Wish Upon a Wedding is the world's first nonprofit wish granting organization that provides weddings & vow renewals for couples facing terminal illness or other serious life-altering circumstances. In less than a year the organization has 16 active chapters, and will have granted 12 wishes by the end of 2010.

During the month of November, the organization and it's chapters are hosting several fund raising galas & auctions throughout the country.  To support this great cause you can enjoy a night out at a local Blissful Wishes Ball or participate in the organization's online auction, Bid Your Wish for Wedded Bliss. Our local DC chapter is hosting their ball in Baltimore on November 17th.

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The online auction enables couples to plan their entire wedding knowing that every penny will go directly towards helping a couple in need.  In the online auction, you can find everything from invitations to flowers, catering to DJs, photography to wedding planners and more from the industry's best vendors.

Jefferson Wine and Apple Picking

This Saturday I went wine tasting at Jefferson Vineyards, apple picking at Carter Mountain Orchard, and then had an early dinner in downtown Charlottesville with the girls.  At the vineyard we shared a bottle of their 2009 Viognier, snacked on goat cheese and herbs with rosemary crackers, and discovered local Gearhart Chocolates chai spiced pecans that are amazing. I've already requested my husband get them for the holidays.  Here are images I snapped along the way.    

Miami Engagement - Lara Rios Photography

We recently planned an engagement session for one of our 2011 destination couples. We are helping Yasmin and Michael plan their April wedding in the heart of South Beach, Miami, and judging by these pictures, it's going to be hot. For the engagement session we planned a trip down to Miami, with a stay at the National Hotel, their amazing wedding venue. During their stay, Claudia of Art of Hair and Maritza of Make up by Marz met Yasmin for a trial run of hair and makeup. These ladies are a dream team and it really shows.  Up and coming photographer, Lara Rios, who I can't say enough good things about, arrived after the trials to take Yasmin and Michael around the hotel and out to the beach for some gorgeous pictures. The color of Yasmin dress was perfection and the images are yummy! During their stay Yasmin and Michael also had their tasting with the National's events coordinator to select the perfect menu for their big day. It was a pre-wedding trip that the couple will always remember and we're so glad we could help make it relaxing and fun. 

Clifton Day

We had a great afternoon at Clifton Day on Sunday.  I personally love this little town and they have  a cute little church and Trummers for top notch receptions or rehearsal dinners.  Trummers' executive chef Clayton Miller was recently named one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs of 2010 and the decor in their largest, glass-enclosed Atrium, with seating for up to 90, is drop dead gorgeous.  Here are some images I took as we walked around Clifton Day.  

Colored Glass

When you're deciding on a color palette for your wedding, besides taking some cues from the venue, and the feel you envision for your event, think about bringing in color through the vases and glassware. If you love blue's and yellow's, you may want to use all yellow flowers and have the vessels that hold your flowers bring in the color blue. Different colored vases add interest and a unique feel to a table scape verses using standard clear glass cubes. Drink glasses also come in a multitude of colors and unique shapes and can infuse more depth into your tables.

First Row: JL Designs, Photo by Gabriel Ryan/ Second Row: Jon Jensen Photography/Third Row: Love Ala Photography/ Fourth Row: Wohn Idee mag via She Walks in Beauty,  Millie Holloman Photography/ Fifth Row: Fat Orange Cat Studio, Tim Halberg,Rosanna Bowles 

Kaitlin & Adam Married - Georgetown and Top of the Town

Kaitlin and Adam were married in August at the super cute Grace Church in the heart of Georgetown. After the ceremony, which included musical selections such as Final Count Down, and Don't Stop Believing played by the talented Cherry Blossom String Quartet, Kaitlin and Adam headed over to the Top of the Town for sunset cocktails on the rooftop. They started the reception off with a bang by preforming their first song, At Last. Kaitlin's vocals were amazing with Adam on the guitar. In addition to preforming at the reception, Kaitlin also handmade a ton of details for their big day, including swizzle sticks, menu cards with paisley detail, guitar shaped cookies, and a unique record display for guests to sign. I personally loved the color combo of Jenny Yoo iridescent blue cocktail dresses that the bridesmaids wore, with magenta flowers. The dresses even had pockets. Check out the cool images by Luke Esleman of Adam and Kaitlin and their fun, musically inspired wedding.

Lee-Fendall House Old Town Alexandria - Site Visit

Last week I visited the historic Lee-Fendall House Museum and Garden in the heart of Old Town Alexandria. The garden with massive hundred year old tress is the perfect sanctuary for wedding ceremony and a tent can hold up to 140 guests with room for dancing.  I personally love the large magnolia and the other well-aged trees would be perfect to hang lanterns from and create an intimate alter area. 

Here are some images I took of the property and gardens during my visit. 

Detail Photos and the Dress

So you've spent a year planning your big day, deciding on hundreds of little details and hand picking out the perfect accessories. It's the week before the wedding and your pulling everything together to take to the hotel, head to your parents house, or take to the venue the morning of the big day. You've planed for when your hair and makeup artists will start and when the photographer will arrive to snap candid pictures of you, your girls, and your mom getting ready. But have you thought about your photographer capturing all the personal details and what you need to have out and ready when the photographer arrives?   Photographers need time to style your favorite accessories and your dress for great photos, and if these items are not easily accessible or the photographer doesn't know about them, the chance that you may not get an image of them is high.  Here is a list of items that I remind my bride's and their maids of honor to have out and ready for when the photographer arrives.  The dress, and a nice hanger (see below), jewelry, shoes, an invitation, the rings, garter, purse, and any other personal details that you may have like a ring bowl, or broach for your mom.  Images of these items help tell a story of your day and every detail that went into it.

Check out these personalized hangers to display your dress on your wedding day.

First Row: Twisted Sisters Stitchery - Jonilyn Photography, Lila Frances on etsy/ Second Row: Lila Frances on etsy, Paloma's Nest

Night Engagement Session with Ron Soliman

One of our super cool 2011 destination couples, Quincy & Phuong, are planning a unique wedding at the stunning Rosewood Mayakobá in the Riviera Maya.  Recently they had a fun night engagement shoot around the DC monuments with their renowned photographer, Ron Soliman.  Ron has won numerous awards for his photojournalism over the years and I'm sure he's going to document Phuong & Quincy's relaxed luxury wedding perfectly.  

Here are some of my favorite recent details shots from Ron's blog and check out Phoung & Quincy's sexy night shoots!