Rebranded & on the Move!

We've rebranded and our wedding & events blog full of wedding inspiration, real weddings, and the things we love has moved. Please check us out at www.mysimpledetails.com/blog

Styled Bluebell Bridal Shoot - Featured on The Brides Cafe

We are so proud that our styled bridal shoot with Morgan of Petals and Hedges was recently featured on The Brides Cafe. We love Janie and her style and are honored to have our work on her blog. This shoot came together so quickly and it really was like a midsummers night dream. Once setup was complete it was like a dream world with all the bluebells around us. Check out the feature here. We'll be posting more images from this shoot soon, so stay tuned. Images by Vicki Grafton Photography. 

Angel & Jonathan's wedding featured on United with Love

One of our favorite local wedding blogs United with Love recently featured Angel & Jonathan's bright and cheery, daisy filled wedding! We were so happy to help design and coordinate this cute and fun loving couple's wedding. Check out more lovely images by Genevieve Leiper Photography on United with Love. 
Some of the other vendors that helped with this adorbable wedding included: 

Venue: Oxon Hill Manor
Floral Design: Maryam Flowers
Catering: Windows Catering
Hair and Makeup: KC Felton Bridal Hair & Makeup
Music: Elan Artists

Details - Greta & Thomas' Wedding

I promised these a while ago, so without further adieu here are some details shots from Jennifer Chase Photography of Greta & Thomas' shabby chic, garden inspired wedding at Fort Belvoir.  I adored the shape of the bridesmaids dresses and the flower girl's hair pieces were a super cute touch. The mother of the bride also made custom runners with pink and white lace details that were perfect for the tables. 

Sneak Peek - Angel & Jonathan @ Oxon Hill Manor

This is a quick and cheerful sneak peek of Angel & Jonathan's wedding at Oxon Hill Manor. Image by non-other than the wonderful Genevieve Leiper.  Happy Friday! 

Stylish Garters - The Garter Girl's Flash Sale!

For all brides, that may or may not be planning a garter toss, but would love a unique and stylish garter for their special day, one of my favorite local vendors, The Garter Girl, is having a flash sale this week on 100 Layer Cake's pop up shop. Check it out right here. 

There are great deals of nearly 50% off some of her stylish garters and even some of her couture garters are on sale!

Hot Miami Wedding

For a warm Friday night, I thought I'd post a few more hot images from Yasmin and Michael's 2011 Miami wedding. Hope you enjoy!  All Images by Lara Rios Photography. Some  of my favorite details were the multiple black plexi signs for the seating chart, cigar lounge and the novio/novia chair signs. 

Super Sneak Peak of Solomons Island Wedding

Last Saturday our team was working overtime on a super cute and detailed destination wedding in Solomons Island.  The venue was the bride's mom's estate and it was great to see the couples vision come to life. Here is a sneak peek of the cute ring bearer, Raja, who fetched a tennis ball that contained the rings from the crowd when he was asked for them. Too cute!

I can't wait to see all the images that Andrea Jae Photography captured!

The rehearsal dinner was also a relaxed and fun crab feast at the neighbors property.  Don't you love friendly neighbors :) 

Above Images: Vicki Grafton Photography

Jenny & Jamison's Colorful Wedding Featured on Green Wedding Shoes

Check out some wonderful images by Heidi at Our Labor of Love of Jenny & Jamison's Wedding on Green Wedding Shoes today. 

My favorite detail from this super fun wedding, besides the stunning bride, was the bird whistle escort cards. After alphabetizing them, the birds whistle tails were stuck in colorfully framed chicken wire and hung from the greenhouse with fabric streamers. The guest could then easily find and free their colorful bird from the chicken wire. Let us know your favorite detail from this wedding or how you plan to incorporate color into your day?  

My Simple Details = Proud Member of Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book

We are excited and extremely proud to announce that My Simple Details is an official member of Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book for 2011! 

I want to personally thank all the vendors that highly recommended our services to Style Me Pretty's editors to approve our membership. We are ecstatic and full of gratitude.  

Check out our new listing in SMP's Destination guide right here: 

Pink Lace Bridal Shoot Featured on Wedding Chicks!

A recent styled bridal shoot that we worked on with Morgan at Petals and Hedges has been featured on Wedding Chicks blog. Details of this shoot that I loved include the vintage clothes pins that held escort cards, vintage pitcher to hold the bridal bouquet, little lace cardigan to keep the bride warm and stylish, the bride's gray leather boots, milk glass ice-cream goblets, and a vintage peach broach.

Check out the full gallery here.  Images by Vicki Grafton Photography.

Jenny & Jamison's April 16, 2011 - Frederick MD Wedding

Since I was in Miami for Yasmin & Michael's wedding, Melody, one of our other lead planners was in charge of coordinating Jenny & Jamison's super colorful DIY wedding in Frederick, Maryland. Their very personal wedding was designed by us and as a result Melody with 2 assistants had the tireless task of setting up tons of decor including streaming yards and yards of bunting and fabric all over the green house structure at Shade Trees and Evergreens. Our team even had to endure tornado forced winds and rain, but thanks to Melody it really turned out amazing!  

More image of the details will be coming soon, but here is a sneak peek of this super cool wedding. Even a tornado couldn't put a damper on Jenny & Jamison's colorful personalities and love.  Image by Heidi at Our Labor of Love! 

This is a review from Jenny, the stunning bride: 

We loved working with My Simple Details, since we were only engaged for 4 months a wedding planner was the best decision we made. Vicki helped us put all our ideas together and gave us amazing suggestions to create a beautiful wedding for us. Vicki was out of town the day of our actual wedding, so Melody assisted us with the day of plans. Melody was so amazing in helping us set everything up and endure the crazy weather we had on our wedding day. I'm recommending My Simple Details to all my engaged friends!!

Yasmin & Michael - Miami April 16, 2011

Here is a sneak peek of Yamsin & Michael's April wedding in South Beach Miami. The wedding was held at the historic National Hotel and it was muy caliente! With a hot fuchsia and black & white color palette to pick up the art deco style of the venue, a stunning and totally in love couple, loads of latin music, and a super cool cigar lounge with suave professional roller, it couldn't get any more perfect. 

All gorgeous images by Lara Rios, an up & coming wedding photographer, that I personally think is a super star in the making. 

Since Yamsin & Michael are busy working on Capital Hill, we were hired to take care of all of the planning & details of their big day and we were so honored to make their day personal, picture perfect & stress-free.

Here is a super sweet review from the happy couple: 

"After interviewing several wedding planners, my husband and I chose My Simple Details for a complete wedding planning package. And I can honestly say that we have zero regrets, our wedding was perfect! Vicki is professional and has impeccable taste - we basically let her design most everything and are so happy with how the wedding turned out. In addtion, Vicki was super easy to work with. Both of us work long hours so much of our communication was via email/phone. She was very responsive, getting back to us on any of our questions either that same day or the next day. She also was able to get us the best deal for our money so we did not have to spend an arm and a leg to have a really nice wedding. Our guests are still talking about how much fun they had and how ours was one of the best weddings they have every been too. We are so grateful to Vicki for making our day perfect! " - Yasmin and Michael. 

Astrid & Fred's Mexico Wedding Featured on Style Me Pretty

After much anticipation Astrid & Fred's Mexico Wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty today. Their December wedding took place at La Amada resort and was packed full of preppy fuchsia and navy details. Check out the feature here, and I'll post some more great images by Kate Triano Photography and details of the design coming soon.

We are actually packing for another Mexico wedding as we speak and we leave tomorrow! Yay for Mexico and bride's that love Mojitos!

Slide a little closer on a Bench

Here is some inspiration for brides that are not feeling those white garden chairs or the not so unique chivari chairs.  Mix it up with some benches and have your guests slide a little closer to get to know each other.

First Row: Vue Photography/ Second Row: Richard Israel Photography/ Third Row: SugarLove / Fourth Row: Sarah Yates, Viera Photographics/ Fifth Row: Jose Vila, Caroline Tran

Sneak Peek of Greta & Thomas' Wedding - April 2, 2011

Detailed pics of Greta's vintage broach bouquet and much more to come soon. Photos by Jennifer Chase Photography. 

Happy Earth Day!

With the Earth Day in mind, here are some vintage earthy finds from Tree Potato Four that would be great additions to a spring celebration! 

For those of you new to the blog and our work, we love our dogs, animals, and the environment and donate 1% of all sales to either a local animal rescue or The Conservation Fund. Check them out to make your donation this Earth Day!  

Special Feature on EAD Today!

Today is a joyous day. Not only is My Simple Details featured on Elizabeth Anne Designs for our design work on a styled country shoot for a new event venue, but I personally was the featured photographer. For some time I've had a passion of photography, in addition to my passion for event planning and design. Since I started working with brides and grooms, I always put an enormous emphasis on hiring the best possible photographer, and my clients have always been glad they took my advice. With the addition of a few more planners to our team and some amazing assistants (who helped with the featured shoot),  I now have more time to pursue both of my passions.  

For our current clients this new venture will not impact my personal involvement with their weddings or events, and I'm personally excited for each and every wedding we have coming up this year. Our new clients will just have a larger team to rely on. I will personally still be involved in all planning and design aspects of our clients events, but I may not be as heavily involved in the coordination the month of. 

So take a minute and check out out styled country bridal shoot at the new venue Lamontagne at Bluemont. I'll be posting more images and details about this new venue soon. Morgan, a super talented florist and owner of Petal and Hedges, designed all the floral pieced for the shoot. They were yummy, even when compared to that home baked pie, and you must check out the bride's boots.  

Tunes We're Listening 2

Lately, we've been listening to and looking for some great foreign song writers, so please pass along your recommendations.  This song is called Comme des enfants by Coeur De Pirate.  I heart the super sweet video. 

Greta & Thomas are getting Married Tomorrow!

Hey everyone! I'm about to head out to Greta and Thomas' rehearsal for their  wedding tomorrow and I'm seriously crossing my fingers that the rain will stop.  We have some great things planned for their big day including an outside ceremony, but since we always have a great backup plan, so I'm positive it would look lovely no matter what.  Jennifer Chase, their photographer, just sent me some of some of their engagement shots, and I'm so glad she'll be there to capture all the little touches Greta and her mom handmade including her vintage broach bouquet.

Site Visit to The Stables at Bluemont Vineyard

This weekend I met one of our couples at their venue for a site visit and tasting. They are saying their vows at Bluemont Vineyard this fall and I'm working with none other than Holly Chapple for decor and flowers. Our design for their wedding is pulling plum, browns, and taupe together with gold touches for a rustic elegant event. We're also working to create a huge chandelier from 1000 cranes that the bride is busy working on as we speak. Below are some images I snapped of the stables. It is the largest indoor, climate controlled event space at any of DC's Wine Country Vineyards.  The  6500 square foot former stable has stunning views for both your ceremony and the outdoor cocktail hour on the verandah. The Stable seats up to 250 guests with tenting options to accommodate additional guests and has a recently renovated bridal suite with a private verandah that will be great for photos. My favorite aspect of this venue is it's tall vaulted celling with exposed beams that allow for endless decor possibilities.  

Styled Shoots + NYC w/Holly Chapple & David Beahm

I've been a little M.I.A. lately so I just want to give you the scoop on what we've been up to over the last few weeks and share a few photos to inspire. Larger more in-depth post will be coming soon, but here is a sneak peek. 

A few weeks ago we were head deep in beautiful props and candy for a 3 day photo shoot for Fig 2 Design's 20 new wedding invitation suites. Claudia, the owner and creative designer, is an absolute sweetheart, and has created some amazing new invitation suites that are each uniquely different and drop dead gorgeous. Her designs are fresh, fun and just my style, but since they are all so different, the shoot required a ton of different props and setups for each of the 20 suites. Mary Kate Mckenna, one of my favorite photogs, who shot Kerry and Josh's wedding, was a very happy lady shooting all the cute little details and setups. To tell the truth the three of us had a blast, and the 3 days blew by before we even knew it! Claudia is working on launching a new website, so the images are under wraps until the launch, but here is a sneak peek she posted on her home page. 

Following the Fig 2 Design shoot, our team was working hard with Morgan, a talented up and coming wedding florist and owner of Petals and Hedges. As a team we styled six, yes six, separate photos shoots with Morgan providing all the stunning flowers and bouquets. The shoots were designed not only to showcase Morgan's work, but also a new intimate Leesburg venue, which I will provide more details on soon. I'm very excited about this venue and all the cute options for events on the property. 

 Vicki Grafton Photography

The day after the 2 day mega shoot with Morgan in Leesburg, I was off on a bus headed to New York with Holly Chapple Flowers for her amazing new design workshop co-hosted by none other than David Beahm. I was there to capture Holly's workshop, which included the Chapel Floral Designers shopping the NYC flower market, browsing major supply stores like Jamali Garden,  learning design tips from David and his staff, creating stunning individual and group floral designs, and even attending a taping, of  Martha Stewart which was followed by a private tour of the Martha Stewart headquarters.  Here a just a sample images from the trip and workshop.  


I also want to give a big shout-out to Holly who is such a kind hearted soul and an extremely talented floral designer. She inspires me and so many other designers every day and I'm so glad I get to work with her to create amazing events for our clients. Thanks for letting me join you and capture the first of many amazing workshops to come! 

NY Flower Market with the Designers

Vicki Grafton Photography

Jamali Garden, I heart this place!  

Vicki Grafton Photography

None other than David Beahm

Vicki Grafton Photography

Two of my personal favorite individual designs from the workshop

Vicki Grafton Photography

Overall, it has been an amazing and crazy few weeks and I look forward to sharing more of the images from the multiple styled shoots and the New York design trip shortly.  David Beahm's insight and knowledge of the event industry was so enlightening and I was honored to hear him speak about some of his large events, and his philosophy about life and business. With wedding season almost in full swing we'll be trying to implement some of David's advice and we are really looking forward to some truly unique weddings this year! 

Anna & Chris - Engagement Session with BE Photography

Anna and Chris are getting married at the end of April at the Omni Hotel in DC and have a dream team of vendors including Barbara from Growing Wild Floral, Bridal Artistry for hair and makeup, Fluffy Thoughts for their cake, and James Berglie from BE Photography will be there to capture all the moments and details. They even have a  Mariachi band for cocktail hour. It's going to be a blast. Here are a few of the images from their DC e-session with James Berglie from BE Photography.

Beth & James Married - Corcoran Gallery with a Vintage Worldly Feel

This past October we coordinated an international and art filled Corcoran Gallery wedding in DC. I just adored Beth's vintage inspired gown, as it's a look we don't see very often, and Beth's hair and makeup done at Hela Salon worked perfectly with her gown. 

Beth & James live in London, but with DC being Beth's hometown, they planned an art filled wedding at the Corcoran Gallery. The stunning night ceremony was held on the large marble stairs of the Corcoran gallery and a beautiful family heirloom cloth chuppah that was attached to 4 wooden poles was carried in and held by groomsmen as Beth and Jamie's recited their vows.  I loved hearing all the guests from all over the world enter the gallery for the ceremony and the lighting by Light-olution made such a dramatic impact on the mode that night. 

The Spencer Finch sculptural installations which took up the subject of clouds was at the gallery on their wedding day and looked amazing behind the couple during the ceremony. Two Galleries were also open for the guests during cocktail hour. The couple used escort cards to test their guests knowledge of famous artists. To find their table, guests had to match the painting shown on their individual escort cards with the artist named table that painted it, such as Monet. Favors included gallery mugs for guests to take home and remember their visit. Overall, it was an understated black-tie event, where the Beth and James' style took center stage.  Other vendors involved in the wedding included Petals Edge florist, the always amazing Susan Gage catering, Antares Musicians, that provided music for the ceremony and reception, and Firehook Bakery who provided de-lish cakes for the dessert bar. All images by Hyon Smith Photography. 

Angel & Jonathan's E-session with Genevieve Leiper Photography

Angel and Jonathan are one of our recent 2011 couples.  We are currently working hard on the design for their May wedding at Oxon Hill Manor. It's going to be full of daisies, watering cans, french pastries, tea cups, and lanterns. Since Angel and Jonathan are both engineers, they're even constructing a system of overhead lighting for the patio reception. I can't wait to see it all come together. 

Angel and Jonathan booked the wonderful Genevieve Leiper to capture all the moments and details of their big day, and I'm so excited they did. Here are some images from their relaxed country e-session with Genevieve. Don't you just love Angel's dress? It's just so playful and fun. Thanks for sharing these images Angel! 

Vintage Broach Bouquets

One of our April 2011  brides is currently working with her mom to make her very own broach bouquet, and I'm so excited to see it on the big day.  If you love the look, but don't have the DIY bug, Chesapeake Floral Arts, just introduced a new line of vintage broach bouquets for purchase. Each of their bouquets are made from 30 plus vintage brooches, earrings and shoe clips and special orders are now being taken for summer and fall 2011 brides. You can of course include broaches or earrings from your grandmothers or mother to add a personal touch.   

Image: Photography by Alexander 

Happy Valentines Day!

My Simple Details hopes that you have a wonderful day and enjoy some time with your loved ones!  These are some cute finds on etsy that I love for Valentines day or any day to spread some love. 

Felt hearts by Reyaveltman on etsy.  

Fabric Flowers by PrettySwell on etsy. 

Shabby Chic Inspiration - Navy, Light Pink and Lace

It's been a while since I posted one of our bride's inspiration boards. I have so many to share and I hope to get to a bunch more soon. The below board was recently created for one of our Design + Month of Coordination brides. The couple is saying I do under a white gazebo in early April and we are creating a vintage, shabby chic vibe, with colors of navy, royal blue, light pink, and taupe. Her mom is an accomplished seamstress and is making a ton of fabric poms for the gazebo and aisle.  Other details include vintage trays to hold cards for a wishing tree, the brides DIY broach bouquet, and just a little lace detail on runners and beautifully wrapped favors. 

First Row: Suthi Picotte, Melissa Jill, Joey + Jessica Weddings /Second Row: Studio Castillero, Madelina Lesan, lantern photo by Joy Marie/Third Row: Studio Castillero, pencils Jessica Claire/Fourth Row: Luna Bizaar, dried blue hydrangea via Save-on-Crafts/ Fifth Row: Jasmin Star, IRIS Photography, Joey + Jessica Weddings/Sixth Row: Cake stand Rae Leytham, Chenin Boutwell/Seventh Row: Studio EMP, Hailey Erickson, Aaron Delesie/ Eight Row: Aaron Delesie, pillows, framed menu, lace photo Stephanie Williams/ Ninth Row: Simply Bloom Photography, Sloan Photographers /Tenth Row: Madelina Lesan, Jessica Claire, tulips by Christina Carroll Photography, lace wrapped present shot by Jessica Claire/Eleventh Row: Cake photo by Stephanie Williams, hanging flowers photo by Brandon Kidd/ Twelfth Row: veil Jessica Claire, Britney Keene, Lilac in vintage jars from Country Living via She Walks in Beauty, photo of frames by Stephanie Williams