United with Love - Fresh Inspiration For Washington DC-Area Weddings

You guys, I’m kind of in love with today’s featured Virginia wedding.  The bride, Krista, worked with Tabitha from Roberts and Company Events to bring her wedding vision to reality – all while her military groom was deployed in Iraq!  Krista and Tabitha considered every detail for this fall vineyard wedding, from the happy yellow, teal, and gray color palette to the beautiful rustic details throughout the ceremony and reception.  Cassidy Duhon captured the stunning images, from the lovely outdoor ceremony to a fun s’mores bar at the reception!

From Tabitha: Krista and Jonathan were married on November 20, 2010 at Bluemont Vineyard in Virginia.  Jonathan was recently deployed in Iraq and helped Krista with planning the wedding via Skype and quick phone calls when they were able to actually speak.  Their color palette was gray, yellow and turqouise and they wanted a rustic homemade feeling.  They wanted a small party of 80 guests with a mid day reception and a very light feel.  We put a lot of personal touches into the wedding such as striped straws, made games for the kids, and had an outdoor “photobooth” with props.  Krista planned surprises for guests and her husband to be like a cigar bar for the men and a smores bar at the end of the night for the guests.

From Krista: We both really wanted something that just fit “us” – nothing too fancy or too traditional.  I saw a picture of a gray and yellow bridal party a while ago and really loved it, but I also really love teal.  With a November wedding date, yellow dresses (though so cute) were out of the picture, so we had gray bridesmaid dresses, gray suits for the guys, teal ties, and then yellow, teal, and gray touches throughout the reception.  We wanted something that felt like it just fit, something relaxed yet dressy, laid back but fun.  I sent Tabitha, our planner, so many photos I had found for inspiration, and she did an amazing job turning the inspiration photos into an awesome look and feel for the reception

Our wedding was at a vineyard and we really wanted to incorporate that somehow – we used empty wine barrels in the reception area (including one for the cake), and we had a wine ceremony to incorporate our parents (and wine) into the ceremony.  For our table numbers, we had pictures of us holding up that many fingers in photos from Hawaii. (Jonathan just got back from a year-long deployment to Iraq a few months before the wedding, and he had vacation time when he returned but not around the wedding, so we kind of had a pre-wedding honeymoon in Hawaii.)  We had a table with pictures of my grandparents’ wedding – they’re now happily married for over 60 years!  We also had two memorial candles made for close family members (on both sides) that have passed away over the last few years.

Our main priority was to have a wedding that just felt like us, and for everyone to have fun!  I really loved the idea of a photo booth, and it was one of the most fun parts of the wedding even if it was a little splurge – we have awesome pictures of friends and family with ridiculous accessories!

I also really like surprises so we had a few surprises built into the day – from little gifts to our parents, to a surprise cigar bar for the groom, to an amazing smores bar.  In planning and budgeting, the priorities were the venue, food, and photographer – we really wanted a unique venue that felt right, and a photographer who could capture all the feelings, moments, and more.  I really loved the idea of a photo booth, and am so glad we did it – our guests had so much fun with it.  We also really wanted a delicious cake and really good food.  Later in the planning I decided to kind of splurge and get makeup and hair done, and I’m so glad I did.

Krista was also kind enough to pass along some really great advice for other couples getting married in the Washington, DC area:

Find vendors you really trust and enjoy working with.  Accept that there are going to be some struggles/issues in the planning – from guest list drama to other tiny little things that seem huge at the moment – but months after the wedding you’ll have trouble remembering those once huge problems.  We tried to DIY as much as we could and our planner helped keep us close to the budget.  Focus on the things that are important to you, not family or friends or tradition; accept that you can’t make everyone happy, but it’s your wedding and you’re the one who is going to remember most of the details.  On venues, I had this huge list of maybe 30 venues, and I visited maybe 20 of them…one will feel right.  Ok, maybe two will feel right.  But one will just seem to fit better, and then you can build on the venue.  When friends and family give advice, listen, but don’t feel the need to actually do everything they say – they’ll understand in the end!

The following Washington, DC wedding vendors contributed to Krista and Jonathan’s wedding:

Venue: Bluemont Vineyard
Event Planning: Tabitha Roberts, Roberts and Company Events
Photography: Cassidy Duhon
Catering: Great Country Farms
Floral Design: J. Morris Flowers
Wedding Cake: Fluffy Thoughts
Wedding Dress: Alfred Angelo
Groom’s Suit: Express
Transportation: Chariots for Hire
Shoes: J.Crew
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Swoon
Makeup: Amie Decker Beauty
Reception DJ: Jeff with Elan DJ

Don’t forget to visit our vendor guide for more fabulous Washington, DC area wedding professionals or our real wedding gallery for more beautiful Washington, DC area weddings!

Photo Credits: Cassidy Duhon Wedding Photography