I finally have a chance to blog my last big wedding from 2010.  Jennifer Hughes sent these beautiful images over to me from Amy + Daryn’s nautical-themed wedding at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott.

Amy + Daryn chose the beautiful Old Otterbein UMC Church (which has served Baltimore since 1771!!!) for their ceremony.

So many fun and interesting nautical details from the reception…

The nautical knot was perfect for their menu (taken from the design of their invitations).  We designed the escort cards to look like tiny nautical flags (yes we cut each and every one individually and placed in them in sand).  The sand boxes were surrounded by nautical rope along with tiny sand dollars and starfish!  Instead of a guest book – Amy + Daryn opted for fun wooden nautical flags for their guests to write on!

Amy really wanted some fun and different details.  From the nautical cake topper (as created by the pastry chef onsite the Marriott) to the fun decor items we created complete with lifesaver accents!

Stay tuned for more and thanks again to Jennifer Hughes for the images!

It’s Live and we are in Love!  Click on the Cover Above to Check out all the Eco-Friendly Yumminess from the Spring 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

Our Anniversary Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is live!  Click above to see the new issue!

Over the past 11 years that I have been part of the wedding industry, I have been painfully aware that Los Angeles and New York have been in direct competition with the types of weddings that we all do here in Washington, DC.  However, New York City simply has the best shopping resources and some of the brightest and greatest minds in the wedding industry.  I tried my best to blog about all of my adventures while I was here in New York back in October for Bridal Market.  However – I took so many photos – there was no way I could have posted all of them.  I wanted to save this post for now.  I knew I would be back in New York often and meeting with all sorts of people.  Here are few more photos!

Yes – that is Randy Fenoli and I from Say Yes to the Dress!  I found him to be one of the most amazing people I have met in the wedding industry.  Not because he has a TV show and not because he is a major player at Kleinfeld’s – but because of his open and warm personality.  I think it is very easy for TV and wedding personalities to become full of themselves and act like they are better than others.  I have had my share of people acting like they are better than me simply because of their position in a certain company (this pertains to any industry).  However, we ran into each other at about 5 events that week and every time he gave me a warm hug, kiss on the cheek and had nothing but funny and interesting things to say. On top of it, he remembered my name.  With all the crazy amounts of people that he has met – he still manages to take the time to remember the names of as many people as possible.  This is not just representative of a kind man, but a fantastic business man who understands that relationships are important to growing a business. I can’t wait to hang out with him again and hopefully bring him more brides for their fantastic dresses at Kleinfeld’s!

I also had the chance to finally meet Carley Roney at one of the fashion shows during Bridal Market.  Carley Roney from The Knot is obviously one of the wedding world’s most brilliant minds.   If we are all honest and think back…The Knot really is the one that revolutionized the wedding search engine!  We have this woman to thank for many innovations in the weddings industry.  She was so sweet and I look forward to running in to her again!

There were people like Adele Wechsler and Lela Rose that I met, along with some other very influential people in the wedding industry.  I can’t wait to get back to DC and write about all the fun things I am doing this week in New York!

I hope you were able to see the Launch Party live!  If not – you should be able to check out the recording soon!  I will be posting al about the launch party shortly!

Cheers!

~Katie Martin

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/new-york-city-revisited/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/green-glamorous-hotel-helix/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/green-glamorous-hotel-helix/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:01:06 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1098

There are a number of interesting and swanky hotels in Washington, DC.  I have loved Hotel Helix since it opened!  They are also a “green” hotel.

Washington, DC is a destination wedding hotspot.  If you have over 30% of your guests traveling from out of town, you really can consider your wedding a “destination wedding”.  To reduce the carbon footprint of your wedding, choose to block your hotel rooms at a green hotel.  Hotel Helix is affordable, sexy, charming, glamorous, accessible and green!

Click on the photo above to learn all about what they are doing for the environment!

(My favorite is that they offer recycling bins right in the room!)

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

I love finding photographers around the country that simply do it right!  Look at this amazing photo by Liz Linder Photography in Vermont (she is based in Boston).  I adore her style and loved browsing her website!

Found a cutie patootie florist as well – Silver Toad Floral Design!  Love the name – but the photos on their website are just as cute and wonderful as the name is!

When my family & I go to Vermont, of course we will stop at Ben & Jerry’s and report of my adventures!

Happy Wedding Planning!

~Katie Martin