We are thrilled to be named one of the best wedding planners and floral designers for the DC area by Washingtonian Bride & Groom for 2012!  We have been on their list since 2005 and we are honored!!

We are looking forward to another year filled with beautiful, romantic, quirky, whimsical, vintage, sassy, incredible and amazing weddings with you!!

(photo by Documentary Associates)

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/washingtonian-bride-groom/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings-winter-2012-issue-is-live-2/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings-winter-2012-issue-is-live-2/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:30:09 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=6246

The Winter 2012 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine is live!  Click on the cover to see!!!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings-winter-2012-issue-is-live-2/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/magazine-features/editors-pick-and-featured-in-the-knot/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/magazine-features/editors-pick-and-featured-in-the-knot/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:38:53 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=5449

We are thrilled that we have been featured as Editor’s Choice for one of the best florists in the Washington, DC area in the current issue of The Knot Magazine!

To top it off – we were also featured for our event that we did for The Knot at Nationals Park!

We had a fabulous event with some of the best wedding vendors in the DC area – including Amie Otto who took the fantastic photos for the day!

Have a great weekend everyone and we will see you next week for more featured weddings and a new regular guest blogger that we will introduce!

We are so proud of our new issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!  It is chock full of summery goodness!  Plus we have two featured weddings it from local photographers and vendors!  A must see issue!  Click on the cover above to check it out!

For our 3rd installment of Earth Day Week – I am focusing on eco-friendly photographers in the DC area.  It goes without saying that I highly recommend my brother and his wife from Documentary Associates.  Their weddings have been featured in the Washingtonian‘s Bride and Groom Magazine, The Knot, Essence.com for their work on the Green Wedding Consortium’s Earth Day Wedding Last Year at Decatur House, Eco-Beautiful Weddings, in the Eco Issue of Bride and Bloom Magazine,  Flower Magazine and more!  Their commitment to the environment includes being carbon neutral with Carbonfund, doing various non-profit organization photography, driving a hybrid, donating to various eco causes and more.  We work with them often and they are located right in the office with us in Bethesda!  (Yes that is a photo of me on my wedding day in the Dominican Republic!)

Another eco-friendly favorite photography firm of ours is The Observatory.  Owner Andrea Jacobson uses public transportation and Zipcar when she needs a car!  Growing up on the west coast, she grew up with reusing and recycling since she was a baby!  She took an enormous amount of photography for our first few issues of Eco-Beautiful Weddings – including our 1st issue’s cover shoot!  Their weddings have been featured in the Washingtonian Bride and Groom, Brides Magazine, The Knot and countless blogs.   You can see more about the above wedding photo at the Meridian House by clicking through to this link on United With Love.

One of the most talented photographers in the DC area is Nicole Wolf of Sota Dzine.  She is also really (what I call) a part-time missionary + full time photographer!  She has taken several trips (and will be going back) to Haiti to help build homes for those affected by the terrible earthquake last year.  Her heart is so big that she has raised over $15,000 to build homes on facebook alone (CLICK HERE TO DONATE)! I am helping her with a fundraiser for her Up From Under Project in November of this year (stay tuned).  I don’t know if I could even list where Sota Dzine has been featured here – it would make this post too long.  The photo from above is from a shoot we did together for Photo District News.  Her weddings and photography have been featured literally all over the world and locally in magazines like the Washingtonian, DC Magazine, The Knot along with international ad campaigns and commercial photography (they even photographed Lisa Loeb’s wedding)!  Their whole team is talented and they have big hearts!

Friend and fantastic photographerJennifer Hughes is sweet as she can be and talented beyond compare.  Heralded in both the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore areas – Jennifer is simply one of the best photographers around.  She has earned her reputation through fantastic wedding and commercial photography.  The above wedding photo (and wedding) was featured in the most recent issue of Baltimore Bride.  Click here to see more!  Jennifer also took the photos from our cover editorial from the Winter 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings as well!

a little bit of whimsy photography is another fave of ours that photographed the cover editorial from our Spring 2010 issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings here locally.  She captures emotions so well at weddings and just has such an eye for detail.  She gives back to the community in so many ways and has recently become a vegetarian.

Balance Photography – One of the founders of the local green wedding showcase + Green America Member and so much more!  This husband and wife team also does some amazing boudoir work!

I have recently fallen in love with photographer Marta Locklear!  She recently did the amazing new cover editorial shoot for the Spring 2011 Issue of Eco-Beautfiul Weddings and she is a genius at using natural light.  She is an eco-gal!  She has her own vegetable garden and wants to start raising her own chickens too!!

Holland Photo Arts loves the environment and gives 5% of their total revenue to various organizations that help make the world a better place!  This husband and wife team is based on Charlottesville – so they are perfect for weddings in the Northern and Southern VA regions.

K Thompson Photography is another one of our favorite local green photographers.  She is a member of the Green Wedding Consortium and supports many eco-related organizations.

Kristi Odom won my heart as a bride that got married in Africa with very few guests and even took her own wedding photography!  She encourages people to see the world and experience new cultures.  She is also a member of the green wedding consortium and donates a portion of her proceeds to various organizations.  Her weddings have been featured in Eco-Beautiful Weddings, United With Love, Wedding Vow, Newnan Coweta, Wedding Event Style and more.

There are more photographers out there doing amazing things – just be sure to ask them when you meet with them.

______________________________________

Green Idea of the Day and Contests for today – Already been married and need to sell your dress? – List your Gown on BravoBride.com this week and they will plant a tree with the Nature Conservancy!

Still Looking for your Dress?  Find one, pre-owned and become a Princess for a Day at the same time!  Smartbride has gotten together with an amazing bunch of wedding gurus and companies to give a bunch of wedding stuff away now until the royal wedding day next week!  All from eco-friendly vendors.  Great to shop for your gown too!

We are excited to announce that the Spring 2011 Issue of Uptown Weddings & Travel Magazine features Elegance and Simplicity as one of the best wedding planners for teh Washington, DC area in their Gold Pages section!

We finally have the chance to blog about The Knot’s Market Party earlier this month at Nationals Park!  Above is the cupcake wall we made for Kendall’s Cakes cupcakes!  It was a hit with our Vintage baseball feel!

Levy Restaurants caters at the park and produced a wonderful dessert buffet as well!

Eli Staples Music performed with an amazing jazz band to open up the evening with!

Stay tuned for all the photos from the party in the upcoming issue of The Knot!

The event was also sponsored by Volanni, Everything Linen, Ampa Events, Planet DJ, Midpark Services, Poshbooth

Photography by Amie Otto Photography

The Spring Issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings is live and a few of my favorite things are in it to win!  Don’t miss out!

Get this vintage frame with a chalkboard for you wedding day!

or

Start your new “NO MORE buying of plastic WATER BOTTLES” regimen with this beautiful reusable water bottle!

or

Have the best doggone salted caramels around for you and your guests!

Just click here to see all the fun stuff you can get for free in the Spring Issue!

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!

We are so excited to finally showcase Kendall and Mohamad’s wedding as seen in Baltimore Bride Magazine!

If you are hungry for more images from their eco-friendly wedding – then click here to see all the fun details!

(photography by Jennifer Hughes)

We are pretty jazzed over here that we were recently featured in the December/January 2011 Issue of PDN (Photo District News).  Nicole Wolf from Sota Dzine asked us to help her out with floral designs for their amazing Alice in Wonderland “Trash the Dress” photo shoot.  (We were glad that the dress did not actually get trashed!)

A very fun and well planned photo shoot produced these amazing photos!  Congrats Nicole!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/photographers/photo-district-news-feature/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/eco-beautiful-weddings/#comments Wed, 19 Jan 2011 06:21:41 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=4484

We are pretty excited here at Elegance & Simplicity!  A little over a year ago we launched the first and only online eco-friendly magazine in the world!  Now – we are able to have all 5 of our issues in print!  From this point on, our fans and vendors can now have the choice to just view the magazine online or buy a print version of the issue.  We know that there is nothing like holding a magazine in your hands!

We wanted to keep the print versions of the magazine eco-friendly while also not having to invest tons of money in printing and having hundreds and even thousands of unsold magazines being throw-away or recycled (which is the absolute norm in the magazine industry).  All magazines that are printed will be on demand – meaning that we will only print what our fans and vendors order.  We will never have more than 10 issues in stock and all of our printing and shipping will be carbon-offset.  Every single issue is printed on FSC certified recycled paper and they are just as beautiful as they are online!

We did not start considering printing our magazine until this past June when a number of brides and vendors starting begging us to print.  We really resisted at first.  However, with this route we are able to provide printed magazines to anyone that likes them and to keep it online to those that don’t!  Either way, we are keepin’ it green and spreading the word around the world on how to make weddings stylish and eco-friendly!

Currently we have a pre-sale going on now through 2/1!  After 2/1, all of the prices will go up!

Click on the magazines above to learn how to pre-order today!

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

We are thrilled to announce that one of our special bouquets was featured again – in the current local DC issue of The Knot!

The  bouquet was originally featured in our Eco-Beautiful Weddings magazine and the bouquet worked beautifully in their yellow palette page!  Yellow billy balls (craspedia) are mixed with green dianthus along with the orange Chinese lantern flair!

We are very excited to be in the new issue of the Washingtonian Bride & Groom Magazine again as one of the best wedding planners in the DC area!  Such a cute cover and the issue is chock full of great ideas!

We are especially excited about our featured wedding with Anna & Denis at the Dumbarton House! Click on the image (provided by the Washingtonian Bride & Groom) below to get a better view:

Thanks Washingtonian and Cheers to Anna & Denis!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/washingtonian-feature-2/feed/ 2 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/celebrate-green-with-katie-today/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/celebrate-green-with-katie-today/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 16:09:29 +0000 Chris Easter http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=2929

Katie Martin will be interviewed today on live blog radio with the authors of Celebrate Green – a great book that we just gave away on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog from the Spring Edition of the magazine!

Tune in at 10:15 PST/1:15 EST by clicking on the Celebrate Green photo above!

Happy Green Planning!

Summer is just around the corner and yellow is such a hot color right now.  I have had three different magazines contact us for yellow bouquets and we had a great yellow ETSY feature in the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Spring 2010 edition!  I see yellow everywhere now!

So – I figured I would just post a few of my favorites today.   I also had someone from twitter specifically ask about yellow flowers – so here they are!

We love gathering yellow pin cushions – so much fun!   One of my favorite flowers!

We added pin cushions to calla lilies, billy balls, carnations and then red aspidistra leaves for this wedding.  The carnations are not a typical addition but added a fluffy pop to this quirky bouquet.

I am a huge fan of adding rosemary to bridal bouquets as a sign of fidelity along with the luxurious smell it adds.  This bouquet was so aromatic with the rosemary mixed with freesia, roses and mini calla lily accents.

This is one of my favorite bouquets that might actually end up in my 3rd book: Eco-Beautiful Weddings (not the magazine – yes an actual printed book)!  I feel like it is taking me forever to write it!!!!  I love this bouquet for its simplicity with billy balls, hybrid double Dutch tulips and a green hypericum berry collar.  We also used a Hannah hand-dyed silk ribbon to match the blooms!  Simply yummy.

This is just a simple and rustic bouquet filled with yellow ranunculus and ornithologum.  Even though it is a simple-looking bouquet – it was a relatively difficult bouquet to make as ranuculus is a soft-headed flower.  I also wish she would have let me cut the stems – but that is just me and my ridiculous type A personality.  It totally went with the backyard charm she was going with!

You have probably seen this bouquet.  It goes with the last bouquet (from the same wedding) that was featured in the Washingtonian this year.  I had so much fun with this wedding! Billy balls with a white dahlia – ahh simplicity at its finest!

What color would you like to see next?

It was so fun to have this lit-up mannequin that showcased the The Cotton Bride dress from the cover of the magazine (which we will give away on 2/6 at the DCCWC bridal show – click on the icon on the left hand side of the blog to learn more and to register for the show!)

I will be announcing the winners of the door prizes on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog hopefully by tomorrow!

We will be showcasing a lot of photos from the launch party in our 2nd issue!  (Which comes out 3/15)

~ Katie Martin

Can’t wait to see you today at the Mandarin Oriental Today from 11:30 – 3.  Click on the image above to learn more about the event.  Yesterday was the last day to register online, but you can still come and register at the door!

A few of the prizes that we will be giving away:

One lucky winner will receive a coupon to receive a pre-launch and signed The Everything Mother of the Bride Book by Katie Martin!

We will also be giving away a bunch of books from Chronicle Books!

And now, if you click on their logo below, 20% of all the proceeds from the sale of books that you buy from their website between now and January 31st will be donated to the relief efforts in Haiti!  Plan your wedding and your life while helping others!

Here are the books from Chronicle that we will be giving away:

We {heart} Carolyn’s Anti-Bride Book Series – to learn more about Carolyn – check out her twitter page – @antibride! She will be with us in New York for the launch party!

HILARIOUS!

Destination Wedding Planner – A Fantastic guide for all of you on your way to far off places to wed!

Fortune Telling Book for Brides – so much fun!

Sweetie Stats – cute little pocket guide for a happy marriage!  ;-)

Thanks Chronicle!  Check out their facebook page by clicking here.  And of course – on twitter by clicking here!

Several other prizes like free bridal bouquets and discounts off our services will be given away as well!  Don’t miss it!

If you are not able to make it today – come to the bridal show on 2/6 (psst….we will be giving more books away and some of the most amazing bloggers will be there!)

Also – follow me on twitter (@greenwed) as I will try to tweet the details of our booth!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

As promised, here are more photos from the real wedding that was featured in the most recent Washingtonian magazine.  We are super excited about Kate and Mark’s wedding and I will do a follow-up post sometime in the new year about their engagement photos which were even cuter!  Another eco-friendly wedding shot by Tom Van Veen & Ashlee Wilcox of Documentary Associates with our floral designs!  Such a fun wedding!

Kate had her chivari chairs custom painted with the help of her sister Arney who used to work for one of the best wedding caterers in the DC area.  We were so happy that Kate let us have free reign over making her floral designs to match their vintage and whimsical style wedding.  The lapel flowers were finished with hemp twine and the bride’s dress was by Lela Rose (manufactured and designed in New York City!)

The programs were beribboned with various shades of raffia and ribbon by the bride and her sister.

Every single detail of this wedding was well thought out – down to the vintage typewriter as the “guest book”.

Congratulations Kate & Mark!!

(and to our wonderful friend Arney too – sister of the bride!)

~Katie Martin

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/washingtonian-real-wedding-feature/feed/ 3 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/2009-2010/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/2009-2010/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:29:59 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1881 Hello everyone – long note here – but worth the read!  So get your glasses (whether reading or wine) and hunker down for this one!

A few of us here at Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. are off traveling for the holidays.  We hope to still bring you a few more posts before the end of the year though. Sorry for the lack of posts here over the past few days, we have been prepping for many new things for 2010 for you!  Including the relaunch of our website incorporating our wonderful new logo!

I am actually just about to get on a plane to Florida to meet the wonderful Lara Casey of Southern Weddings Magazine.  I hope to bring back a few copies of the magazine – so be sure to pick up a copy when you stop by the office!

Here is a list of some major things for you to know for 2010!

1st – My 1st book, The Everything Mother of the Bride Book, 2nd Edition (an Adams Media Publication), will be coming out in February or March.  If you have not done so yet, please click on the big ‘ole sidebar jpeg of the cover of my book to the right.  Let my mom and I know why you have the best mother-of-the-bride (or mother-in-law to be or grandmother) to win $250 to go towards your wedding!  I can’t wait for my 1st book to hit bookshelves!  It will be the only mother of the bride book to talk about eco-friendly weddings and same-sex weddings.  Truly current, especially for DC area weddings since same-sex weddings are about to go legal in DC!  It is also easier to read and more inclusive – hard to explain, but will make more sense when you pick up a copy!  I have already gotten some great reviews from those who have gotten a sneak peek!  Can’t wait to share!  My mom typically posts about mother of the bride or groom issues every Wednesday – so check back every week moms!

2nd – We hope to post more content about the wedding that was featured in the Washingtonian.  They really only allow two pages worth of photos in their magazine per real wedding and there are so many more wedding goodies from Kate’s wedding that I cannot wait to share with you!    We also have an amazing feature in the new Bride and Bloom Magazine!  I also can’t wait for you to see our new listing in the Grace Ormonde Magazine!  Yippee!

3rd – I am in the final stretch of finishing my second book – The Everything Wedding Book, 4th Edition, which is another Adams Media publication. That book is set to hit bookshelves at the end of  2010!  So, this will be the reason why I will be “off to write” offline for the remainder of the year.   Then in January and February I will finish my 3rd book Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

4th – I am excited to let you know that we will be launching a website all about same-sex weddings here in the DC area.  There is a huge buzz being created around the world (literally) about same-sex weddings going legal in DC.  We will be hand-picking wedding planners to cake vendors that are gay-friendly and reviewed and approved by the nation’s leading gay wedding planner: Bernadette Coveney Smith of 14 Stories in Boston.  It is an exciting time in DC!

5th – We have had a fantastic year filled with exciting new things!  With over 40 staff members (and growing) serving brides and grooms for wedding planning and floral designs, we cannot wait to show you the new eco-couture and fashion-forward designs we have to offer for weddings in the DC area. There simply is no other wedding planning or floral design firm in the DC area that has the know-how and the passion for creating multi-faceted, multi-cultural, stylish and eco-couture events.   We are the  wedding industry’s leader in eco-friendly wedding design with the launch of our new magazine Eco-Beautiful Weddings.

The website houses our online magazine and blog.  While I am the editor-in-chief and publisher of the magazine, I will be taking on a select amount of clients every year to focus on greening their weddings and events along with helping other wedding professionals become green (or greener).  We have an amazing team of wedding planners and floral designers led by Tara Davis (aka “Katie Part 2″) and Keya Beale.  Tara leads our team of 6 weddings planners on staff and Keya leads our floral design team!  All wedding planners on staff are trained in floral designs as well.

I will have more announcements for you in January!  We have 3 new projects in the works!

Our staff strives to provide only the best in Washington, DC weddings and Eco-Beautiful Wedding Style!

Stay Tuned!

Have a Happy Holiday!

Cheers!

Katie Martin

We are very honored to be chosen again by the Washingtonian as one of the best wedding planners in the DC area!  We are celebrating even more that they featured one of our weddings where we did the flowers and Documentary Associates did the photography!  Here is one cute photo from that wedding – I will post more soon!

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/washingtonian-feature/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/bride-and-bloom-feature/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/announcements/bride-and-bloom-feature/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:49:52 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=1844 We are so excited about one of our features that will be showcased in Bride and Bloom Magazine!  We can’t show you all of it!  But here is a fun cake photo from the photo shoot we did for them!  Yummy organic cake from Cakes by Design!

Stay Tuned!

Just get back from the launch party for the new Get Married magazine!  Met tons of my twitter friends and touched base with a few of our favorite people in the industry.  If you are not following yet – would love to have you! @GreenWedDC!

Will post some fun cell phone photos from my Blackberry shortly! I left the darn USB cord for my camera at home – Argh! I have lots of fun and  interesting stories to tell!

~Katie Martin

We are delighted & excited to announce the 1st 100% Eco-Friendly Wedding E-zine!

More information about the e-zine and the blog will be posted shortly!

Premiere issue goes live 12.15.2009

If you are a wedding professional and would like to submit photos for consideration, please click here.

Green Floral design for your eco-friendly wedding in Washington, DC

Katie Martin from Elegance & Simplicity was featured in My Day Magazine as the DC area’s leading green wedding expert in regards to her green (eco-friendly) floral designs.

Elegance & Simplicity Chosen as one of the best wedding planners for the DC area by Washingtonian Magazine.

Katie Martin & her team have been chosen 5 years in a row as one of the best wedding planners in the Washington DC area and singled out as the only wedding planner that also does floral designs, stationery and calligraphy in-house.  Katie Martin was also interviewed as the local eco-friendly wedding planner expert!