Continuing on from Wednesday and last week, I wanted to show you the details from Caitlin and Dan’s reception.  The above is simply one of my favorite designs from 2011.  We used plums inside the vase with orchids as well.  The orchids and hanging votives created such a stunning effect at night.

We placed little keepsakes of rosemary and wheat for each place setting.  The wheat symbolizes fertility and the rosemary symbolizes fidelity!

The gorgeous cake designed by Design Cuisine!

In addition to the cake, Design Cuisine also made a gorgeous dessert bar!

The day of the wedding we were all so worried about the snow, but I think Caitlin and Dan would agree – it made for remarkable and beautiful portraits for them!

Congrats to Caitlin & Dan!

Have a great weekend!

Photography by Greg Gibson

We gave you a sneak peek of Caitlin and Dan’s snowy wedding last Friday…here is the second installment!  As the snow and the rain fell down throughout this Saturday in October, we knew we would have to use the backup tent!  So we jazzed it up with our hanging glass lanterns in jewel tones and set up the ceremony chairs along with fun lounge furniture.

We loved designing her beautiful bridal bouquet with purple calla lilies, dianthus, purple delphinium and red cymbidium orchids.

We are still so in love with their purple umbrella!  Stay tuned…on Friday we will show more details from the reception inside the Meridian House!

Photography by Greg Gibson 

We are thrilled to announced that we were chosen as a Bayside Bride Handpicked vendor for floral designers!  We have done a lot of weddings on the Eastern Shore and Bay area and we love all the details of doing fun weddings in Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay!  Here is a fun smattering of photos from weddings we did on the bay and Annapolis this past year!

Top two photos taken by Matt Mendelsohn 

There is usually no shortage of kissing at weddings – but these are some of our favorite kiss photos over the past few years!

Enjoy!

Photos (left to right, top to bottom): Kathy Blanchard at Rust Manor, Jennifer Hughes at the Engineer’s Club in Baltimore , Documentary Associates at Decatur House and Lafayette Square, Mary Kate KcKenna at Thorpewood, Love Life Images at the Ourisman Family Home, K. Thompson Photography at Brookside Gardens

For those of you who have been wondering – Katie had her baby girl on December 14th!  And yesterday was Katie’s bday!

Happy Birthday to Katie and we welcome Elena Marina Vasquez to the Elegance & Simplicity team!

(photo by Documentary Associates)

We are so excited about the war ending in Iraq and we are hoping that a lot of service men and women are finally coming home and ready to tie the knot in our nation’s capital!  We have been offering a military discount since day one!  So – if you or your fiance is in the military – do not hesitate to let us know so we can extend our discounts to you so we can do our part in giving thanks for your service!

(photo by Documentary Associates)

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/wedding-planning/halcyon-house-wedding/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/halcyon-house-wedding/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:30:13 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=6259

Here is our final installment of photos from Lillian and Henry’s wedding at Halcyon House from their very talented photography Ken Luallen!

We loved her beautiful stationery!  We decorated the trellis with simple greenery and white lisianthus.

It was such a gorgeous day with so many beautiful and interesting details!

Congrats again to Lillian and Henry!

A few of our favorite drinks from over the years…

Ginger lime mojitos from Design Cuisine with our straw escort card tags in Stewarts Soda Bottles – Photos by Kathy Blanchard

Wonderful Cocktail concoctions from Farmers & Fishers from our article in Eco-Beautiful Weddings – Photos by The Obsvervatory

Cucumber water station from Main Event Caterers (photo by K. Thompson Photography) with sodas from our Green Wedding Giveaway (Photo by Documentary Associates + The Observatory)

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/wedding-drink-style/feed/ 0 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/more-from-amanda-matts-wedding/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/more-from-amanda-matts-wedding/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:30:01 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=6117

Another installment from Amanda and Matt’s Wedding out in St. Michael’s, MD.  Truly a beautiful wedding with a wonderful couple!  Got these photos from Matt Mendohlsohn’s Blog as he was their photographer that day!

This was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen while a bride gets ready!!!  Amanda did not really  have bridesmaids…so…all of her close friends decided to bring the worst possible bridesmaids dresses and wear them for her while she was getting ready!  It was hilarious!  I am so glad Matt took a photo of all of them!  Just goes to show how much fun everyone had that day!!

Just a lovely photo of a lovely bride with her new hubby!

Loved all the wonderful moments from this day!

Congrats again Amanda and Matt!

Credits – Top to bottom, Left to Right

Margaret & Patrick’s Wedding with fun pumpkin “love you” by Kathy Blanchard and one of our signature candy bars at Woodend

Mini Pumpkin Soup via Elizabeth Anne Designs with one of our favorite bouquets we made for Ashlee & Tom’s Wedding (my brother and sister-in-law) at Decatur House – photo by Documentary Associates

Cotton Bur Wreath via Etsy with an escort card display we did at GW River Farm

]]> http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/harvest-wedding-style/feed/ 1 http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/black-and-white-wedding-style/ http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/wedding-planning/black-and-white-wedding-style/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:30:15 +0000 Katie Martin http://www.eleganceandsimplicity.com/blog/?p=5826

Our “black and white” bouquet with Picasso and Eggplant toned mini calla lilies, deep purple ranunculus with fern curl accents – Photo by Documentary Associates

Black and White Cake Inspiration via Wedding Place

Our pretty corsage and lapel flowers with lisianthus and phaleanopsis orchids

Our Luscious Verde Black and White Invitations

French Maid Garter from The Garter Girl

Lelah Shoes by Badgley Mischka from Zappos

Black and White Linens from Table Manners

Black and White Tags for your candy bar via Etsy

Here are the fun details from Tina and Chris’ wedding this summer!  Tina started the day at the Mandarin Oriental.  Right after getting ready, Tom from Documentary Associates took some stunning photos in her suite!

We made her beautiful bridal bouquet with green cymbidium orchids, scabiosa pods, seeded eucalyptus, white lisianthus, green hypericum berries, succulents, emerald green roses, lily grass with a few feather accents.

Chris + Tina – pronounced man and wife at Top of the Town!!!

Tina and Chris opted for a fun travel theme for their wedding.  Starting with programs shaped like passports and escort cards like airline tickets!  They also asked the guests to pin on a map where they have been.  The tall centerpieces were created with submerged cymbidium orchids and manzanita branches with hanging votives and orchids attached to them.  The beautiful cake was designed by Cakes by Linda.

Congrats to Chris and Tina – we are so happy we could be a part of your day!!!

Photography by Documentary Associates

I am so excited to be posting about this wedding this week!  My good friend Chris Campbell tied the knot this summer!  He is the Director of Operations for the Women’s Basketball team over at University of Maryland – My Alma Mater!! We have been friends for over 13 years!

Feathers seem to be a theme for us this year – lots of brides have been into them…and Tina (his bride) was no exception!  Stay tuned tomorrow for more details created by the bride and our team!

Photography by Documentary Associates

Sorry we missed last week’s Style Post!! So we thought we would come back with something sweet!  While cupcakes and all sorts of dessert bars are the rage right now…we will always be in love with the “traditional” wedding cake.  We love cake!  Above is a way to incorporate your love of tradition with the cupcake aspect!  The cake was based on the design of the couple’s invitations and baked to perfection by Cakes by Design.  The bride added her own whimsy with the fun cupcake stand and cupcake decor inserts! To see more from this wedding at the Engineer’s Club in Baltimore - click here. (Photos by Jennifer Hughes)

We love the interesting design of the cake plate here to the left for a wedding we did at Brookside Gardens and the beautiful green garden design by Cakes by Linda for a wedding we did at Top of the Town (more from that wedding tomorrow and Wednesday).  (Photography by K. Thompson + Documentary Associates)

We will always love this cute bird cake topper from Mary Kate’s wedding at Thorpewood and this beautiful and intricate design from Cakes by Design at the Decatur House. (Bird photo by us, Pink cake by Documentary Associates and The Obsvervatory)

Today is the last installment for Mari and Josh – I just love these fun portraits and interesting photos that happened throughout the day!

Such a funny photo from the Ketubah signing at the synagogue.

Hilarious random photo!!!

Cute photo just after the cake cutting!

Best wishes to Mari and Josh and a huge thanks to Tom at Documentary Associates for these fantastic images!!!

There is nothing better than the best band ever for a wedding!  Golem, from New York, kept everyone on the dance floor at Decatur House for Mari and Josh’s wedding reception!  Can’t you tell by this photo above?  Take a look:

Don’t you want to get up and dance right now?

If you saw the post yesterday – you also saw this gorgeous quilt made by Mari’s mom.  We were able to bring it over to the reception in between the ceremony and reception to hang behind the escort card table.  Just beautiful!

Mari and Josh chose beautiful fabrics from Africa to place on each table.  Every table had a different fabric accent that our seamstress customized for them from the bolts of fabric Mari brought back from Africa.  We then had several fun ceramic square white vases filled with herbs for the guests to take home.  As always, Design Cuisine did an amazing job.  You can’t tell from these photos, but Mari’s family owns cattle and Design Cuisine was able to use cuts of meat from her own family’s farm for the dinner!  Just an over the top amount of work and wonderful customer service!

We loved Mari’s beautiful bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquet – a fun and whimsical bouquet with peonies, delphinium and belles of Ireland.

Her bridesmaids bouquet complimented so wonderfully with the peonies, delphinium and dianthus!

Stay tuned tomorrow for our final installment from Mari and Josh’s wedding…incredibly fun photos!!!

Photography by Documentary Associates

We are so excited to bring to you a series of blog posts from one of our favorite couples (Mari + Josh) from this past June.  Tinica and Chrishaun headed up this fantastic event that started at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue in Chinatown.

One of our favorite elements of our decor for the couple was that one of the little guys in the ceremony dropped greenery and then the little girls dropped petals afterwards…just had a really pretty effect for the entrance!

We were able to use the standard chuppah provided by 6th & I and attached a pretty garland of greenery and peonies along with a gorgeous heirloom quality quilt made by the mother of the bride as a wedding gift!  Wait to see how we reused it for the reception in our next post!

Such a gorgeous Ketubah!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for more floral and planning details at the reception.  Then we will do a 3rd and final post with some really fun portraits and silly photos that Tom took!!!

(Photos from Documentary Associates)

As we enter Labor Day Weekend, many are filled with thoughts of “This is the last weekend to wear white”!  But oh the joys of being a bride and wearing and using white whenever you want! I started off with these gorgeous shoes today as there is a beautiful wedding featuring them on the Eco-Beautfiul Weddings Blog today! Just click on the shoes to see more.

Below are a few of our favorite white wedding yummies for you to dream about this weekend!

Photo credits/captions of what we did in each photo – Left to Right, Top to Bottom

Elegance & Simplicity, White Delphinium at Thorpewood

Documentary Associates, White Chuppah at Woodend Sanctuary

Elegance and Simplicity,White delphinium and White phaleanopsis orchid lapel flowers at Halcyon House

Cappy Hotchkiss Photography, Garden Rose, white phaleanopsis, lisianthus, phalaeanopsis and peony bouquet at Halcyon House

K. Thompson Photography, Manzanita branches with roses and clear hanging votives at Brookside Gardens

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!!

Here is a quick sneak peek from Mari + Josh’s wedding back from June!

More details coming to you next week as we take a much needed break this weekend in NYC!

(photography by Documentary Associates)

We are gearing up for a lovely weekend and we are thrilled to finally show these gorgeous photos from Greg Gibson.  This wedding was at the Cosmos Club in May with the lovely Jenny and the dapper John!

We had such a wonderful time helping Jenny and John plan their DC wedding.  We loved their ceremony programs that they put together!

We just love the Cosmos Club.  This particular room is getting renovated.  Can’t wait to see it next year as it has always been absolutely one of the most beautiful historic ballrooms in DC.

Greg’s team captured this beautiful moment so well as they exited the ceremony!

We were able to bring in our vintage cake pedestals for the dessert bar for Jenny.

Many Blessings to Jenny + John!

Have a wonderful weekend!

We are excited to showcase a few photos from Julia and Taylor’s wedding from June.  Above, Julia walks her way to the ceremony at the Netherlands Carillon lawn (near the Iwo Jima Memorial).

You may recall  the post we did earlier on their floral designs, but here is Julia and her proud father!  We had such a wonderful time planning this wedding as Julia’s mother is a very good friend of my mother!

One of the reasons we love weddings at the Netherlands Carillon is the amazing view!  We made this trellis and adorned it with pretty garland, delphinium and lisianthus accents.

Here we have the escort card table arrangement complete with apples and belles of Ireland.  Then the pretty blue centerpieces we made with hydrangea, peonies and delphinium.

Want more?  See more of Julia and Taylor’s wedding at Documentary Associates newly updated website!!!! Just click on any of the photos to get to their blog post!

Congrats to Julia and Taylor!!!

I love Back to School themes and here are a few ideas from a few weddings we have done to get your creative wedding juices flowing – no matter what color your wedding is!

Image Credits (Top to Bottom , Left to Right)

Kathy Blanchard at Rust Manor in Leesburg

Love Life Images at Dumbarton House in Georgetown

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC

Documentary Associates at the Ronald Reagan Building

Ralph Alswang at the Ronald Reagan Building

Mary Kate McKenna at Shepherd’s Hey Farm in Comus, MD

We have a beautiful summer farm wedding coming up this weekend – I can’t wait to showcase it for you.  We are not having a lemonade stand but more of a fruit infused water station.  But I love lemonade stations year round.  Even if you are not having a summer farm wedding…you can create the feel of one by having fun little details (like lemonade stands) that remind your guests of a day on the farm!

Why not have this adorable bathtub at your wedding?  We used it at the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Anniversary Party at the Decatur House in December to serve water in mason jars!  Available at DC Rental!

Our in-house antique bottles and mason jars always lend a farm feel,  Mary Kate even made these cute table number boxes for her centerpieces! Adorable!

Go with loose arrangements and fun and vibrant linens like this “In Style Fuchsia” from DC Rental!

Then, from one of my favorite outdoor weddings from last fall at Rust Manor – so fun sodas and straws!!!  So much fun!!

There are so many options for that fun farm summer feel at your wedding – even if you are indoors at a hotel!  Let us show you how!

(photo credits/top to bottom: Ralph Alswang, a little bit of whimsy photography, Mary Kate McKenna, DC Rental, Kathy Blanchard)

Infusing flowers is something we love to do!  Of course pears have their whole “perfect pair” mentality in weddings, but I just love using then for their colors.  Mixing floating pears and orchids is a perfect combo!

It’s hard to find an all green centerpiece at certain times of the year…but you can’t go wrong with pears, vibernum and bupleurum!

Having a citrusy feel to your buffet is perfect with bright orange linens and a lime filled vase.  Limes were used after the event! (Arrangement includes green Dutch hydrangea, orange unique and black magic roses with burgundy cymbidium orchids).

We loved creating this backyard oasis cocktail  display complete with tropical foliage, oranges, orchids, snapdragons, lily grass and pin cushions.

An event we did many years ago which still gets so many accolades!  Oranges and kumquats filled the vase with pretty and simple curly willow branches with words of love from the Paper Source.  This event was at the Decatur House and was actually on the cover of their brochure (another photo with our flowers is currently on the cover!)

More to come tomorrow!

(Photo credits – 1st – Amy Deputy, 2nd-4th – Katie Martin (me), 5th – Rodney Bailey)

We were thrilled to be a part of Jane’s (our in-house calligrapher) wedding in March!  Of course, she did her own calligraphy!  There are also some other wonderful things about her wedding day at Ceresville Mansion!

Her beautiful Mon Cheri gown was found on consignment and it fit her perfectly with no modifications!

She also had such a pretty color scheme with these jewel toned tulips from New York and calla lilies from Holland for her bridesmaids.

We also did simple submerged orchids as centerpieces.

We loved her simple and beautiful cake from a local bakery in Frederick.  We did a simple cake topper for her.

With everything being local – she really did an amazing job at keeping her wedding as eco-friendly as possible!

Congrats Jane!  We love you!

(Photos by Documentary Associates)

Here is the final installment from the gorgeous wedding at Thorpewood a couple of weekend’s ago!  We have tons of these milk bottles, mason jars and milk glass for rental.  Some of these were actually from Mary Kate’s wedding at Thorpewood last year!  We used a combination of green hydrangea, white delphinium, spider mums, rosemary, lavender and rice flowers in the vases for these particular tables.

On the other tables we had our signature manzanita boxes (available for rent and can be used with flowers or hanging votives, etc.) with white dendrobium orchids attached to the branches.  Perfect for Thorpewood!

We loved the bridal bouquet!  A free-flowing bouquet with parrot tulips, bupleurum, rosemary, lavender, blue delphinium with green and white ranunculus!

Bride’s bouquet was accompanied by the groom boutonniere comprised of rosemary and lavender with hemp finish.

Congrats to the bride and groom!

Thanks to Mary Kate McKenna for these gorgeous images!

Dreaming about your wedding day but worried how to keep it stylish, fresh and eco-friendly at the same time?  This 4th Installment for Earth Day Week is about how to keep the flowers and the details green!  That is what we specialize in.  Eco-friendly flowers and details is what makes your wedding yours.  If you are like most couples, hundreds (if not thousands) of them have gotten married at your venue before – so the only way to make it special is with floral designs and personal touches.

Working with a logistical team and local farmers, distributors and nature itself, we design an overall design scheme for you to help fit your style!  From flowers that are grown in the US, Canada, New Zealand and Holland (the last two have some of the toughest fair trade and wage laws in the world and Holland practically invented the cut flower trade).  Using a combination of carbon offsetting, commercial flights (as opposed to Fedex or UPS) and sheer information and research – we are able to provide you with the best possible options.  Our inventory boasts thousands of pieces of glassware from small to large.  We don’t charge a “rental” fee for them like most florists do – we just simply pick up our stuff at the end of the night.  With most weddings – we will take any leftover flowers to a nursing home (complimentary).  If not – we also compost!  Our in-house paper and glass lantern inventory is extensive and in every color imaginable.  And…if we don’t have it in stock – we will get it for you!  We have even used leftover beading from Christmas tree decor for a bridesmaid’s bouquet!  We love to upcycle and reinvent weddings.

In conjunction with our flower department and lighting, we have all sorts of decor and favor options available for you.  We have LED lights for our paper lanterns, in-house glassware (like mason jars for serving lemonade on a sunny wedding afternoon).  We also have over 500 pieces of vintage and modern glassware just for candy and food bars.  If your venue or caterer only has trays – we have trays, footed candy bowls, 3-tiered petit four/cupcake plates and more.  We have our own carpentry team in house to custom design mandaps, chuppahs, arches, trellis’, chalkboards, directional signs and more.

We help take your dreams and ideas and make them a reality with the extensive collection of items we have in our inventory to the extensive reach of vendors that we work with in the DC area.  We have an extensive information database gathered from around the world with our magazine team of writers, photographers, interns, researchers and photo editors (Eco-Beautiful Weddings).  There is simply no other event design firm in the DC/Baltimore area that has as much experience, inventory and knowledge about going green as our team here at Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.!  Go green for your wedding today – email us inquiries @ eleganceandsimplicity.com!

(Photo Credits from Top to Bottom – 1st Bouquet – The Observatory, 2nd bouquet – Marta Locklear, Beaded Bouquet – Documentary Associates, Praying Mantis – Amy Deputy, Triple Centerpiece – Documentary Associates, Hanging votives – Marta Locklear, Blue/Green Lanterns, Candy Bar, Lemonade Stand and Cake photos – Documentary Associates (cake by Cakes by Design), Paris Photo – K Thompson, Blue/green votives + Trellis with paper lanterns – Jennifer Hughes, Escort “card” Chalkboard (with calligraphy from Meant to Be Calligraphy – K Thompson)

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We are gearing up for the Eco-Beautiful Spring Mini Mag!  Stay tuned tomorrow as it is filled with green contents that you will need to jump on!

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.

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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!

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!