Elegance & Simplicity - Engaged & Green Blog » Vendor Spotlight

Harvest Wedding Style

Katie Martin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:43 +0000

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

Jordan Scott’s Wedding Video Details

Katie Martin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:30:41 +0000

We are thrilled to show you the details from Jordan and Jeremy’s beautiful wedding last year at the Ronald Reagan Building!

Many thanks to Blue Sky Films for taking such great footage!!!

To read more about their wedding and see more fab photos – click here!

Back To School Inspiration

Katie Martin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:30:34 +0000

Maybe because I have gotten several flyers in the mail about “Back to School” sales (already)…I have Back to School fever! I find myself daydreaming of monogrammed pencils, new notebooks and yes – even calculators!

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

Earth Day Celebration

Katie Martin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:30:05 +0000

This whole week has been dedicated to greening your wedding planning process in honor of Earth Day. There are a bunch of categories I did not cover – so I thought I would cover a few of those today!

If you are at the beginning of your wedding planning process (or you are about to propose) – you need to start thinking about your rings. Whether you are shopping for an engagement ring or your wedding bands – first place I recommend to start is Brilliant Earth. This week through Sunday they are giving away the below pendant (with ethically sourced green sapphire) with any ring you purchase!

Looking for a great organization to donate to in lieu of favors? Here are a few of our favorites:

The National Wildlife Federation is located right in our area and has been teaching children and educating the public about protecting the environment for the past 75 years.

EDF has one of the most effective ways of helping to save the environment through its extensive network of corporations and key players around the world. They also have a handy Seafood Selector that helps you determine the best eco-fish to serve!

We are in love with Kiva. An amazing online community letting you donate to help microfinance individuals in poverty to empower them and create opportunities.

REALLY wanting eco-friendly favors – something your guests can walk away with? Go local by using the local ETSY tool to buy from a local artisan – here are a few we are loving:

Having a garden wedding? Why not get a vintage chalkboard – write their names out by tables and have these adorable magnets from SophiePine attached to it as giveaways for the ladies? This way – you only need to buy about half as many favors and they will give a great decorative look as guests look for their tables! Click on the phone to buy!

I don’t care what people say – cupcakes are a current fad – but cookies will remain! Don’t have a family recipe? CookieCrowd on Etsy has these yummy cookies – they are located in Southern VA! IN fact – you could just have a big cookie bar! Get 10 different kinds of cookies and let your guests have at it! Too many people are doing cupcake stations! It doubles as your dessert if you forgo the wedding cake and a favor for those that just want to heist a few for the ride home!

LostRiverRags on Etsy has an amazing assortment of soaps that are made with natural and soy ingredients – perfect for gifts for your wedding party!

There is so much more I can write about – but I will leave that to future blog posts!

I hope you are doing some sort of earthy activity today for Earth Day. Don’t have a project in mind? Skip the gym and just go for a walk or dust off your bike! Heck – you might even think about biking to work instead on those upcoming sunny spring-fall days! Why not try to find a local farmer’s market and buy your produce there today? Check your grocery list – are there things on it that could be switched to more earth-friendly or local companies? Maybe just making a pact with yourself to recycle more. You would surprised what you can recycle these days (or even reuse).

Earth Day Network can Help you plan your day today.

About.com has a list a few activities you might want to try locally.

A few fun activities were listed yesterday on WashingtonPost.com

You can also find activities all over town to do tomorrow if you have to work all day - The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has a clean-up every year.

Be creative and get earthy today! Start a green habit today which will hopefully create a healthier, cleaner and greener wedding and lifestyle for you!

p.s. – If you were looking for a link to the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Spring Mini Mag today – we will hopefully post it at some point today. 3 of our platforms for the magazine route their services through Amazon.com which is currently out of service. As soon as their services are back up – we will post the Spring Mini Mag!

Eco-Friendly Flowers and Details

Katie Martin — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:30:31 +0000

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!

Eco-Friendly Photographers

Katie Martin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:30:52 +0000

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!

Eco-friendly Wedding Venues in the DC Area

Katie Martin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:30:08 +0000

In honor of Earth Day coming up this Friday – we have dedicated the entire week to helping you plan your eco-friendly wedding in DC as well as letting you know about a few great ideas and contests for Earth Day at the end of each post! Come back daily for more ideas!

Today – we start the week of where you normally start your wedding planning process – THE VENUE!

Looking for an eco-friendly wedding venue can be difficult in the DC area or very easy – depending on what you are looking for. Since the majority of the beautiful mansions in the DC area are historic – you are typically paying to rent a facility that is also used for outreach programs to the local community or for the upkeep of the museum it may hold. For example – Dumbarton House and Decatur House both are historical landmarks in Washington, DC and both have museums that they run. Both are beautiful locations with different aspects. (Above is a photo at Dumbarton House taken by Documentary Associates).

We love doing weddings at the Ronald Reagan Building as the chef is dedicated to sourcing environmentally friendly and locally sourced food. In fact, he took Blue Fin Tuna off the menu as he signed a petition to conserve this dwindling family of fish.

Another wonderful location for an eco-friendly wedding is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Annapolis. You can have your ceremony on their beach with the reception inside their LEED certified building. Even comes with a tent for the outdoor patio for dancing! Lots of wonderful locations to take photos and part of your proceeds go to help keep the bay clean!

The Arts Club of Washington is another one of our favorites! (I got married there!) A non-profit that also does catering in-house. It supports the local arts community – an acutely dwindling breed of organizations that has stayed strong in James Monroe’s old residence! This building is also a National Historic Property. (photo by Deb Lindsey)

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is a beautiful venue for your wedding. A portion of the rental fee is tax-deductible.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art is another location that is on the National Registry of Historic Properties and houses one of the best art colleges in the DC area.

Constitution Hall’s Library and O’Byrne Gallery and Portico is a perfect Washington, DC setting. Run by the Daughters of American Revolution – their non-profit is service oriented and educational. A non-profit along with being on the National Registry of Historic Properties.

The Warne Lounge at the Cosmos Club is one of the most unique and ornate rooms in all of Washington, DC. It is about to undergo renovations, but if you are planning your wedding for 2012 and know a member at the club – call them immediately! Totally one of the most unique and interesting venues and so few brides know about it. Know anyone in the sciences? They might know a member there! We have a wedding there in May – stay tuned for those photos! (Also on the National Registry of Historic Properties).

Not into a fancy old building? Why not something super new and LEED certified? The Nationals Park offers a variety of fantastic and modern rooms to choose from to host your wedding. Even if you are not a baseball fan – would you not love to have this fantastic bar at your wedding? Their caterers use local resources and the view of the baseball field is not too shabby! (Photo by Amie Otto Photography)

Halycon House is another favorite among brides also found on the National Registry of Historical Properties. Fair warning here that the property has been on the market for a while and none of us really know what will happen once the the building gets sold.

You’ve seen all the engagement shoots (like this one from Documentary Associates) around the Tidal Basin. Why not have your actual ceremony there? On the West Lawn of The Thomas Jefferson Memorial – you can have your wedding! All you need is a permit. You get a limited time frame to have it – so it can’t be anything super elaborate. But where else would you ever have this opportunity to get married next to Thomas Jefferson??? It’s “free” as you pay taxes for it!

The Mayflower Hotel is one of the oldest and most ornate hotels in Washington DC. Also on the National Registry for Historic Properties, the venue is great for all of your out of town guests. Even better still, you can do both your ceremony and reception in one building and your guests just have to go upstairs afterwards – no buses or shuttles needed!

The absolutely stunningly gorgeous Meridian House is run by the non-profit Washington International Center dedicated to strengthening international understanding through exchange of people, ideas and culture. (Photo by The Observatory)

The National Cathedral is one of the most ornate and glorious churches in Washington, DC (also on the Registry)! It’s incredible architecture mixed with its rich history really gives a great sense of grandeur. (NOTE - The cathedral will perform weddings only when one of the following criteria is met: 1. The bride, groom, or immediate family has made, over a period of time, a noteworthy contribution as a donor or volunteer to the life and ministry of the cathedral; 2. The bride or groom is an alumnus of one of the cathedral schools (Beauvoir, National Cathedral School for Girls, or Saint Albans School for Boys) or is the child under 30 years of age of an alumnus; 3. The bride, groom, or immediate family member is a member of the staff of the cathedral for at least two years at the time of application.)

Josephine Butler Parks Center is possibly one of the most underrated wedding venues in DC Proper. The Washington Parks and People runs the facility which is all about protecting parks, greening community projects in DC and community outreach in general. A beautiful space at a reasonable rate.

Woodend Sanctuary has to be one of my favorite places to do weddings. Nestled in Chevy Chase just of the beltway – it is the home of the Audubon Society and many educational and children’s camp opportunities for the community. With an amazing grove and mansion with an attached tent – one of the best deals in the DC area as well. (Photo by Heather Z)

The Sewall-Belmont House is actually one of the 4 items in Congress’ “Save America’s Treasures” Program (along with the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and the Star Spangled Banner). Again – underrated but a much loved property right on Capitol Hill has a wonderful yard with a tent out back. This building was the headquarters for the National Woman’s Party where Alice Paul forged forth the woman’s suffrage movement.

This is by no means a definitive list of venues – but a great place to start for you. There are tons of venues all over Virginia and in MD that I have not covered here (warranting another blog post in the future).

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EARTH DAY CONTESTS TO BE AWARE OF TODAY:

Going to San Francisco this weekend (or want to plan a last minute getaway for the two of you)? Then get to the Green Glam Go Facebook Page to learn how to win an Earth Day Weekend Getaway in San Francisco by clicking here and “Liking” Green Glam Go on Facebook!

Also – on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog – we have a metal water bottle up for grabs – Click here to learn how to win!

Stay Tuned for more eco DC goodies all week!

Photo District News Feature

Katie Martin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:30:46 +0000

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!

Margaret + Patrick – Rust Manor Wedding

Katie Martin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:01:32 +0000

I am so excited to finally show you one of my favorite weddings from last year! Margaret and Patrick were married this past October at Rust Manor (which is one of the Audubon Society’s properties). This wedding meant so much to me as Margaret is the sister of a previous client Ameena (click here to see her wedding)! I really got to know Margaret, Ameena and their mother during Ameena’s wedding and I was so excited to be planning Margaret’s wedding!

Her pretty bridal bouquet was comprised of purple vanda orchids, green cymbidium orchids and white ranunculus. Margaret wanted purples and greens for the ceremony and blues and greens for the reception.

We were able to hang some pretty purple and white paper lanterns along with our green glass votives above the couple for a lantern chandelier effect from the sprawling tree! We customized our reclaimed wood stage for them with a darkened natural stain.

After seeing our cute article on eco-friendly wedding children’s ideas in Eco-Beautiful Weddings (by Couture Parties), Margaret fell in love with the idea of a little sign for the ring bearer instead of a pillow. Margaret’s mom also got a radio flyer painted blue to fit the color scheme for the little flower girl to ride in! Just adorable!

During the cocktail hour the guests were treated to eye candy and so much more! Since Patrick is Irish – they opted for a fun Shamrock Ginger Lime Mojito! We kept the purple going with the flowers, but started to bring in the greens and the blues with this fantastic escort card table display:

(Be sure to click on the photo here above to get a bigger and better view!)

Stay tuned for later in the week for details from their reception!

Photography by Kathy Blanchard & Catering by Design Cuisine

Purple Purple Everywhere

Katie Martin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:30:38 +0000

Over the past few weeks I have met with so many fun brides that are looking for purples and lavenders for their wedding flowers!

So it got me thinking – I better do a blog post about this! I created the above color palette as I met with one of my clients and we came up with a fun design scheme complete with flowers, furniture and colorful linens galore! Purple has always been one of my favorite colors and can be used everywhere! So here are my picks for purple for your wedding and your home!

(Credits Top Marta Locklear, Documentary Associates and ME!)

Some of the best purple floral designs use hydrangea, roses, calla lilies and orchids. But don’t forget fresh lavender, veronica, delphinium, stock, aliums, carnations, agapanthus, caspia, statice, anemones, hyacinth, muscari and so much more! Check in with us to find out what is available for your wedding day!

This photo from Apartment Therapy is just delicious! This should inspire you to use purple with matte gold items for your wedding day. Go with matte gold chivari chairs and gold rimmed plates to get this regal look! Heck – get someone like Kendall’s Cakes or Cakes by Design to paint with edible gold on your cake or wrap pretty matte gold ribbons around the tiers of your cake. (And no – I will not spray any of my flowers with gold – sorry folks!)

And this beautiful combination of purples, aquas and blues is enough to make me swoon! I am starting to dream of an amazing lounge combination with purple and blue flowers with funky aqua bridesmaid dresses! The splash of red gerbera daisies adds the extra touch of whimsy!

If you have not found inspiration for your purple wedding and modern home landscape here – let me know and I will whip up something purple next week!

Trunk Shows

Katie Martin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:30:58 +0000

Here are a few places/designers that are having some amazing trunk shows over the next few months. Be sure to give them a call and make an appointment asap!

Adele Wechsler* (Hitched 202.333.6162) – March 17-20, 2011

Amsale (Hitched 202.333.6162) – February 11-12, 2011

Anna Maier Ulla-Maija (Hitched 202.333.6162) – February 25-26, 2011

Anne Barge (Hannelores – 703.549.0387) – February 4-6, 2011 | (Hitched 202.333.6162) – March 25-26, 2011 | (Betsy Robinson 410.484.4600) – January 21-23, 2011

Badgley Mischka (Chevy Chase Bridal – 202.363.9301) – February 18-20, 2011

Christos (Hitched 202.333.6162) – March 11-12, 2011

Judd Waddell (Hitched 202.333.6162) – March 4-5, 2011

Justin Alexander (Chevy Chase Bridal – 202.363.9301) – February 4-6, 2011

Lela Rose (Hitched 202.333.6162) – January 21-22, 2011

Monique Lhuillier (Carine’s Bridal Atelier 202.965.4696) – January 20th-23rd

Romona Keveza (Chevy Chase Bridal – 202.363.9301) – January 14-16, 2011 | (Betsy Robinson 410.484.4600) – January 28-30, 2011

Reem Acra – (Betsy Robinson 410.484.4600) – January 7-9, 2011

Watters & Watters – (Betsy Robinson- 410.484.4600) – January 14-16,2011

Simone Carvalli (Chevy Chase Bridal – 202 363.9301) – January 28-30, 2011

*Photo of one of the new dresses from Adele Wechsler’s new eco-collection – as take by Jennifer Hughes for Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine

Jordan + Jeremy’s Reception!

Katie Martin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:39 +0000

Grab a cup a coffee or a glass a wine and get ready as this post is long! There is simply no way to break up this post into smaller parts! The details of this wedding are just so much fun and better to see all together! We have done two previous posts on the decor of the ceremony and cocktail hour (along with 3 teaser posts!) Now the finale!

Even with this overall Atrium room shot at the Ronald Reagan Building – you still can’t see all the stations of fun at this wedding! To give just a little backdrop – Jordan is a school teacher – so some of the props might make more sense once you see them!

To bring in the true school spirit – we ordered some basic student high school lockers and painted them for the couple. We still have them – so let us know if you want them for your wedding! It was the talk of the wedding and everyone had so much fun looking inside and seeing all the fun photos [if you look closely enough here - you can see her dad Rick Scott (who is currently running for Governor in Florida)].

Another fun station was the “Map Station”. Since both Jeremy and Jordan love to travel so much – they wanted to see where everyone else has traveled to. So we placed pink and green pins on the maps for where Jordan and Jeremy have been and asked the guests to place the yellow pins (as shown in the letters J) on the map for where they have been.

Then we had the photo booth. I will most likely do a whole other post just on the photos from the photographer (Documentary Associates) that took the photo booth photos as they were hilarious!

(You can’t have a photo booth these days without props – we got these from Etsy!)

A couple of days ago we showed you the program we designed…here is the menu that matches!

There were so many flowers everywhere at this wedding that there just is not enough room in this post to show them. We had tall arrangements filled with green and white dendrobium orchids along with jaguar pink orchids and yellow mokara orchids! The two long head tables for the wedding party had lots of fun different shaped vases filled with seasonal local flowers including local hydrangea, peonies and roses.

One of the funniest things about this wedding is that Jordan wanted to possibly trip up the guests by numbering the tables with prime numbers (take a look at the photo above this one and you can see that table number is #29). Carla David Design did such an amazing job with these table tents, the map station, soda station and lemonade/pink lemonade/limeade bar signs (below).

And now…the cakes! Cakes by Design did such an amazing job! I still can’t get over how she was able to create Jordan and Jeremy’s dog and how she used the decor on the groom’s cake to look like the masses/crowd (GENIUS!)

And…their super fun candy bar!

It was an amazing party and we had so much fun designing it!

Congratulations Jordan & Jeremy!

Wedding Planning, Floral Designs & Decor, Lanterns, Stationery, Candy Bar – Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.

Venue & Catering - Ronald Reagan Building

Photography - Ralph Alswang

Band + Ceremony Music - MSE Productions

Videography - Blue Sky Films

Lighting & Fabric Draping – Ampa Events

Cake – Cakes by Design

Linens – Table Manners

Bridal Styling – Polished Image and Style

Hair – Elegant Hair by Giselle

Make-up – Carola Myers

Detail Signage – Carla David Design

Photo Booth Photography – Documentary Associates

Rehearsal Dinner – Arts Club of Washington

Transportation – Chariots for Hire

Accommodations – Willard InterContintental

Jordan + Jeremy – Part IV

Katie Martin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:05:17 +0000

Yes – we are on part four of our Jordan and Jeremy’s Wedding and I think there will be at least 2 more posts! Of course – the 1st three posts were just teasers and sneak peaks from camera phones! However – we have gathered all the photos from Ralph Alswang and we were finally able to sort through and show the best of the best!

Today – I am going to focus on the 1st part of the day through the end of the ceremony as the details are a plenty. From the beginning to the end of this – you will see Jordan and Jeremy’s color palette of pink, yellow and green! Of course – pink is the main color – starting with her cute purse and bouquets (above)!

It was a scorching hot day in DC. They took a quick drive over to the monuments with Ralph in order to take a few portraits -which lasted all of 5 minutes! Getting over to the Ronald Reagan Building was in their best interests at that point! Her beautiful gown was bought at Kleinfeld’s in New York city – a Kirstie Kelly dress that Robin from Polished Image and Style helped her pick out!

Their wedding had a theme of travel, fun, school and love! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post to figure out why there is a map behind this program and why the parasols!

You might recognize the reclaimed wood trellis from a previous post – but we are so happy with this structure as it has been used 3 times since their June wedding in different ways!

I loved creating this bouquet for Jordan! It’s not often that I get to use yellow peonies – but we had them here! The entire bouquet was comprised of peonies, ranunculus and freesia.

A quick kiss after the ceremony before heading off for more photos and the cocktail hour!

Part V tomorrow!

Leah + Aidan – Part 3 – Details

Katie Martin — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 05:01:06 +0000

We had lots of fun with the details at Leah and Aidan’s wedding! (Like starting with these gorgeous blush pink shoes and her vintage yellow garter!)

Aidan’s lapel flower was created with white lisianthus with a fern curl accent.

They used our manzanita trees with hanging votives for half of the centerpieces while the others were our signature cupcake trees that guests placed their votives on!

They had an absolutely adorable guest book table! Instead of an actual “guest book”, they had the guests write a note to the bride and groom for them to open later in life!

The beautiful and unique escort “card” chalkboard, a super eco-friendly wedding detail with no wasted paper!

Ahh – Michelle – once again – the signs are adorable! Check out Meant To Be Calligraphy to see how she can create amazing calligraphic designs like this for you!

Main Event Caterers did an amazing job with the ice cream dessert bar with all the toppings!

There are so many more details – but you will have to wait for them for a much later post! We have so much planned for the blog next week as Katie is off to New York City for Bridal Market to find the best of the best in bridal fashion for Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

Have a great weekend!

Mary Kate’s Wedding at Thorpewood – Part I

Chris Easter — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0000

I know that this wedding is going to have a few posts on it…

So I decided to start with the most unusual part of this wedding. Never mind the fact that the beautiful bride in the photo is cutie patootie photographer Mary Kate McKenna – this wedding had some serious flair!

Her wedding was at the beautiful Thorpewood and her wedding planner – Laura Auer of Wish Special Events made it incredible and easy for Mary Kate! Of course – we love working with other wedding planners!

I wanted to focus on this very special arch we made for Mary Kate. She let us get creative but using hearty branches, a bit of curly willow, and grapevine to create this quirky (and I think adorable) arch for their altar. Being outside and in a very woody area – it made the perfect setting for a very cute couple! So many of our couples this year have let us get creative and use the talents of my amazing husband – who is a master carpenter! We donated the arch to the property as the branches will biodegrade over the next few months! Click on the photo to enlarge it!

Stay tuned for more photos!

Thanks to Jaime from The Blonde Photographer for the image above!

Kati & Jason’s Wedding at The Decatur House – Part III!

Katie L Martin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:23:19 +0000

We posted a few of the photos from Kati & Jason’s wedding from May this year…however Rodney sent over this great video montage of the images from their wedding at the Decatur House!

Take a look by clicking on the image above!

Cheers to Kati & Jason!

Kendall & Mo – Part IV – CAKE!

Katie L Martin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:40:36 +0000

Ok – so I am officially obsessed with this cake. Debbie Delardi from Cakes by Design outdid herself with this one! I am in love with it! Debbie based the design on the Save-the-Dates and Invitations by her Etsy designer Magnolia Papier!

She also made cupcakes which we inserted paper flowers from Magnolia Papier into!

(Notice the cute paper detailing on the blue cake pedestals – which I am also obsessed with!)

Now – here comes even more craziness! Their wedding will be on Ace of Cakes this summer! For all you cake addicts out there…I will post about the show as soon as I know the date!

Kendall wanted to surprise Mo with a cake made in the likeness of the robot that Mo has to use 3-5 times a week to perform surgery at John Hopkins! The robot is called the Davinci – here is the real life version of it:

And here is the cake:

It was so much fun and such a wonderful surprise for Mo!

Check out the cake topper for this one:

Her in her dress, he in his scrubs along with their doggie and the cute love birds from their invitations! ADORABLE!

There are so many more photos from this wedding…but I am figuring 4 posts is enough! We will have a gallery of their wedding soon on the main website as it was such a wonderful day!

Again – a huge thanks to Jennifer Hughes for the images and a big ole’ congrats to Kendall & Mo!

I will post once we know about the show airing!

Cheers!

Kendall & Mo – Part III – Wedding Decor

Chris Easter — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:30:02 +0000

This is a continuation (part 3 of 4) of Kendall & Mo’s wedding – all about the decor we did for them! Grab a cool drink as this will be a long one!

This is our signature trellis that we have been using for about 2 years now. We have now taken it out of commission and have reused the wood to create a smaller version. No worries – we can still make another one like it – we just felt a smaller version would make some of our upcoming weddings more intimate! We purchased the aqua glass hanging votives to add to our ever-growing collection of amazing hanging glassware! Of course we also have every color of the rainbow in paper lanterns. It was just especially whimsical to have them inside this beautiful atrium at the Engineer’s Club in Baltimore.

After choosing her save the dates -Kendall brought one to me and we designed the day around the adorable colors from her paper items (which were showcased in yesterday’s post)! We created simple but beautiful bouquets comprised of green hydrangea with white ranunculus for the bridesmaids to go with their beautiful turquoise/aqua shade dresses from Jenny Yoo. Each bridesmaid had an individual beautiful brooch that Kendall bought for them as gifts! She even gave one to me that I adore!

Here is her lovely bouquet! She chose white peonies (available in May and June) with white ranunculus, green cymbidium orchids with blue delphinium accents. (Look at that cute chair decor her mom made!)

We love our oval vases! We used them for the atrium as decor on the railings with submerged green cymbidium orchids and fun aqua stones.

We custom designed this piece for Kendall! It was gorgeous and huge! We took manzanita branches and fastened them to a box Miguel made out of some old wood from our workshop and filled it with wheat grass. Then we added green dendrobium orchids with her cute paper flowers (and escort cards) from her Etsy Paper designer Magnolia! Check out the post from yesterday to get a closer view of the flowers – by clicking here! (You can also click on the image to make it larger to see more detail).

Here is a nice snapshot of the tablescapes! We used our tall cylindrical glass vases with manzanita branches with hanging green and aqua glass hanging votives (hung with vintage green and blue ribbons). Then we had 3 lower vases with submerged white dendrobium orchids with floating white candles. Then you can see her adorable napkin rings here too – which were featured yesterday on the blog!

(There was also a candy bar – which I don’t have photos of at the moment!)

Mo is Lebanese and we were able to get Debke dancers in for their reception as well from MSE Productions!

MyDeejay was there that night for all of the other music and it was seamless! Anthony is always a pleasure to work with!

I love this photo of the Engineer’s Club as it shows their signature lighting ceiling system that I am in love with! However – this is not to be confused with the fantastic job that Ampa Events did with the uplighting around the facility! Truly an amazing event!

I wanted to make one final note on this blog post. This wedding was planned with eco-friendliness in mind. Kendall and Mo are busy doctors and highly aware of what is going on in our environment. She chose Etsy Designers to give back to the creative artist community, chose us for our eco-friendly designs, chose the Engineer’s Club for its beauty and historical significance, chose MyDeejay as they are a carbon-neutral company, her friends and family took most of the paper decor to be reused again…the list is really endless. We adored Kendall from the moment she stepped into our offices!

Going green can be fab folks – as you can see here!

Stay tuned for the 4th and final installment tomorrow for Kendall & Mo’s wedding! All about cake – not to be missed!

All images were provided by the amazing Jennifer Hughes!

Kati & Jason’s Wedding

Chris Easter — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:29:43 +0000

Here are a few more details from Kati & Jason’s wedding at the Decatur House this spring. They had such a fun a funky decor design and everyone left saying that the wedding was “so them”! I love hearing that!

Yes – we always want people to say that the wedding was fun and beautiful and elegant…but we also want the weddings that we are a part of to really reflect the client and their taste. It is not about what we want or how we do things – it is about what you want for your wedding day. When we hear guests say things like that was so unique and so much like Kati (the bride) – then we know we have done our job!

Kati and her mom brought me dozens of cute and interesting small vases that they collected over the past few months and we filled all of them with various purple and blue flowers. They had one small vase with two photos of them at each age – representing the number of the table…very cute and very them!

Along with this hilarious – yet simple cake.

We love weddings that are as unique as the couple themselves. They had two ceremonies to reflect both of their cultures – be sure to incorporate heritage and culture in your reception as well!

Thanks to Rodney Bailey again for providing amazing photos in with such a short turn around!

Congrats Kati & Jason!

Ameena + James Video

Chris Easter — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:19:21 +0000

Everyone has loved seeing the details from Ameena and James’ wedding last year at the Ronald Reagan Building.

So I asked Blue Sky Films to send over the video from their wedding. There is seriously nothing more magic than seeing their wedding on film again. I absolutely adored working with them. Just sweethearts to the core. I miss them – but now I will get the chance to work with Ameena’s sister for her wedding! YAY! Take a look at the video and you will see why I adore them!

Virdina & Kevin’s Engagement Photos!

Chris Easter — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:49:33 +0000

We are so excited to share Virdina & Kevin’s Engagement Shoot with Andrea Jacobson of The Observatory! Virdina and Kevin are the winners of the Washington DC Green Wedding Consortium’s $50,000 green wedding giveaway on Earth Day (April 22)! We are in the final throws of planning – but we were able to squeeze in a day for the engagement photos!

They took a stroll along the U Street/Cardozo part of Washington, DC. Bohemian Caverns and the wonderful Eatonville Restaurant were the backdrops! Look at how cute they are!

SNEAK PEEK

Katie Martin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:34:17 +0000

Sooo…this is not on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog – but I wanted to just show my favorite photo so far from Parris Whittingham who took photos at our launch party for Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine this past Tuesday.

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

DCCWC 2nd Annual Bridal Show at the Decatur House

Katie Martin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:01:29 +0000

Wanting to see the best wedding professionals under one roof and meet some of the top bloggers from the east coast? Come to the Washington DC Couture Wedding Consortium’s 2nd Annual Luxury Bridal Show at the Decatur House Museum on 2.6.2010!

Featuring Dresses from Punk Rock Bride & The Cotton Bride! Get an up close look at the dress on the cover of our magazine Eco-Beautiful Weddings!

Get some free goodies from The Knot!

We have Emily Newman from the amazing Once Wed blog:

Nole Garey from O So Beautiful Paper Blog:

Danielle Freedman & Devon Pearce from District Weddings:

Amy Jean Chung from Weddzilla & The Relentless Bride (who is getting married herself in March):

Custom Garter Gal Julianne Smith will be there!

Valet Parking will be provided by Marc Parc!

We have an amazing set of gifts to giveaway – stay tuned for that blog post!!!

The following vendors from the DC Couture Wedding Consortium will be present:

Wedding Planners

Elegance & Simplicity, Inc.

Bella Notte

Something Fabulous

Caterers

Occasions Caterers

Photographers

Documentary Associates

Cake Designers

Music & Entertainment

MSE Productions

Disc Jockeys On Call

Bialek’s Music

Videography

Jessica Pi Productions

Blue Sky Films

Marry Me Live

Rental Companies

Ampa Events

Sugar Plum Tent Company

Table Manners

Hair & Make-up

Elegant Hair by Giselle

Carola Myers

Wedding Style Consultants

Polished Image & Style

Invitations

Presentations

Vendor Spotlight: Jessica Pi Productions & A Videography Push!

Katie Martin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:12:50 +0000

Jessica has been such a great help in partnering with the DC Green Wedding Consortium, I thought it would be perfect to do a Vendor Spotlight about her! We just saw each other at the holiday party this week, where she captured the $50,000 green wedding giveaway winning couple live as I announced their names! I thought I would take a few moments and ask her some questions that many of my clients want to know when it comes to videography.

What are you doing to make a difference as a green videographer?

My primary approach to greening my business revolves around recycling. Obviously, everyone knows to recycle cans and bottles. However, with running a technology business, there’s a lot more one can do in the way of recycling. We buy recycled products whenever possible. We use renewable products whenever possible – in our case rechargeable batteries and refillable toner cartridges for the laser printer. And then we recycle everything – after we have gotten the maximum amount of use out of it – paper, labels, batteries, lights, computer parts, broken equipment, etc. All of those products that have exhausted their usability, get taken to the local recycling center.

What do you want couples to know about you?

I guess what I most want couples to know about me, personally, is that I produce wedding videos because I love it. I really do care about each couple I work with and want them to have the best video possible, whether I or one of my associates is the videographer. I tell my friends all the time how I just cried watching that last wedding video we sent out the door, and they tease me because it’s not even my wedding. But every video for me is so personal. I want every couple to take their video home and cry and watch it again with family and laugh and cry again and watch it again with friends and have them laugh and cry. It’s not a product, to me, because I know it’s not just a product to each couple I work with – it’s a memory and a story, their story.

What should couples know about videography?

What I would like people to know about video is that it is as much an art form as photography. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Video Production. I studied lighting, sound, editing, mise en scene, and storytelling at NYU. I know how to get the best sound out of the ceremony, where to be to capture the most out of a live event using natural light to highlight the bride and groom. I put a lot of thought and energy into framing each moving image – from the first frame through the pan or tilt or zoom to the last frame of the shot. In editing, I make conscious choices about when and where to use slow motion, fast motion, sepia, or black and white, and how to cut to the music or through the ceremony to show off each couple’s personal style. All of my associates studied film and video production and understand not only the technical side of a production, but also the art that goes into each wedding video.

We love Jessica! Be sure to check out Jessica’s website by clicking here!

Lasso’d Moon Designs

Katie Martin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:01:37 +0000

There are so many wonderful invitation designers all over the states. However, we strive to show smaller designers here and those that are doing some amazing eco-friendly things! We found this amazing designer on Twitter and we adore everything she does. Here are few of her samples that are specifically eco-friendly!

Carey, the owner, does a great job of explaining eco-friendly options for her clients. For example, to save paper in addition to having PCW papers, she makes these fun and original postcards for Save-the-Dates and respond cards.

I love her map options. I love the look of a classy map! Some of our clients have done hand-painted maps (which can take FOREVER) or have scanned a map from the venue where the reception will take place. Doing a combo of the two is the most elegant way to do it in my mind. Most hand-drawn/painted maps are not drawn to scale and tend to be, well, just cute (meaning not very helpful as far as a map is concerned). If you are having a lot of out-of-town guests, a map drawn to scale is imperative if you are not providing transportation for them. Here Carey has a real map and has infused a small element of whimsy along with detailed written out driving instructions.

An invitation designer will do all they can to ensure that every element of your invitation is edited and easy to read. Carey does a fantastic job and it shows in her examples online and in her communication with me. Click on any of the photos above to get to her website and start planning your stationery journey today!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

SugarB Studio

Katie Martin — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:01:15 +0000

If you are looking for a wedding website design or fantastic invitation (or a combination of both) – Kari Becker Beard of SugarB Studio can make it happen.

On top of the exquisite beauty and simplicity of her work – she is also local!

I met Kari at Ben’s Next Door in Washington, DC and got a chance to see a wide range and variety of her work! She can even do business collateral! Invitations are art and should be made that way – Kari definitely has the flair!

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

Vendor Spotlight: Deb Lindsey

Katie Martin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:33:35 +0000

I finally got the chance to work with Deb Lindsey earlier this year and I just love her approach to photography! She has a no-nonsense attitude and has the eyes of a perfectionist! Clients, other photographers and I just like being around her! I took a few moments to ask her some questions (mixed in with a few fabulous photos from her):

1)How did you get started in photography?

My grandfather gave me a 35mm film camera when I was a teenager. I thought being a photographer seemed glamorous and it gave me an identity in high school as I worked for the yearbook. After a few years of wanting to be the next Annie Leibovitz, I started working for the daily student newspaper at the University of Maryland and from then on was hooked on photojournalism.

2) What makes me cry at weddings?

I’m a sucker for the mother-son dance. It depends some on how close the mother and son are, and it doesn’t happen at every wedding, but it’s the one part of the day where I can see myself in another twenty years or so when my son gets married! I’m also moved when the groom starts to cry. There’s something about the boys getting choked up that makes me teary as well.

3) Which are your favorite places to take photos?

For weddings, I love working at the Hay Adams, the Fairmont, the Cosmos Club and Congressional County Club. It’s always a bonus for me to have a lovely venue and I really like shooting outside so I also love River Farm, Woodend and Strathmore Mansion. For engagement shoots, I dig city streets and urban landscapes and some spots around DC where I can find that iconic white marble without being at a monument.

4)What is the funniest thing you have seen at a wedding?

Probably the hat parade at a wedding I shot at the end of 2008. The groom’s family tradition was to bring out big baskets of hats at any family event (birthday parties, weddings etc.). It’s the only time I’ve photographed a bride wearing antlers and a groom with a tied up napkin on his head.

5)Where is your favorite place to hang out?

I wish I had a place to hang out!! I’ve got two kids so if I’m not home, I’m probably either carpooling or at a pool. Both my kids are swimmers so depending on the season I’m frequently poolside, indoors or out.

Be sure to click on any of the photos to click through to her website!

~Katie Martin

Andrea Jacobson – Cutie Patootie!

Katie Martin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:01:04 +0000

This week’s Cutie Patootie is Andrea Jacobson of The Observatory!

We have gotten a few chances to work with her and her associates! I absolutely adore Andrea! Her innovative photography and friendly approach with clients are always a fantastic combination. She is also a member of the Washington DC Green Wedding Consortium as an eco-friendly photographer and she was selected to be on the Washington DC Couture Wedding Consortium!

Here are a few photos from a recent wedding in DC that Andrea took.

The couple…also cutie patooties! Married at the Tabard Inn and portraits in Senate Park! So wonderfully DC!

Check out the zipcar and her cute red shoes! I LOVE IT!

(bouquet by Phillippa Tarrant)

Congratulations to the couple and Andrea for being cutie patooties and having such a beautiful wedding day!

Cheers!

~Katie Martin

Lela New York

Katie Martin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:01:03 +0000

I found Lela New York on Twitter last month and I am in love with her work! Now is the time to start looking for your stationery if you are getting married in the spring! Remember, it can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to get your invitations from various stationers. Then, you have to address them! Why wait until the last minute!

Lela New York’s letterpress invites are printed on tree-free 100% cotton papers. Lela New York uses natural fibers such as silks and cotton rather than synthetic fabrics.

Happy Planning!

~Katie Martin

Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. on Carbonfund.org’s Blog!

Katie Martin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:06:28 +0000

We are tickled GREEN! We just saw that Carbonfund.org just posted about us on their blog! We carbon-offset through them for our own company, but we also make carbon offsetting donations for couples as well with certain packages that we provide. Learn about carbon offsetting your wedding by taking a look at their handy-dandy carbon-offsetting wedding calculator! We also dig them as they are local! Right here in Silver Spring, MD!

Take a look at their blog post about us by clicking on the logo above! Thanks Carbonfund.org!

Happy Greening!

~Katie Martin