Gorgeous fun wedding cake from The Knot with orange drink stirrers from Bab’s Etsy Shop

Our own gloriosa lily bouquet with our in-house lanterns (photo by Roman Grinev)

Fabyan Orange Gown via Wedding Inspirasi with beautiful earrings from Rachelle’s Jewelry Box

Orange Brocade Kitten Heels from BHLDN with our menus and orchids (photo from Documentary Associates)

A few of our favorite things for Holiday Wedding Style…

Our green cymbidium bridal bouquet (photo by Documentary Associates) with Green Bunting Pennant from BHLDN

Green and Red cake via Perfect Wedding Day with Green Wedding Dress via Flickr

One of our favorite holiday bouquets we have done with holly berries, roses and rosemary (photo by Amy Deputy) with our green cymbidium cake topper (photo by Roman Grinev)

Our green hypericum berry lapel with green shoes via The Knot

Yummy Blue…

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

One of our beautiful brides in her beautiful blue dress at Woodend Sanctuary- Photo by Heather Z

Blue Cake by Cakes by Design from a wedding we did last year at the Engineer’s Club – Photo by Jennifer Hughes

Gorgeous Blue Garter from The Garter Girl

Blue Veil by Ossai as seen in the summer issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings – Photo by Marta Locklear

Lapis Champagne Flutes from BHLDN

Gorgeous Blue Shoes from one our brides at the Decatur House – photo by Rodney Bailey

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

Take a look at these crystal wedding shoes! They’d be hard to miss coming down the aisle and they are on sale for over 60% off the purchase price!

This beautiful beaded belt would add an elegant and beautiful finishing touch to a simple wedding gown and it’s on sale.

Searching for a perfect hair accessory for the big day? This unique rhinestone swirl bridal hair clip would make any updo look fabulous! Discounted by 20% off the retail price.

Today we wanted to show you a sneak peek for tomorrow’s larger post on a whimsical wedding we did at Glen Echo!  The flowers and candy bar are too much for one post!

Stay tuned!

(Photo by Documentary Associates)

Vancraeynest platinum diamond engagement ring, listed at 20% off the retail price.

This antique solitaire engagement ring was purchased at an upscale estate in the midwest. This ring was originally $8500 and is on sale for $2450.

How gorgeous is this platinum asscher cut diamond ring?! On sale for 27% off the retail price and is practically brand new.

We have our new guest blogger Candice Ourisman coming up tomorrow!  She married Chris Ourisman last year and we had the best time planning their wedding.  To see snippets from  their wedding – click here! Candice will be bringing fresh style to the blog every other week!  Check out her blog Secretly Fancy to gear up for tomorrow!

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 love introducing sponsors that offer interesting items.  Since fall is just around the corner and many of you are prepping for your spring weddings as well- we love these options at WeddingFavors.org!  The autumnal bookmark favor, tins for DIY favors, cherry blossom fans for your spring Cherry Blossom Wedding in DC and these cute little topiary place card holders!

They have an exhaustive list of favors for weddings and bridal shower favor ideas!!!

Get a 15% discount by entering ELEGANCE15 for orders over $49!  The coupon expires on July 31, 2011 – so hurry!

Let us know what you choose for your wedding!

Today is the last day to win this gorgeous red cake pedestal from Burlap and Blue!  It was featured in our Etsy Love Challenge in the summer issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine!  Click on the photo above to learn how to win it!!!

(Photo by Allison Britton)

These gorgeous Kate Spade Lucia shoes have never been worn and are in their original box and bag. The heal was too short for the bride’s gown and she is selling them for almost half off.

These Pour La Victoire Stella pumps feature a peep toe with ruffled vamp detail. Never worn and purchased for $149, on sale for just $47!

Our last pair of the week are these beautiful Stuart Weitzman Pink Fuchsia Solitaire pumps. The bride wore them only once, they are in excellent condition and on sale for 46% off the retail price.

My absolute favorite bridal bouquet that we made for June was for our lovely bride Julia from her wedding on June 4th at the Netherlands Carillon near the Iwo Jima Memorial (followed by her reception at Top of the Town).

She carried this lovely bouquet comprised of white peonies, light blue delphiniums, fresh lavender, garden roses, freesia, and rosemary.

Lovely + Luscious Bouquets Make Us Happy!!!

Stay tuned for more photos from their wedding!

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!

A country farm bouquet for a country farm wedding!  We loved making all the fantastic floral designs for this wonderful wedding in Comus on Shepherd’s Hey Farm!  The bride’s bridal bouquet had garden roses, peonies, white and blue blue delphinium, white freesia and white lisianthus.

The lovely bridesmaids bouquets were made of white larkspur, white peonies, yellow freesia, blue delphinium and touches of dark pink ranunculus.

With 27 tables worth of different vases and vessels – I can really only show you a smattering of the vases we used for the wedding day!  We had all sorts of vintage tea pots, jugs, vases, and jars.

But by far – the above can is one of our treasures in-house.  This Quaker Maid can was found at a local antique market along with 4 other amazing fun tin cans from the early 1900′s!  Priceless and beautiful all at the same time.  We used Queen Anne’s lace, bupleurum, freesia, larkspur, snapdragons and so much more in every centerpiece.  Every centerpiece was completely different from the next.

Then finally the pretty cake from Mallowdrama!  Decorated with white lisianthus and blue delphinium, it was the perfect summer time cake.  They also provided sheet cakes and an additional gluten-free cake for guests!

Many congrats to Meredith and Owen on their wedding day!  Photos from their photographer will go up as soon as I get them!  A huge thanks to Mary Kate McKenna for coming out to take these beautiful detail shots for our portfolio!

With this new wedding – we added a few new things to our inventory!  One of the more exciting aspects of this wedding was the beautiful down to earth farm feel to match the fact that we were actually on a farm!  We purchased these beautiful vintage framed chalkboards to show guests where to sit!  Our calligrapher did all of the calligraphy in chalk pen!  We have two of these chalkboards in house now!

We were able to get this custom bunting custom designed by Giggleberry.  Perfect for decorating the ceremony band tent along with the backdrop (not shown here) that we made with fabric and custom painting.

One of our favorite items in-house are our hanging blue glass lanterns!  These were hung right over the dance floor in the barn!  Major dancing at this wedding as contra dancing was the center of attention!

With over 250 guests and three different types of entrees we needed to have a way to let the waiters know who was getting which type of meal.  What better way than to use rocks!  We used green, gold and white to distinguish the entrees.

Stay tuned tomorrow for floral design details from the wedding!

(Photography by Mary Kate McKenna)

We truly had one of the most beautiful, soulful and endearing weddings that we have ever been a part of this past Saturday.  (Yes – that is saying a lot – but I mean it!) I had the wonderful Mary Kate McKenna come to take some detail shots of some of the fun projects we did for the wedding.  Miguel made this custom 6x6x7 custom reclaimed wood trellis for this beautiful wedding day.  We added greenery and flowers to it.

The venue?  Shepherd’s Hey Farm…the family’s farm in Comus!  We hope it will soon become a venue where you can get married too!  We really did a lot of work to make their farm “wedding friendly” for all of their friends and family to gather to celebrate this special occasion!

Stay tuned for more details!

We had such a beautiful wedding at Woodend a few weeks ago…just waiting on the professional photos from the photographer.  Here is a photo of the backdrop of hanging votives that we did for the ceremony.  Just a simple backdrop that created a little bit of drama!  More to come!

We so love 100 Layer Cake and we are happy to see that they are having a pop-up shop tomorrow featuring ban.do accessories!  Be there or be square!  Click on the photo above to get more details!

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)

Here we have something for the fall bride or groom with this cute escort card display complete with oranges, mini pumpkins, bamboo and little bit of gerbera daisy accents!

Another very popular design from a wedding we did several years ago.  Our cute little mum box display with limes!

A fun and funky escort card display with submerged pears, artichokes and limes.   Beautiful peach French tulips and calla lilies burst from the tops of the vases.

Another one of our favorite escort card displays with various hues of pink gerbera daisies and pink hydrangea with a fun vase filled with blueberries!

I will end with something simple for the weekend!  A super summery arrangement with Antique Dutch hydrangea with pink peonies with yellow apples submerged in the vase.

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next week!

(Photo credits – Photos #1 & 5 by Katie Martin (me) and photos 2-4 by Documentary Associates)

Uh – hello!!!  How cute are these recycled wood Mr. & Mrs. signs??  Etsy Seller William Dohman has these signs along with a bunch of other cute and succinct signs like “Holla”, “Love”, “bon jour” and more!  LOVE THEM!!!

Ok – you have heard me say it a few times – but Ginkgo trees are wayyyy more native to DC than Cherry Blossoms folks!  These adorable appetizer plates from ETSY Seller Hope Johnson are as cute as they can be and perfect for your cute new apartment in downtown DC!!!

Loving these “happiness” eco-friendly shower curtains from Kontextur!

I have a bunch of new ideas brewing for you!  Stay tuned for more real wedding decor as well!  We are at the Cosmos Club and the Bethesda Hyatt this weekend – lots of fun stuff at both weddings – can’t wait to share!

Got the photos back super quick from Mary Kate McKenna from this adorable wedding at Thorpewood!

I gave you a sneak peak of the wedding last week and I wanted to show you this cake today with this absolutely wonderful vintage family heirloom cake topper from the bride’s grandmother’s wedding.  Stay tuned tomorrow for more detail shots from the flowers and more!

_____________________________________

I also wanted to take this chance to just send out our support to our military around the world and locally.   Rarely do we ever celebrate the death of someone, but most Americans today are celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden.  We celebrate this victory on many levels, but also celebrate the efforts of our military personnel who have been involved over the years in search of this man.  We salute you and give great thanks for your great service.

So many friends and brides asked me what I did for Earth Day.  Was it some amazing project?  Another free wedding for a lucky couple?  Plant trees?  Nope – none of the above.  Well – we did go live with with the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Wedding Earth Day Mini Mag – which was fun for sure!

What I did do is talk about what Earth Day means to me to my child and together we did a couple of small things to help make the world a greener place.  I also remembered how last year I was coordinating Virdina and Kevin’s wedding on Earth Day (click here to see more photos from their wedding at the Decatur House).  Yes, as part of a team, we gave away a $50,000 wedding on Earth Day (for the second time) to help educate couples in the DC area that you can have a fabulous wedding that is eco-friendly and stylish.  I am pretty sure the message got across as over 62% of our couples in this past year have specifically come to our firm asking for some help in going green on their wedding day.

I have a confession to make to all of our brides and grooms: all of our couples get 100% eco-friendliness from our firm. We can’t change who we are!  We are green and we dig it – YEAR ROUND!  Not just on Earth Day!

So – a couple of brides and vendors asked me – Why no free wedding this year?  Well, the answer is simple.  We were able to show a ton of brides and grooms that going green can be stylish.  But on top of it – we were able to really show vendors how to go green as well.  We continue to educate vendors around the world on how to go green!

So this Earth Day, I tipped my hat to Virdina and Kevin’s 1st year anniversary and reveled in the fact that they had a fabulous wedding on one of the greenest days of the year!  My hope is that you are trying to plan your stylish green wedding and will look to us for guidance!

Happy Earth Day, Revisited!

(Photo by The Observatory)

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!

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)

_________________________

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!

Continuing our Earth Day week on how to keep your wedding eco-friendly – we move on to the next part of your planning process – THE CATERER!  Why is this so important?  You will spend approximately 50-60% of your wedding budget on food + rentals – so you want to make sure you are putting your dollars in the right place.  Our favorite and one of the best caterers in the United States is Design Cuisine.  Above are glassware from their sister company DC Rental.   Design Cuisine is now Green Restaurant Certified and prides itself on sustainable practices and using local resources as often as possible. (Photo by Kathy Blanchard)

Another nationally known caterer that claims DC as their own is Main Event Caterers.  In 2010, they were named Caterer of the Year by Catering Magazine!  They have their own in-house water filtration system with reusable glass bottles.  Their incredible chef prides himself on using locally sourced food as well.  They are 100% Wind-Powered and Carbon Neutral through Terrapass.  They have a comprehensive Recycling, Reusing and Composting Program and strive to educate their clients about how to stay green for their weddings. (photo by K. Thompson Photography)

Occasions Catering was the first caterer in the country to become Green Restaurant Certified!  One of the first to compost and have been a supporter of local farmers years before it was thought to be “green”.  They even make their own jams and preserves in-house!  Truly one of the greenest caterers in town!

Gail’s Vegetarian Catering has been around for years as the DC area’s greenest vegetarian caterer.  Obviously going vegetarian for your wedding is the greenest option.  They are approved by Green America and create amazing menus with flair.  A note – their business is up for sale – the hope is that whoever purchases Gail’s will have the same philosophy and will continue with the same style.  Since it is has been on sale for a while – we are more than sure that Gail is looking for the best person to take it over!

Our final favorite pick for Green Catering is Catering by Windows, another local favorite that is Green Restaurant Certified.  Certainly one of the largest event caterers in the area – they even recycle kitchen oils and food by-products.

_____________________________________

Earth Day Week Green Giveaway for today are free movie tickets to see the pre-screening of Something Borrowed from Stephanie Ward over at Punk Rock Bride - local eco-friendly wedding gown designer!  LEAVE A NOTE BELOW ON HOW YOU PLAN TO GREEN YOUR WEDDING TO WIN THE TICKETS!

Priscilla of Boston’s Signature Style was put on display for their Fall 2011 Collection this past weekend in New York City.  So many of our brides last year wore Priscilla of Boston – I could not wait to post about this!

Along with their signature lace style comes this simple bodice with this lovely pink flower!  Gorgeous!

We saw bridal separates all over market this weekend.  This is a stunning way to reuse your bridal ensemble!  You could certainly wear that top out again after your wedding! While Robin loved the dresses, I also loved the cute decor they did without having a runway show.

Loving “Meredith” is easy to do! The layers of fabric coupled with that luscious fabric make for a fantastic silhouette that I love seeing year after year from Priscilla of Boston.  Perfection!

Again – another thing both Robin and I saw everywhere at market are short wedding gowns!  A trend that is not going away and I LOVE seeing!  This one is just stunning with the large floral details.  I can see a bride wearing this to a cocktail reception after work by adding a pretty colored sash or wrap and no one would know she wore it on her wedding day!!! PRICELESS!!!!

Again – a gorgeous separate from Priscilla of Boston with simple and lovely details. Totally can be worn again ladies!

Check out more bridal recaps from bridal market on the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog.  Today we are highlighting Claire Pettibone on the EBW Blog.

Be sure to stop by the Eco-Beautiful Weddings Blog this week for an update on upcoming Fall and Spring Bridal Trends.  I just came back from NYC Bridal Market with hundreds of photos of some really amazing designers that are doing wonderful  things.  Today’s post on the Eco-Beautiful Wedding Blog is all about Monique Lhuillier -but there is much more to be seen for the remainder of the week!

Above is a Monique Lhuillier trend dress.  Knowing that brides will be pining for royal style after Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding, she created this signature gown for her Spring 2012 Collection.  Click on the photos above to get to the blog post to see more beautiful dresses from her new collection.

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