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!!!

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)

(Badgley Mischka,  Nicole Miller, Robert Rodriguez dresses!)

If you have not heard of Rent the Runway – then you are missing out!  Don’t go out and buy that new dress that you will only wear once for Valentine’s Day!  Just rent a fantastic dress from Rent the Runway.  Couture designer dresses for a fraction of the cost!  Rent the dress for the night and send it back.  You can do the same for your bridesmaids! (Oh and by the way – this is super eco-friendly!)

Oooh….Laaaa….Laaaa…

One of the truest things I love about being a wedding planner is that I get to see firsthand some of the most beautiful things in the world – all the time!  Then, I usually get goodies sent to me!  We are definitely in full swing here at Elegance and Simplicity, with all sorts of yummy packages coming in the mail to try!  This week was exceptional.

I got to taste the decadent (and gluten-free) French macarons from The Macaronner!

They come in a lovely box from husband and wife team Eric and Nicole in California.  I think they are perfect as a thank you gift or a way to announce that you want your best friend to be your maid of honor!

They are delicate and delicious!

Or…maybe a bridesmaid luncheon or on your dessert station!

To learn more about The Macaronner – click on any  of the images above (they also do Madeleines!)

Oui Oui!!  You will want them for yourself too!

Happy Planning!

It is that time of year again!  All of the world’s best bridal fashion designers descend on New York City to show the upcoming 2010 lines.  I am here reporting live!  I have a lot of fun photos to share with you while I am in NYC and will be blogging about them while I am here!

I really have had such a fantastic time!  I want to share a few things about my first day of bridal market before I head back back up to see more designer suites.

Yesterday started with the Wedding Trendspot Fashion Show sponsored by Wedding Channel and hosted by The Wedding Guys at 8am at the Waldorf-Astoria.   We saw about 13 up and coming designers that are doing some amazing work.  A few of my favorites (that I visited with after the  show) were Pixton, Jorge Manual, AcQuachiara, Karen Hendrix, Beth Elis & Katerina Bocci.  Every one of the designers had some unique options and I plan on visiting the rest of the designer’s suites today at the InterContinental Barclay Hotel.

I spent some time with the folks at Katerina Bocci and I love what she is doing.  I plan on doing a longer post about her dresses and her philosophy…but here is a cute cell pic of Katerina.  OMG – she is a cutie patootie!

The runway show had a TON of blunders with dresses coming out under the wrong logo backdrops and in the wrong order (more to report on that later!).  Katerina had the brunt of the problem concerning the direction of the show.  She was supposed to show between 10-12 dresses and only 1 made it out! However, she really did steal the show!  Her one dress – was the last dress.  She made lemonade out of lemons by walking out with her model who wore the dress she is holding above.  Everyone exploded with a wonderful applause.  Bravo Katerina!

Had a great time with the staff at Kirstie Kelly (Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings) – such nice people.  They have the magical power of marketing behind them and have launched a lot of new products this year including a line of engagement rings and cakes. The Bridal Market day ended with their wonderful runway show of their 2010 dresses for brides, bridesmaids and flower girls.  Of course the show started with a snippet of The Princess & The Frog movie! Here is a fun cell photo of one of the gowns I caught with my bberry:

(more photos from my actual camera to come!)

After the show, I got a chance to talk to some fun wedding experts.

I was very excited to meet Carley Roney of The Knot (yes that is the co-founder and editor-in-chief).  We chatted about my upcoming books and about our children (we were both exhausted after a day full of meetings and runway shows).  She is a sweetheart and I look forward to collaborating with Carley and The Knot this upcoming year.

I am off to meet with a few more designers before the Martha Stewart Weddings Party tonight (and a bridal blogger party afterwards).  Super excited to see Martha Stewart, Darcy Miller, Amy Atlas’ dessert bar and a slew of the best wedding industry experts.  I will charge up my phone and tweet about it as I go!  Check it out at www.twitter.com/greenweddc!

I promise to blog more later!

~Katie Martin

First, all of us should be learning how to eat well!  So, here is a book I plan to pick up this week:

I am a huge fan of Sophie’s books and blog!  Click on the book above and buy the book online or found out more about the book!

I am a lover of totes!  Here is a great tote that everyone should have for your groceries or for just looking cute around town!  Click on the photo to buy!

I am about to buy a blouse from www.dreamsack.com.  While perusing – I saw these fantastic 70% bamboo – 30% Organic cotton towels on sale – Perfect for a destination wedding welcome bag (if they are in your colors) and on sale!!!

Stay tuned for more products!  I have a great new resource for eco-friendly invitations that are adorable!!!  Will post about them soon!

Happy Shopping!

~Katie Martin

Cute, cute and more cute…so many eco-friendly and organic products on this website – I am mad I just found it this week!!!  GO NOW to BTC Elements!  RUN to your nearest computer!  They have reclaimed fabric dresses, potato chip bag coasters and “upcycled” accessories!

And if you are wanting to buy a present for me – OMG – I love this!  Yes – I love to read and now must wear reading glasses and I love, love, love this cutie patootie eyeglass holder!

Loup Charmant…loving the ethereal organic white cotton looks here!

I am the biggest fan of Danny Seo – if you don’t know who he is yet – check out his website and his blog! I love the new products Danny Seo has put out – Whole Earth:  Click on the body wash and buy them for your groomsmen and bridesmaids!!!

Ok ladies…if you have not gotten into fabric (like I have) – I think this is the fabric I love for someone’s wedding.  I have a few weddings coming up in the spring that could totally use this fabric!  Love Rubie Green – eco-chic fabrics!

Finally – if you have not been searching online for ideas from blogs – here is great place to start..wedzilla!  They are launching a national website – stay tuned for more details!

Stay tuned for more products soon and some new photos I am about to post from recent weddings and spring ones as well!

Cheers! ~ Katie Martin

If you are having just one maid of honor or you simply just want to buy wonderful handbags for your bridesmaids…why  not this cute tote from Coach:

Of course – not all of us can afford a $300 tote for our favorite bridesmaids!  So here are a few more reasonable (but just as fabulous) bags!

Click on each bag to go directly to buy them or roll over to see who makes the tote as many are sold in stores in the DC area or at other online stores!

Happy Shopping! ~  Katie Martin

Congratulations Claire & Adil!  Molly from Simply Vintage was a great help as their wedding planner and as always, we love working with her!  They really wanted eco-friendly flowers and they got them!  We love it when clients seek that out in their floral designs!

Cheers! ~ Katie Martin

Things that a bride or bridesmaid should have…

Oh – the Kate Spade ring and bangle – love the color!!!!!!!!!!

And since I can’t wear high heels at weddings while I work – all my purple bound brides should have their rehearsal dinner dress complete with these Kate Spade shoes or have the bridemaids indulge in them for the wedding day! How yummy!

Fun eco-friendly bridesmaid gift!  Kudos to Coca-Cola for making eco-apparel! Check it out: www.coca-colastore.com

Hard to believe – but all of the above sexy and cute four photos come from one place – Enamore Ltd!  Oh the British are far ahead in their sassy ways!  All items are made from vintage and eco-friendly materials!

And last but not least – my favorite wedding professional of the week.  We have one of the most talented acoustic guitarists living amongst us!  His name is Chris Dunn!  Not only does he have his own CD, he teaches guitar too!  I have used his guitar services for many of my brides over the years and he is amazing. If you want fantastic ceremony, cocktail or dinner music – you must hire Chris Dunn!

Have an eco-beautiful wedding!

Cheers – Katie Martin

Amanda with Occasions helped to create a beautiful eco-friendly wedding buffet for the couple.  All left-over food scraps were placed into compost bins and the food was amazing!

Here are a few photos from the day:

The chuppah was adorned with purple delphinium and white and green orchids!  We will be using it again next week at the Westin Grand!

The bride choose beautiful shades of lavender and purple flowers with a hint of green (including local fresh English lavender, delphinium, freesia, roses and calla lilies).  While the bridesmaid (her sister) had a simpler bouquet to match her pretty burgundy gown.

We love being able to be creative!  Using deer moss and curly willow to create a real tree-like feel inside the mansion with the escort card table.

The centerpieces reflecting the escort card table and the bridal bouquet.

We always have a fun time creating interesting concepts for a real eco-friendly venue such as Woodend!  We will be there next week as well for Soneela and Walker’s wedding!

Cheers! – Katie Martin

Check it out – it is Whitbread Wilkinson’s website full of Pantone fun products!

Here is what I am going to buy for myself before the end of the year!

The green tote, blue coin purse with blue luggage tags….heaven!  Why not order Pantone luggage tags for your bridesmaids today?  Perfect for a destination wedding or just getting them here to DC!

Happy Shopping,  Katie Martin

Brides are always shying away from the typical gifts and finding new ways to delight their bridesmaids.

If your Maid of Honor is in to art, check out this local artist:

Angela Aveta’s edgy photography prints. Here is a fun one I am thinking about buying:

Have a make-up lover or the one bridesmaid that always looks on point?  Check out this refreshing line of make-up made up of eco-friendly ingredients that can be found at Sephora.

Trying to find a great and stylish idea for a gift is always easy at Fitzsu!  Here are a few of my favorite items:

Have fun shopping for your ladies and check back for more favorite things!

***Katie Martin***