We loved, loved, loved, this wedding!!!!

Friday was Lauren's wedding day. I knew this would be a beautiful wedding, but in truth I did feel a bit of sadness or worry for my bride and her family.  Northern Virginia was hit with days of unseasonable weather, with very cold temperatures and lots of rain.  I don't know why I allowed myself to worry; I guess it is just pre-wedding jitters, but there were several things that simply could not affect the overall feel of this event.

Number one, my bride and her family were amazing. They were the sunshine on Friday night. They were filled with a warmth that radiated throughout the beautiful historic Whitehall. 

Second saving grace was that the wedding was at Whitehall. In truth every wedding is incredible at Whitehall, but the rainy weddings may just be the best. Here is why: Whitehall has an incredible rain back up plan. The ceremony takes place in front of an antique glass arched window. The architects and owners of Whitehall planned for these types of days by adding a sky light above the ceremony site. This light adds a natural warmth and glow to the ceremony even on rainy days. I guess one other important thing to mention is the floral decor created for the wedding makes a much bigger impact when it is inside.  The overall look for this wedding was stunning, and I was certain that the sun was shinning down on all of us. I could feel the warmth.

 

My beautiful bride.  We created  her bouquet with pee gee hydrangea, white hydrangea, queen annes lace, sahara roses, vendela roses, spray roses, champagne roses, white freesia and ivory feathers. This was such a romantic bouquet. 

 

We added the family rosary around the handle of the bouquet. This is such a lovely option for adding a family heirloom to the bouquet.

 

We made mini bouquets for the moms.

 

The maids bouquets!!!

 

We created this very sweet purse or flower basket for the flower girl.

 

The grooms boutonniere had feathers to match his bride.

 

Corsages were created of roses and freesia.

 

Lauren's mom was a blog follower, so when she came to me there were some pieces she just knew she had to have. Our carnation ball was one of her favorites.  We used this for the guest book table.

 

We decorated the mantel with greens and the pee gee hydrangea.

 

We used garland that was created for the arbor on the railing around the cake and in the big wedding window. This was a great use of garland that was supposed to be displayed outdoors.

 

We used half of the elevated centerpieces to make the ceremony extraordinary; we lined the window with the garland from the arbor and placed loose blossoms through the window. That is what you call and incredible back up plan.

 

The low centerpieces were created in glass cylinders lined with green sheet moss. We used the pee gee hydrangea and all the roses of the day. The pee gee hydrangea was the perfect addition to these rose shades.  I am so glad I got to use pee gee hydrangea this weekend. In fact, having them this weekend makes me remember that they are one of my favorites and that we love pee gee hydrangea. Especially in this antique stage of development.

 

Now for the fun stuff; this family thought of everything. Whitehall then added all of the perfect finishing touches.

 

The family made signature drinks for all of the guests and tied each one with ribbon.

 

They set up this really cute candy bar with old family photographs. This is in the original dining room in the historic part of the house, so it is fun tosee this space so thoughtfully used.

 

They had the M&M's stamped with a picture of their dog, which is a great alternative to bringing your four-legged friend to the wedding.  The flip side of the candy was a picture of the bride and groom.

 

They seated guests by tables that featured particular years in the bride and groom's life. Each table had a picture showing  them during their earlier years. 

 

To top it all off the MOB actually baked the wedding cake. After years of doing events, I truly do believe it is all of these personal touches that make an event spectacular.

 

I always love to go back to the kitchen at Whitehall to leave some garnish blossoms behind. The staff has come to expect that I will bring them some floral treats. Ryan is the head chef at a Whitehall wedding. In all of the years that he was been working for Celebrations Caterers or Whitehall manor, I have only caught him on vacation once, and that was in January. Ryan is another fabulous plus to a Whitehall wedding, along with the super, sexy, gourmet kitchen. A real kitchen just makes me happy. The kitchen at Whitehall is a chef's dream come true, and I would love to be able to cook dinner up for my crew in that space: spotless, perfection.

 

As you can tell I had a lot of fun on this event. As always I was very proud of the work we did, and I loved our designs. My bride and her mom were so happy that they actually teared up when they saw the flowers. To top that off they gave me a huge round of applause when I came to say goodbye and wish them a happy wedding.

Happy Married life Lauren. We loved your wedding and your mom.

Holly