Bethesda Wedding Ideas and Inspiration

A Storybook Korean Dohl Celebration

This sweet first birthday party combines traditional heritage with all things pretty! We can’t get enough of the personal details and color palette, and what a cool way to celebrate!

Charlotte’s 1st birthday party was just about as sweet as you can imagine. The celebration was a traditional Korean Dohl – the milestone celebration of a child’s first year of life.

The event included prayers for Charlotte and traditional Dohl elements including Korean rice cakes, gold jewelry and a Doljabi ceremony. The design for Charlotte’s Dohl started with her hanbok (the traditional Korean dress) that was brought back from Seoul by a family friend. Charlotte’s event designer mom used the colors of the hanbok as the jumping off point for the decor.

From the backdrop in the perfect shade of pale pink to the floral installations to the desserts, a color palette of pink, cream and touches of gold and green were carried throughout.

Charlotte spent most of her first year donning bows (hair will come later in her life) and with her favorite Cuddle and Kind doll so those two elements played another important role in the celebration. Naomi commissioned illustrations of Charlotte with her doll that graced the invites, signage and guest tables and bows made their way into the day on the cake, Charlotte’s party dress and the petit fors.

The celebration was rounded out with a fun guessing game of what Charlotte would choose during the Doljabi (a traditional Korean custom where it is believed that the object the child selects will represent the child’s future) and a showstopping 3-tiered birthday cake with bas-relief sugar flowers tied with Charlotte’s signature bow. The perfect day for a sweet girl to celebrate the rest of her life.

Vendors Instagrams:

Event Design and Planning:
@naomipak

Photography:
@bonniesenphotography

Florals:
@floralandbloom

Custom Illustrations and Signs:
@frmthebear

Calligraphy and Invitations:
@peachandpaperie

Cakes and Macarons:
@bttrcrmbakeshop

Cookies:
@paperlattes

Linens:
@latavolalinen

Custom Name Sign:
@letterstou

A Greek Inspired Affair Complete with an Olive Oil Bar

I’m fairly confident in saying that every wedding should now include a Dimitri Olive Oil bar. And this Greek inspired affair? Totally started the trend. With Abby Jiu and Monachetti capturing it all to share, we’ve got a day filled with cultural meaning and Laura Hooper Calligraphy, it just doesn’t get any better. See it all in The Vault!

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From Abby Jiu…Anna and Jim wanted to have their wedding on a romantic Greek island while indulging in local cuisine and dancing the night away with family friends. When they quickly realized that would be quite a bit to plan and ask of guests, they decided to have their wedding stateside. They would bring Greece to the US! Anna, a chemist, and Jim, an intellectual property attorney, both from the Peloponnese, wanted their heritage and love of Mediterranean cuisine to be reflected throughout their wedding, so they hired Stephanie Economides with Lauryn Prattes Styling and Events to design a wedding that had the feel of home. From the invitation suite, to the Greek Church, to the late night Loukoumades (Greek Doughnuts), no detail was missed.

The invitation suite, designed by Winifred Paper, truly set the tone for Anna and Jim’s romantic, Grecian inspired affair. Anna and Jim have many family members that do not read or speak English, so a velum overlay with Greek wording was designed to lay over top of English wording. The invitation featured rose gold letterpress with olive branch details blind embossed onto the paper. It was wrapped together with gold threading and sealed with a rose gold wax seal featuring the couples monogram. To incorporate their strong faith and heritage, a “coat of arms” was created and included Poseidon’s Trident.

The ceremony, held at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church, was rich in culture and tradition. During the service, Anna and Jim held two lit candles, called “Lambades.” These candles, lit be the Priest, signify that Christ, the Light of the World, will light the way for the couple’s new life together. To modernize the style of these, Amaryllis adorned the lambades with olive branches, blush roses and ivory silk ribbon. When the service concluded, guests received traditional Greek favors, “Koufeta.” Seven rose gold Jordan almonds, an odd number not divisible by 2, representing the idea that the couple will never separate or break up.

Anna and Jim hosted the reception at Congressional Country Club. They wanted to guest to eat and drink just as if they were on a Greek Island! All Greeks love their ouzo, so to kick off the party, trays of a lemon-infused ouzo mint spritzers were passed around on coasters with Greek terms of endearment (written in both Greek and English). The patio at Congressional Country club has a Mediterranean vibe, so this was a perfect fit for cocktail hour. Underneath the pergola, a lounge was set up… just as if they were to be on the beach! While sipping on ouzo, guests enjoyed flavored olive oils and olives imported from the footsteps of Mt. Taygetos in Greece!

The ballroom was transformed into a romantic, Mediterranean oasis, wrapped in soft white sheer drapes. A floral installation hung above the head table and included ivory and blush roses and olive branches. Clusters of candles and candelabras sat on top of the mirror-topped head table to create the style and feel that they couple sought after.

While dancing the night away to Greek tunes played by Apollonia Band, guests enjoyed late night Greek Doughnuts, also known as “loukoumades” that were brought in from Mike Isabella Concepts. Loukoumades are a traditional Greek dessert that are soaked in honey syrup and topped with cinnamon and nuts and served hot out of the fryer.

Before They Even Met, a Friend Predicted This Couple’s Happily Ever After

Before Kayla left for her freshman year at William & Mary, a family friend told her, “You need to meet a baseball player named Ryan. You’re going to marry him.” One beautiful June day, she did just that in a French Country-inspired wedding she designed and coordinated herself. With flowers from Southern Blooms and thoughtful details throughout, Kayla and Ryan’s wedding was a dream. See it all from Kathy Blanchard Photography and Tweed Weddings in The Vault!

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From Kathy Blanchard Photography…Kayla and Ryan are an amazingly sweet and gorgeous couple who were married on the veranda at Congressional Country Club on a gorgeous day in June. Congressional is such an amazing and grand venue, but has a Spanish touch due to the architecture of the building, with the lovely terra cotta roof and iron detailing. Kayla got ready in the guest room on the top floor over looking the back of the club. She and her bridesmaids were able to relax and have their makeup and hair done while viewing all the preparations going on below. Ryan was also getting ready at the club in another room set aside for the groomsmen. The weather was perfect as these 2 said I do with about 200 guests in attendance. They had their ceremony under an amazing archway of old doors and spectacular flowers that Pat’s Floral design had created for them. They then had gorgeous cocktail hour for their guests as the sun was setting. Kayla and Ryan took a golf cart around the grounds to get some amazing photos from the side of this incredible building to the 18th hole with a spectacular view of the club behind them. They then joined the rest of their guests for a gorgeous reception with stunning details including mercury glass vases with pink roses and soft blooms as well as silver candelabras and warm candlelight. They finished off their place settings with a wisp of lavender on each plate. The reception room of Congressional is just stunning with wood details on the ceiling and grand fireplaces at either end. They danced to the music of Millenium an incredible band. They finished off the night with wedding cake and a dessert bar including oreos – the couples favorite cookie. They had used oreos in their engagement pictures as well! So happy for a gorgeous couple so in love.

Kayla and Ryan met on the first day of freshman year at William & Mary. Ryan and (best man) Brett went knocking on Kayla’s door hoping to meet some new friends, but really were just star struck in how gorgeous Kayla’s blue eyes were. After an hour of Brett talking and Ryan not saying a word, Kayla asked for his number…Ryan’s number. Little did the guys know, but Kayla’s family friend back home told her before heading off to college, “You need to meet a baseball player named Ryan Williams; you’re going to marry him.” Kayla and Ryan became close friends over the next year and half; practicing their dirty dancing moves in the dorm hallway and having regular 3 hour conversations late at night because they didn’t want to say goodnight. They finally realized true love was staring them back in the face, so on April Fool’s Day (I know, not the best date choice, but we’ll never forget it) of 2013 Ryan proposed to Kayla. Twenty of their closest friends and about 100 strangers on a campus tour stopped to cheer them on and celebrate. 15 months later, on June 14, 2014, the couple got married and now live happily ever after in Northern Virginia.

Kayla and Ryan’s wedding was so unique, fun, beautiful, loving, timeless…just classic. The day of the wedding was gorgeous with blue skies, sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. Kayla and Ryan exchanged vows in front of about 200 family & friends. The ceremony took place out on the back veranda of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD, under an amazing archway made out of doors and old wood topped off with gorgeous flowers from Southern Blooms. During the cocktail hour, close family posed for pictures followed by romantic pictures of just the couple on the grounds of CCC. The dinner reception took place in the main Congressional ballroom and the decorations were stunning! The band Millennium led an acoustic set during dinner, which turned into a jam packed dance floor party for the rest of the night.

Would like to give special recognition to the bride herself for designing and coordinating every detail of this wedding. Her attention to detail did not go unnoticed – all the way from the French country/rustic color scheme, to the beautiful table decorations, and even a fun coloring book for the kids table. The couple received numerous compliments from the vendors on how elegant this wedding was and they continue to hear from friends & family how this was “the best wedding ever.”