We envisioned both a family reunion and a dinner party with all our closest friends in the place that we met and now call home–Washington, DC.  As both of us had been traveling the world and living in some rather remote places for the past few years, the wedding itself was a celebration of finally being together after so much time as a long-distance couple.  It was also a tremendous time with family and friends.  For many guests and also for us, it was a whole week of parties and catching up, with the wedding as a fabulous finale.  Now, after the wedding, we are again living abroad.  To have our all our loved ones “over” for dinner, dancing, and some serious partying was the celebration of a lifetime.

The day of the wedding I prepped with my girlfriends at the Hay Adams across the street and met my husband in Lafayette Park before the ceremony.  The backdrop to the evening was the romantic and elegant Decatur House, a historic home on the park known for its history of great parties.  The ceremony in the courtyard was intimate and very special as our closest friends gave readings, and we joined everyone back in the courtyard for cocktails in the lingering light.  We went inside for dinner and served some recipes from our own kitchen that our fabulous caterer graciously adopted for us, as well as steak frites–inspired by our favorite dinner at Bistrot du Coin in our neighborhood.  We danced the night away with the most fabulous jazz band, and my husband and I finally slipped out of the party and took a quiet stroll through the park together around the White House, thrilled to finally be setting off on a life together.

As our most favorite thing to do with our friends and family is cook and eat, we invited each guest to submit a few recipes from their own kitchens and traditions.  The project was a true labor of love as we received everything from complicated, elaborate gourmet cuisine to simple, even mysterious old family recipes without measurements.  We had the resulting cookbook bound and printed with a picture from our local farmers’ market on the front and placed a dedication to all of our guests on the first page.  As our wedding was all about gaining new family and friends in joining each others’ lives, we wanted everyone to leave the wedding with something of the same.  All of the wedding guests (including us!) are now cooking up new things from new and old family and friends and we all have a great scrapbook of shared traditions.

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Decatur House / Coordinator: A. Dominick Events / Caterer: Design Cuisine / Florist: Sidra Forman / Reception Band: Lapis Luna Orchestra / Ceremony Music: Celebrated Strings / Photography: Love Life Images / Wedding Dress:  Judd Waddell, from Hitched / Stationery: Cheree Berry Paper

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Post tags: A. Dominick Events, Celebrated Strings, Decatur House, Design Cuisine, Lapis Luca Orchestra, Love Life Images, Sidra Forman, Traditional Elegance, Washington D.C., Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Traditional Elegance

I think in many ways, the driving force for our wedding was family and friends.  We wanted our wedding to be a celebration not only of our life together but of all the people who have shaped our lives and our relationship.  We tried to weave family elements into the details of our wedding whenever we could.  Matt’s uncle presided over our ceremony, his aunt sang Bach’s Ave Marie for our mothers and grandparents as they came down the aisle, and his father selected the exsultate jubilate for our recessional.

I chose my long veil to be reminiscent of the handmade lace one my grandmother wore in her wedding in the 1930′s, but the one I wore had alonson lace to reflect my mother’s wedding gown.  My bouquet held two peonies from my great grandmother’s peony bush and was wrapped in a lace handkerchief from my father’s mother.  The peonies, which were much of the inspiration behind our wedding decor, came from a peony bush that had been transported from my great grandmother’s garden, to my grandmother’s garden, to my mother’s garden.

Family elements continued at the reception, where we used clothes pins to string up old family photos.  Our cake-topper was my great -great aunt’s from her flapper wedding in the 1920s and we cut the cake with the cake cutter my parent’s used at their wedding. What has been particularly special is seeing some of our wedding traditions now continue with our family and friends.  My sister wore my stephinotis hair pins in her wedding this past November, and my friend Andrea wore them in her wedding this spring.

We tried to capture a casually elegant feel throughout the wedding, and wanted a relaxed garden party reception, where everyone could kick back and relax and just have a grand time.  All of our flowers were relaxed and natural – I wanted flowers that really looked like flowers – loose and luscious and joyous. The grounds were so beautiful, and we wanted people to wander and explore all that the gardens had to offer – so a big bucket of flip flops was a must.We set up lawn games like croquet and bacchi ball and horse shoes around the grounds so that people had fun things to do. Others took advantage of the old fashioned rocking chairs to sit on the porch and enjoy the views of the Potomac.

The meal was meant to reflect east coast summer time cooking at it’s best – garden tomato and goat cheese salad, simple roasted summer vegetables, and a heavenly seafood pot pie.  Big pitchers of lemonade and iced teas were particular hits since it end up being a hot day.  For a surprise, we served cookies with mini school-days style milk cartons along with wedding cake for dessert.

In terms of decor, details were important to me.  I wanted to have a lot of unexpected details, but to have them blend easily into our wedding.  I felt like it wasn’t about the details, but that they could really enhanced our guest’s experience.  Our welcome bags were filled with treats from my native Maryland – Utz chips, Rhebs candies, and Bergers cookies, and lists with our favorite things to do in DC, so our out of town family and friends could enjoy our favorite parts of the city.  Our programs were all hand made, as was our guest book at the reception. I also hand made the table markers.  To reflect the garden theme, we selected flower names which we printed, posted, and “planted” in moss covered planters to look like garden markers. We had cocktail napkins with our joint monogram – CMB, and drink sticks stamped with peonies. To reflect the causally elegant garden feel, we went with rough burlap table cloths covered in a crisp white linen topper with eclectic antique china and old fashioned wine and champagne glasses. Our favors were absurdly delicious shortbread cookies that I’m proud to say Matt made from scratch – all 400 or so of them!

In terms of my favorite memories from the day, I’d have to say having a relaxed morning with mom, sister, and the rest of my bridesmaids, including my friend who flew back from Afghanistan to be there, seeing Matt when the doors opened at Holy Trinity – it was every bit as heart stopping as everyone says it will be, taking pictures at the Monuments, particularly on the back of the Lincoln Memorial where we got engaged, playing croquet barefoot with my bridesmaids, and sitting out in the garden watching the fire flies as dusk fell over the Potomac at the end of the night.

Event Planner: A. Dominick Events / Florist: Sidra Forman / Ceremony Venue: Holy Trinity Catholic Church / Reception Venue:  George Washington River Farm / Catering: Design Cuisine / Photography: Love Life Images / Videography: Blue Sky Films

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Post tags: A. Dominick Events, Alexandria, Blue Sky Films, Design Cuisine, George Washington River Farm, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Love Life Images, Peonies, Sidra Forman, Vintage Cake Topper, Vintage Chic, Virginia, Washington D.C., Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Wedding Planners & Designers

We are in. love. with. letterpress.  Everything letterpress.  That is why we are completely crazy about Spark Letterpress.  The Spark collection is made up of twenty wedding design suites, featuring save-the-dates, invitations and pocket folders, thank you notes and all of the wedding day items – more than 500 inspiring printed pieces in all. The designs are fully customizable and cover a wide range of styles from classic to modern, allowing you to create wedding stationery that is personal to you. Prepare to impress your mother and your future mother-in-law!

Spark is proudly operated by designers Valerie Carlson and Jim Watne. Together with a collection of presses they collaborate with family and employees (a.k.a., their friends) to produce stationery their clients love. Why do they do it? They appreciate good design. They adore letterpress printing. Most importantly, they love their clients!  Be sure to check out their current promotion for a FREE save the date, insert card or thank you card with purchase of a 4-piece invitation suite!  Check out their website for more details.

Ok…you brides and grooms to be. It’s time to start planning your future. That goes for you newlyweds too… even if your wedding planning days are over, it’s time to take on your next big project.  Your home!  We are thrilled with the simple, fresh and totally inspiring collection from One Sydney Road!

Their collection is comprised of new, handmade + eco-friendly goods.   The entire collection is designed by indie artists from around the world.  Mix in a bit of vintage and you’ve got one sydney road…a place that believes in modern meets vintage, shaking up the everyday and only surrounding yourself with things you love!  The brilliant minds behind One Sydney Road have also created a wedding registry and wish list.  Not only can you fall in love with EVERYTHING on their website but you can register for it too! And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, SMP readers receive 20% off of their entire purchase.  Just use the code SMPOSR20! Happy shopping!

If you are looking for fashionable and unique jewelry, then our next vendor is just. for. you!  The super fabulous minds behind the Artisan Design Gallery showcase artisans, that until now have only been available at niche boutiques, art galleries and fine craft shows!

The artists featured live and design from all over the world!  This allows you the ability to shop for original art at your convenience.  And we L-O-V-E convenient!  Our favorite thing about the Artisan Design Gallery is that no two pieces or art are exactly alike.  They take this very seriously.  You’ll notice that multiple products in certain artist lines will have common threads and similarities, but each will also have unique qualities if compared side-by-side!  How is that for original?!  Whether you are looking for beautiful jewelry for yourself, or gifts for your bridesmaids, the Artisan Design Gallery has exactly what you are looking for!

When it comes to wedding photography, there are good photographers and there are GREAT photographers.  When award-winning photojournalists Jennifer Domenick and Mary C. Gardella formed Love Life Images, an ah-mazing partnership was born.  Their images speak for themselves…

We know that every last detail is important on your wedding day.  Let Love Life Images create memories that you will want to share with your children and their children.  Choosing a photographer is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make.  Love Life Images is extremely passionate about their work and YOUR wedding.  Not only has their work been published in every bridal mag around but the team at Love Life Images is truly amazing to work with.  They specialize in making you, your bridal party and guests feel 100% at ease. Their style is classic.  Their work is breath-taking.  Enough said.

We LOVE style!  Wedding style, home style.  You name it…we LOVE it.  That is why we are so happy that we’ve found High Fashion Home. They feature a massive collection of high style and high design products that caters to your intelligence, creativity, and individuality, without compromising great quality and value.  Perfect!

We sincerely feel that your home is a reflection of your unique style and personality.  High Fashion Home offers a fantastic selection of inspired choices from all over the world.  If eclectic and modern sums up your design style, then look no further!  You have found your match!

As a big Thank You to SMP readers, the fantastic staff at High Fashion Home is offering an amazing giveaway!  The stunning 6-arm chandelier (featured above) could be yours!  All you need to do is leave us a comment on this post telling us which color you would choose and where in your home you would showcase the chandelier.  Easy peasy!  We’ll announce the random winner next Friday, January 28.  Good Luck!

Please click here for giveaway rules and regulations.

Your wedding dress is the most important dress you’ll ever wear.  Period.  Needless to say expectations are high.  But when we saw the newest collection from Claire Pettibone, Spirit of the Night, we knew it would not disappoint. Filled with whimsy and delight, these beauties will make you feel like you’re in your very own fairytale romance.

Ever since the launch of Claire Pettibone’s bridal collection, brides have fallen in love with her unique styles and modern silhouettes.  Often inspired by vintage fabrics and fashion history, Pettibone has found a way to meld her love of things past with a new perspective that results in the perfect dress for any bride.  The Spring 2011 collection is inspired by Pettibone’s favorite childhood book, The Fairy Circus.  The collection features glittering sequins, beads, pearls and crystals dazzle and sparkle…everything a bride needs to feel and look magical on her wedding day!  And don’t forget about Pettibone’s romantic collection of luxury lingerie…they really everything you need for your wedding day and honeymoon.

We are extremely excited about all of our new advertisers.  So, make sure you show them why we have the best readers around!  Welcome to Style Me Pretty!

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Post tags: artisan design, Claire Pettibone, High Fashion Home, Love Life Images, One Sydney Road, Spark Letterpress
Post categories: Sponsored Posts, The Blog, Welcome Post

click here to see all of the gorgeousness!

From Justin & Mary Marantz…Ever since we took Justin & Mary’s “Spread The Love” Tour through Nashville, TN last February, we have been looking for a reason to go back to the city. Then, when J&M worked on the Style Me Pretty wedding with Chase Rivers and Sarah True this Spring that sealed the deal:  The next “Walk Through a Wedding” workshop HAD to be in music city!! And it HAD to feature biscuits from Loveless Cafe.  We started our design board with biscuits in mind and after brainstorming a few more ideas, Mary had an epiphany.  In the movie, Stranger Than Fiction, Mr. Crick (an IRS agent) brings Ms. Pascal (the baker)…  flours.  And our theme was born!!  I mean come on, how cute is that?  He brought her FLOURS!  A design board quickly followed (click here to see).

We had an awesome time putting together our DIY projects for this one and styling everything for the shoot.  We sat around the office throwing around other play on words that we could bring into the mix.  Pun totally intended!     “Get whisked away” and “Pick a Flour” eventually made the cut!

We love a detail oriented weddings, so we made sure to plan out place cards (whisks!), favors (flours!), desserts (cherry cobbler in jars!), good night favors (jams!), and decorations (cookie cutters, aged recipe cards, biscuits, etc etc) that went along with the theme. We thought our theme was coming together pretty nicely and were pretty psyched for our workshop.  And then, the first day we were in Nashville, we stopped by Cedarwood Mansion. All three of us walked around gasping, pointing, and just about fainting, because Cedarwood…is perfection personified.

To keep the vintage vibe flowing and have a little fun with our bridal party, we put together a photo booth that we like to call the Plates and Plates photo booth.  To make sure we kept the entire bridal party busy, we also set up a table near our photobooth that we could have some fun with! And just because Cedarwood is so awesome, they already had a vintage pickup truck just sitting in the field!  So of course we took full advantage! In order to keep the portraits interesting we also added in a mixing bowl, vintage books, a utensil bouquet, and some fun vintage suitcases.  Mary also came up with the AWESOME idea of having all of our bridesmaids wearing Anthropologie-esque aprons.  It looked fabulous!

We really do enjoy doing most of the styling ourselves but we can’t do it alone. Amy and Matt of Invitations Ink, put together our stationery suite with two days notice!! Chase Rivers rocked the head table flowers and cooked up a scrumptious buffet including coconut fried chicken and a cherry plum slaw!  Linda, Karen, and the crew at Cedarwood did a phenomenal job helping to put the finishing touches on all of our ideas and pitching in and helping with some extra details like pops of hydrangea, vintage china, a mason jar covered altar for our ceremony, antique crates… the list goes on and on and on.

We also owe a very big thank you to The Bride Room for loaning us a stunning lace dress and Renee Fisher, who went above and beyond and rocked out the makeup in 100 degree heat!  And to Eugene & Heather of 2Duce2 Videography for rocking out video for us!

Our step by step DIYs can be found here: Strawberry Jam, Cherry Cobbler, Raspberry Infused Sweet Tea, Aged Recipes, Flour Favors and Recipe Garland

Location: Cedarwood Nashville, TN  / Photography: Justin and Mary Marantz / Bride’s Dress: Target and The Bride Room / Paper Suite: Invitations Ink, Manasquan, NJ  / Make up: Renee Fisher Head Table Flowers & Buffet dinner:  Chase Rivers / Floral Accents: Karen Wright / Videographer: Eugene & Heather / Models (all fellow photographers!): Tiffany & Jonathan Zajas / Zach & Jody Gray / Sara Renee

Great, right? I mean the favor ideas alone are kind of awesome, although I now have this terrible hankering for biscuits from Loveless Cafe. If you haven’t been, you HAVE to put it on your bucket list. Okay, so before we let Justin and Mary go, we wanted to share this absolutely awesome promo video…not as an advertisement…but to show you how freaking cool this photography duo is. And why we love them so. Just make sure to grab a tissue before you start. You will definitely need it.

Cinema by StillMotion. Thank you J & M! We can’t wait to see what you two crazy kids come up with next! xoxo

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Post tags: Biscuits, Cedarwood Mansion, Chase Rivers, Invitations Ink, Justin Marantz, Karen Wright, Love Life Images, Nashville, Short Wedding Dress, Southern, Swing, Tennessee, The Brides Room
Post categories: Photo Shoot, The Blog

From the gorgeous bride…

We took what we loved and tried to incorporate it into our menu. We served chocolate mousse cake, raw oysters and cheese plates.  George Washington opened a whiskey distillery after he retired from public office, so of course we had to have a bourbon bar.  The kids table really came together at the last minute and my little cousins had a great time running around the lawn and blowing bubbles.  Most importantly Matt and I wanted all of our family and friends to have an amazing, care free day, enjoying the food, the gardens and the dancing!

More to come!

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Post tags: Alexandria, Love Life Images, River Farm, Virginia
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

It’s just all about the pretty! Love Life Images shot this incredible affair and it’s making me a really happy blogger!

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Post tags: Alexandria, Love Life Images, River Farm, Virginia
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

From the bride…

My Mom and my sister helped with the styling of every aspect of wedding, especially with the attire, table settings and the flowers.  We had the most fun pulling together the bridesmaids dresses.  I wanted to find a unique dress for each of my girls that channeled the Grecian vibe of my wedding dress.  The navy and silver color palette just came together organically.

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Post tags: Alexandria, Love Life Images, River Farm, shabby chic, Virginia
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

from Pam … “Libbet & Scott are one of my favorite couples to date! They used to hang out together as kids. They are extremely family-oriented and wanted their wedding to be a welcoming and joining together of friends and family. We were going for a romantic Sinatra feel … champagne bar featuring a few specialty bubbly drinks, fun dessert bar, many candles, warm inviting glow in the dinner area and Sinatra-style music for dancing. Love was definitely in the air!”

LOVE the dress!!

These are just some of the simply awesome shots from Little Black Book photographer, Jennifer Domenick of Love Life Images!

ATrendy Wedding & Event Company will help you weave your individual personalities and dreams with today’s fashions & styles. Pam strives to help you create the wedding of your dreams, all the while remembering that everyone has their very own sense of style, budget, and scope. One thing that you’ll read on her website that totally sums it up is this … she wants her brides to feel butterflies in their bellies … when they remember their wedding celebrations! What a great way to say it.

Thanks SO much, Pam & Jennifer for sharing Libbet and Scott’s wedding with us!

Here’s the bad news … we totally ran out of time today and couldn’t get more close-ups of Libbet’s wedding gown or the bridal party shots … the sweet images of her Dad when he first saw her, and the stunning lighting in the church … well, you’ve just got to see it to believe it! For these and so much more, head over to Jennifer’s blog!

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Post tags: ATrendy Wedding, Dessert Bar, Love Life Images, Sinatra, Washington DC
Post categories: Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Traditional Elegance, Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers, Wedding Style