Every bride describes her wedding day as the most perfect day. This bride, really lucked out. Having a July wedding in the Washington D.C. area is a risk for any bride – but the risk paid off for this lucky couple. The weather was unseasonably perfect, which made it so much easier for the guests to really see how fantastic the wedding really was. Planned and designed by Simply Chic Events, the whole soiree was a true and beautiful testament of the couple’s love. The flowers, courtesy of Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, brought the rustic chic the wedding softly eluded to to an entirely new level. And the entire family-centric affair was captured by Kim Seidl Photography, phenomenally. Click here to see more!
Geoff proposed to me on a beautiful fall day (my birthday!) on one of our favorite bike rides in Virginia. He had prepared a special picnic and champagne and we were able to celebrate while enjoying great views of our adopted “hometown” of Washington, DC.
We enjoyed about one week of engagement before we went into planning mode! We knew we both wanted an outdoor summer wedding, and it was easy to decide on Woodend Sanctuary after seeing what a beautiful setting it would provide for an outdoor ceremony. Of course, when the only availability was in July, we ignored the awful DC summer weather and booked it right away!
After picking the location, we talked about how we wanted our wedding to look and feel. We wanted fun, relaxed, and natural, but something special too. Luckily, our next move was meeting with Kate Harlan from Simply Chic Events. She was able to take our long list of random adjectives and provide us with a vision that was perfect for us. Working with Kate for the months leading up to the wedding made everything so much more relaxing – and fun!
We settled on a color scheme of whites and natural materials (wood, burlap, cork, etc.), with pops of yellows, blues, and greens. Given our engagement story and favorite activities, we also decided to incorporate biking and wine into our wedding decor. Kate introduced us to Niki Chandler, a talented local artist, who put together personalized welcome bags with a map of our engagement trek, a guestbook poster, custom pint glasses, and programs and menus that featured our colors and flowers.
We were also lucky to have the assistance of our families in putting together our perfect day. Geoff’s mom sewed a burlap table runner for the head table and lace runners for the picnic tables. Geoff’s sister and my mother assembled stir sticks, seating cards and place cards with our bike theme. My brother even served as the officiant! One of our favorite details were our “family trees” – we had family members and close friends send pictures of us and our families through the years and we hung them on jute twine around three beautiful trees for guests to enjoy during cocktail hour.
We could not have been happier with the way the evening came together! We were SO lucky with the weather and enjoyed an unseasonably cool weekend. The outdoor ceremony was just as we had hoped, and the floral arrangements and bouquets by Holly Heider Chappel were perfectly summery, natural and amazing. Our guests enjoyed some signature cocktails (“Texa-Ritas” and “Publix Punch”) while checking out our family trees and sampling from the rustic cheese table. The dinner took place in a tent attached to the mansion, and the decor was breathtaking. Kate had created the most amazing and unique chandeliers out of wine corks that we had collected over time. The head table looked so magical lit by the candles hanging from the chandeliers and the lanterns and votives lining the table. Geoff and I were the last to leave our own wedding – just a perfect day.
Event Planning + Design: Kate Harlan, Simply Chic Events / Photography: Kim Seidl Photography / Ceremony + Reception Location: Woodend Sanctuary / Flowers: Holly Heider Chapple Flowers / Catering: Windows Catering Company / Lighting: John Farr Lighting / Day-of Stationary + Signage: Niki Chandler, Nichole Creative / DJ: Ross Anderson, Chris Laich Music Services / Ceremony Musician: Classical Guitar Ceremonies, Inc / Hair + Makeup: Kim Steele / Bride’s Dress: Judd Waddell / Bridesmaids’ Dress: J.Crew / Invitations: Taylor Street Paper / Transportation: Linder + Associates