When the story starts with a good proposal story, it’s safe to say the wedding that follows is going to be fabulous. And these two cuties have a seriously good proposal story, including a boat ride, some undercover video capturing by the Groom and a surprise visit by family and friends. The wedding was bound to be pretty. Add Roberts & Co. Events into the mix and we’re graced with the resulting gorgeous gallery from Sweet Tea Photography.
From the beautiful Bride…There is a bit of a discrepancy of the actual meeting. Phil claims he met me when all of our friends met up at a restaurant downtown before a party one summer, however, I do not remember this, and I am pretty sure I would remember meeting him! My story is that we met later the next winter at a party with a bunch of our friends. We were both dating other people so I figured it was “safe” to chat with him. We ended up hanging out the entire night, and I think I subconsciously knew that I would eventually date him. A few months later, the stars aligned and we met up again, out and about, and the rest is history!
After 4 years, Phil proposed to me! Phil and I went to his parent’s house last July. On Saturday morning we had planned to take the boat out to watch the log canoe races on the river (something we do every summer). When we were packing our things to get on the boat, I remember noticing how nice he looked. I think I even said something along the lines of “Wow! Don’t you look nice in your collared shirt!” His mom was there and laughed and Phil just said “Oh, I wanted a collar so my neck doesn’t get too much sun.” Phil definitely seemed on edge, but I was so oblivious to it at the time, it’s only obvious looking back. I had given Phil a GoPro camera for his birthday in March and he had set it up on the center console of the boat, he had been taking a lot of boat videos and I assumed that he wanted to capture the races so it didn’t seem odd to me. Phil asked me to sit up front, which I did find odd, so he said he wanted to have me in the video with the sailboats in the background, so I just shrugged it off and sat up front. When we got to a place we could watch the races, Phil asked me if I wanted a beer and I though to myself, “Seriously, it’s like 11:00am!” I kind of gave him a look and so I said ok. When he came to the front of the boat with my beer, he got down on one knee and proposed. I could tell he had a speech thought up in his head but he was so nervous, all he could say was “Will you marry me?” He then grabbed a bottle of champagne from the cooler and then we started calling family members. About 10 minutes later, our friends pulled up and surprised with even more champagne! Later that afternoon, we headed back to Phil’s parent’s house and as we pulled up to the doc, I noticed tables set up in the lawn and a very peculiar brunette lounging by the pool. As we docked the boat, my best friend Emily, who lives in South America, greeted us at the doc, along with Phil’s brother Andrew and his girlfriend, Gwen (who is also one of my best friends). I got some time to catch up with Emily and Gwen at the pool (and show off my new ring!) before we went upstairs to get ready for dinner. At this point, I knew there was some sort of dinner planned, with the tables in the lawn and the caterer in the kitchen but when I turned out of the kitchen, my dad was standing in the next room! Then my mom came from down the hallway! I was so surprised because when I had called them earlier to tell them the news, they seemed very surprised, but obviously they knew what was going on. As we went outside, our friends that had met up with us earlier were waiting for us as well! My mother in law had planned the most amazing meal, with some of my favorite things but the best was the strawberry shortcake (my all time favorite dessert) with a diamond ring placed on top! I know this is a super long story, but it was honestly the best day of my life (up until that time). Not only did Phil surprise me with the proposal, but having my best friend from Paraguay join us, and including my family and friends, meant so much to me!
Having an outdoor aspect was really important to me when choosing a venue. We were also very interested in having our reception in Washington, DC, since we live downtown. My family is from Alexandria, Virginia and his is from Chestertown, Maryland, so we were excited to show our friends and family our new home.I had always imagined an outdoor tented wedding. Finding a venue that could do that, in the DC area, that could also accommodate the number of guests we wanted was impossible. When we found the Hay-Adams, it almost made that a reality with the outdoor catwalk on the rooftop. The Hay-Adams rooftop has the most breathtaking view in Washington, but what really made us choose this venue were the people. The catering director was always so friendly and accommodating, they really wanted to make our wedding day spectacular!
Our wedding theme/colors/decor really centered around my favorite flower, hydrangeas. Specifically the ones that are light blue, white and maybe a little green (I know, very specific!) We wanted something summery, relaxed, but elegant. Our centerpieces were a combination of high and low hydrangea arrangements in glass vases, very simple and clean, so we did not take away from the view! We had brought in gold chairs and gold charges to bring in our accent color and the tablecloths were a champagne damask pattern. We made little jars with crab seasoning to be placed at everyone’s seat to bring in the Eastern Shore, I love the crab charm we found to attach to each jar! Phil is very proud of his local crab seasoning, he literally puts it on everything, even pasta! His parents have a farm house and the farmer who farms the land also has a crabbing business. We buy crabs from him in the summer and when Phil’s mother asked if we could buy a large amount of seasoning, they practically gave it to us! I thought it would be nice to share a part of the Eastern Shore with our guests. My mom and I ordered the jars from an online favor store, got the string from a craft store, made the tags and ordered the gold crab charms! I love how they turned out!
Since I knew we were going with light blue hydrangeas, I thought light blue would be a good color for the bridesmaids, since it looks good on basically every skin tone, hair color, etc. When we went to try on the dresses, they didn’t have the color in a sample, only a small swatch. I ordered larger swatches along with some other colors, but when I saw the light blue swatch, it was absolutely perfect! We really lucked out with such a perfect color and when the dressed came in, they were even better than what I had expected!
Phil and I have a friend who lives in our building who makes custom suits. He asked Phil if he could make the suits for our wedding and we, of course, said yes! We knew we wanted navy suits so when Phil and the guys went down to the shop to get measured, I thought I had chosen all the details (suit color, shirt color, button type, etc.). I guess we overlooked in the inside lining and one of Phil’s groomsmen found the Parana print. When they say it, they knew they had to have it. When the suits came in, Phil told me, not to get mad but our friend Matt chose the inside linings. I immediately needed to see it, and when I did, I at first was a little annoyed that this wasn’t run by me at all, but could only stay mad for a minute because it was so cool and so them! Phil and his friends love hunting and fishing, and as you know, have quite the personalities. The print was so perfectly them, I immediately fell in love with it! Apparently, the suits had been hanging in the showroom and our friend has sold a lot more of that Parana print!
I think my favorite detail from the wedding was the escort cards. I really wanted to bring the Eastern Shore of Maryland to our wedding so I hand-wrote everyone’s name and table number on oyster shells. When I first thought of the idea, it seemed pretty simple, but after finding all the shells, cleaning them, and then writing everyone’s name in cursive (which I hadn’t done since high school probably!) it was quite an endeavor. I think they came out better than I had imagined!
I do want to make sure that I mention how much I love our wedding invitation suite. I wanted something that was traditional but not the same thing you see everyday. The people we worked with (Digby and Rose), were amazing. They had me send a couple inspirational pictures, describe color schemes, etc and came up with the entire design, which was amazing. The color of the paper, the design of the different pieces and the floral detail was so beautiful! They also did our “Save The Dates” which we loved because they were so DC but in a really neat, artistic way!
Our cakes were done by Kendall’s cakes. When we got to choose flavors to taste, I had heard about the tupelo honey cake and when I suggested it, Phil gave me a funny look. Of course when we tried it, we both immediately fell in love. The design of the cake, I had found something similar on pinterest that I liked with the dots and the sugar flowers. They suggested to add the light blue line which I loved! The topper, I got from etsy and I think really tied our whole decor into the cake! The groom’s cake was another story! My mom and I knew we wanted to do one and I told Phil before the tasting that at one point during the tasting, he would need to leave the room and not ask any questions. He agreed, but when we got to the tasting and I suggested Phil go to the bathroom, my dad almost ruined it! He was like “Why does he need to go to the bathroom? Why are you telling him to go? Should I go too? What’s going on?” My mom gave him a look and Phil scooted. Once Phil was gone we had t explain the whole groom’s cake idea to my dad, who still didn’t really get it lol! I knew I wanted to like-like duck! Phil is an avid waterfowl hunter and it would be perfect! The cake designer basically read my mind! When Phil and I were waiting in the hallway to be introduced, I pointed out the cake and he asked me why I had brought a decoy in! I told him it was a cake! He was in shock and absolutely loved it! Later at the after party, everyone was passing around the head, which was made of rice crispy treats.
My favorite memory from the wedding was saying our wedding vows. I was surprised at how emotional I got. But then, my fondest memory is my first dance with Phil. He never dances with me at weddings and all I wanted was to dance with him at our wedding!
I would tell future engagement couples to not sweat the small stuff. It is so easy to get wrapped up in little details or little things, that in the end don’t really matter. Enjoy the time with the people who are making it happen, in our case, our family.
Their honeymoon was in St. Barths! Phil’s parent’s neighbors gave them their house for a week! Mallory works as a Special Education Evaluator and Phil as an Outreach Coordinator. Mallory and Phil live in downtown Washington, DC.
Photography: Lisa Blume Photography | Event Design: Roberts & Co | Floral Design: Distinctive Floral Designs | Cake: Kendall's Cakes | Stationary: Digby & Rose | Ceremony Venue: St. Mary's Catholic Church | Reception Venue: The Hay Adams | Catering: The Hay Adams | Make-up: Sarah Mason At Salon Dezen | Hair: Sarah Mason At Salon Dezen | Transportation: Chariots For Hire | Band & DJ: Davis Entertainment Group | Bridesmaid Robes: Millie's Gifts | Bridesmaid's Hair: Sarah Mason At Salon Dezen | Getting Ready- Guys: Anderson House | Getting Ready- Ladies: The Hay Adams | Wedding Gown, Veil, & Bridesmaids Dresses: Hitched Salon