Decorating the Outdoors

Our venue has a breath-taking landscape. We're marrying at Oxon Hill Manor and the patio, the garden, the view, is all stunning. Full trees outline the property and right beyond where we'll say our vows is a glimpse of the Potomac River and the National Harbor. It's beautiful!

See for yourself:

{Photos by me}

We definitely want our guests to see this and to enjoy it. We've come across a few photos (thanks to my online Oxon-Hill-Manor-Real-Weddings savengers) of what other couples have done to this space, but we're still not quite sure what we'll do.

There's so much natural beauty (whether our wedding is in the spring or the fall) that we shouldn't have to do too much. Nevertheless, we've considered almost everything from archways to flowers, to umbrellas to fans, and we're not sure what the best look is. As most of you know, archways are a common focal point, but I'm not crazy about them. What do you think? Do we have to have something at the end of the aisle?

Check out pictures of this real wedding that show Oxon Hill Manor's garden transformed into a stunning ceremony site:

{Photo credit: Regeti's Photography Blog}

Here are a few pictures of what we have in mind:

For the Focal Point:

{Photo credit: Mathieu Photography Blog}


{Photo credit: The Knot}

{Photo credit: The Washington Post}

Decorations and Extras:

{Photo credit: Martha Stewart Weddings}

{Photo credit: Quite Cannon}

{Photo credit: The Knot}

Are you decorating your ceremony site? Have you thought about having an arch, canopy, or cross? Share your thoughts about this topic and of course, suggestions are welcome :-)

A Paper Party!

We are still dragging our feet weighing our options about a reception venue, but I'm leaning towards one. It would give me a chance to do some decorating - not that I have the time and talent for that sort of thing. I do love these ideas, from Martha of course!

{both images: Martha Stewart Weddings Pop-Up Party Decorations}

OK maybe I am DIY-talented enough to hang up paper garlands! The price is completely do-able too at $26 for 24 garlands, each one 12 feet long. That's a lot of garland for the price!

I'm also determined to at least try my hand at these pretty paper flowers. I like the idea of using them as escort cards - place them in vases inside the door with a little tag on each stem that has the name and table number. All these ideas are making me appreciate that my wedding is in March - I can spend the winter in my warm house in front of the TV with some DIY experiments!

Miss Capitol Hill Wedding Recap - Some Details

I promise I'm going to finish recapping my wedding even if it kills me. My only excuse is that life really does go on after you get married and you slowly emerge from the wedding fog.  So to make up for my absence I'll post some shots of the one thing most of you care about...Details!

As always, all photos below the work of Linda Wallace 

^This is what our large main table on the verandah of the Clifton Inn looked like before the flowers. I like this pic cause you can see the beautiful chairs that come included with the rental price of the Inn. 

^ Escort Card Table

^As I mentioned earlier, all the paper was done by Etsy seller andbear 

^Each guest had a name card and menu (both courtesy of andbear) as well as a little favor waiting for them at their seat. 

^These are our adorable and affordable favor boxes that I blogged about so long ago. Inside each we had a chocolate wrapped in foil that matched our kelly green theme.  The great part is the leftover boxes can be used to decorate our first Christmas tree together. 

^Menus by andbear 

^I LOOOVED our reception flowers from Blue Ridge Floral. Crisp, clean, elegant...exactly what I wanted. 

^These calla's were repurposed from our ceremony 

^This was the flower girl's pomander that she quickly discarded

^A nice shot of our guests enjoying themselves at dinner

^A quiet moment while the rest of us were on the dance floor outside 

Vendors So Far:

Video- Monachetti

Photography - Linda Wallace

Hair/Makeup- Daphne Latham

Dress Designer - Vwidon

Dress Salon - Promise for the Savvy Bride

Shoes - Vera Wang new from Ebay

Bracelet- Carolee

Veil- Occansey Design

Purse - Belk

Hair Flower - Ella's Alley

Flowers - Blue Ridge Floral

Suits- Men's Wearhouse

Ties - Wild Ties

Socks - The Gap

Bridesmaid Dresses - Maggy London from Nordstrom

Flower Girl Dress- Rare Editions from Dillards

Sportscar - Sports Car Rental

Reception/Accommodations - The Clifton Inn

Getaway Streamerthrows - Aerotechnic

Paper - Andbear

Saving on Centerpieces

Recently I ran across two centerpiece ideas that I thought could be good cost savers.

The first is from the wedding of Anna and Jere as photographed by Millie Holloman

Vases such as these can be found deeply discounted at Save-On-Crafts, and Starfish, Sand Dollars, and other assorted shells can be found cheaply at sites like Sea Shell Co. and Quality Shells .


The other centerpiece was from the wedding of Vicki and Mike as photographed by Jennifer Dery

^ I have no doubt that this centerpiece was probably pricey if done through a florist, but it seems like something that would be simple to re-create as the use of actual florals is pretty minimal.

I think the key to this look is quantity....the more bowls used, the luxer the look. Your big cost will be the bowls ...but you can find similar styles at Save-on-Crafts, Ikea, and even some pretty nice (but more expensive) ones at target.

Rustic Elegance On Sale

If you liked the natural rustic elegance look of the wedding of Maria and Michael (as photographed by Chenin Boutwell)


And as featured in the wedding of Alexandra and Jeremy (as photographed by Woodward and Rick Photographers via the Southern Wedding Style Blog)




Then you need to get yourself over to the Crate and Barrel Summer Sale and pick up the Savannah Candelabra. It's been marked down from $119.00 to $49.95. Talk about making an impact, and it costs less then the price of most centerpieces.

The Other Side of Yellow

If you've been planning your wedding anytime in the last year then you are surely familiar with the bio of knottie SpringChic. Hers was the wedding that launched a thousand yellow & black themed nuptials throughout the country. And it was featured in pretty much every wedding blog...over...and over...and over again. Brides everywhere have copied her entire wedding wholesale.

And with good reason....it was fun, it was fresh, it was simple, it was modern....it's pretty much the perfect wedding. But the other day I ran across the below images from the wedding of Ellen and Caro on the Next Exit photography blog and thought it was a great example of what two different brides can do with the same space to create a different vibe.

Obviously both celebrations took place at at the Viceroy in Palm Springs. And the one thing both brides did right was work with their venue and not against it. Yellow is a key component of the design charm at the Viceroy and if they had tried to ignore it or work around it, it would have been expensive and probably unsuccessful.

Springchic used black and white as accent colors which really made the yellow vibrant and alive. Ellen and Caro used brown as an accent color which I think added a warmth to the wedding. Springchic had two gowns...both beautiful and structured which created a modern vibe while Ellen had a beautiful, unstructured, yellow Jenny Yoo gown which gave a soft and casual feel to the wedding.

I know when I was planning I loved seeing what other brides did with my venue...though none of them had the same look I was going for it was great to see how one bride's vision could transform the same space.

All photos below credited to Next Exit Photography

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Not only are the details of Demi & Frederick's Mexico wedding amazing, the photography from Parker J Pfister is simply breathtaking. I can't wait for his new site to be up and running.


^Although they look nothing alike I can't think of a bride that more resembles Grace Kelly then Demi does in this moment. Look at her elegantly gloved hands.


^Her dress was a classic


^Beautiful shot


^Don't think your bouquet has to be large to make an impact. The small size was the perfect compliment to her outfit and the bouquet brooch is amazing.

^Don't forget the bridesmaids. They all looked so elegant...and the bride's dress choice really did compliment all their figures.

^They each carried these simple yet elegant bouquets.

^Love that pop of blue. Very fitting with the Mexican location, but the white keeps it toned down and tasteful