Kelly and Brian live and work in the DC area so it was important to them to host their wedding in the area they love. They wanted to tie in several of their family traditions and showcase some special attributes from their years of dating.
Here are some of the unique and fun details of their event. This is spoken from Kelly’s perspective with some additions from us.
Brian is a Certified Arborist and works as an Environmental Resource Supervisor for Reston Association. He has worked in the landscaping/plant healthcare industry his entire life and caring for trees is a passion of his. His boutonniere was specifically selected by him for his love of plants. We also incorporated a leaf pattern on the cake table linen to tie it in.
The sapphire ring that I wore belonged to Brian’s Aunt Susan, who passed away from ovarian cancer several years ago. Susan was Brian’s mother’s sister and not only was the heart of their family but also a huge volunteer for charities (there is a child care center at Honeywell’s headquarters in NJ that is named after her). Our officiant, Brian’s Uncle Jim, was Susan’s husband. Shortly after Brian and I got engaged, Brian’s mom passed the sapphire ring on to me. I never had the pleasure of meeting Susan, but I am always told by family members that we have very similar personalities and would have been great friends. The other woman in the ring photo is Susan and Jim’s daughter-in-law, Patricia. The ring she wore to our wedding was also one of Susan’s (I think hers was a ruby), so it definitely felt like she was there celebrating with us that day. We even included a picture of Susan on our Memory Table.
My engagement ring is also partially a family heirloom. The center diamond came from one of Brian’s grandmother’s Tiffany rings. Brian worked with the jeweler to design a more modern setting around her diamond.
We asked Brian’s Uncle Jim to officiate our wedding because we wanted to add that personal touch to our ceremony that only a family member could provide. Jim spent 8 months researching different ceremony styles and we had multiple calls with him throughout the process to address any questions he had about our vision for the day. It was really sweet of him to put so much time and effort into our ceremony, and we are so grateful he agreed to officiate our wedding! Brian’s Uncle Dave gave the reading during our ceremony.
For the reception, we named our tables after our favorite restaurants. Brian and I LOVE to eat and many of our vacations are planned around the best places to eat/drink in a city. There was one table named after a restaurant in Morgantown, WV (Chic n’ Bones), where Brian and I first met. The table where our parents and officiant were seated (Senatore’s) is the only place Brian and I did not visit together only because it is no longer in business, but it was Brian’s family’s favorite place to eat when he was growing up. They ate there for all of their special events there and even had their own playlist that the owner would turn on when they dined there.
We selected our wedding venue because we wanted our wedding to feel like a mini-weekend getaway for our guests. Most of our guests traveled from out of state and we wanted to select a place that was not only beautiful but also a place where our guests could stay and enjoy the amenities of the area. We fell in love with Virginia when we moved here 5+ years ago and wanted to showcase the beauty of Loudoun County to our friends and family who had never visited before.
Our guestbook paid homage to where Brian and I met (West Virginia).
Our first dance was to Jack Johnson’s “Better Together”. Jack Johnson was the first concert we attended together and we try to see him any time he is in the DC area.
As always, I would love to chat.
Here are the vendors that made this event possible:
Venue: Landsdowne Resort and Spa
Photography: The Kama Photography
HMUA: Bridal Artistry
Stationery: Ivory House Creative
Ceremony Musicians: Perfect Harmony Strings
Rentals: DC Rentals
DJ/Lighting: Derek Romanoff
Cake: Amphora Bakery
Dress: White Swan Bridal
Florals: J Morris Flowers
