Congratulations, Alison & Rob!

Alison and Rob turned out to be one of my favorite couples. To start, the story of how they met is pretty phenomenal. Alison's mom read a story in their hometown newspaper about a wounded soldier that had returned from the war and was recovering at Walter Reid hospital. He was originally from the same hometown as Alison. Since Alison was in DC, her mom called and asked her to visit him at the hospital. Being the super wonderful person that she is, she went to talk about their hometown in the hopes that pleasant conversation would keep his spirits up. A year later they were engaged!

We'll have to wait for the professional photographs from the talented Julie Walton Shaver before I can show you our lucky bride and groom. One of the most stunning details of the wedding was Alison's Suzanne Ermann gown. It was a sheath dress underneath but then had a sheer draped hoop skirt design that floated over top of it to create an A-line silhouette. It was beautiful! This is not the dress but is the closest I can find online and gives you the idea:These two celebrated at Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Chevy Chase, MD. Unlike Monica&Ben who got married there earlier this year, they chose to exchange their vows in the gorgeous grove of trees just down the hill from the house. Here is a pre-ceremony lemonade and iced tea station provided by Design Cuisine: I only got a blurry shot of the ceremony with my Blackberry phone. Here is the beautiful grove from the side! You can see the bride and her father arriving on the left and the lemonade stand in the far back right. Towards the front right, the Celebrated String Quartet provided perfect accompaniment just like they always do:The bridesmaids bouquets were gorgeous! They matched the hot pink sash they wore on top of the navy blue tea-length dresses. I didn't get a shot of the bridal bouquet but it looked similar to the centerpieces (see below). Distinctive Floral provided these arrangements:Alison glued the programs on to these fans. Since it was pretty hot outside (90, maybe?), these were pretty popular among the guests:
Inside, the escort cards each featured an adorable little bird:
One of Alison's bridesmaids provided the beautiful centerpiece:
Woodend has these fabulous mantles and windowsills to set candles, flower petals, family photos, or any other decoration you'd like:
A peek inside the tent before dinner:
I wish I had a better photo of the menu cards but you get the idea. Alison had these printed to match the menu cards and the wedding invitations. We placed them on each guest seat. The cute bird theme shows up here too:Design Cuisine did a fabulous job with the service and the quality of the food. I had a (very drunk) groomsman tell me that his filet was one of the best cuts of beef he'd ever eaten! Even if he hadn't been on the tipsy side, I'd still believe that his meal was incredible. Note the adorable branch silverware and nature-themed china from DC Rental:Congratulations again, Alison & Rob! I hope you both are off enjoying your honeymoon to the fullest. We certainly enjoyed being a part of your big day!