Get Political on your wedding day!

Happy Election Day! I hope you all head out and vote today!

Since DC is such a political town, we’ve seen our fair share of subtle and not-so-subtle nods to politics in the weddings we’ve helped plan and coordinate. So today, in honor of Election Day, we thought we’d round up some of our favorites! Enjoy! and happy voting!!

Wedding Buttons as Favors

We’ve had multiple couples create small favors for their guests in the form of pseudo political buttons!

Photo by Bee Two Sweet Photography

Embrace Your Political Differences

My very favorite guest books were from a couple who came from opposite sides of the aisle. They had Reagan and Obama posters as their guest books and I loved that they didn’t shy away from talking about their differences!

Photo by Sarah Gormley Photography

Stand up for what you believe in

Many of our couples use their wedding as a way to share their political beliefs. From rainbow pins instead of boutonnieres, to protest signs, to statements on their ceremony programs regarding marriage equality - your wedding day can be a time to stand up for what you believe in and share it with friends and family.

Photo by Justin McCallum Photography

Photo by Ayesha Ahmad Photography

Embrace DC!

Yup, you’re getting married in DC - might as well embrace it! Take photos in front of the Capital or other important, political landmarks and make your mark!

Photo by Love Life Images

Photo by Love Life Images

Photo by Michael O’Snyder

Why we love Fall Weddings

Ok, ok - so pretty much everyone loves Fall weddings. But just in case you needed to know why you should have one - we’ve done a little round up of some of our favorites over the years, and why Fall really is one of the most popular seasons to get married:

The Wedding Colors

Fall gives you a great opportunity to embrace some richer, deeper colors, as well as have a little more fun with your wedding colors. Some of our favorites are below - but I especially adored the couple that chose to use a bold, deep orange for their bridesmaids dresses! So stunning!

Photo by Modern Frames Photography

Photo by Casey Crowe Taylor

The Fall Foliage is a perfect backdrop

Pictures are worth a hundred words here, so I’ll let some photos do the talking - but when nature gives you color, you use it and love it!

Photo by DeNueva Photography

Photo by Shandi Wallace

Photo by Casey Crowe Taylor

Photo by Shandi Wallace

Fall weather is cooler

We here in the DMV know how stinking hot it can be in the summer - and if you’re hoping for an outdoor wedding, well, both you and your guests will appreciate the cooler weather that Fall can bring!

Photo by Charles Archambault

Photo by Modern Frames Photography

Our favorite cake toppers

Overwhelmed with cake topper ideas? No clue why you need one in the first place? Want some cake topper inspiration? Here ya go!! Some of our all time favorite cake toppers over the years. Enjoy! (now I want cake)

A Musical Wedding

Photo by DuHon Photography

We think of music at weddings in the usual ways - ceremony music, having an awesome band for your dance party, what your first dance song will be, etc. But if you’re a couple that really loves music, what are some other ways to incorporate that passion for music into your wedding day?

We’ve had some really creative couples come up with other options - so check them out below and let us know what you think!

A Musical Guestbook

We’ve had two separate couples use records as their guest books! It’s a unique way to share your love of music (or even particular songs and artists), while collecting the names of your guests

Photo by Chris Ferenzi

Photo by Jess Latos Photography

A Nod to your Favorite Concert

Alicia and Matt, one of our awesome, past couples, used concert wrist bands at their wedding!! Such a fun way to keep track of your guests if the venue requires it, while adding a little nod to your concert-going

Photo by The Oberports

Get creative at cocktail hour

We’ve had many clients get a bit more creative at cocktail hour as way to honor either their wedding’s location, their heritage, or other musical aspects. One of our favorite DC weddings had a DC-based funk band meet their guests at the church! Another couple wanted to honor their Irish heritage and had a fiddle and pipe player for their cocktail hour, which even led to some Irish dancing! Whatever direction you go, think outside the musical box for cocktails. It’s a great, more casual time to have a little fun and be more non traditional

Photo by Mathy Shoots People

Photo by DeNueva Photo

Music as Decor

Mariah and Rob used records as decor! They hung records from the ceiling to create a super fun look, all while tipping their hat to their love of music

Photo by Stephen Gosling

Musical Invitations

Angelina and Ron had some of the best wedding invitations I’d seen - they used Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix stamps on their wedding invites!

Photo by Olivia Jacob Photography

Musical Theatre Nerds, Unite!

And I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention several of our couples who gave a little shout-out to the musical, Hamilton! One bride wore an A. Ham (if you know, you know) hat when they were announced into the reception. And my other favorite did a spin on the Hamilton Playbill for their ceremony program! Such creative, fun ideas:

Photo by DuHon Photography

Photo by Ayesha Ahmad Photography

Ode to The Carnegie Institution of Science

We were pretty devastated to learn that the Carnegie Insitution of Science, one of our favorite wedding venues, was closing. It was such a beautiful space that offered unique space, very DC-esque architecture, and so many photo opps. So we thought we’d look back at some of our favorite Carnegie weddings as a bit of an adieu!

We had a Beyonce performer, a surprise visit from Storm Troopers, and a Halloween inspired wedding here (with pumpkins in the fireplace). The front stairs gave us so many beautiful photo ops, and the inside stairs brought us many a stunning entrance (including one mishap where a bride got her veil stuck on the bannister!). We had many awesome dance parties with glow sticks and props galore. Candle lit dinners in the ballroom, cocktails on the front stairs, and so many awesome wedding crews hanging in the gorgeous library.

So here’s to many fond memories of this lovely space with our awesome clients:

Afternoon tea in the time of COVID

Home celebrations are obviously having a moment ever since COVID reared its head. A couple years ago we started the tradition of taking my Mother-in-law out to afternoon tea with her granddaughters for her birthday. This year, we obviously couldn’t do it - so we decided to give it a try at home.

It being COVID, and me being a homeschooling stay at home mom, I tried to make things as easy as possible. So we reached out to Treats by Gale - and thank goodness we did. She was the perfect choice - she catered the tea party, complete with two types of teas, desserts, cakes, scones (and clotted cream and jam, obviously), as well as delicious tea sandwiches. I was so impressed with the food, the tea (it came as a concentrate so it was SUPER easy and fast to make! and tasted wonderful), and how easy it all was - from ordering to her delivering it right to our door the morning of the party.

As for the set-up, the girls wanted to use the real tea set their aunt had given them, so we started with that. I then found this tea set and loved the bright colors and the fact that it was fairly cheap so we could use it for future tea with the girls and not worry about it if one of them breaks something! We used an old table cloth, some existing plates, ordered some napkins to compliment the girls tea set, and we were pretty good to go. I even managed to get roses delivered with my grocery delivery (!) so I was able to get some flowers on the table :)

My daughter hand-made the place cards and we added some PB&J to the menu for the girls, and plated all the food from Treats by Gale ourselves.

My Mother in Law loved it and raved over the food and tea - “5 stars!” - so I’d highly recommend Gale for anyone looking to do a bridal shower, baby shower, or - like we did - just any old party! I’ll also mention Treats by Gale is a black, woman-owned business which is always a bonus cause I want to support local, BIPOC small businesses as much as possible!

International Transgender Day of Visibility

Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility!

We at The Plannery recognize, celebrate and honor ALL love. We want more stories of trans love, marriage, partnerships to be shown in the wedding industry & media (and everywhere). Doing our very small part by sharing this past wedding between Jenevieve and Janine we were SO honored to be a part of. Their love story is beautiful and I highly recommend you check it out here.

Why Spring Weddings are the Best

Yes, things are still crazy in the land of weddings due to COVID. But to celebrate the official first day of Spring tomorrow (I love all the crocuses popping up, and the buds on the trees getting ready to flower!), I’ve been thinking about spring weddings. Traditionally the busiest “wedding season” months in the DMV area are May, June, September and October (I blame the humidity). But increasingly, I’ve been seeing more April weddings in this area and I love it.

In the DC area, spring really does come early (or on time, depending on where you’re originally from). While there’s always the risk of April showers bringing May flowers, there’s also the chance that you’re going to get a really beautiful day, as well as more availability for that much-in-demand venue, lower pricing, and - let’s face it - cherry blossoms.

So I thought we would do a round-up of some of our favorite springtime weddings in the area to inspire you to think Spring!

(psst: be sure to click on the photos if you want to see more of these weddings, featured below!).

Outdoor Weddings are Cooler… literally

Photo by Lady Love

Lots of folks want outdoor weddings - but in the DC area that can be quite difficult if you don’t like the heat. And sweat. And thunderstorms. April can sometimes be a good option because you’re more likely to get cooler weather so that outdoor wedding is more do-able.

Beautiful Spring Photo Opps

Photo by Shandi Wallace

Spring is all about flowers. April brings with it stunning flowering trees in the DMV area and they make for a wonderful background to your wedding photos. What better way to bring color and beauty to your wedding than to embrace what nature gives you?!

Embrace those April Showers

Photographer Mantas Kubilinskas

Ok, so no one really wants rain on their wedding day. But spring showers can actually create some beautiful photo moments! Also, embracing the rain (and all of those fun inconveniences life may throw at you) is a wonderful way to start a marriage :)

Joy for the new Season

Photo by Olivia Jacob

Much as I mentioned in my post about winter weddings (and folks wanting a reason to gather and celebrate during those cold months), I love the idea of combining a celebration of a couple with a celebration of a new season. Spring is such a hopeful moment, filled with possibility and growth - all of which create a wonderful time of year to start a new relationship and forge a new path.

Flowers and Color

Photo by Darling Photographers

You know I couldn’t end without mentioning the decor options that come with spring! Whether with a more modern touch (like Kara and Mike’s wedding pictured above), or a full-on cherry blossom extravaganza, spring provides so many colorful options for wedding decor. It’s truly an inspirational season!

COVID realities for The Plannery

It’s been very quiet around here. At first we were dealing with our clients, trying to help folks postpone and handle the realities of COVID. Then, quite frankly, we as individuals had to deal with the realities of COVID and how that was going to change our lives. I won’t speak for our entire team, but I thought I’d do a quick update for you all - real and honest as we always are here! - to let you know what’s going on at The Plannery

It’s crazy as we near the year-with-COVID mark to look back and remember how quickly things changed. But the biggest issue on our end was that my daughters’ daycare shut down for quite a while, so within an instant, I was a stay-at-home Mom. And with no new weddings in sight, that quickly became my full time job. Then, as my oldest daughter’s first year of school came up this Fall, we knew I’d need to be around to help her with virtual kindergarten, and still be available to be with our youngest as well. And finally, after virtual kindergarten really didn’t work for us as a family - I’ve transitioned to something I never, ever imaged for myself: a stay at home homeschooling Mom.

What does that mean for the future of The Plannery? Honesty? I’m not sure. Rebecca and Tarra are still taking on clients and we’re definitely open for business for ALL types of clients from full planning to month-of. But my role has had to transition into one of business owner and operator, but not official wedding planner. It may be it stays that way for quite some time as the future of child care and schooling remains unclear for my girls. But I promise that I remain involved and committed to our clients and especially my awesome team.

So here’s to vaccines, future weddings, and embracing the insanity, life-changing stuff that gets thrown at you. Everyone I know has handled it so well and with such grace. But I’m sorry if any balls have been dropped and apologize for being so quiet as I focus on my kiddos. We’re here and have our fingers crossed for some awesome celebrations in 2021!!!!

Carol and Greg's Winter Woodend Sanctuary MD Wedding

Photo by Stephen Bobb Photography

This wedding was one of our favorites from last year. Though it was pre-COVID, I’m excited to share it now because it was a small, intimate winter wedding - something folks who are dealing with the new COVID restrictions may be considering this year - so hopefully this can give you some fun inspiration! Carol and Greg had a beautiful wedding at Woodend Sanctuary. Because it was winter, Woodend’s usual tent was down, so they had a short ceremony with some guests standing and some seated, in the main room, followed by cocktails and dinner indoors as well. Tarra had to get creative with the flow and floorplan, but it worked out well and everyone had a blast.

I adore that they embraced the holiday season with red pops of color (including the stunning bride’s lips!), and additional green and white accents. It was a meeting of two cultures, his (Southern) and hers (Korean) which they honored in various ways including culinary touches from Main Event. Enjoy these beautiful shots from Stephen Bobb Photography and embrace the chilly air heading our way. Congrats again to Carol and Greg!

Carol and Greg’s Vendors:

Coordinator: Tarra Morgan, The Plannery

Venue: Woodend Sanctuary

Photographer: Stephen Bobb

Caterer: Main Event Catering

Music: Double Entertainment, DJ Elon

Florist: Park Florist

Cake: Alexandria Pastry Shop

Hair/Make-up: Shanel Salon