DC Wedding & Event Planner | Event Accomplished

January 20, 2021January 18, 2021Real WeddingLeave a comment

At Home Micro Wedding Great Falls Virginia

micro mini backyard at-home wedding great falls virginia

On the same date and at the same location 10 years earlier, I had planned our bride’s sister’s Indian fusion wedding. I was honored that they called me to help with planning another sibling’s wedding. Held in the backyard of the bride’s childhood home in Great Falls, Virginia, our couple decided to host a micro / mini wedding ceremony and reception. In order to have a safe celebration during the Coronavirus pandemic, they invited only close family members and provided guests with safety protocols before and during the wedding. Photos by Photojournalistique.com – Weddings by Erick Gibson

Instead of wearing his uniform, our former military groom chose a kilt instead.

Katie Martin from Elegance and Simplicity designed this classic bridal bouquet of white cymbidium orchids, blue thistle, white anemones, white roses and greenry.

While her sister had her ceremony closer to the deck of the house, our bride chose the mature trees as the backdrop for her wedding ceremony.

For the wedding ceremony seating, we kept rows of chairs 10 feet apart. Guests sat only with their own pod, which is also the same group for dinner. Photo: Vicky Choy

Nothing compares to the pure joy when you are pronounced as a married couple!

Our hosts provided guests with blankets to keep warm on this October day.

The bride’s father surprised his daughter with the sounds of a bagpiper who played while guests were taking their seats for the ceremony and for the recessional.

This classic combination of navy blue, white and gold created a timeless and elegant style for dinner under a tent.

For the floral centerpieces, Katie Martin from Elegance and Simplicity used a white cylinder vase filled with similar flowers to the bridal bouquet but we added more blue with the blue delphinium.

For the avid golfers, this cake topper is just right.

Event Partners

Wedding Planner: Vicky Choy, Event Accomplished , Arlington, Virginia

Caterer: Main Event Caterers, Arlington, VA

Photography: Photojournalistique.com – Weddings by Erick Gibson

Officiant: Robert Wallace

DJ: DJ Craig Wood, Perpetual Sound LLC

Floral Design: Elegance and Simplicity

Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Chic Color & Cut Hair Salon, Great Falls, VA

Tent, Heater, Tables, Chairs: Capital Party Rentals

Are you interested in planning a micro / mini wedding? Check out our blog archives on small weddings and on backyard / at-home weddings.

July 1, 2013January 31, 2019Gifts / Favors Ideas, Real Wedding, Rehearsal DinnerLeave a comment

Fun Details from the Derecho Wedding

Last week, I recapped last spring’s derecho wedding. Despite the weather, I really had a great time planning the whole weekend worth of activities with the couple and with their respective families. Here are some more fun details from that weekend. Apologies for my shaky camera work though! Vicky

Rehearsal Dinner: Carmine’s Washington DC. We had featured Carmine’s as an option for rehearsal dinner with large number of guests a while back. Click here to read that post.

carmines washington dc rehearsal dinner — With nearly 70 guests, we had the back dining room at Carmine’s to ourselves. We set up a few long tables, which was perfect for that space. Photo: Vicky Choy

carmines Washignton DC rehearsal dinner — We displayed some fun mementos from the couple’s childhood including the groom’s baby cowboy boots! How cute is that? Photo: Vicky Choy

yellow purple flowers petals edge rehearsal dinner — Working with the mother of the groom who had a great eye for design, Petals Edge provided flowers that fit the casual, Italian restaurant vibe. We used a mossy green burlap runner down the center of the tables. At each place setting was a menu card with a “pop quiz” about fun facts about the couple on the reverse side. Photo: Vicky Choy

For favors, we looked for the couple’s favorite things for inspiration. With M&Ms as the bride’s favorite snack, we set up a giant display of navy blue and green M&Ms after dinner. I got huge paper mache letters and sliced off the top so that they could be filled with the candy. I also wrapped the outside of the letter with coordinating ribbon. This is about as crafty as I get! The couple also loved drink koozies, so we gave those out as well. Tip on order chocolate candy online: be careful when you order them. If the temperature is very hot, you may want to order them with ice packs and have them ship overnight. Also think about whether the candy might sit on your front steps in the sun once delivered.

wedding favors M&M candy navy blue green — For favors, we set up a M&Ms display. Photo: Vicky Choy

wedding favors koozies navy blue — Koozies as favors. Photo: Vicky Choy

Welcome Bags – With the groom being from Texas and the bride from Virginia, we wanted to included items that were reflective of that besides the usual essentials. Check out the Texas Lemonade, made with Tito’s Vodka, a small-batch vodka is distilled in Austin, Texas. We included the recipe along with all the ingredients needed to make this easy yet tasty cocktail.

wedding welcome bag texas virginia — Guests received this lovely tote willed with snacks and essentials. Photo: Vicky Choy

wedding welcome bag texas lemonade — My favorite welcome bag item yet – a recipe for Texas Raspberry Lemonade along with all the ingredients needed to make the cocktail. Photo: Vicky Choy

June 27, 2013November 20, 2019Real Wedding1 Comment

Happy Anniversary A&B! Neither rain nor a Derecho could stop this Wedding!

I cannot believe it’s been one year since the derecho storm that hit the Washington, DC area June 29, 2012. As I was packing the trunk of my car outside Carmine’s in DC after the completion of a wonderful rehearsal dinner, the derecho storm came sweeping down 7th Street NW, drenching me and my arm full of stuff (do you still think us planners lead a glamorous life?) Next day, we found out the reception venue had lost power due to the derecho storm. After hours of phone calls on a day where cell phone service was spotty at best, I was able to locate a venue that could accommodate our guests for this wedding.

I will forever be indebted to the team at the The Westin Arlington Gateway for hosting 165 weddings guests with no notice. In just a few hours, they made it happen. The entire staff was helpful and flexible and didn’t bat an eye at the curve ball thrown their way (Did I mention they already had a 400+ guest dinner in their other ballroom?). I am also thankful for the an incredible production team that all rolled with the punches.

Check out these beautiful photos from Leah Stearn of Studio Juno (more on her blog) and tell me if you can tell that this was not plan A. Enjoy – Vicky

Not sure if you can see it but the back of this arrangement had a few sprigs of cotton. The bride and groom at the time were teaching in Mississippi and cotton fields could be seen for miles.

Production Team:

Ceremony Venue: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

Wedding Planner: Vicky Choy, Event Accomplished

Cake: Fluffy Thoughts. Remember the baseball cap groom’s cake we featured a while back? I think Lara gave birth to her baby the next day!
Hair & Makeup: Bridal Artistry

Floral Design: Heavenly Hydrangea, Susan Poneman

Photographer: Leah Stearn, Studio Juno

Videographer: Dolce Studio Films

DJ: MyDeejay, William Steward

Transportation: Reston Limo. I also have to give a big shout out to Reston Limo. We had transportation needs from Thursday to Sunday and everything turned out great.

Guest Hotel: Westin Arlington Gateway, Holiday Inn Ballston

Rehearsal Dinner: Carmine’s

Tag: navy green