A Classic Blue-and-Silver Wedding at the Historic Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, DC

For Sarah and Alexander's wedding in the nation's capitol, there were two main focuses: "family and DC. I have a big extended family, and it was important to me to have a big party that included everyone in our two families. We so seldom get everyone together, and a wedding is a great excuse! I also wanted to have a very DC wedding. This is the city where we built our life together, and it's been home for seven years. It's also conveniently half way between my family in the NY/NJ/CT area and my Alexander's family in North Carolina. When choosing a venue we thought about a vineyard, or a resort, or the city. Since most people would be coming from out of town, we decided to show off our city and make it a fun trip for them! Having all of the events downtown also meant we our guests could walk between locations. The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is my parish in DC, and also a quintessential location. The Top of the Hay is a DC dream and another easy choice. The DC theme carried over into our welcome bags, featuring Baked and Wired cupcakes, and our specialty cocktail, a bourbon rickey! For our welcome party and rehearsal dinner we went with the theme of North meets South. I chose lobster rolls to represent New England, and Alexander chose pulled pork barbecue to represent North Carolina. We also had a fantastic bluegrass band that Emily found to set the tone for the weekend! We prioritized music at the welcome party, the ceremony, and the reception. We spent a lot of time choosing music for the unbelievable organ at the Cathedral of St. Matthew! It set a grand, inviting feel for the rest of the day. Emily helped us find Onyx, our wedding band, who knocked it out of the park at the reception!Emily also helped us create a cohesive feel for our wedding, from check-in, to the rehearsal dinner, to the ceremony, to cocktail hour, and the reception," Sarah recalls. 

The couple further highlighted the importance of family and loved ones through curated details threaded throughout their Washington, D.C., wedding. "Before my grandmother passed, she gave me a pendant that my grandfather had given to her. He picked it up for her on one of his many work trips around the world. It is blue and gold, and inscribed with Arabic writing (possibly Turkish) that says, 'Many happy years.' After she died, my aunt also gave me two handkerchiefs that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother embroidered with their initials. I had my bouquet wrapped in those two handkerchiefs, and the blue pendant pinned to it as my something old and something blue. It was nice to be able to include them in our special day," shares Sarah. 
Part of what allowed Sarah and Alexander to pull off the DC-meets-family-oriented wedding of their dreams was their impeccable vendor team. To current to-be-weds, Sarah offers this advice: "Our advice to couples planning their day is to start early and hire a wedding planner! It really takes the pressure off and makes the process much more enjoyable."