Every wedding vendor team is created a little differently. In this series we explore how and why each couple selected the right wedding vendor team for their wedding day.
Mid-summer 2021, Kate and TR were in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico aboard a private boat when TR popped the question. A few months later, the Washington DC-based pair thought they were attending an engagement party for another recently-affianced couple, but once they got there they soon realized it was a surprise wedding. They liked that the guests initially didn’t know what they were in for, and stole the idea to build on and make their own (complete with a full reception). Not wanting a big wedding, Kate and TR had thrown around the idea of a courthouse marriage or an intimate elopement. But when they saw how their friends were able to celebrate their love with everyone, they knew they had to do the same.
So they started planning their version of a wedding, inviting about a hundred friends and family members to join them for what was supposedly an engagement party. “Once people received the invitation, they kind of knew,” Kate explains of the maybe not-so-secret surprise. “We’re also bad liars. And I referred to our engagement party as our wedding many times in front of our friends. Yikes.”
Regardless of what it was called, it was a party to celebrate Kate and TR’s relationship. And they wanted to do so in the district because it’s where they met, forged their lives together, and where there’s common ground for both of their families coming from Kentucky and Michigan. Planning began in October for the following April, and they enlisted a planner to make it all happen in the tight time frame.
Kate and TR were referred to the planning and design company Silk & Slate Co. by friends who had worked with them. They were tasked with creating an event that combined the bride’s love of color and vibrancy with the groom’s more contemporary, minimalist aesthetic.
“We always start with a deep dive into the couples’ style, personality, values, and their vision. Our event design process is all about creating an immersive experience for guests and allowing our couples to express their authentic selves. Once we completed that, a vision for Kate and TR’s colorbomb-meets-contemporary fusion event began to form. Our team drew up mood boards and sketches as we evolved into a more clear design: opal/iridescent color palette florals with a deep contrast of ultra minimalist and modern settings, alongside sleek lucite and black ceramic. We aimed for an overall atmosphere of contemporary elegance with natural light, luxury indulgences, and a true sense-of-place.” —Noelle Ahmad-Snedegar, planner/designer
Once in the hands of their planning and design team, the first step was to secure a venue and photographer. Silk & Slate Co. reached out to both simultaneously to gather a list of available dates, and found a sweet spot with April 9th.
The LINE DC, a luxury hotel in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of the nation’s capitol offering iconic skyline views of the city as well as a local energy that the couple values, also had one very special reason why the bride and groom wanted to get hitched there: it was where they had their first date. So the site was significant, and also meant that the food and beverage would also be handed by the skilled in-house caterer.
“The food needed to be fancy yet filling. We love to eat!” —Kate, bride
For photography, a fashion-minded creative who could bring a stylish eye to every angle while capturing the day naturally and candidly as it unfolded was needed. Enter Abby Jiu and Lisa Ziesing of Abby Jiu Photography.
“Abby and Lisa were integral to the planning process. Lisa would text back and forth with Kate as she navigated the most incredible, bold fashion choices. At the same time, we worked with Abby to ensure our production and layout would allow their team to capture the big moment (and guests’ reactions) in perfect light.” —Noelle Ahmad-Snedegar, planner/designer
With such a unique design vision and Kate’s request for “flowers, literally everywhere,” a strong floral team who could bring that curatorial eye for creative playfulness was a must. Sweet Root Village is a powerhouse for pulling off complex, towering installations, and the design of this event would be in the best of hands with the whimsical, modern-art driven talents of floral designer Daylen Rivera, who ran the project passionately.
When it came to Kate’s bouquet, it had to speak volumes, especially against her bright orange suit. A lush, freeform piece assembled with airy layers of eclectic blooms in fuchsia, cherry red, coral, blush, and hints of delicate blue did the trick. TR wore a modern take on the classic boutonniere with a minimalist, singular long-stemmed white ranunculus with a magnetic backing to give the illusion of a floating stem.
The surprise wedding reveal guided the design for the ceremony. The couple couldn’t pass up the hotel’s rooftop view of the DC monuments and skyline, but guests couldn’t walk in and see a floral archway and seating set up in front of it, because that would be too obvious. So a diversion was created by turning the colorful floral setup (with monotype clusters of florals in an array of hues) into a lounge “backdrop” with upholstered furniture in front of it. The couches and chairs were pulled out of view just before the couple took position with their officiant.
“Sweet Root Village built their beauty on a curved metal structure surrounding the ceremony site in an asymmetrical and organic style, with flowers in the background and foreground for a fully immersive installation.” —Noelle Ahmad-Snedegar, planner/designer
For the reception, Daylen drew up a mood board for sleek, suspended stems in undulating waves with a symmetrical floorplan. Those clean lines extended to the tabletop with Ikebana-style floral compositions in pleated glass votives and smokey candle vessels. Sweet Root co-founders Lauren Anderson and Rachel Bridgwood also proposed epic entry archway treatments in the ballroom. Kate fell in love with the renderings, and the SRV team brought them to life, flanking the head tables with the dramatic statement pieces.
Social Supply Design & Décor was also booked early on to give the ballroom a completely blank canvas by covering the floor in white carpet—as well as helping with the production of more fun visuals that were developed later in the planning and design process.
While many couples might choose to invite guests to an engagement party via email or electronic invite, the couple opted for a printed invitation fully customized by Emily Baird Design. This set the tone from the start, getting everyone excited and to also convey that this was not an event to be missed.
Emily created everything from the invite, to the seating chart and signage, to bespoke swizzle sticks that were placed in signature drinks that were then perched on personalized cocktail napkins, all the way through to post-wedding thank you cards that continued the use of the pair’s lowercase serif monogram with a minimalist twist on tradition.
“With the couple’s incredible sense of style and their love of high-energy celebrations, we wanted to make sure guests would bring their A-game. A simple ‘black tie optional’ was never going to cut it, and we know wedding guests crave more direction and permission to be bold. The details card of the invitation read: ‘creative black tie—make a festive and playful statement with bright colors and metallics encouraged!’ and the results were magic. Emily’s sleek design married Kate and TR’s distinct styles perfectly. For example, matte black menu cards with holographic foil and bold typography complementing their contemporary and whimsical fusion.” —Noelle Ahmad-Snedegar, planner/designer
At this point, it was all about the design of the day. With the plush carpet as a starting point, Social Supply Design & Décor also provided white velvet lounge seating and other sleek furniture pieces, as well as fabricating the dramatic seating chart display with playful crystal cluster accents.
Other rental items rounded out the look of the party—Luxe Event Rentals had lucite pieces that evoked a sense of retro glamour, which were paired with modern ghost dining chairs and the glass round tables with colorful bases. The tables were stunning on their own, but were now ready to be set to further their impact.
Tabletop selections were a love letter to the overall design. Matte black wine glasses and flatware from Luxe Event Rentals, holographic and pastel flutes from Something Vintage, hand-painted dessert plates from Maison de Carine, and black velvet napkins from Nüage Designs, Inc. told the story of the couple’s contrasting styles while guiding guests through an immersive dining experience.
Surprising your engagement party guests by tying the knot is the type of moment that absolutely must be captured on video. Noelle knew that Deanna and Grant of Harrison Films would have just the right intuitive, thoughtful touch to convey every emotion. Come wedding day, the duo was stealth and captured the action and everyone’s expressions and emotions as it all unfolded.
Kate and TR are a couple who truly knows how to party. So a list of wedding bands from Élan Artists that would get their guests on their feet and bring the ultimate dance floor energy was provided for their review. It was no surprise that an eight-piece variety dance group, Highline Band, caught their eye (and ears). Post-wedding, Kate shared that it felt like they were at their own private concert, and many guests proclaimed the band to be the best wedding band they’d ever experienced. And while they created an epic soundtrack to the event, their look was also a part of the equation. Noelle coordinated with the band to have the singers in floral, fuchsia mini dresses for the latter portion of the reception, to perfectly coordinate with the pink hydrangea spilling from the stage onto the dance floor.
Additionally, Vintage Crooner, a jazzy, lighthearted ensemble played Big Band era music with retro charm after the surprise ceremony before everyone moved into the ballroom.
Wanting killer fashion moments that spoke to their “play by your own rules” style, Kate and TR both landed on two distinct looks for the ceremony: a vibrant orange suit by David Koma, Amina Muaddi fuchsia heels, and art-inspired Laura Estrada Jewelry earrings for her, and a Fendi jacquard jacket, floral print shirt, and glitter-covered slippers for him. Before their fashionable outfit-changes for the reception, Kate swapped her bouquet for an iconic Bottega Veneta minibag as she and her now-husband strolled the city streets for portraits. When it was time to enter the ballroom, Kate donned a shimmering Monique Lhuillier tea-length dress, and TR slipped on another statement blazer by Robert Graham, with the newlyweds both sporting festive sneakers.
To complete their looks, Beauty n The Bride was brought on board for hair and makeup. Artist Nikki Frazer complemented Kate’s natural beauty while adding a bit of pizazz to her bold look with a chic updo, soft pink lip, and shimmering eye shadow. After switching into her tulle party dress, Kate let her hair down with a flirty ponytail which she wore to dance the night away.
While the hotel’s in-house catering was secured earlier in the planning process, it wasn’t until this point that food and beverage were really discussed with the hotel’s chefs and catering team. A tasting took place to kick things off. As Kate and TR have excellent taste that celebrates both highbrow and lowbrow cuisine, they wanted their menu to celebrate that. Some of their favorite indulgences—Ostera caviar, French Champagne, fried chicken, and tequila shots—were incorporated.
And as no Silk & Slate Co. event is complete without an interactive food or drink station, an ice luge courtesy of Ihttps://caratsandcake.com/vendor/ice-labce Lab for chilled bubbly greeted guests on arrival to the party, where local seafood delicacies also had a spotlight on a minimalistic carved ice display. Oysters XO made their way through the crowd for on-demand shucking and garnishing. Plus, a Baked Alaska station helmed by the hotel’s pastry team was lit—quite literally, as each was flambéed on the spot.
Buttercream Bakeshop is a favorite staple for DC foodies, and as such were brought on board to create an art-driven cake that towed the line between contemporary minimalism and a complement to the color-forward, whimsical design of the reception space—without disappearing into the background. The cake bakery created a ripple design that Sweet Root Village dressed with kaleidoscopic blooms.
For overnight guests, hospitality boxes were curated by gifting gurus Marigold & Grey, with local goodies tucked inside. And at the reception, VIPs’ place settings were topped with splits of Champagne that were custom painted with guests’ names by Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper Calligraphy to serve as place cards and keepsakes. But with all the thoughtful touches from every angle, everyone truly felt special.
