Jamie + Bill: Organic Elegance at The Four Seasons

Jamie and Bill had what I like to call a marathon wedding - they contacted me in November and wanted to get married in February.  The only thing they had booked was the venue - the chic new Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore.  They hired us for the whole shebang...planned to perfection in 3 months for 250 guests.  Jamie was the ideal bride - so calm, cool and collected.  Every time I tried to give her options she'd say "Julie, that's why I hired you - I trust you!  Whatever you think."  Jamie is beautiful inside and out - her smile is infectious...she was the girl in high school that was friends with everyone, super athletic and gorgeous au naturale.   Jamie and Bill both worked at Under Armour - she was a sports marketing manager and Bill had ties to Under Armour since it's inital conception in his college days.  Jamie had moved to Baltimore to be with Bill, from her native Colorado.  The idea behind the vibe of the wedding was to blend her roots with her new home.  Enjoy!

Planning + Design - Strawberry Milk Events (that's us!)

Photographer - Jody Holman Photography/David Hartcorn Photography

Ceremony venue - St. Leo's Catholic Church, Little Italy

Church Music - Sage String Quartet

Trolley - American Limo

Reception venue - Four Seasons Baltimore/Event Manager: Katie Shannon

Flowers - Janet Flowers

Hair/Makeup - Amie Decker Beauty

Dinner Plates + Head Table Chairs - Perfect Settings

Rentals - Party Rental LTD.

AFR - Lounge Furniture

Photobooth - Smile Booth

Lighting - Swank

Videographer - Blue Sky Films

Wedding Cake - Patisserie Poupon

Band - Sid Miller Band

Day of Paper - Paisley Quill

Photobooth Props - Heath Original (etsy)

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

For those of you that don't know, I am also planning my own wedding!  That's right, the wedding planner is getting married.  Eric and I got engaged on New Years Day in NYC and progress is coming in baby steps (we have been super busy working on everyone else's fab weddings around here :)  However, I finally got a chance to mail these pretties out the other day!  I worked with Little Bit Heart to custom make these adorable cards asking my girls to be a part of the big day.  I topped it off with vintage floral + DC themed stamps in shades of pink and red.  I wish I could have gotten better photos, but the iPhone will have to do!  How will you pop the question to your bridesmaids?

Move over Barbie....

David Hartcorn Photography

During our Engaged! Magazine Photoshoot, we had a little fun during our test shots...we can't be serious all the time!  While this one didn't make the cut for the issue, I couldn't resist posting it!  I just love all the implied taglines that could go with this photo.  From playing with barbies to being a bride...how many gals out there "married" their Barbie + Ken and played house?  Little girl dreams do come true!  Bonus points for comments with creative tagline ideas :)

Tuesday Shoesday

Things have been so busy around here with weddings and events, we noticed it had been awhile since we did a Tuesday Shoesday feature.  Here's a little Chanel shoe candy - how darling would these be peeking out of a frothy white (or blush) gown?!

Sheer Chanel Booties with Bows

Photoshoot for Engaged! Magazine

We are thrilled to share our recent collaboration with Engaged! Magazine.  We had the honor of again styling the dress feature for the newest issue.  Unlike the last issue at Keswick Hall, this was shot in a studio instead of on location, with more of a whimsical/fashion vibe.   With only one model and twelve dress changes, this meant that each dress/shot was a complete set change as well as hair/makeup change.  Also adding to the mix: a stubborn English Bulldog with separation anxiety.   It was a long day - but certainly worth it!  The model, Jamie Bowersox, looks like a living Barbie doll - I had so much fun styling and dressing "Barbie" all day...a bit nostalgic.  We had so much fun working with this uber-talented team of vendors - enjoy and stay tuned for a behind the scenes video in our next post!

Photography - David Hartcorn

Gowns - Betsy Robinson, Love Couture, Riziks

Jewelry and Accessories - Betsy Robinson, Tabandeh, Nordstrom, Henri Bendel

Hair - Murat, formerly with Four Seasons DC - 202.277.7646

Makeup - Carl Ray, Four Seasons DC

Bouquets - Janet Flowers

Shoes - Neiman Marcus

Furniture - DC Rentals

Cakes - Ritz Carlton DC

Champagne - Moet & Chandon

Production, Props and Styling - That's us!  Strawberry Milk Events

Stubborn English Bulldog - Actually my father's, but I'm accepting offers on his behalf ;)

Sugarplum Room Design at the Willard

 iPhone picture - not bad!

We had an amazing bridal show last week at the Willard Hotel put on by Engaged Magazine.  We found out as we were driving home from the show that our room had been featured on the 6 o'clock news - channel 9/CBS!  We were able to catch it again on the 11 o'clock - such a nice surprise!  Here is a sneak peek at our room design in the Crystal Ballroom complete with Sugarplum Fairy live centerpiece. We also had a snow machine rigged into the ceiling so glistening, real snow flurries were gracefully falling on the center of the table so it appeared as if she was twirling in her very own little snow globe. Needless to say, we had visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads for awhile!  Carte Blanche from Elan Artists were a vintage vision in white and provided superb entertainment!  A huge thank you to Steele and Christina at the Willard for their hard work hosting the event and making it all happen!

Special thanks to the talented team who contributed to the Crystal Room's design:

Greenworks Florist - flower design

Allison Barnhill Designs - paper goods

Elan Artists - Carte Blanche music

Party Rental + DC rental - table settings/rental items

Syzygy - drape, staging + lounge vignettes

Willard Pastry Dept. - cakes + sweets

Washington Ballet - sugarplum fairy

Moet Hennessey - Champagne Bar

A big thanks to Jennifer Lust + Steve Canning for the below pictures of our room!