Pink, orange, and aqua are just a few of the colors you’ll see in today’s gorgeous DC wedding from Flutter Photo! Colorful, eclectic, and planned by ELV member Bellwether Events, this wedding truly embraced its former amusement park venue, Glen Echo Park. From the pinks, blues, and oranges used throughout the decor, to the paper flowers adorning the bride and groom’s chairs, this DC wedding looks like it was SO fun! The bride Kirsten was kind enough to share some of her wedding planning story with us today, so be on the lookout for her advice!
What (or who) helped you most in your planning process and/or on your wedding day?
Our wedding planner was Janice Carnevale of Bellwether Events. We chose to work with Janice after interviewing several wedding planners, because, it was clear that she was the most excited about what she was doing. Right of the bat she made us feel like this was the only project she had that she cared about. She was enthusiastic about all our ideas. I told her right away that my work schedule was crazy but that we had a lot of ambitious projects that we wanted to do ourselves (ie. all the paper paper products). She kept us on track and helped me budget my time accordingly.
Most brides-to-be have never planned an event like this before and probably never will again. I had the venue, photographers and band booked and then realized that there were so many more vendors that I needed and had no idea where to begin. Thankfully Janice knows everyone and covered all the other details from the all important caterer (Occasions Catering) to lighting design to the carpet that our venue required us to put down. I would have been lost with out her expertise. She really went above and beyond what we were expecting. She even surprised us with extra decorations that she made herself!
What was the most important thing to you when deciding who to work with for your wedding?
When we got engaged the very first thing I did was contact Alejo and Theresa at Flutter Photo. My brother got married in 2010 and as part of my duties in their wedding I was to help them select a photographer. When I found Flutter I told my brother that this is who I would hire for my wedding. Knowing how popular they have become since then it was very important to me to make sure we got on their books right away. Not only are they amazing photographers but they are really wonderful people too. For our engagement session they invited us over to there house in Reston, VA. We had a blast hanging out with them and going out on the lake in their old retro row boat and we got some really amazing pictures too.
What was your inspiration for your wedding details and/or design?
Our location was another important decision. My husband and I both grew up in Washington, DC and we wanted to find a location that spoke to both of us and our personalities. Glen Echo Park, just outside the city, was perfect. We both grew up within 5 miles of the park and I spent many summers there as a child. The Spanish ballroom was a perfect setting for a fun and dance enthusiastic crowd. The location is really what inspired most of the details and design. Being a old amusement park allowed us to have a fun retro theme.
What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
I was really proud of our invitations. Matt and I made them ourselves with a small crafting letterpress. It was one of my favorite details. But I think the one that was the most special were the hundreds of paper flowers that Janice made to surprise us. It was so thoughtful and so personal- it meant so much to Matt and I.
What is your best piece of advice for other brides?
1. Wedding planners are worth their weight in gold. But make sure you find one that really loves weddings, like Janice!
2. The band or DJ will be the ones who keep the energy up and everyone having fun. But don’t limit them too much. Our “do not play list” consisted simply of a request that there was nothing too cheesy. This made the band happy because they had the freedom to play songs that were right for our guests.
3. If you can do it get a videographer. We made the decision two weeks before the wedding and were lucky to find someone on short notice. I could not be more grateful that we did because the night went by so fast and we were so surprised at how much we really could not remember. We are also glad that we have something to share with our family members who were unable to join us.
4. Most importantly do what is right for you. It’s not a dog and pony show. It’s your wedding and in the end the most important thing is that you do what makes you and your significant other happy.
Love love love Kirsten’s advice! Make sure you’ve read it! :) Thank you for sharing your wedding with us Kirsten, and a huge thank you to Flutter Photo for capturing it beautifully, and of course to Bellwether Events for making everything go so wonderfully! :)
Wasn’t this wedding the BEST way to end this week? I have fallen in love with the colors of the bridesmaid dresses and the centerpieces, but those paper flowers are pretty amazing too! Do you have any favorites from this wedding? What do you think of the colors together? Gorgeous, right?
Vendors who made it all happen…
Lauren
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Lauren, thank you so much for sharing this wedding with your readers, I hope they like it! And Kirsten, thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind words! You and Matt were a dream to work with. xoxo
Fun style in this wedding!
this wedding is AWESOME! love the mismatched bridesmaids, all the awesome details – that ceremony backdrop (!!!) and the bride’s awesome tea-length dress! great feature.
Kirsten’s shoes are so adorable! where did she get them?
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! This is the kind of inspiration that keeps me inspired to build my own company :) Great JOB!!!
These photos are so beautiful! And the wedding style is so interesting. Appreciate your sharing.
yOU HAD ME AT CAROUSEL! LOVE IT! XX