Melissa & Calvin’s Spring wedding at Woodend Sanctuary couldn’t be any prettier with its garden setting, abundance of delicate florals and palette of pink & soft peach paired with blue. As always though its the moments that makes their day so magical – Melissa walking down the aisle with both Mum & Dad, their ceremony filled with Jewish customs, and their super sweet choreographed dance. So when you’ve finished here be sure to visit the gallery to catch every moment!

Bride Melissa shared these words about finding the perfect venue and keeping their day about what was important to them…. “We wanted to get married in the DC area where we lived, so that narrowed our choices when it came to venues. We fell in love with Woodend Sanctuary the moment we saw it, the beautiful trees and grove. It had the best mix of indoor and outdoor space and it went perfectly with the look and feel we had in mind.

The wedding vision was a classic, elegant, romantic and soft wedding. Colors were blushes and greens and peaches with a pop of soft coral, complementing the fact that it was a springtime wedding in a wooded area. We chose to keep our wedding as a “semi-formal” attire because we wanted the wedding to feel like us, sophisticated but welcoming and relaxed.

We wanted to have a welcoming feel and relaxing environment, not be too formal so that the wedding was a representation of us and who we are above all else. It was important to us that the whole day was for us to share our love with the people we love the most, and to make sure they were part of the experience.”

“My bouquet was a beautiful mix of peonies, roses, renunculas, sweet peas, eucalyptus, and more! Barbara Von Elm with Growing Wild was our florist. She is a local vendor and has her own flower gardens. We loved that most of our flowers and greenery were local and from her farm. She was wonderful – she took our vision and made it happen!”

“For me, it was a timeless, classical form fitting lace dress that made me feel like the most beautiful bride. Designed by Eddy K I found it at BHLDN in Georgetown. Added a belt around the waist, hair comb, earrings, pearl bracelet and a sapphire ring on the right hand.”

“The chuppah covering was made by the groom’s aunt and mother, and consisted of family fabrics from throughout both the bride and grooms’ families.”

“The weather had been on-and-off in terms of potential rain, but we decided to go for it and it didn’t rain at all during the pictures, ceremony, or rest of the day!”

“We didn’t want to have a gazillion members in our bridal party. Our bridal party was just the bride’s two sisters and the groom’s two brothers. We asked close friends and family to help participate at the wedding in other ways, such as doing readings at the ceremony, and signing our ketubah as witnesses.”

“Mother of the bride made the frame for the seating charts. We had a giant picture frame with ribbon running across the center, which the table seating assignments were hanging from.”

“Our wedding cake was a two-tiered semi-naked cake decorated with some flowers. We wanted something simple yet elegant. Also, neither of us are huge cake people so we didn’t want it to be the main focus.”

Pearls of wedding wisdom from the bride….

“Don’t let anyone else tell you how your wedding should be. It’s your wedding and you should make it the way you want it! On your actual wedding day/night, spend the night enjoying the night and don’t worry about any of the small things that may go differently than you had planned.”

Tell us a little bit about your photographer….

“We were recommended Kir through our venue and we couldn’t be more thankful. Not only did she have a great attitude and was a ton of fun to work with, but she totally understood our vision and made us feel so comfortable and confident throughout the day. We did an engagement shoot with her and it was a great way to begin to feel comfortable with the camera and find the looks we wanted. Our photos perfectly capture our wedding day and we couldn’t be more thankful that Kir was there to capture all the moments, big and small.”

VIEW THE GALLERY

Oh so pretty don’t you think? As always a heartfelt thankyou to the happy couple, Melissa & Calvin, and to their photographer Kir Tuben  for capturing the romance and beauty of their day so perfectly! If, like me, you are completely in love with Kir’s beautiful style of photography be sure to pop over to her website kir2ben.com and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Or if you love the timeless romance of this wedding, then you might want to see Jenn & Teague’s earthy & elegant wedding at Rigmor House, Alex & Ian’s wedding at Salisbury House, or Alex & Amanda’s romantic celebration in the mountains of North Carolina! And you’ll love Matt & Kelly’s greenery filled affair at the Chandelier Ballroom!

Amy

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Contributors & Credits

Photography – Kir2ben // Venue – Woodend Sanctuary // Day of Coordination/Planner – Kristi Hartig of GLOW Weddings and Events // Hair – Alison Harper & Company // Makeup – Dara Levitan // Floral Design – Growing Wild // Catering – Corcoran Caterers // Wedding Cake – Creative Cakes // Wedding Dress –  Eddy K // Bridal Boutique – BHLDN // Bridal Shoes – Jewel by Badgley Mischka // Jewelry – Tiny Jewel Box // Bridesmaids Dresses – Jenny Yoo // Videographer – Video Express // Band – Bachelor Boys Band // Suit – Ted Baker // Officiant – Rabbi Sarah Tasman // Invitations – Jenny Brown