Decatur House hosted their Restoration Preview & Garden Party last Thursday. Windows provided passed hors d’oeuvres and beverages while guests toured the site. It was extremely humid, but we were able to enjoy ourselves! If you are looking for a venue that is very DC, then Decatur House is the place. It’s located right on Lafayette Square, directly behind the White House. Images from Decatur House.
DrinkMore Water is a locally based water company. You definitely want bottled water in your guest packages. Guests can drink them at any time and they are especially useful while sightseeing. You’ll also want to include some healthy snacks, such as a Power Bar and Terra Chips. Images from DrinkMore Water, Got Body, and Terra Chips.
Great Places to You sells souvenirs for many major U.S. cities. For D.C., I found the following useful items: I Love DC mints, a beautiful postcard and red, white and blue Jelly Bellys. Images from Great Places to You.
You must include D.C. maps and/or tour guide info in your guest packages. These can be found for free at the Smithsonian museums, welcome centers as well as many hotels that are located near the National Mall. Your guests will really appreciate a map of the city or information on fun tours that are available to them, that they can do all on their own. Images from DC Pages.
The Historical Chocolate Co. has some great treats for you to add to your out of town guest packages. From mini replicas of the Capitol, White House and Lincoln Memorial, you are sure to please the sweet tooth of your guests. Images from The Historical Chocolate Co.
This week I’ll be highlighting what to put in D.C. themed out of town guest packages.
Nashville Wraps has a ton of boxes, bags and fillers for your out of town guest packages. The base of this week’s package is the white box ($13.80 for 6) and the red shredded filler ($2.50 for an 8-ounce bag) below. I like the idea of guests being able to see what’s in the package right when they look at it. Images from Nashville Wraps.
Because I love the newest line from J. Crew for myself and their latest wedding gowns for brides, I’m giving away a $25 J. Crew gift card. To enter, leave a comment with your full name and email address below. If you aren’t comfortable doing that, email contests@bashdc.com with subject header “J. Crew gift card”, and your full name in the body of the email. The winner will be announced July 3. Below is the outfit I just bought for me and a dress and gift card for you. Images from J. Crew.
If you are getting married on a beach, don’t forget about wearing appropriate shoes. Heels will not cut it (for you or the guests, so inform them of the terrain), as you’ll be sinking in the sand. Not to mention, your calves will be killing you the next day. J. Crew offers some great sandals for the occasion. Images from J. Crew.
Head Dress “specializes in custom bridal veils, shoes and accessories that are as unique as our brides”. I especially love their veils and headpieces. They are modern but have a vintage feel. You should never have been wearing tiaras and 25 foot long veils in the first place! Images from Head Dress.
One of the biggest problems I see with weddings, is when family members want to get involved-too much. While one is very lucky if they have people in their lives who care and want to help, you need to find out first how much they want to or think they are entitled to help.
I had a wedding where the bride’s aunt wanted to be TOO involved. She completely stressed the bride out as she continuously questioned her decisions. It came to the point the day of the wedding where she had come up with a rain plan that included moving the ceremony inside the house. (The bride had paid a couple thousand dollars for her rain plan so not to move it in the house.) Needless to say, the aunt really started to step on my and the caterer’s toes just an hour in to set-up. While I’m sure she meant well, she really had no idea what she was doing and just couldn’t understand that the bride had hired me to do what she thought she could do better. I had to tell her that it wasn’t her place. Keep in mind, the aunt told me she knew best because she does weddings all the time for free, and she “decorates working with a lot of glue”.
