Fancy Cakery

Housing for Wedding Week/Weekend?

So, we're in the market to rent a cozy house or two the week before the wedding, perhaps part of the week leading up to the wedding, or perhaps just the weekend of the wedding itself. So many options.

Part of what I need, though, is to find out who, exactly, is interested in going in on this with me? Here's who we have so far who is definitely interested. Let me know if you want to be added! The more people we have, the cheaper the cost.

1. me (duh)
2. Chris (duh)
3. Somer (duh)
4. Bert English
5. Alissa English
6. Matt Witting
7. Katie Witting

Is there anyone else out there interested? If so, please let me know, so I know how large of a house or how many houses (one for bride and friends vs. one for groom and friends vs. one house for everyone) we should book.

As for what's out there, here are a few options we've come across!

Mount Welby: Middleburg, Virginia (20 minutes from Oatlands)

$750/night or $3,950/week
5 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths
Sleeps 10-12
Historic Home Built in 1823
63-Acre Estate
Mountain Views
Meadows, Ponds, and Babbling Brook

Milltown Farm: Middleburg, Virginia (20 minutes from Oatlands)

$439/night or $2400/week
4 bedrooms (sleeps 8-10)
Cathedral ceilings
Raised stone fireplace
Outdoor patios
Smoke house out building
Peaceful garden surroundings
Outside patio fireplace
Private Pub Room
Fireplace--rental includes firewood

Reception Decor Thoughts and Logistics

My vision is starting to come together, so I thought I'd jot down my new loves and thoughts. There are a LOT of unknowns, but we're getting there.






Tables and Chairs

• 7 10-person tables for the Carriage House--3 on each side, 1 in front of the side exit door
  
• 1 smaller round table for the cake, to be displayed in the middle of the room
• Four taller bistro tables for perimeter of "dance hall" portion of Carriage House. I was thinking folks could set a drink down, if they wanted. Two could go on one side, two on the other. These will require decoration and linens.
  
• Another idea: If not bistro tables, then rocking chairs around the perimeter would be a blast. Cracker Barrel has some AWESOME chairs.
  
• 1 guest book table--for the "dance hall" portion of the house. The typewriter, photos, etc. will go here. We may not need to rent one necessarily, especially if we could use one of the existing wood side tables already in the House. Need to scope this out, next time we're there.
• Chairs? In love with parchment colored chairs, run down, paint chipped. I have no idea where to find these. This is probably unrealistic, so I'd consider brown/wooden slated chairs. Need to check out Pretty Settings website.
  

Cleaning Out the Carriage House (need to confirm this with Katherine)

• Remove all green shades in both dining and dance rooms. Or, if not possible, ensure that all of them are pulled up.
• Remove central rug in the dining area. It's a floor rug--pale blue and ratty. It's gotta go!
  
• Remove photos and paintings hanging on left wall of the dance hall.
• Remove brochure stand and table (if possible) in dance hall.
• Remove all boxes and brown folding table standing behind wooden bar in dance hall
• Remove TV in far right corner of dance hall.
• Things that can stay: mirror on right wall, some paintings (will need to review this again), bar on right-hand side.
• Not to worry about: green trim around perimeter of both rooms, green trim around base of four posts in dining area, green carpet in dining area where tables will go, green carpet in front entrance of dance hall.

Table Decor, Accessories

• Glass jam jar in the center of all tables. Perhaps two? Twine bow around each.
• Jars filled with white hydrangea, white peonies, light green mum/daisy heads, white alstromeria, green berries, green herb plant.
• Like the idea of napkins loosely gathered with a fresh flower or dead, fallen leaf.
• Tea candle votives with brown fall leaves cemented inside, against the glass, for each table--see Martha Stewart picture.
  
• Love the idea of little pies/tarts in small pie boxes as favors for guests, wrapped in box or brown paper bag material, tied with twine or matching ribbon.
  
• Love the idea of having a rusty, antique address number to designate the number of the table--bronze, black, still undecided.
• Love the idea of having a miniature menu on each plate.
  
• Unknowns: type of plates, glasses, silverware, color of linens and tablecloths.

Dining Area Decor

• Dead tree branches, forked, secured to each of the four beams. Covered in warm lights. Still working out those details
• Four rustic lanterns hanging from each hook of the four beams.
• Rustic, wooden sign saying "Wedding Supper" to secure over the gold plated "Meeting Room" sign on the door between dining area and dance hall.
• Unknowns: what else should go in here?

Dance Hall Decor

• Twine, clothesline fastened over the guest book table, complete with clothespins holding Polaroid pictures of Chris and me. Vintage Polaroid camera available for guests to take pictures, too, and clothespin to the twine.
• Guest book table placement? Unknown.
• Guest book table will hold typerwriter, paper, for guests to sign.
• Musicians will stand/be on the inside of the white carriage rail
• Flower chains for carriage rail?
• Flower chains and lights between hanging ceiling lanterns? Need to think on this more.
  
• Hanging ceiling lanterns lit up? Can we do this?
• Ask Katherine about keeping front entrance doors open for cool breeze?

Cake, Cake Table

• Cake look and feel unknown. Want a three-tier cake, though. With some kind of ribbon wrapped around the base of each tier. I love that look. And prefer round to square. Beyond that, I have no idea at this point. I want it to coordinate with the greens and whites though.
• I love the idea of the cake plate being supported by old antique door knobs. I have a Martha Stewart Picture
• The cake table should have candle votives.
  

Miscellaneous

• Small lanterns and electric tea candles for each guest, to hold as a send-off outdoors, after the reception. This would make for such a lovely photo after the reception, especially since we can't use sparklers.
• Paper bag luminaries with electric tea lights to light the path from Carriage House to cocktail area. It will be dark after the cocktail area at 7 p.m. I'd like a path to illuminate between the two.
• Personalized Chris & Ally cigars for guests after dinner.
  

Leg Three of Bridal Gown Hunting

So, I have only been to two boutiques since the beginning of my wedding wonderland journey. Jeannette's was simply lovely and I adored the two Atelier Aimme gowns I tried on, and as for Hannelore's, while I was less impressed with the consultants on staff, I simply adored the Anne Barge and Pronovios dresses

However, I need to broaden my horizons, and a few more boutiques are in order. I'd like to go to White Swan (per recommendation of Jen and mom), the boutique in Rockville (I believe?) that Somer recommended (Somer, what is the name of that place? it begins with an "H"?), and the Amsale store located up in Baltimore (Jen, let me know a good time to come up! We can make a day of it).

I have next Monday off from work (Veteran's Day), so I think I'm going to hop over to White Swan in Vienna, just off Maple Street, and see what I can find. Happy hunting!

Autumnal Recipes

We're off to the RSVP open house tasting on Thursday November 6th to sample a few dishes and wedding cakes.

RSVP recently sent us a lovely proposal, autumnal-themed, and while we're excited, we're thinking about additional fall-ish possibilities for the appetizer portion of the evening during the 6:00 cocktail hour.

A few we've found on the Recipe Girl website:

• Apple Cheese Spread, served on pointed toast triangles
  
• Cranberry Brie Bites
• Maple-Beer Smoked Sausages
• Butternut Squash Spread, served on cheese croutons
• Cranberry Crab Filo Bites

Any other ideas for autumn-y finger food? Send our way!!!

Engagement Photo Session!!

Our check to Ms. Jennifer Chase is off and in the mail, and we've scheduled our engagement photo shoot for Wednesday, October 29th at 4 p.m. Jennifer has a few great ideas up her sleeve. We thought we'd begin the session at Oatlands itself--near the old barns with broken windows and the mountain scape of the Blue Ridge--and then finish up our last hour in historic downtown Leesburg at a bookstore on Main Street (picking up on our literary theme). I have no idea what to wear for the shoot (!), but Chris and I were thinking our best pair of blue jeans and cool colors to contrast with the peak foliage! Stay tuned for photos... coming your way!

Through the Rabbit Hole: Gown Shopping in Virginia

Here is a list, at least a beginning one, of local boutiques in the DC metro area that have several of the gowns by designers (though not all) that I'm interested in. I'm not sure when I'll begin the descent into the rabbit hole that is wedding gown shopping, but this is a least a good start. Danielle, during her visit last week, took me to Sax at Tysons II, but sadly there seemed very little to choose from. Fortunately, though, there is a trunk show on October 24th, so hope to venture out to see that!

One thing I have been learning, though, is that purchasing a gown from a boutique requires foresight and good planning, with six months to order until arrival, and up to four months of customization and tailoring. On our time line, that would mean having a gown (should I buy it from a boutique) by December!

A starter list of boutiques in Northern Virginia, MD, and DC area, at least for the next few weeks. I'll be adding to this...!

Hannelore's, Alexandria, Virginia: La Fleur by Anne Barge gowns.
Jeanette's, Manassas, Virginia: Augusta Jones gowns.
Betsy Robinson's Bridal Collection, Baltimore, Maryland: Amsale gowns.

A Photographer, Alice Has

Last evening Chris and I met with Ms. Jennifer Chase in Rosslyn, and we have, I can report, most certainly found our photographer. Five eight, dirty blond, extroverted, Jennifer purchased tea and coffee for us at the Starbucks on 17th St., making us feel right at home, welcomed, as if the city were her office.

She impressed us immediately with her passion for photography, her selection at elite workshops by renowned photographers, her business savvy, her dedication to Chris and me, and, most of all, her consideration of our comfort level on our wedding day. What struck me is her desire to know us, to understand us as a couple, as her mission, she said, was to render our relationship in a frame with authenticity and a voice, for the photos to speak.

She had a number of wonderful suggestions for the wedding day, and for the engagement shots:

• Candid shots of bride and groom before the wedding. In her experience, the groom is so aware of all eyes watching his reaction when the bride comes down the aisle, that this expression is all too often exaggerated or forced, and that she has found groom and bride shots before the ceremony to loosen both up, to help them be more in the "now" as they exchange their vows. This way, too, there would be more light to use rather than racing against the clock at 6 after the ceremony. Chris and I are open to this idea.
  
• Sparklers as a send-off at the end of reception. This was Somer's lovely idea, too, and one I had initially loved. The idea is to have guests make a pathway of sparklers outside the Carriage House at the end of the evening, and for Chris and I to make our way down the aisle, to the parking lot, and off to our bed and breakfast. Sparklers against a night sky, Jennifer said, make amazing shots.
  
• 75% candids and loosely arranged shots, 25% portraiture photography. The portraiture would take place immediately following the ceremony, consisting of bride's and groom's family, the wedding party, and bride and groom themselves. After this session, the bride and groom would have a series of loosely arranged shots in the gardens, leading up until the reception.
• Designate a "herder" of people for these portrait shots. Jen recommended someone who was willing to be quite active in gathering folks for their portrait shots. Portrait shots themselves are quick and easy to shoot. It's the gathering of people for the shots that takes time and wastes good light! Perhaps Somer might helps us?
  
• Second photographer to shoot candids of guests at cocktail hour and coming into the ceremony garden.
• Jen to photograph bride getting ready, second photographer to photograph groom.
• No shots of guests sitting at reception tables. I couldn't agree with this more. Jen's experience shows that pictures of guests eating or sitting behind a white canvas of a table cloth do not make particularly engaging photos.
• 1 hour at Oatlands for engagement session, 1 hour at a used book store in downtown Leesburg. The goal of engagement shots, Jen explained, is to capture the couple. With our literary-themed wedding, she has wonderful ideas for locations and shots. Jen said that, upon definitely going with her, she would call Oatlands and get an idea of the peak foliage colors, as these would make beautiful photos.
  
• 50% off on any album we choose.
• DVD archive of all digital photos highly suggested. From this, we will forever be able to view and print wedding photos, which is an excellent idea, as the pictures will only be stored for 6 months on Jen's server.
  

In short, we are sold on Ms. Chase. The price breakdown would work like this:

BRIDE'S FAMILY:

• $3,000: Eight hours of photography, proof book, 6-month online album and printing.
  
• $500: Second photographer
• $500: DVD archive of all photos taken.
• Total: $4,000 (within budget)
  

CHRIS AND ALLY

• $250 (after 50% discount): Printed coffee table album of 60 large prints.
• $400: Engagement session and DVD of all photos taken for printing and use on the wedding website I'm in the process of designing.
• Total: $650

Jen will be sending us over a contract sometime this week to review, and to return with a 50% security payment of $2,000--half the cost of the main package items.

We love her! Mom, let me know your thoughts on this. I will forward you the contract when I get it!