Alison and Michael 6.10.17, Washington, DC

You can tell I'm rusty at blogging. I didn't take my normal wedding shots so had to steal many a FaceBook picture from the sister of the bride and sweet Melissa. Thanks in advance guys. 

Ali got ready at the Sulgrave Club with her cute, smart and really fun bridesmaids. Her dear friend David reminded her that it was gay pride weekend. She was in the heart of Dupont Circle getting ready. Nary a hot pink pump got in the way of being at the church on time.

The nervous Nellie in me got to the church a little early too. E was driving back in from Baltimore. Poor guy had to do a work thing that morning so he met me in the pew, perfectly on time. I love you Charlie. Thanks for loving me despite my nervousness. 

I was a little jittery because I was also a reader. I love reading at weddings. It's such an honor, but you really have to hold it together. 

I also cry at weddings. Every wedding. Even the ones where I'm working. Watching Stuart walk Alison down the aisle was beautiful, touching and the moment I lost it in the tear department. He finally got to be the father of the bride, not the rector. Stuart was beaming with emotion and they both had tears in their eyes on that lovely walk to Michael. Photos weren't allowed during the ceremony but I'm so glad a friend caught this moment. Alison's veil looked so elegant. By the time they made it to the front I was using Linda's vintage handkerchief from the luncheon the day before and thanking God we had a four verse hymn before I had to read. By the fourth verse I got it together, wiped my tears and headed up to the lectern for the first reading from Michah. 

Micah 6:6-8

6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
    and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

The ceremony was holy and wonderful. The new rector was adorably funny, touching and knocked it out of the park with a reference to the two rivers in New York City joining, like this marriage. Such a fantastic visual. I also caught Stuart smile with pride to Michael's parents after the choir sung. Christ Church has the most talented choir.

It was all smiles and alleluias as they took their first steps down the aisle as man and wife. Another church friend, Tess, wrote how many on the flower committee cried after putting the final touches on the church flowers.  

The guests immediately got into shuttles heading to the reception. The bridal party headed up the hill to Tudor Place for group photos. I love this one of the Koenigs that Margaret shot.

We drove our car from Georgetown, ran into the Pride Parade in Dupont and had to turn around. What a beautiful sea of hot pink up at the Dupont fountain. I've never seen so many people up there at once. We were far enough away that we weren't affected, but it was so fun to see all those people partying in the streets. And we almost got a ticket a half a block from the reception. We got off with a warning. Praise God. We were greeted by beautiful place cards, signatures cocktails, tasty lamb lolly's and the gorgeous big bar on the first floor of the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC.  Franny had the Aperol Spritz signature cocktail and Manhattan's were also a hit.  My former boss from The George Town Club was the Kenworthy's contact for the wedding at the club. Loved seeing you Melanie.

This was one of those weddings were we had more fun because we knew most of the guests. Alison babysat for James and John when the kids were little. James gave Alison her first job in DC at a TV station. It was so fun seeing our Baltimore besties at "home" in DC. 

Photo credit Melissa Overmyer

Poor E was coming down with a head cold so we scooted upstairs early to take pictures of the ballrooms and find a quiet seat in the upstairs bar. 

There is something magical about a room moments before the guests sit down. It's as if the chairs sit up straighter, the flowers open just so to show off and the candles flicker like the wink of a snowman. Magic.

The photographer was shooting these same moments. 

The escort cards had a beautifully painted table number with gorgeous watercolor flower details. The welcome card had the same artwork with a little froggy in the corner. Mike calls Alison Froggy because she is always hopping from one thing to the next. One country. One event. One segment. Michael gave the most romantic toast to his bride that evening. He mentioned that when Ali travels he would create a little doodle artwork of a froggy hopping to the next adventure. He did this as a coping mechanism because he missed her so much. He created a little story with each trip. And Froggy is always the hero! It was so eloquent and adorable. Froggy is ALWAYS the hero. 

The calligraphy on the place cards, monogrammed stemware, navy base plates, menu cards with the gorgeous watercolor K and frog details were subtle and classic touches.

The grooms cake.

The flowers were so gorgeous on the wedding cake and her bouquet. 

We sat at the top of the stairs with a great view of the dance floor. We sat with some of our favorite people in DC and enjoyed a gorgeous meal. For club food no one does it better than The Metropolitan Club.

We sat down with Stuart, James and John for a visit. I mentioned how pretty each of the flower arrangements were and he sort of snapped into the present and said, "Are those on every table?" Isn't it funny when you are so wrapped up at weddings that you forget to look around? It all goes by so fast too. Look around my dears. Especially you couples who may be reading who haven't yet tied the knot. I charge you to sit and listen to your wedding. Take 5-10 seconds and just listen to how much love is in the room. Listen to the candles showing off. Listen to your flowers. Can you hear them telling you how beautiful you are, and that they are there to make YOU happy?! Enjoy that sip of your Manhattan. Listen to the love that is in the room. It will carry you for your entire marriage. It's not just a party. It's a reflection of God's love. The couple is a reflection. The people there to support you are a reflection. Enjoy it and savor every second that you can to really be present.

Life is a journey. Dance your little faces off and love each other for the rest of your days. 

As we left, satisfied by the beautiful meal, wonderful music, dancing with old friends and cake in the bar, we were greeted by an ICE CREAM sandwich truck. What an absolute surprise and delightful moment. We got huge ice cream sandwiches to go and headed straight to the CVS for a Mucinex/Tylenol Cold nightcap desperately needed for my Charlie. 

If you want to see more fun photos from the weekend go follow the hilariously named hash tag #KoenigsIsWorthy. Also, here is a little video from Magesto that sums up this wonderful couple dancing their hearts off. Sparkle on you darling creatures. We love you.

Alison's Bridemaid's Luncheon, The George Town Club, Washington DC

Hello dear ones. I had to dust off the 'ole blog to share Alison and Michael's wedding weekend adventures.  It's been over a year since my last blog post. Feels like confession. That's three Bloody Mary's.

Driving into Washington, DC from Baltimore felt like coming home for a family reunion. The bride, Alison, was one of my "youth groupies" so hilariously named by Lizzo years after the actual J2A classes. Alison was 13 when she was in my class. She admitted she HATED it at first. Man, I'm so glad she stuck with our youth group at Christ Church over 20 years ago.  

Ewalking and I left DC ten years ago. I was the Director of Catering at The George Town Club then and ironically, the luncheon was held at the club on Friday. It really was a blast from the past. They have opened up the windows in the Main Dining Room, refreshed the sofas in lighter shades of beige, and done an outstanding renovation in the Club Room. It was such a treat to see it looking so fresh. 

I also worked for Ali's dad, Stuart when I was at Christ Church, Georgetown. I remember Fran opening their home for a rectory new member reception, I was maybe 23 years old and remember hanging out in the kitchen with their youngest daughter Margaret Grace and middle child Stuart. Ali's dad was the rector of Christ Church and married us 10 years ago. When Stuart came to our wedding my cousins all greeted him like an old friend, since he had been participating in our football and basketball bowl pools for years. When Stuart finally won the pot one year, I remember everyone cheering for him on-line because it had been quiet a long, dry run of loosing. 

But I digress. See, I still go around the world to tell a story. Back to Bridesmaids and bubbly.

And garlic scapes in the flower arrangements. Be still my locally grown heart. Fran and Linda hosted this beautiful party and the flowers were from Ultra Violet. 

Franny, these are all for you. Since we love to document all the little details,especially the food.

The mother's were beaming ear to ear. Laughter and wise womanly advice was given freely. And a few tears were shared when Michael's sister told us all how much Michael comes alive when Alison is in the room.

Alison, Fran and Jeanne.

Linda thought of absolutely everything. She gave each friend a vintage handkerchief tucked in a Victorian paper nosegay cone. I desperately needed this gift on Saturday watching Stuart walk Ali down the aisle. But let's not jump ahead. She also asked friends to write letters of advice to the bride.

Alison's fabulous vintage dress was a score on one of her many trips around the country at Bad Granny's Bazaar in Oklahoma City. She is an award winning producer at ABC for Good Morning America and met Mike on a Bike at work. Watch their video below learning to tango!

I'm sure I'm not the only one having a wedding weekend happy hangover. I loved meeting all of these smart, brilliant and beautiful women. And of course hugging your faces, Hadley, Margaret and our beautiful bride!

As we left, Fran gave us these fabulous Scout bags. Expertly filled with comforting welcome goodies. That Popped Republic Popcorn is a game changer!

Words and pictures really can't express the love I have for the Kenworthy's. Stuart gave me a job after loosing mine after 9/11. Teaching J2A at Christ Church with Shep and Ann will still be one of the favorite seasons of my life. Ali loves to travel and I think, just maybe, it's because we all went to England on a holy pilgrimage together in 1999. Then in 2001 we camped in the dessert of Mexico on a mission trip. We took bucket showers and grilled our food. Now she jet sets all over the world telling stories. By the grace of God she found Michael who is the perfect ying to her yang. Michael's mother hugged me as if we had known each other for decades too. It was a full-on-love-fest and we truly couldn't be happier for you both. 

Happy Stone Hill Anniversary

I always feel like reminiscing at the end of the year. We've been cleaning out old computers to donate to the church and I found photos of our House Blessing a year after we moved to Baltimore. We celebrate our fourth year Stone Hill'aversary this week. Have you ever been to a house blessing? It's a wonderful tradition where the priest comes to shoo away any bad spirits from the old house and Christen it with new life and purpose.  It was wonderful having a house blessing at Stone Hill and we of course invited our priest Stuart from Christ Church Georgetown to take on the 160 year old ghosts. It was also a great opportunity to throw a party three years ago this week.

Each room is blessed separately. The prayers are wonderful. Sometimes it's nice to have a prayerbook lead you when you can't find your own words.

I'm so happy we have these photos but what was I thinking with auburn hair and eating my way through Baltimore that first year of marriage?! You can really tell that I've lost 18 pounds after looking at these photos. Vanity aside, Stuart started with a prayer in the kitchen and brought holy water to bless each room. You can find the Celebration of a Home in the Book of Occasional Services on page 146. It's a supplement to the Book of Common Prayer as well as another good one, Lesser Fasts and Feasts for the Episcopal church. Reminds me of something that would have been in Harry Potter's required reading section for some reason. 

Brunch is my all time favorite meal. I love a party and all the items it takes to make it special. I recall this being a very, very easy party to plan. Susan brought the best fruit salad and Eric's mother Jean made a few quiche. We served smoked salmon with bagels, the no-longer-New System Bakery cinnamon glazed donuts, cheese grit casserole and ham with Sister Schubert dinner rolls. 

Friends and family are of course the most important key to any party, but I'd like to do give a shout out to the buffet plate. The buffet plate is the most wonderful invention and a necessity at any good buffet brunch. I started my buffet plate collection after a friend's Derby Party in Louisville, Kentucky in college. Let's be honest, it was a hang over brunch for the 60 kids that hailed from liberal arts schools throughout the Mid-West. Amy's mother was so tickled at how excited I was about the plates she had set out for the brunch that she gave me my very first plate from her collection to start my own. The plate she gave me was the same plate that started her collection. It's a maize and blue (GO BLUE) hand painted ceramic star plate. The key is to collect them. Tell people you collect them and everyone enjoys the fun in finding 11 1/4 inch buffet plates for you. Most of mind were given to me, many were found at Pier One and Williams-Sonoma on sale. My favorite is my Chesapeake Chicken plate that McCall and I found coming back from Dewey one fortuitous morning. I like using china, glass, silver and cloth napkins when possible. Very green.

Grandmother Tayloe would have approved I think.

The party was pre-Epiphany. I chopped up our Christmas tree and decorated the whole house with it's branches. It was the most wonderful smelling party to date and we needed the room from the tree. If anyone is having a New Year's party and needs the space, start cutting up greens from your tree. Truly makes wonderful centerpieces.

It's wonderful going back and looking at how the house first looked when we moved in. We donated the sofa's to our youth group's room at Memorial and had so many wonderful neighbors visit.

Guy and Pam live next door who we simply love!

My mother-in-law still dreams about these donuts. 

It was really our first party to bring out all of our wedding presents and share the joy of our little house.

The kitchen was the hub and of course where everyone gathered. See the greens on top of the hutch?

When I moved to DC originally in 1994 my mother told me I had to connect with Peggy Malone (West). She lives three miles away from us in Baltimore and we finally met back in 2008. Her parents set my GRANDPARENTS up on their first blind date. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Battle and Alice Malone. We have loved getting to know Butch and Peggy and their fabulous sons and their families. 

Our DC pals even made the trip for this event. 

George and Susan weren't even engaged in this photo. I love that we attended their wedding and just celebrated Jemma's first birthday. A lot can happen in three years!

I've always loved this photo of Charles. I've changed the bookshelves seven thousand times since this was taken. 

It's fun to walk down memory lane and see how much we've grown, and shrunk and how much we've accomplished on the house. We are close to finishing our new office and Eric has found an old bowling alley remnant to make a custom board table for future endeavors. He's so handy and nice to have around. Thank you for the wonderful four years at Stone Hill Charlie. Happy Home Anniversary!