It was such a pleasure working with Nannette and Charles to create their dream wedding weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia. Every aspect of the wedding was filled with personal touches from the moment that guests arrived at the hotel until they they left on Sunday after breakfast. A fun color scheme of pink and orange was carried throughout the wedding. Hanging from the doors of the Virginia Tech War Memorial Chapel were two large letters, “N” and “C” and a custom aisle runner with the couples monogram dressed up the aisle. After the ceremony guests travelled by bus to the German Club Manor for the cocktail hour and recpeiton. Hanging from the beams in the foyer of the German Club were orange and pink lanterns and custom pillows on the couches. The guest tables had white floor length linens with orange and pink criss-crossing runners and white chair covers with pink and orange organza sashes. All deocr and floral element designs were created by Diamond Events.
When we first met with Betty and Manh they were living in Northern Virginia while planning their wedding in Roanoke. During their engagement the couple moved to Houston for work, resulting in many Skype appointments and two jammed packed trips back to Roanoke to create a wedding weekend that blended Chinese and American wedding traditions. The morning of the wedding friends and family gathered at the groom’s house to form a caravan of cars before driving to the brides home to perform a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Later in the day the couple held a traditional American wedding ceremony in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center with over 200 guests in attendance. Since the couple took pictures ahead of time they were able to enjoy cocktail hour with their guests. The evening continued to the sounds of RSP Entertainment while photographer Chelsa Yoder captured shots of guests on the dance floor. The five tiered Chinese flavored wedding cake was made by Cakes by Happy Eatery in Centreville, Virginia and then brought down and assembled by Diamond Events, what a task, but everyone was so appreciative it was well worth it!
It was so enjoyable working with Kallie in creating an elegant yet fun wine inspired wedding weekend in Loudoun County. The couple chose the Historic Whitehall Manor to host their ceremony and reception, a great Northern Virginia venue that provides multiple locations to have an outdoor ceremony and a beautiful indoor ballroom. The chance of rain weather report turned out to be in their favor with not a drop in site that Saturday afternoon. Kallie and Eric decided on seeing each other before the wedding to take most of their pictures with photographer Rick Martin so they were able to enjoy cocktail hour with their guests. Norm Voss played classical guitar as guests arrived and the adorable ring bearers carried a “Here comes the Bride” sign before Kallie walked down the aisle with her parents. Inside the room was set with light green pintuck linens and beautiful centerpieces made by Tonya Evans of Occasional Flowers. While enjoying live jazz music performed by Norm Voss, guests dined on their delicious meal prepared by Celebrations Catering. The dancing and fun quickly began as dinner came to an end, only stopping to cut the cake made by Connie of Connie’s Cake Creations. The couple danced their last dance to Time of My Life from the movie Dirty Dancing and then shuttles transported the guests back to the hotel in Leesburg to continue the fun. Mazeltov Kallie and Eric you were such a pleasure to work with!
Growing up in a small town might give some the impression that you would have a small wedding, but this was not the case at all for Courtney and Mike. Being the only daughter to the town’s local doctor resulted in a long guest list of patients, friends, neighbors and family. To accommodate everyone the couple chose to have two receptions, their first reception immediately following the ceremony at First United Methodist Church in Pearisburg, Virginia. In order to transform the church into a more elegant and brighter space from its current dark brick and low lighting, was quite a challenge. Over 60 candles were added to the ledge above the altar and side railings, ivory fabric was hung and bright floral arrangements throughout brightened the space. The hallway and gymnasium were lined in white fabric which covered all of the walls, an amazing transformation. During the reception guests enjoyed live music by harpist Whitney Dobyns as they watched the bride and groom cut their 6 layer wedding cake by Our Daily Bread. As the first reception came to an end, close friends and family made their way to the second reception at Rockwood Manor in Dublin, Virginia. Guests were greeted by a Jazz band and southern soul food by Professional Catering. As the evening went on dance music was provided by Russel Prusak and team of RSP Entertainment. The guests were fortunate to experience wedding games and tricks played on the bride and groom, a tradition that Courtney and Mike’s good friend directed and kept everyone laughing. To end the night the couple made a grand exit out the front of the house to everyone lined with sparklers leading them to the getaway car. Congratulations Courtney and Mike, may your life together be as spectacular and fun as your wedding day!
Erin and Diego couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather for their fall wedding at Raspberry Plain in Leesburg, Virginia. Erin worked with Diamond Events to finalize the specifics of her wedding, which was full of personal touches and details, many of them created by the bride herself!
Jenny and Chris had such a romantic Hunt Country wedding in Warrenton, Virginia. The ceremony was held at St. James Episcopal Church located in the historic district of Warrenton. Afterwards everyone travelled to Fauquier Springs Country Club for the cocktail hour and reception. Even though you don’t have to work with only members from Hunt Country Celebrations (a group of local, premier wedding professionals) it just so happened that each of Jenny and Chris’s vendors were members! Jake Richie of Dream Day DJ’s did a great job providing entertainment and keeping guests aware of all of the festivities. Photographer, Wally Smith of Sonshine Pictures even provided a backdrop and props to capture guests’ portraits. Jason Reeves of Market Salamander made a delicious cake that was simple, yet elegant and decorated with frosty pinecones. The delicious food and service was provided by Legends Catering. Congratulations Jenny and Chris, what a classy winter wedding!
It was such a pleasure to work with Kristin and her mom Kathy from the very early stages in the planning process. In our first meeting I remember Kristin commenting on the two main requests she had for her wedding “open bar and chair covers” and from that point forward I knew we were going to have a fun yet classy wedding to plan.
Our biggest challenge was faced very early on. The realization soon set in that until the release of the Virginia Tech football schedule in late February, many local hotels in Roanoke and Blacksburg cannot secure a fall wedding date; Kristin decided that she really wanted to get married on September 26, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia. As we impatiently waited for the schedule to be released, checking the website multiple times a day, the time had finally come and the unthinkable happened, a Miami home game on the September 26th and they too would be staying at the Sheraton and using their ballroom the morning of the wedding. Nonetheless, Ginny Morgan, the Sheraton’s Catering Sales Manager, went to endless lengths to accommodate the wedding, quickly flip their ballroom and still maintain their superior service.
Wedding Weekend:
No detail was overlooked for the entire wedding weekend. As guests arrived to the Sheraton on Friday they received Welcome Bag’s at check-in. The rehearsal dinner, held at the Roanoke Country Club was decorated for an elegant BBQ. The tables were draped in black and white checkered linens with hanging lanterns as the centerpiece. A delicious buffet of southern comfort food was served before Kristin and Jan began presenting their wedding party with their gifts.
The weather report for Saturday, 100% chance of rain. Luckily Kristin’s photographer, Noah Magnifico of Magnifico Photography, had lots of suggestions for pictures in indoor locations around Roanoke, including Hotel Roanoke. He was able to get lots of great shots of the wedding party without letting rain get in the way of his creativity.
After pictures, the wedding party travelled to St. Andrews Catholic church for the ceremony. As Kristin made her way down the aisle, the sounds from the organ and trumpet, made a stunning and grandiose entrance, I even got chills on my arm! Afterwards guests travelled to the Sheraton to begin cocktail hour while the family stayed for pictures.
The ballroom at the Sheraton looked amazing, warm taupe table linens, mocha napkins and tall candle centerpieces designed by Jim Taetz of Crystal Orchid. The table numbers were bottles of wine with the couples monogram and the chocolates favors were made by Baylee’s Best Chocolate. The delicious wedding cake was made by Gail Wilson and had orange mini calla lily’s cascading down the sides. RSP Entertainment did a great job, the guests were energetic and dancing for hours, nobody wanted the night to end! When the couple arrived to their suite they found the letter “K” on the bed made in rose petals with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries (I love surprises!). Congratulations Kristin & Jan, it was such a pleasure to be a part of your wedding!
Samara and Kyle had a beautiful ceremony at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia. The bridesmaids had long, dark purple dresses and gold lanterns were hung from the pews. After the ceremony guests travelled to the Holiday Inn ballroom. Hundreds of candles lit the room with a soft glow, creating a warm ambiance. Roy “Papa DJ” and Russell Prusak of RSP Entertainment did a fabulous job, as always, they know how to keep everyone dancing and put on a great show. The Virginia Tech wedding cake make by Kelly Cakes intrigued all of the guests, and had the most adorable cake topper of two Hokie Birds dressed as bride and groom. Congratulations Samara and Kyle, it was a pleasure to be part of such a special wedding!
Khanh contacted Diamond Events just two weeks before her wedding for Day of Coordination services… without a doubt, the shortest amount of time that we have worked with a bride, but you could tell right away that Khanh was different. Having had previous experience herself as a wedding coordinator, the couple’s wedding was full of personalized details, décor and very organized. A Day of Coordinator is exactly what this bride needed to be able to enjoy her big day, but she had to find the person to pass her “baby” off to and we were honored to accept the responsibility and ensure that their day turned out just right.
Both the ceremony and reception were held at historic Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, Virginia. The wedding just happened to fall on a peak day for fall foliage in Loudoun Virginia, making a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony and pictures. The photographer was Laura Burke of Laura Ashbrook Photography, an absolute treat to work with and we can’t wait to showcase her pictures. The aisle arrangements, bouquets and corsages were designed by Holly Heider Chapple, one of Loudoun’s most talented florists. The bridal bouquet had beautiful shades of orange, as Khanh was lucky to have one of the last clippings of the gorgeous dahlias that Holly gets locally.
As the ceremony ended guests made their way inside Whitehall Manor for cocktail hour. All of the food throughout the night was delicious and prepared by Celebrations Catering. DJ, Aaron Hahn of Horizon Entertainment did a fabulous job orchestrating music throughout the entire wedding, from the second by second ceremony entrance to the flawless announcement of the wedding party, a top notch DJ can make all of the difference! The couple chose Connie’s Cake Creations for their wedding cake, a great choice! She offers one of my personal favorites, cream cheese/butter cream icing, to die for, the guests couldn’t get enough! Congratulations Khanh and Ryan on your new life together, you did a fabulous job planning your wedding and it was such a pleasure to be a part of it!
Diamond Events have been working with Glicer and Noe for over a year now and it has been such an easy going experience. Glicer was so organized and ahead of schedule, not once was there a moment of panic. Glicer really focused on picking local vendors that made the experience easier for all of their wedding party, family and friends! The ceremony was held at St. Stephen-Martyr Catholic Church, just blocks from the reception, held at The Fairmont Washington D.C. The ceremony was a very traditional Spanish Catholic wedding, a beautiful blending of the two families. Afterwards guests walked to The Fairmont for a cocktail reception in the loggia. Guests impatiently waited for the reception to begin in the grand Colonnade room, rumor of the photo booth by Booth-O-Rama quickly spreading. Cute centerpieces with pink roses and orange lilly’s were created by Christi of Bergeron. Pink wire that swirled the vase came through the top of the centerpiece to hold the table number, so unique! Tables alternated with pink and orange napkins, and candy tin favors. Michael Liang of Precious Moment Wedding Photography moved around the round room capturing guests in a photojournalistic style. DJ Leon Sidbury kept everyone dancing all afternoon, lots of Salsa to show off Noe’s dance moves! As the afternoon came to an end, guests were not ready to leave, many of them reconvening downtown to continue the festivities. What a fun reception! Best of luck Glicer and Noe!
