Molly, a digital marketing consultant and content creator (@thedcdarlings) from Potomac, and Lucas, a college football coach from Pittsburgh, met at a mutual friend’s wedding. She was a bridesmaid and he was a groomsmen, and the connection was immediate. At the afterparty, Luke asked Molly to put her number in his phone. “He texted the next day, and every day since,” says Molly. Two years later, Luke proposed while the pair were celebrating their 30th birthdays in Paris.
Their June wedding at the St. Regis just over a year later was designed to feel like an intimate dinner party decorated in shades of white, peach, and ivory. Molly’s favorite details were the tassels on the menus, and the candlelight illuminating from the sea of candelabras. Luke says he loved the intimate dance floor and the Champagne saber. Signature cocktails included dirty martinis with blue-cheese olives and an old fashioned, and after dinner, the newlyweds sliced an almond sponge cake with buttercream icing and vanilla cream filling. But the main priorities, the pair say, were an intimate outdoor ceremony, and the guest experience. “With my background in luxury hospitality,” says Molly, “there was a big emphasis on little details to improve the overall guest experience.” They provided fans during the (very hot) ceremony, chilled lavender-scented towels immediately after, and handwritten place cards at each seat to make guests feel extra special, they say. They also designed their timeline with “vibes” in mind: they kept the ceremony to 30 minutes; opted for an extra-long cocktail hour for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and photos; spaced out the speeches; and waited until the sun had set to open the dance floor.
See the details of their big day below.
The Details
Photography: Audra Wrisley
Venue: St. Regis Washington, D.C.
Planning and design: K Bella Events
Florist: Springvale Floral
Invitations: Knot and Hound Press Co.
Hair and makeup: Behind the Veil Beauty
Bride’s attire: Suzanne Neville from Zoya’s Atelier
Groom’s attire: Bonobos
Bridesmaids’ attire: Assorted (Simkhai, Sachin & Babi, Reformation, Sabina Musayev, Dress the Population, Needle & Thread, Ieena for Mac Duggal)
Music: String Poets (ceremony); EastCoast Entertainment
Videography: Aluma Films
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
