White Feather Plumes Were a Core Design Detail at This “Great Gatsby”–Inspired Wedding

Aniyah, a labor and delivery nurse from Brooklyn, and Donald, a financial data analyst from Virginia, connected on Instagram, and sparks flew over dinner and a movie. By the end of that first date, Donald says, he knew he’d found his wife. Four years later, he proposed in front of a waterfall on a hike during a family camping trip.

For their August wedding, they decided on a Great Gatsby theme with a black-and-gold color scheme and a hashtag that nodded to their newly shared last name, #TheGreatGordons. The aesthetic, they explain, featured 1920s-inspired attire and Art Decor details that included tall chandeliers, large feather plumes, and white roses, for an “over-the-top luxury” feel. At cocktail hour, two 1920s-inspired showgirls donning black and gold jewel-embellished attire with feather-plumed fans greeted guests, who were served welcome drinks by a woman wearing a rolling champagne skirt. “If we were going to commit to the theme,” the say, “we had no choice but to go big.” After dinner, the newlyweds cut into a five-tier Art Deco-inspired cake layered with vanilla, lemon, carrot, red velvet, and coconut flavors. See the photos from their big day below.

The Details

Amy Moeller

Fashion & Weddings Editor

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.