Photo: Kate Headley
A hard hat might not be every girl's best look—but the bright yellow helmet certainly worked for Elizabeth when she met Louis for the first time in a construction zone. "Louis was working as a contractor for a sustainable school project I was managing," explains Elizabeth, a financial manager at the World Wildlife Fund, Inc. "Even though we were both wearing hard hats, there was an instant connection at the coordination meeting."
For their June nuptials, the couple enlisted the help of Ritzy Bee Events to orchestrate a pale pink and green event that was at once "soft, romantic and simply sophisticated," the bride says. "Ritzy Bee Events took our scattered, disconnected thoughts and preferences and turned them into an absolutely perfect wedding."
Photo: Kate Headley
Elizabeth and her four bridesmaids shed matching floral-print robes to slip into their formal attire.
Photo: Kate Headley
"Jewelry was a long struggle for me," the bride laments. "Much more involved than finding the dress." In the end, Elizabeth fell for sparkling baubles by Erin Cole "to complement my simple dress."
Photo: Kate Headley
The bride's simple sheath was made by Amsale. The A-line gown included the "perfect pop of interest," as Elizabeth says: A vertical bow down its back.
Photo: Kate Headley
Elizabeth carried a winter white bouquet of roses and hydrangeas tied with pink satin ribbon. Bridesmaids wore duponi dresses by Lula Kate, which each attendant chose herself. "I liked the look of short dresses for a summer wedding," the bride explains. "They are a little less formal, which worked for our overall look."
Photo: Kate Headley
Bouquets of white hydrangeas and pink peonies popped against the bridesmaids' pale pink dresses.
Photo: Kate Headley
The pale pink ribbon wrapped around Louis' white rose boutonniere matched his pink polka dot bow tie.
Photo: Kate Headley
The groomsmen's boutonnieres "mirrored my bouquet," the bride says, because they were made from soft white and pink roses and wrapped in pink satin ribbon.
Photo: Kate Headley
The couple's 3-year-old niece and goddaughter, Lily Kate, served as their flower girl. The child also played a special role in Louis' proposal; it was Lily Kate who delivered Elizabeth's engagement ring. On a walk through a park, Elizabeth recalls, "I turned around to see 2-year-old Lily Kate streaking toward us wielding a juice box in one hand and a very recognizable red box in the other. She came straight over, handed me the box and showed me her shirt, which read, 'Will you marry my Nouno,'" the Greek word for godfather.
Photo: Kate Headley
Wearing a hair wreath and delicate white dress from Us Angels, Lily Kate "was the highlight of the wedding," the bride admits. "She couldn't have been more perfect and adorable and well-behaved."
Photo: Kate Headley
Guests received custom wedding ceremony programs, tied with a pink ribbon, by Simplesong Fine Letterpress Goods.
Photo: Kate Headley
During the couple's traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Elizabeth and Louis didn't exchange vows. "In fact, the bride and groom don't speak at all," Elizabeth explains. Instead, the service includes a crowning, in which connected ribbon wreaths are placed atop the bride and groom's heads to symbolize their union. "To help our non-Greek guests understand, we turned our wedding program into a 12-page guide to the service," the bride says.
Photo: Kate Headley
Decatur House on Lafayette Square, where Elizabeth and Louis held their evening wedding reception, was "a joyously lucky find," the bride says. The couple fell for its garden terrace and location minutes from the White House, describing it as the "best of all possible worlds."
Photo: Kate Headley
At the entrance of a clear-topped reception tent, guests found a pin-cushion escort card display that revealed their seat assignments on pale pink, petal-shaped cards.
Bartenders served custom libations from white bars outfitted with striped pink panels. Cocktail napkins and even the lampshades matched the couple's color palette.
Photo: Kate Headley
Amaryllis, Inc. Floral + Event Design topped distressed candelabras with winter white hydrangeas and pink roses for striking centerpieces that towered above smaller arrangements.
Photo: Kate Headley
Each smaller arrangement of white and pink blooms was held in a glass vase tied with pink ribbon.
Photo: Kate Headley
Simplesong Fine Letterpress Goods also created the couple's custom table numbers—oval-shaped cards that featured silver script and a thin pink border.
Photo: Kate Headley
Elizabeth says "an absolutely adorable watermelon and blue cheese salad that included a heart-shaped sesame seed cracker" was the highlight of the couple's wedding menu. "The guests loved it—perfect for a wedding and so delicious!"
Photo: Kate Headley
Created by caterer Design Cuisine, the couple's round white wedding cake included layers of chocolate ganache and white butter cream filling.
Photo: Kate Headley
But the couple's cake was hardly their only sweet after-dinner snack. Elizabeth and Louis also offered guests an ice cream bar, where they could scoop up their favorite flavor and top it with an assortment of nuts and sprinkles.
Photo: Kate Headley
Elizabeth and Louis didn't want a big band crowding their limited outdoor tent space, so they hired five musicians to keep guests on the dance floor all night long. "They learned our first dance song, Grow Old With Me by the Postal Service, and they nailed it," Elizabeth says.
Photo: Kate Headley
The bride and her dad choreographed their father-daughter dance to Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye, "which was extremely fun," Elizabeth exclaims.
Photo: Kate Headley
The couple credits Ritzy Bee Events for pulling off their flawless fete. "Ritzy Bee Events took our ideas and weaved their magic and perfected every tiny detail of the day," Elizabeth says. "I am sure it sounds cliche, but I just can't imagine a more perfect, amazing, beautiful and blissfully happy day. Louis and I were smiling from ear to ear non-stop from the moment we woke up until we fell asleep."
—Jillian Kramer
Wedding Planner: Ritzy Bee Events || Ceremony Venue: Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral || Reception Venue: Decatur House on Lafayette Square || Bride's Wedding Dress: Amsale || Bride's Veil: Erin Cole || Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka || Bride's Accessories: Erin Cole || Bride's Wedding Ring: Lambros Goldsmiths || Groom's Tux: Brooks Brothers || Groom's Wedding Ring: Lambros Goldsmiths || Bridesmaids' Dresses: Lula Kate || Mother of the Bride's Dress: Teri Jon || Flower Girl Dress: Us Angels || Florist: Amaryllis, Inc. Floral + Event Design || Caterer: Design Cuisine || Stationery: Simplesong Fine Letterpress Goods || Cake Baker: Design Cuisine || Favors: Simplesong Fine Letterpress Goods || Linen Rentals: La Tavola Fine Linen Rental || Photography: Kate Headley