Real Weddings: Rachel & Mike

One afternoon out of the blue, I received a phone call from a new engaged bride looking for a wedding coordinator for her upcoming wedding. The bride informed me that she was out of state, and would be relocating to Northern VA. She explained that she was not a "traditional" bride, and had unique and personal details that she wanted to incorporate into her big day. Fast forward a year later, and you have the truly unique, funky and fun wedding of Rachel & Mike. I spent numerous hours working with the bride and groom to ensure that every detail of their day was thoughtfully planned. The bride's aunt is an artist, and the couple wanted to incorporate the aunt's talents into their day. I took on the task of guiding Rachel and Mike through the planning process, while maintaining their personalities. Together with my team a few of my favorite vendors provided Rachel & Mike with top notch service. One of the areas best photographers (Tabatha and her assistant) courtesy of Rodney Bailey did an amazing job capturing the essence of the day. Take a look, and let us know your thoughts! Slide Show: http://www.rodneybailey.com/rachelandmikewedding/

Rachel & Mike's cake that I helped them design.

Custom made sweetheart table

 Place cards & frames that doubled as favors for the guests

 "Lounge area" all items were custom made

Our All-Star Line Up:
Ceremony Venue: Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church
Reception Venue: Foxchase Manor
Catering: R&R Catering
Cake Baker: Wanda's Cake
Photographers: Tabatha & Naomi
Photo Booth: Posh Booth
Florist: Ultimate Floral Designs
Ceremony Guitarist: Ken Hall-Elan Artist
DJ & Lighting: The DJ Connection
Transportation: Majestic Limousine
Transportation: Antique Car- Prime Transportation
Rehearsal Dinner: Entertainment Cruises

Real Weddings: Kathy & David

Veronica and I had the pleasure of coordinating the month of details for one of the sweetest couples ever; Kathy & David. I first met with the MOB to go over the logistics of Kathy & David’s big day, as the couple lived out of state. After spending some time with the MOB and hashing out the details, I knew it was a match made in wedding planning heaven. A few months closer to Kathy & David’s wedding, I got the pleasure of meeting Kathy, who was just as sweet as her dear mother. Kathy & David’s ceremony took place at the chapel of my alma mater, GMU. Their wedding day was flawless in every sense of the word. Their team of vendors were a pleasure to work with, and the guests had a great time. It is always a pleasure to see the bride, groom, family and friends having the time of their lives.

Making it their own: Kathy & David chose to have individual cakes as their centerpieces. This was a great hit among guests. The guests enjoyed taking home something sweet at the end of the night.

Another unique idea the bride and groom had were Mad Lib cards. The guests filled out Mad Lib cards during cocktail hour. Kathy & David now have a guest book filled with hilarious cards from their family and friends.

 Veronica hard at work pinning the Ring bearer's boutonnière.

 Married!

 I bet these family members are happy that Kathy & David hired Exceeding Expectations :)

Our All-Star Line Up:

Ceremony Venue: St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel

Reception Venue: Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club

Cake Baker: Unique Bakery

Photographers: The Happy Couple-Joe & Katye Brier

Photo booth: The Happy Couple- Our photogs provided a photo booth that the guests went crazy over!

Florist: Maryam Flowers

Transportation: Chariots for Hire

Favors: Fisher's Popcorn (In honor of the couple's new last name=Fisher)
All photos courtesy of The Happy Couple

2010 Pick Knot Best of Weddings

We are overjoyed and honored to be selected as a 2010 pick for The Knot Best of Weddings. Every year on theknot.com brides vote for their favorite local wedding professionals, and this year, we were voted a Best of Wedding winner!! The Exceeding Expectations strives to provide extraordinary service by going above and beyond. We are truly humbled to be recognized by the creme de la creme! Thank you to all of our past clients for their kudos! We are looking forward to working with our 2010 brides, and exceeding their expectations!

Carine's New Year Sample Sale

Carine's New Year Sample Sale Sunday, January 17th, 12pm to 3pm Gowns will be priced as low as $999 to $1,899, marked down from original retail prices ranging from $3,000 to $9,000. Up to 75% off retail prices - a fantastic savings for brides! Designer wedding gowns from today's premier designers: Angel Sanchez, Carolina Herrera, Junko Yoshioka, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Pool, Melissa Sweet, Monique Lhuillier, Platinum Collection, Reem Acra, Rivini, Rosa Clara, St. Pucchi, and The Vineyard Collection. Sale is first come, first serve. No appointments needed. All gowns are sample size 8 or 10. Gowns can be altered to fit a smaller size. Preview a small selection of sample sale gowns at carinesbridal.com

Our New Logo Revealed!

We are excited to officially reveal our new logo. We reached out to Aimee of Creative Montage to create a fresh and timeless logo for Exceeding Expectations. We have excited news and happenings in 2010, and wanted a logo to reflect the changes that will be taking place at Exceeding Expectations. Below is the logo we have been using for the past three years, as well as our new logo. Let us know your thoughts!

OLD LOGO

NEW LOGO

We've Been Blogged

Head over to Blue Sky Films Blog to read more about Nicole & Seth's wedding!

Real Weddings: Nicole & Seth

Veronica and I had the pleasure of coordinating Nicole & Seth's big day at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. Their ceremony was held in the STUNNING garden of the Omni, and their cocktail hour followed on the patio. Guests were later escorted to the ballroom for dinner and dancing. Head over to Freed Photography's blog to check out the amazing work of Nick Griner, Nicole & Seth's amazing photographer. Congratulations Nicole & Seth!! Venue: Omni Shoreham, Washington, DC Photographer: Freed Photography (Nick Griner) Videographer: Blue Sky Films (Sarah Mendiola) Flowers: Kensington Flowers Cake: Classic Bakery DJ: Bialek's Music (Patrick Miranda) Ceremony Harpist: James Dronenburg Makeup: Creative Images (Clarissa Gary-Tinker)

Real Wedding: Cindy & Tony

This past weekend our team had the pleasure of coordinating Cindy & Tony’s special day. Their ceremony was held at Fort Belvoir Chapel, with a reception following at Fort Belvoir Officer’s Club.Our Bride & Groom were able to enjoy their family and friends while our team handled all of the logistics.Congratulations Cindy & Tony! We wish you all the best. Vendors: Reception Venue: Fort Belvoir Officer's Club Photographer: Jessica Smith Photography Cake: Bees Wedding Cakes Florist: Royal Floral Design DJ: Crown Entertainment (DJ CJ) Transportation: Fleet Transportation We loved the accent lighting in the ballroom The Belvoir Room offered stunning views of the Potomac. Cindy & Tony's guests departed with peanut butter fudge wrapped in a monogrammed favor box.

Guests were invited to sign a plate that will be hung in the couples new home.

Their beautiful wedding cake

Real Weddings: Benita & Jeff

We had the pleasure of assisting Benita and Jeff with planning their blue and white themed wedding on Saturday, August 8th. Benita & Jeff’s ceremony took place in a church in Washington, DC Saturday afternoon. They provided a shuttle for their guests to and from the ceremony and reception (which is always a nice touch). The 100 person reception took place at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Crystal City. I can not say enough great things about the first class service that Marriott provided. My team and I were blown away by their attention to detail and attentiveness to our Bride & Groom as well as the vendors. Details of Benita & Jeff’s big day are below:

Benita & Jeff's Gorgeous (and delicious) wedding cake.

Blue and white centerpieces alternated amongst the guest tables.

The tables were dressed in crushed metallic linen.

At the end of the night, the wonderful staff at the Marriott surprised our Bride & Groom with a special treat!

All-star line up:

Reception Venue: Crystal Gateway Marriott: A very special thank you to Megan Grosso and her fabulous team)

Videography: 5 Star Entertainment: It is always a treat to work with Jim and his very professional team of videographers.

Photography: Arthur Bunda Photography: Job well done for Arthur and Oscar!

Hair & Makeup: Richie Makeup: My bride’s always look amazing when they have their hair and makeup done by Ky.

Photobooth: Posh Booth: Neal and his partner worked very hard to make sure all guests had their picture taken and put together a wonderful guest book for Benita & Jeff to take home at the end of the night.

Cake: Creative Cakes: Very good cake and a pleasure working with Ann.

Florist: Convention Floral: Nubia’s work is amazing, and her wonderful spirit makes working with her a treat.

Transportation: Reston Limo: Great job Reston Limo!

Happy Anniversary to us!

We are excited to celebrate our 3 year anniversary! Three years ago today Exceeding Expectations opened its doors with the mission to provide affordable, professional, and reliable wedding and event coordination to all brides, regardless of their budget. We have been very blessed to have worked with amazing clients, vendors, and all-star staff. Here is to an amazing fourth year of business. Keep up the good work team!