An Elegant Wedding at Washington DC's National Arboretum

Elegant National Arboretum Washington DC Wedding – Kir Tuben – Bridal Musings 1

Katie and Jake originally planned their dream wedding for June of 2020 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, but COVID-19 threw a wrench in their plans.

Keeping the safety of their guests at the front of mind, they decided to re-plan for an all-outdoor event at the National Arboretum for June of 2021. They worked with their vendor team to completely redesign their vision, creating a dreamy and elegant black-tie garden soiree that highlighted the Arboretum’s vast gardens and historical columns.

They infused personal elements like specialty cocktails honoring their new puppy, boozy milkshakes and sliders for a late-night snack, and mini tacos and tequila served during the cocktail hour. An evening garden party was exactly what this couple dreamt up for their big day!

The Proposal

November 9, 2018, had arguably been the worst weather possible for an outdoor proposal. It was 36 degrees and raining. I was able to con Katie into thinking she was going to a work function and we were meeting at the Lincoln Memorial (wink wink).

I was sitting next to her in the back seat of the uber rehearsing the lines I was going to say leading up to the moment when I propose – completely distracted from what was going on around me. Naturally, Katie thought I was nervous to see some of the executive-type people from work. Little did she know the ring box was hidden in my jacket, I was trying to master my lines, and not completely blow it.

Fast forward to the big moment. As we walked up the stairs, I reminded Katie that this was the first spot she took me to when I visited DC five years ago. When we got to the top, Katie was “looking for my co-workers” and I knew it was time. We both don’t remember much of what I said but I did get down on one knee (probably said some more words) and then she said YES!

Following the proposal, I took her to dinner at Iron Gate which is one of Katie’s favorite places. We were on cloud nine on the way to the restaurant and the entire time we ate. After dinner, Katie was dying to see her parents and tell all her friends. I told her I had a brunch planned with them the next day, and she believed it.

We walked out the door and a couple of blocks down the street. We were passing the Madhatter and I suggested we should get a drink before going home. When we walked in, I told her to go to the upstairs bar. She rounded the corner and was met with a huge surprise party from our friends and family. My entire family was able to make it up from Chattanooga, our friends traveled into town, and our local friends and family were in attendance. If you have not seen Katie’s reaction video, you need to watch it – she was again completely shocked. A special thanks to our friends and family for making this special night even better- it is one we will never forget.

The Planning

We chose our colors based on our venue and bridesmaid dresses. I fell in love with a floral print dress from Bella Bridemaids and decided to choose two solid colors (chai and sandstone) to go along with it. After that, everything fell together all thanks to our wedding lanner, Alison, who was able to take our vibe, colors, and ideas to transform it into our vision.

After many vendor visits and planning meetings, we felt like we were ahead of the game planning our June 2020 wedding. However, all that changed come March 2020 when the pandemic hit. We knew we wanted to celebrate our wedding day as we had originally planned but the safety of our loved ones was what mattered the most. Therefore, we decided to postpone our wedding to September 2020. Little did we know that we would then again have to postpone a full year later in the hope that June 2021 would be our day.

We went through a roller coaster of emotions leading up to the day and although I would never wish a global pandemic on any bride – I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We did have to make a last-minute change 2.5 months before the big day. We had to change the one thing we always wanted to stay the same, our venue (NMWA), to the National Arboretum outside in a tent. However, everything else was able to stay the same with a few minor tweaks and it still had the romantic, elegant, classic vibe we always wanted. It was truly a dream and everything we could have ever wanted.

Favorite Moments

It is nearly impossible to narrow down a “favorite moment” because the entire day was an absolute dream. When we reflect on our special day two moments stick out the most. Our first look and our last look. We decided to do a first look to ease the nerves before walking down the aisle, and due to time. We both remember that moment of our wedding so clearly. Finally seeing each other for the first time and in the wedding dress that had been hiding away for two years. We saw our first look as the moment we truly felt like bride and groom. We had a long heartfelt hug and could not stop smiling looking at each other and seeing all the love in each other eyes. After that, we felt at ease and ready to walk down the aisle.

The other moment that sticks out to us is our “last look” at our wedding reception. Once the last song played from the band and it was time for everyone to get back on the bus, we took a “last look” at our wedding reception. We stood in the middle of our dance floor and just took in the last few moments of our wedding. We were overwhelmed with joy watching all our loved ones leave the tent laughing, smiling, and exhausted from dancing the night away. We went through a two and a half year engagement, pandemic, constantly changing plans, and so many unknowns but we would not change a single thing.

The Photography & Videography

The photographer was one of the most important vendor choices for us. After meeting Kir Tuben in person at her house we immediately felt a “spark” and connection to her. You can sense her strong passion for what she does and she is a true artist. She is professional but very friendly. We were so nervous to take our engagement photos at the cherry blossoms in 2018 but once she took one photo she made us feel so natural and at ease. She is so efficient with time, encouraging throughout every photo, and a true hype woman! It was like having a best friend photograph your wedding. Her photos show each of her clients’ love stories and you can feel the emotion through each one. She was an absolute dream to work with!

We saw Bowen Films‘ work at the Washingtonian wedding convention in 2018 and fell in love with their style. They were so friendly, warm, flexible, and responsive to work with. They have a very laid-back attitude and approach when they are filming. On the day of our wedding, they made us feel so comfortable and we even forgot they were with us capturing our day! Many of our guests did not even realize they were filming! We could not have been more thrilled with how our video turned out. They captured everything that was important to us, gave us all the raw film, a short highlight film, and then a longer seven-minute video. Every time we watch the video it transports us back into time and we relive all the emotions over again.

The Venue

After we gave some time to celebrate our engagement, we started to plan our wedding! We knew we wanted to find a venue in Washington DC because it is our home and since we have many out-of-town guests it would be a great place for people to travel to. We have a big family and many friends, so we knew our venue needed to hold around 200 to 250 people, which narrowed down the many options DC has to offer. After looking at a few venues, we walked into the National Museum of Women in the Arts and knew it was the venue to hold our special day. It had the elegant and romantic vibe we knew we wanted. Our inspiration was to make sure our wedding represented “us” and our relationship. We chose to stay classic and timeless with the aesthetics.

The Reception

And our favorite thing to do together as a couple is to listen to live music, try new places, food, and cocktails. Therefore, it was very important for us to have a live band who could get all our friends and family up and dancing and to have amazing food that people would think about years after our wedding! We could not have been happier with our band Onyx and our caterer Spilled Milk! They blew all our guests away with the delicious presentation of food and upbeat, energetic music.

Advice to Other Couples

We got engaged in November 2018 and planned for a June 2020 wedding in DC. Little did we know that after planning a year and a half all that would change. My biggest takeaway from planning a wedding and dealing with a pandemic is to remind yourself of your “WHY”. It is very easy to fall into worrying about all the small details, stressing about things that could go wrong, or worrying about other people’s opinions. However, knowing what this day is all about, celebrating marriage and starting our life together is truly what matters most. So, my biggest tip would be to have FUN planning a wedding and remember your “WHY”. Don’t stress about the small things because in the end you will be married to the love of your life.

The Honeymoon

We went to Maui and stayed at the Grand Wailea for 10 days. We would highly recommend going to Hawaii for a honeymoon! It was the most beautiful, romantic, and relaxing way to celebrate a marriage. The people were so welcoming and nice. We are big foodies and everything we tried was amazing. I am drooling thinking about all the fresh fish! Maui has a wide range of things to do for varying interests: relaxing at the beach, tanning at the pool, hiking, shopping, surfing, snorkeling/scuba diving, island hopping, museums, spas, etc! We simply enjoyed driving around the island and admiring the beautiful nature and wildlife! The road to Hana was like nothing we have ever seen before. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!