Maria & Charles

Real Weddings

Maria & Charles

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Despite the months of meticulous planning this Capitol Hill couple put into their swank autumn affair, it was the surprises other people planned that made it the best day of their lives.

Maria, 26, knew she wanted to share her family’s crab-fishing tradition with her guests. Little did she know that her father had ordered 60 pounds of fresh Dungeness crab to offer as an appetizer, and, to present it, commissioned a massive ice sculpture in the reception space. The glistening monument to crab featured a giant ice diamond carved with the couple’s monogram, a nod to Maria’s job as a gemologist, bookended by a pair of ice cowboy boots, a reference to Griff’s Texas roots. “My dad was showing people the crab all night long,” Maria laughs.

The other big surprise was the couple’s getaway car: a fully restored 1933 Auburn convertible sedan that Maria’s father, a classic car collector, bought to shuttle them from place to place. He even donned a classic chauffeur’s cap to cruise in true style. “Maria’s parents went above and beyond every chance they could,” says Griff, 33.

The treats kept coming from start to finish. Giant apothecary jars holding old-fashioned candies, such as lemon drops, malt balls and licorice pastels, were a huge hit not only with the youngest guests, who Griff says “were totally mesmerized,” but with the older guests as well, who were reminded of their own youthful days.

Wedding cake was followed by a jaw-dropping petit four table with a macaroon tower, raspberry mousse domes and tarts. The double dose of sugar, complemented by made-to-order espresso drinks from a Caffé Vita cart (stocked with Bailey’s and Kahlua to boot), kept the party going into the wee hours.

Maria couldn’t let her guests depart, however, without following another of her treasured family traditions. “Growing up, my mom was big into road-trip treats,” she recalls. So guests were sent on their way with a favor of cookies and milk for the drive home.

Bridesmaid & Flower Girl: Victoria’s Bridal Couture | Cakes & Petit Four Table: Bakery Nouveau | Candy Bar: Sweets Treats & Designs | Caterer: Herban Feast | Dress: Casablanca from Victoria’s Bridal Couture | Flowers, Linens& Lighting: Aria Style | Hair & Makeup: Lisa Frates from Nucleus Hair, Erin Skipley | Ice Bar: Creative Ice | Invitations, Menus & Programs: All About Weddings & Celebrations | Men's Formalwear: Wall Street Clothiers | Music: Bamboo Beats | Planner: SK Wedding and Event Design | Umbrellas: Bella Umbrella | Video: Inventive Productions

About the Photographer: “It was a magical wedding because of how much Maria’s family wanted it to be a special celebration,” says Susie of Susie Hamidi Photography. “Maria is so much like them—they never miss an opportunity to make things fun. Maria and Griff love life, and together they love it even more.”

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