I’m so excited to share Sarah and Alexander’s autumn Hay-Adams wedding with Karson Butler Events with you today! When it comes to photographing weddings in DC, one of the most gorgeous and historic DC venues in the by far is The Hay-Adams Hotel, with weddings specifically being located at The Top of the Hay. At The Top of the Hay, you not only get an incredible view of The White House, but you are also able to see the Washington Monument and even the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in the distance. It’s truly a magical venue, and one that makes wedding photography in DC so spectacular!
We began our day with Sarah and Alexander in the suites at The Hay-Adams Hotel where they were getting ready. I’ll never forget my jaw dropping to the floor when I laid my eyes upon Sarah’s stunning, sparkling Dennis Basso gown from Kleinfeld Bridal. It seriously is one of my favorite wedding gowns of all time! Plus, she had it perfectly paired with some sparkling Badgley Mischka flats that were to-die-for. Alexander looked equally handsome in his black tie tuxedo! Both parties left The Hay-Adams separately so Alexander could see Sarah coming down the aisle for the first time that day.
Sarah and Alexander were married at The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, a historic church in Washington, DC, which also happens to be their parish. I think my favorite part of the ceremony was the look on Sarah’s face the entire time. She was just so excited and wide-eyed and happy! Seriously grinning from ear-to-ear in almost every single photo and I just loved it. After the ceremony, we all headed back over to The Hay-Adams for some group photos in Lafayette Square, which is the park right across the street from the hotel and also in front of The White House. It’s always a great little spot for wedding photography in DC, because you don’t have to high-tail it over to monuments and sit in traffic at all. You can just make your way over to this little park and have a good mix of greenery with some history in the background as well! My favorite photo from this series is actually Alexander helping Sarah cross the street back over to The Hay-Adams while holding her wedding dress. They both were very amused by the experience and you can tell with their big smiles on their faces!
After returning to the Hay-Adams Hotel, we headed into the Hay-Adams Room for family formal photographs, followed by a cocktail hour with all of the wedding guests. Once cocktail hour concluded, everyone went up to The Top of the Hay for the reception. It was perfect timing because the sun was starting to go down and the view from the balcony at The Top of the Hay was absolutely stunning! Once everyone was settled, Sarah and Alexander were introduced right into their first dance which they laughed through the entire time. It was so cute! After dinner and some toasts, Sarah, Alexander and their guests seriously boogied down on the dance floor. I absolutely loved the energy from everyone and you could definitely see it in the photographs!
I can’t thank Sarah, Alexander and their family and friends enough for having us along to photograph their wedding day. There are so many Washington DC photographers and I feel truly honored that you picked me to highlight such a magical event! I also have to give a big shout out to Emily and her team at Karson Butler Events for coordinating and designing such a beautiful event for Sarah and Alexander. The look and feel of their wedding was a true embodiment of what Sarah and Alexander wanted and I don’t think the wedding could have looked any better! Thank you for working hand-in-hand with me as a team on the big day. You make my job of photographing weddings so much easier!
Below are my favorite photographs from Sarah and Alexander’s wedding day. But please scroll down to see our incredible group of vendors from this wedding and read about the featured article of Sarah and Alexander’s wedding that was on The Knot! Thanks so much for reading!
DC Wedding Vendors Team
Photography: Lisa Boggs Photography
Design/Planning: Karson Butler Events
Ceremony: The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
Reception/Catering: Top of the Hay, The Hay-Adams Hotel
Florist: Amaryllis Floral & Event Design
Makeup: Carl Ray Makeup Artist
Hair: Haute N Chic Hair
Bridal Salon: Kleinfeld Bridal
Bridal Gown: Dennis Basso
Bridesmaid Gowns: Adrianna Papell
Cake: Buttercream Bakeshop
Band: Onyx, Washington Talent Agency
Stationery: Emily Baird Design
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We were so fortunate enough that The Knot featured Sarah and Alexander’s wedding in their Real Weddings section of their website! The Knot interviewed Sarah, and this was the excerpt from that interview:
For Sarah and Alexander's wedding in the nation's Capitol, there were two main focuses: “family and DC. I have a big extended family, and it was important to me to have a big party that included everyone in our two families. We so seldom get everyone together, and a wedding is a great excuse! I also wanted to have a very DC wedding. This is the city where we built our life together, and it's been home for seven years. It's also conveniently half way between my family in the NY/NJ/CT area and Alexander's family in North Carolina. When choosing a venue we thought about a vineyard, or a resort, or the city. Since most people would be coming from out of town, we decided to show off our city and make it a fun trip for them! Having all of the events downtown also meant we our guests could walk between locations. The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is my parish in DC, and also a quintessential location. The Top of the Hay is a DC dream and another easy choice. The DC theme carried over into our welcome bags, featuring Baked and Wired cupcakes, and our specialty cocktail, a bourbon rickey! For our welcome party and rehearsal dinner we went with the theme of North meets South. I chose lobster rolls to represent New England, and Alexander chose pulled pork barbecue to represent North Carolina. We also had a fantastic bluegrass band that Emily found to set the tone for the weekend! We prioritized music at the welcome party, the ceremony, and the reception. We spent a lot of time choosing music for the unbelievable organ at the Cathedral of St. Matthew! It set a grand, inviting feel for the rest of the day. Emily helped us find Onyx, our wedding band, who knocked it out of the park at the reception! Emily also helped us create a cohesive feel for our wedding, from check-in, to the rehearsal dinner, to the ceremony, to cocktail hour, and the reception,” Sarah recalls.
The couple further highlighted the importance of family and loved ones through curated details threaded throughout their Washington, DC, wedding. “Before my grandmother passed, she gave me a pendant that my grandfather had given to her. He picked it up for her on one of his many work trips around the world. It is blue and gold, and inscribed with Arabic writing (possibly Turkish) that says, 'Many happy years.' After she died, my aunt also gave me two handkerchiefs that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother embroidered with their initials. I had my bouquet wrapped in those two handkerchiefs, and the blue pendant pinned to it as my something old and something blue. It was nice to be able to include them in our special day,” shares Sarah.
Part of what allowed Sarah and Alexander to pull off the DC-meets-family-oriented wedding of their dreams was their impeccable vendor team. To current to-be-weds, Sarah offers this advice: “Our advice to couples planning their day is to start early and hire a wedding planner! It really takes the pressure off and makes the process much more enjoyable.”
Many thanks to The Knot for the wonderful feature!
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About Lisa Boggs
Lisa Boggs of Lisa Boggs Photography has been photographing weddings in the greater Washington, DC area for over 16 years. Her photos have been described as classic, romantic, candid and artistic. She has won several accolades over the years, including Editor's Pick by Washingtonian Weddings, WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards and several Fearless Photographers Awards. She has over 130 five-star reviews on WeddingWire (with more five-star reviews on The Knot, Facebook and Google) and is incredibly thankful to all of her clients for their continuing love and support. When Lisa isn't photographing, you can find her networking with other photographers as the leader of Capital Area Photographers, a DC wedding and portrait photographers group that promotes continuing education for local photographers. Lisa is also a huge fan of her family, friends, wine, coffee, chocolate, popcorn and Netflix. To learn more about Lisa Boggs and her work, please contact lisa@lisaboggsphotography.com or call 571-432-8469.