Leslie and Clark both attended Virginia Tech but didn’t meet until after they graduated, when they both began working at the same place. Clark proposed on a ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado.

“Our room overlooked the slopes and had a balcony, which is where Clark asked me to marry him,” recalls Leslie.

The couple married on April 30, 2011, at a private Bethesda country club where the groom is a member, and where the couple had their first date.

“I envisioned a traditional, elegant wedding with spring colors,” says Leslie.

Ashley and Quintin first met in high school, but "were never high school sweethearts!" Ashley is quick to point out. They reconnected in 2009 while visiting their families over Thanksgiving. Though Ashley was living in California, and Quintin in Salt Lake City, he hopped on a plane to visit her a few weeks later.

Quintin proposed while they were visiting the tristate marker at the White Clay Creek Preserve, where it's possible to stand in three states (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland) at once.

The pair chose to wed on December 21, 2010, at Quintin's family farm near the Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania. A reception followed at Antrim 1844, an inn in Taneytown, Maryland.

"To us, the reason for our wedding was to celebrate our love with those we love most," says Ashley. "We truly wanted to capture the spirit of 'us' in every aspect of the wedding. Since we were having it on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, a central theme for us was 'light,' as the solstice has been known as a day of rebirth, renewal, and the coming of longer days."

Ashley and Quintin wanted a "natural and whimsical" feel for their wedding. "We stuck with hues of evergreen, chocolate, and accents of brass and copper," says the bride.

A cute couple and a rustic-chic wedding. Love it. Photographs by Rebekah J. Murray

We’ve said it before, but we love a groom in uniform. The yellow and cream color scheme is so well executed, the invitations are so charming, and the couple is just so gosh-darn cute (and the photography by Rebekah J. Murray is pretty stunning, too!). Plus, the the stately ceremony at the Naval Academy Chapel and the whimsical outdoor reception at Running Fox make a great combination. If you’re looking for rustic elegance, this wedding takes the cake.
—Elizabeth Anne Designs

A surprise wedding? Is that even possible? It totally is! This couple had a private ceremony with just family, then surprised their friends, who thought they were attending their engagement party, with news of their marriage. A few months later, the newlyweds had a bigger reception on the Cherry Blossom riverboat. Brilliant.
—Brides.com

Pink was the hot color for DC weddings for a while, but it seems like yellow is slowly taking over. This Maryland celebration features charming decor, super-cute bridesmaid outfits (love the skirt-top pairing!), and pennants—lots of pennants.
—Style Me Pretty

Speaking of color schemes, we love when a wedding’s palette contains pretty much every single color out there. And this Annapolis wedding sure fits the bill­—such an incredible array of bright hues.
—Annapolitan Bride

Do you want to see your wedding on our blog? E-mail kforrest@washingtonian.com for details!

Alice and Spencer first met through a mutual friend; their first date was at the Five Guys in Georgetown. Three years later, they married at the Georgetown Presbyterian Church, located just a block away from the site of their first date. The wedding continued at the House of the Sweden.

The couple, who now live in St. Louis, wanted their wedding to be elegant but whimsical, with a touch of 1940s inspiration.

“I love the ceremony of formal events, but I also wanted a wedding that didn’t take itself too seriously, because I wanted people to feel comfortable. So we tried to strike a balance,” says Alice. “For example, we had a black-tie wedding with a formal invitation, but passed out pineapple vodka shooters—my mother’s favorite—and fake mustaches on the dance floor.”

Kelly and Andy first met in March 2009—she was his real estate agent, helping him purchase his first home in Arlington.

“We met at Così in Arlington for his initial homebuyer consultation,” recalls Kelly. “He closed on his house in May 2009, and we now live together in that home!”

The couple got engaged at the Goodstone Inn in Middleburg, Virginia (“It was my fairy tale,” says Kelly of the proposal), and wed on May 15, 2011, at the American Horticultural Society at River Farm in Alexandria.

“We loved that it was an outdoor venue with beautiful gardens and a view of the Potomac,” says Kelly. “We wanted our wedding to be comfortable and fun.”

Kendra and Brent first met while working summer jobs at Clyde’s in Reston—she was a hostess, and he was a part-time server.

“Brent would come up to the hostess stand and flirt with me during our shifts,” says Kendra.

Brent proposed in December 2010 during the pair’s annual visit to the National Christmas Tree in DC. Brent offered to take a photo of Kendra in front of the tree if she took one of him.

“As I was about to take his picture, he spun around and pulled out a sign,” she says. “It said, ‘You are amazing just the way you are.’ As I looked at the camera screen, Brent whipped out another sign and told me to take another picture. The sign said, ‘Will You Marry Me?’, and shortly afterward, Brent got down on his knee! I couldn’t believe it was actually happening.”

Eight months later, on August 14, the Arlington couple married at Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg.

“The two must-haves for our wedding venue were a historical house—because I was a history major in college and I love the architecture of the DC area—and a tent,” says Kendra. “The Birkby House was actually the first venue Brent and I looked at, and we both loved it right away.”

They kept things casual, deciding on an “elegant picnic” theme. “I wanted baskets, fruit and cheese platters, burlap, pies, and fried chicken,” says the bride.

Amanda and Michael first met as second-graders in Frederick, Maryland. They started dating in high school—“Our first date was at a Brookstone playing with gadgets,” says Amanda—and were together for more than ten years before getting engaged.

The couple lived in Nashville while planning their June 2011 wedding, so they decided to combine their love of the “easy elegance of the South” with the contemporary feel of DC (a city they also love) when creating their special day.

“My goal was always to have a wedding that was modern-meets-vintage-chic, but done in a very welcoming, down-to-earth, and personal way,” says Amanda.

She and Michael chose to marry at the Stone Manor Country Club in Middletown, Maryland. Amanda fell in love with “the outdoor space and the historical feel.”