Real Weddings: Kelly and Andy

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.”

The couple’s friend married them in front of the oldest Osage orange tree in the country. “It was an intimate ceremony, and I was pleasantly surprised at how simple and beautiful it was,” says Kelly.

Afterward, the newlyweds joined their 140 guests for a cocktail hour on River Farm’s grounds.

The reception was held in a tent and featured bright, modern centerpieces. Half of the tables were adorned with cylindrical vases filled with mokara orchids and topped with a hot-pink-and-orange drum shade. The other tables had David Austin roses, aster, spray roses, and protea blooming from beds of wheatgrass.

Guests dined on herb-marinated flank steak, cedar-plank-roasted salmon, grilled vegetables, and pasta salad. Cupcakes and a candy buffet were served for dessert.

Kelly and Andy performed their first dance to “Everything” by Michael Bublé, and guests danced throughout the evening. At the end of the night, the newlyweds exited amid a sea of bubbles. The adventurous couple honeymooned in Sedona, Arizona, and hiked the Grand Canyon.