Real Weddings: Vanessa and Jon

The newlyweds pose post-ceremony. All photographs by Alexandra Friendly Photography

Silver Spring couple Vanessa and Jon married on November 5, 2011, at the Saint Rose of Lima Historic Chapel in Gaithersburg, with a reception at the Lodge at Little Seneca Creek in Boyds, Maryland. The pair, who met at while watching football at a Baltimore bar, wanted to celebrate the fall season and thought the lodge was a perfect rustic site.

“There was something very romantic about a log cabin in the woods,” says Vanessa.

They chose a red, white, and black color scheme, and included lots of candles in the decor.

At the ceremony, the bride, in a San Patrick gown, walked down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon in D carrying a bouquet of roses, anemones, hydrangeas, and hypericum berries.

Afterward, the 130 guests headed to the Lodge at Little Seneca Creek for a cocktail hour and reception. At cocktail hour, guests enjoyed homemade kielbasa in honor of the groom’s Polish heritage, and skirt steak tacos, a nod to the bride’s Latin American background. And since the groom hails from Baltimore, mini crabcake hors d’oeuvres were also served.

The newlyweds performed their first dance to “Love Story” by 311, and guests danced to a variety of tunes, from Top 40 to Motown to merengue to polka. In lieu of a wedding cake, a selection of treats from Georgetown Cupcake were served—including red velvet, the groom’s favorite.