When Diana Szego and Paul Fassbender met at a DC happy hour, they chatted but then went their separate ways. “We did not hit it off at first, to say the least,” Szego says. However, when they were set up by a mutual friend six months later, the second time turned out to be a charm. “Diana was very sharp, pretty, and tended not to take any of my crap,” Fassbender says.
After a nearly three-year romance, Fassbender proposed in the couple’s kitchen on the day before New Year’s Eve in 2012. “It was simple yet intimate,” Szego says, “perfect for us.”
The couple brought the intimacy of their proposal to their wedding at Clifton Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia, ten months later. The biggest surprise of the day: an unexpected rainstorm. “When I think about our wedding, I rarely remember that it rained,” Szego says. “Things will go wrong on a wedding day, but it helps to keep in perspective the reason you’re there in the first place.”
Details
Photographer: Aaron Watson Photography
Venue: Clifton Inn
Event Planner: Angela Miller with Pretty Please Styling
Bride’s Gown: Jim Hjelm, Rizik Brothers in Washington, DC
Hair: Moxie Hair Lounge, Charlottesville
Makeup: Liz Wegrzyn
Groom’s Tux: Suit by Canali, Nordstrom
Caterer: Clifton Inn
Cake Flavors: Grand Marnier soaked vanilla cake and an assortment of pies
Florist: Beehive Events
Flowers: White hydrangea, white ranunculus, white roses, white anemones, and more
Invitations: Angela Miller, Pretty Please Styling
Music/Entertainment: DJ Stroud
First Dance Song: “Love Your Love the Most” by Eric Church
Bride’s Favorite Detail: The bonfire and s’mores
Groom’s Favorite Detail: The pies, bourbon, cigars, and the bacon at the rehearsal dinner
Biggest Surprise: “The amount of bourbon and champagne that our friends can drink. And that it rained!”
Favors: In lieu of wedding favors, the couple made a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Theme: “We didn’t have a real theme; we were just excited to celebrate a very special occasion with some of our closest friends and our family. We wanted our guests to have a good time, and we tried to accomplish that by creating almost a dinner party atmosphere and through little details (including family-style dinner service and fun music, even during dinner).”
Four Words that Describe the Wedding: Elegant yet simple, classic, and intimate
Honeymoon Spot: British Virgin Islands
Where They Currently Live: Nashville, Tennessee and Washington, DC
