Gabby Weiss and Jeff Flak’s classic ceremony at the Hay-Adams makes for perfect spring inspiration, with its dreamy pastel palette, delicate embroidered fabrics, and timely cherry blossom accents. Take a gander at the images of their ceremony and reception, captured by Megan Beth Photography.
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The first time Gabby and Jeff crossed paths, they ended up staying up the whole night with friends talking and laughing. Gabby remembers Jeff’s easy sense of humor that evening, “I immediately knew he was someone special when I saw him light up when talking about his nieces and the rest of his family.”
For their first date, Gabby and Jeff met at Barcelona, where they ordered their first bottles of rosé—many more were to follow throughout the course of their relationship. Jeff was smitten with Gabby’s sense of humor, and as the night unfolded, he realized how much they truly had in common. “I knew that there was a good chance that this would be something that lasted,” he says.
The connection was so instantaneous, in fact, that Gabby and Jeff ended up moving in together within the month. Then, almost a year after they began dating, Jeff proposed. Despite his best efforts, he never made it around to surprising Gabby. “He was acting funny and said we had to pick up something from his parents, and I immediately knew what it was since neither of us is good at surprises,” Gabby recalls. “Once I tried [the ring] on I knew I wasn’t taking it off, ruining his plan to propose by attaching the ring to our dog Fiona’s collar.”
For their ceremony, Gabby and Jeff tied the knot at the Hay-Adams underneath an arbor of intertwined Cherry Blossoms. Gabby carried an elegant bouquet of pastel-hued roses, hydrangeas, ranunculus, and garden roses, and wore a strapless Oscar de la Renta gown with elegant floral embroidery.
At the reception, the newlyweds shared their first dance to Fred Astaire’s “The Way You Look Tonight,” before cutting into a beautiful four-tier chocolate lavender and truffle cake. Guests also got to take home a sweet treat in the form of doughnuts from District Donuts. At the end of the evening, the couple snuck out onto the Hay-Adams balcony for a champagne toast as the sun set over views of the National Mall.
For their honeymoon, Gabby and Jeff jetted off for a tour through Africa, exploring Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa.
VENDORS
Photographer: Megan Beth Photography | Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Hay-Adams | Event Coordinator: A. Dominick Events | Menu, Program, and Table Numbers: Flourishing Penguin | Bride’s Gown: Oscar de La Renta from Saks Jandel | Groom’s Tux: Vera Wang from Men’s Warehouse | Makeup Artist: Kim Giammaria of Beauty Mark | Hair: Ryan Nguyen and Watanee Dodge | Florist: Highway to Hill | Cake: Kendall’s Cakes | Catering: The Hay-Adams | Entertainment: The Source via Elan Artists | Invitations: Smock via The Dandelion Patch | Invitation Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones | Guest Book: Paper and Honey | Ceremony Music: Cherry Blossom String Quartet | Party Favors: District Donuts | Dance Floor and Band Riser: Fabrication Events
Hayley is an Associate Editor at Washingtonian Weddings. Previously she was the the Style Editor at The Local Palate, a Southern food culture magazine based out of Charleston, South Carolina. You can follow her on instagram @wandertaste.
