After working on separate campaigns in 2012, Anna and Ryan met through mutual friends in DC. Their November wedding featured a dark, moody color palette, a lot of DC themes, and their labradoodle, Sully. Check our more from their big day below.
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Their Story
Anna, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Congressman Van Taylor, and Ryan, deputy chief of staff of United States Export Import Bank met in DC. They were each back in the city after the November 2012 election, and bumped into one another for the first time hanging out with mutual friends at a karaoke bar. “In the most Washington fashion,” they say, they “connected via LinkedIn later.”
Right off the bat, Anna was drawn to Ryan’s sense of humor, his quick wit, and high lighthearted combativeness. When Ryan says he remember’s most is Anna’s sense of humor and her smile.
On their first date, they went to RMP Italian. They dated just short of five years when, on a hike with their labradoodle Sully, at Roosevelt Island, Ryan proposed. “To avoid scheduling a fall wedding during an election year”—a very DC consideration—they opted for a longer engagement and planned their big day for November 2, 2019.
Their Wedding
For their wedding, Anna and Ryan decided to marry at St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill, and celebrate with a reception at Carnegie Institution for Science.
Perfect for the season, the wedding design featured a dark, moody palette of black, gold, and deep burgundy. At the reception, tables dropped in velvet linens were topped with black tapered candles in gold holders and candelabra. Attire was black tie, and instead of a traditional bridal party of bridesmaids and groomsmen, the bride and groom had just their brothers by their sides.
Since most of the guests traveled from out of town to attend the wedding, the bride (from Champaign, Illinois), and groom (from Geneva, New York), wanted their wedding weekend to highlight the best of DC, they say. The weekend’s itinerary included an evening tour of the United States Capitol the night before the wedding, and the couple chose the “historic, neoclassical” reception venue for its convenient location between Dupont Circle and Logan Circle. In keeping with the DC theme, the decor included nods to the city and its history in the table numbers and on the cake, and pictures of the Capitol were on display.
Nods to their beloved pup, Sully, could be found throughout the day, from the custom sugar cookie favors for guests and the sign at the bar to the cake and the cocktail napkins. Even their invitations suite, designed in textured matte black, featured a hand-poured gold wax seal of Sully and a hand-drawn image of the dog in gold leaf.
The autumn-inspired dinner menu included a choice of short rib over lemongrass parsnip puree with mushrooms, or parmesan chicken paillard.
For dessert, the couple served the groom’s favorite carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, as well as a vanilla cake with raspberry, and other desserts including lemon cheesecake pops, turtle cheesecake pops and cookie dough bites.
The newlyweds, who call Capitol Hill home, had planned to honeymoon after the holidays in Spring of 2020, but are looking forward to honeymooning next year instead. See more from their fall, DC-themed wedding below.
The Details:
Photographer: Emily Blumberg | Venue: St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill (ceremony); Carnegie Institution for Science (reception) | Planning & Design: Stephanie Sadowski, SRS Events | Florist: Eight Tree Street Floral | Invitations: Artisan Matchmaker | Catering: RSVP Catering | Cake: Liberty Baking Co. | Hairstylist: Lexi MAB Artistry | Makeup Artist: Hala MAB Artistry | Bride’s Attire: Justin Alexander from I Do, I Do | Groom and Groomsmen Attire: Generation Tux |
Music: Posh Life Entertainment | Transportation: RMA Transportation | Rentals: Select Event Group | Cookies: Chubby Hearts Cookies |
Dog Handler: Furever & Fur Always
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
