Colorful China and Bud Vases Mixed With Topiaries Gave This Intimate Wedding a Dinner Party Feel

Montie, from DC, and David, from Queens, met through mutual friends at a New Year’s Eve party David hosted in New York City. Montie says she immediately noticed David’s charm and confidence and thought it best to avoid him. But after about an hour, he approached her (and ultimately called her out on it.) “We spent the rest of the evening, into the New Year talking,” David says. For their first date, they went for Japanese BBQ and then strolled the Brooklyn Ikea. They were engaged four and a half years later.

Their June wedding at Dumbarton House with 70 guests was meant to feeling like an intimate dinner party, and featured an “elevated upscale backyard wedding” theme. They drew inspiration for the color palette from the Christian Lacroix Vista Alegre Primavera plates they selected from Maison de Carine, then, added a personal touch to the tablescape with Montie’s mother’s collection of sterling silver salt and pepper shakers. For the flowers, they topped each table with a mix of floral centerpieces, bud vases, and potted topiaries. A hidden whiskey and cigar bar in the garden, they say, felt like a speakeasy. Their dog Leo being part of the ceremony and cocktail was a non-negotiable, and Montie says her favorite part of the day was her dress, which included a removable tulle cap-sleeve overlay and cathedral train, which made it feel like three different dresses in one.

For dessert, they cut into a cake that they called a “work of art,” covered in handprinted sugar flowers. See the photos from their big day below.

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The Details

Amy Moeller

Fashion & Weddings Editor

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.