Allison, from New York, and Jared, from Waco, Texas, met on Hinge. On their first date at Hank’s Cocktail Bar in Petworth, Jared says they lost all track of time: “We ended up having a similar sense of humor, and the conversation moved from serious to silly and back again without losing a step,” he says. “I left the date eager for the next while trying to work out how to set that up without scaring her away by being over enthusiastic.”
Two and a half years later, they decided together to get engaged.
For their Glen Echo Park wedding in June the pair say they “wanted to put on a show.” With the 100-year old carousel as a background, the theme for the day was “Jewish meets carnival wedding with a New Orleans twist” (in honor of Jared’s college years in Louisiana, they had a New Orleans’ style brass band for the ceremony and a second-line march to the reception.) The colors were magenta, teal, and yellow, and the design was meant to compliment the park’s art deco style.
Both of their favorite parts of the day involved ways they included their loved ones: Allison loved the parade of their friend’s kids—each carrying a ribbon wand—in the processional. Jared loved the way everyone had so much fun with the Batman and Robin cardboard cutouts featuring faces of two guests that couldn’t make it: “Walking with them during the second-line, taking photos with them, dancing with them during the reception, and generally being confused about why they were there.”
Other fun details included the welcome board, where guests used polaroid cameras to trade photos of themselves for their table number (the photos were later put into an album); table numbers that depicted animals from the carousel; soapstone animal figurines; pinwheels, rosettes, confetti, and ribbon that were used for celebration and decor; and a multi-layer cookie cake.
See the photos of the whimsical day below.
The Details
Photography: Aimee Custis Photography
Planning and design: Havard Events
Venue: Glen Echo Park
Florist: Stem and Thistle Floral Design
Invitations: Minted
Caterer: Occasions Caterers
Cake: Baked by Braegs
Hair and makeup: Katherine Kemper
Bride’s attire: Essense of Australia from Ellie’s Bridal Boutique
Groom’s attire: Indochino
Music and videography: Dan Goldman Events
Transportation: Sunny’s Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation
Second-line handkerchiefs: Backyard Printing
Second-line parasol: Memoire Designs
Ketuvah: Ketubah Studio by MP Artworks
Officiant: Rabbi Yosef Berman, New Synagogue Project
Printing: BaseCamp
Mead: Maryland Meadworks
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.
