The Oyster-Inspired Escort Display Was a Showstopper at This Tented October Wedding

Emily, a nurse practitioner from Virginia, and Dan, a business development director from New Jersey, were set up by their respective best friends, who were dating at the time (they’re married now, too!). “We’ve been double dating ever since,” says Emily. Three years after initially hitting it off over ice cream at the Wharf, Dan proposed on the dock of Emily’s grandparents house on the Chesapeake Bay. In October, they exchanged vows in a coastal-inspired, oyster-themed wedding in Alexandria.

One of Dan’s favorite details of the day was ending the night with Rita’s Italian Ice; Emily’s favorite parts were the ride to the venue with her dad in the 1967 Camaro that he bought and restored when he was 16, and the letters she and Dan wrote for their guests that were presented on the oyster-adorned seating chart and led them to their seats, designated by oyster-shell place cards.

Other special details included framed photographs of their families weddings on the bookshelves, and a raw oyster bar. “It was definitely a splurge,” says Emily of the cocktail hour inclusion. “But it couldn’t have been more us. There’s nothing better than a sunny day, oyster on the half-shell with a little cocktail sauce and a bubbly glass of champagne. We wanted that to be how people felt—blanketed in sunshine and splurged on.”

See the photos of their big day below.

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.