Gabrielle, an attorney from Middleburg, and Nick, an exterior cleaning business owner from Arlington, met and became friends as freshman at the College of William & Mary. Junior year, their friendship blossomed into romance, and for their first date they dressed as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell for a fraternity Halloween party. Together more than a decade, Nick proposed over drinks on a dock in western New York, where their dog served as “an adorable distraction,” and Nick “narrowly avoided losing” the ring in the lake.
Coincidentally, the most memorably moment of their October wedding day also involved a fumbling of the rings: this time, by the best man during the ceremony. “Everyone fell silent for a few moments, then Nick cracked a joke, and everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief,” says Gabrielle. “After that point, it felt like we didn’t have to be so serious and formal and we could all just let loose and have fun.” (Also, she adds, the best man redeemed himself with an incredible best man speech.)
Special elements of the wedding decor included custom place cards that doubled as bookmarks for guests to take home, but their biggest splurge, they say, wasn’t at the wedding itself but on the honeymoon, at the Baoase Luxury Resort in Curaçao.
See the photos of their big day below.
Photographer: Tori Del Photography
Venue and catering: Washington Golf & Country Club
Planning and design: Jeffreys World Design and Events
Florals: Holly Heider Chapple Flowers
Invitations: Fingers in Ink
Cake: Victoria’s Cakery
Hair and makeup: Best Face Artists
Bride’s attire: Casablanca Bridal from Ava Laurenne Bride
Bridesmaids attire: Bird Grey
Groom’s attire: The Groom Shop by Michael Andrews
Groomsmen’s attire: The Black Tux
Music: Andy Statler (pianist); Atoka String Quartet (strings); Broad Sound Band (reception)
Rentals: Select Event Group
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.
