“Quiet Luxury” Was the Vibe at This Hay-Adams Wedding

Caitlin, from California, met Ian, from Arizona, on Bumble. About a year and a half after a Covid-era picnic-style first date at Caitlin’s apartment, Ian proposed at Capitol Hill Books, hiding a ring in a hollowed-out Jack Kerouac book.

For their May wedding—to which most of their guests traveled from out of town—the pair wanted a quiet luxury, timeless elegance theme, which they designed in black and white, with forest green accents.

A decadent stationery suite—letter-pressed invitations wrapped in a cherry-blossom-embossed jacket, inside a a black envelope with a forest green liner featuring a sketch of their venue, and finished with a wax seal that featured their custom logo—set the tone. At two long dinner tables, lush arrangements of a white tulips honored the bride’s late grandmother. Other floral highlights included a white-orchid bouquet for the bride and single orchid stems carried by bridesmaids; cherry blossoms at cocktail hour; and wisteria and greenery suspended from the ceiling.

The newlyweds say they went all out for their menu. They chose an array of past appetizers—lobster rolls, marinated Yellowfin tuna, beef tenderloin, and more—plus an expansive raw bar that included local oysters alongside lobster and snow crab claws to start. For dinner, plated meals began with a burrata and heirloom tomato salad, followed by a choice of Chilean sea bass, filet mignon, or asparagus risotto, and for late-night snacks—after wedding cake!—fried chicken and mini cheeseburgers. Leading up to the big day, the couple say they wanted the wedding itself to be the event where everyone came together to celebrate, so they had very ‘low-key’ bachelor and bachelorette parties, and opted out of engagement parties and bridal showers. They also did a “pre-wedding honeymoon” in Turks and Caicos, and look forward to planning a more official honeymoon this year.

See the details from 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.