Caitlin + James

How did you meet?

On Tinder! I had just gotten out of a long, and truthfully unhealthy relationship, so wasn’t looking for anything serious – but we knew pretty much immediately – this was the real deal.

How did you know he was the one?

Our second date, James walked me home after drinks to my pup, who was recovering some pretty nasty intestinal issues. There was … quite a mess, and James insisted on coming in to help me clean up. We ended up throwing away that rug. He’s a real trooper. Is that romantic? Probably not, but it’s real life, man! 

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

Kindness, patience, silliness and for good measure – he’s damn sexy. 

Who proposed and how?

He proposed in the dog park under the guise of my birthday tubing trip, with our friends waiting. He had fashioned a barrel ring box for my Saint Bernard, Reggie, to hold and everyone gasped in horror while our 120lb dog hurled towards me, barrel flying. But the ring held in place, and I was caught on film, dressed for tubing, screaming “what is happening!?”

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

 I tried it on at Lovely Bride DC. It was my last appointment, after a perfect brunch, with my bridesmaids and mom. It just felt right and everyone’s reactions sold me for sure! 

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

We were supposed to get married with 150 in April, and because of covid, pushed it twice, created safety plans and tried and tried to make it work as planned. But finally, we said, screw it and got married in a park with local friends and family. Seeing that my fiancé had secretly arranged to still have our handmade (with the immense help of our friend Billy) arbor brought to the park (no permit mind you) was a huge, wonderful surprise!

What surprised you most at or about your wedding?

The biggest surprise was that despite everything being different than what we had planned, it was still absolutely perfect!

What advice would you tell other brides?

Support small local businesses as much as possible and have fun! Your wedding is about you and your partner – you don’t “have to do” anything!  Oh, also don’t trust flight insurance – it’s a scam! 

What did you do differently?

Well in comparison to the original plan- everything really, because of covid. We went from 150 people with a Michelin rated catered pizza buffet in April on a flower farm to 30 people in a park in the heat of August. We kept a lot of our vendors, but scaled back. We still kept our desserts, our acoustic guitarist, our florist, photographer, etc. Afterwards we reserved a few tables at a nearby outdoor bar, wore masks and enjoyed the rest of the evening!  Oh – we also officiated ourselves! DC still doesn’t have representation (despite a paying state taxes and having a population of nearly 700,000) – we do have the power to marry ourselves! We also had a co-bachelor/ bachelorette party in Breckenridge, Colorado. Pre-covid, we rented a huge cabin in Breck, did solo bride/groom nights out, and then skiied/snowshoed and partied as a group the rest of the weekend!

 

Details.

MWL Design:

Harlie

Venue:

P street beach Park for ceremony and Hook Hall for reception

Make up:

MAB Artistry

Florist:

Sunnyside Flower Spa for our handmade arbor and Wollam Gardens (our original venue too) for bouquets etc

Music:

Calvin Thomas in acoustic guitar. He played Hoppipolla as the professional and Simply the Best (Noah Reid version) for our dance

Rings: 

band from Catbird NYC, engagement ring and custom bracelet from Top Jewelers of Arlington, earrings from Eldor Tina Jewelery. His band was from amazon for $20 which he is very proud of haha

Shoes:

Loeffler Randall

Photographer:

Mariah Miranda Photography

MWL Stockist:

Lovely Bride DC

#wheremybeachesat