This originally ran as a Local Love in the 2012 Local Love issue.
WEDDING DATE April 30, 2011
Number of Attendees 180
Number of Attendants 17
Occupations Helen is an interior designer; Daniel is a lawyer for Baltimore-based federal judge Richard Bennett.
How They Met The two were in the same circle of friends in high school. They started dating eight years ago, when Helen was a freshman at Georgetown and Dan a sophomore at Yale.
The Engagement The proposal occurred when Helen’s pug woke her up one morning wearing a big white bow with a diamond ring tied to it.
A Date They’ll Always Remember One beautiful spring day, Helen and Dan were walking their dogs in a nearby park. “I think I had an ice-cream cone,” Helen recalls. “Someone walking by commented that we looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.”
Wedding Design Inspiration Helen purchased her wedding dress, an A-line Vera Wang with layers of hand-made lace and a black ribbon around the waist. That black ribbon, she says, became a motif, with the men in black tie, and black ribbons appearing on save-the-date cards and other elements of the wedding. “As we say in design,” she laughs, “I used it to brand the wedding.”
A Date They’ll Always Remember One beautiful spring day, Helen and Dan were walking their dogs in a nearby park. “I think I had an ice-cream cone,” Helen recalls. “Someone walking by commented that we looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.”
Wedding Design Inspiration Helen purchased her wedding dress, an A-line Vera Wang with layers of hand-made lace and a black ribbon around the waist. That black ribbon, she says, became a motif, with the men in black tie, and black ribbons appearing on save-the-date cards and other elements of the wedding. “As we say in design,” she laughs, “I used it to brand the wedding.”
Favorite Details Each guest received a calligraphed menu with caricatures of the bride and groom, carefully drawn by the bride. Wedding guests were treated to a display of fireworks after the sun went down. Most unexpected event on their wedding day A rainbow appeared during the cocktail hour. “There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, there had been no rain, but there was a rainbow, as if it appeared just for us,” says Helen. Piece of Advice “As fun as it is to plan the details, remember what it’s all about,” says Helen. “You don’t want to be more concerned about everything going off without a hitch than the fact that you’re saying ‘I do’ to someone for the rest of your life.”
Honeymoon Paris, France.
Helen & Daniel
Helen & Daniel
Location Bride’s father’s home in Monkton, Maryland Music At ceremony and cocktail hour, Bon Musique from New York City. At reception, The Swingin’ Richards, Charlotte, NC Caterer Linwoods Flowers The Floral Studio Lighting Loane Brothers Cake Pâtisserie Poupon Officiants Federal judge Richard Bennett was officiant at the wedding. Dan’s aunt, an Episcopal minister, did a blessing Wedding dress Vera Wang Hair and makeup Audrey Bethards Invitations The Pleasure of Your Company Groom A Ralph Lauren tuxedo and dinner jacket; Brooks Brothers shirt, tie, cummerbund and studs Bridesmaids Melissa Sweet and Anne Taylor PHOTOGRAPHER Jennifer Hughes Transportation American Limousine