Andrew & Lane’s President Lincoln’s Cottage Wedding (Washington, D.C.)

Q1: Tell us about your wedding! What was the inspiration behind your day? Did you have a specific theme, style or color palette? Did you incorporate any cultural or religious traditions in any part of your day?

A1: For the overall style of the wedding, we wanted something light, minimal, and cheery to match the rustic and summery feel of the cottage. Anything too fancy would have looked out of place. Laine chose a palette of blush and light mint because it looked great with the outside of the cottage itself and it seemed perfect for the feel we were going for. The 6 bridesmaids were given free rein to choose any dress from the Adrianna Papell line that came in those two colors (3 and 3). Luckily the girls had pretty even color preference.

We thought it was important to blend our two cultures as part of the ceremony. While the ceremony itself was pretty Western in nature, we incorporated some elements to infuse the ceremony with Chinese culture. For example, Laine’s sister read from the Song of Solomon, while Andrew’s sister read a Chinese love poem in Mandarin (the English text was provided in the program). For the “unity ceremony,” Laine held a container of Hibiscus tea leaves to symbolize “a perfect bride,” while Andrew held a container of Keemun tea leaves, which come from the same province in China where his mother was born. We poured our two containers into one container and mixed the leaves to symbolize two coming together as one. After the ceremony, guests were invited to make their own tea bags out of the combined tea as a favor to take home with them. Finally, the theme of the wedding ceremony as a whole centered around the symbol of butterflies, which stand for love in Chinese culture. It was a continual theme during the Pastor’s homily.

Q2: Let’s talk about wedding decor. How did you decorate your space for the ceremony and the reception? Was any part of the decor DIY?

A2: We had our wedding at a historical site, so there was only so much decorating we could do. Since there was already so much character in the natural surroundings, we were able to keep our decorations to a minimum.

Most of what we did bring to the venue to decor was DIY. We created wooden centerpiece platforms, each stylized with a different symbol of the Chinese zodiac (horse, dragon, pig, etc). On top of the wooden centerpiece was an orchid which we brought ourselves (Laine’s name means orchid in Chinese), as well as a mason jar we filled with lights, and table numbers that we spray painted gold to match the theme. We used the extra wooden centerpieces to transfer our engagement photos, and we displayed them throughout the venue to match the rustic look. Much of what we’re addressing is not featured on Mantas’ blog, so if you would like to see the full album just let me know.

Q3: What were the florals like at your wedding? Did you use flowers in any of your design elements like the bridal bouquets, centerpieces or ceremony backdrop? Did they play an important part in the overall style of your wedding?

A3: It was so important for us to have bright colors in our floral arrangements. At a few points, it was looking like the bold flowers we liked weren’t going to go well with our more pastel/lighter bridesmaid dresses (blush and light mint). However, we worked with our florist (DonaFlora) to find an arrangement that could be colorful and bold, but still go with our color theme. Laine insisted we incorporate the color yellow, which took some work to make possible! They were SUCH beautiful flowers. The bride and bridesmaids held bouquets, and the groom and groomsmen had boutineers. We also had big flower arrangements at the “altar” and a few smaller arrangements on tables inside. We brought our own orchids for the centerpieces, along with other items I mention below.

Q4: Did you personalize the day in any way (food trucks, guest entertainment, etc.)? What were some of your favorite parts of your wedding?

A4: We put our own touches on just about everything. Some examples include the table centerpieces explained in Q2, our signature drink (Chufly – Rujero singani, ginger ale, lime wedge), the rock violinist that played during the reception, having first look at the park right next to where we live, and the tailored wedding ceremony to incorporated both cultures (Q1).

Q5: Let’s talk about fashion. How did you both choose your wedding day look? Describe the looks in detail.
A5: Laine decided to shop around for her dress in her hometown back in central Pennsylvania. She thought she wanted something slim and minimal (to go with the cottage theme), but ended up with a more casual than usual, lace ball gown. This was mostly due to Laine’s mom insisting she try on more ball gowns, and as soon as she had it on, it felt perfect! The dress was super light (unlike so many other heavy dresses) and it seemed perfect for a cottage themed wedding during summer in DC! Laine also wore diamond earrings which she received from Andrew as her wedding day gift. A big contributor to Laine’s style that day was her fresh flower crown, which she ordered from Nature Nymph Creations (a shop in Portland, Oregon). It was a beautiful, custom-made crown that totally completed Laine’s wedding day look.

Andrew wore a custom blue tuxedo from Enzo Customs. He paired that with a vintage 1952 Omega Seamaster watch that he received from Laine as his wedding day gift. The watch was a symbol of Laine’s father’s birth year since he had passed away before ever meeting Andrew and couldn’t attend the wedding.

Q6: How did you meet? Tell us about the proposal.

A6: We met playing in a social sports volleyball league in DC. We actually made a video explaining the full story that we had on our wedding website: https://youtu.be/xfftc7v2kUI

Andrew proposed at Hillwood Estate in Washington, DC at the Japanese gardens. He had told Laine’s two best friends and they got there early and hid in the bushes and trees while Andrew proposed. Laine’s soon to be maid of honor came all the way from Nashville. They ran out and surprised Laine after she said yes!

Q7: What was the most anticipated or special moment of your wedding day?

A7: Hands down, the most special (and completely unanticipated) part of our day was when an enormous double rainbow filled the sky immediately following the ceremony. It was a magical scene for us and all of our guests.

Leading up the ceremony, the weather was pretty terrible. It rained all day and unfortunately, we had to move our dinner from outdoors to indoors at the last second (scrambling seating arrangements, etc). Fortunately, it stopped raining in time for the ceremony so we could do that outdoors, and then it began pouring as everyone went inside for dinner! As stressful as this all was, the rainbow made it all worth it.

The double rainbow has also been significant for the bride, as it has appeared on the day of the passing of certain close family members and friends, including her father. The appearance of the rainbow made it clear that these people were in attendance on our special day!

The wedding speeches were also an incredibly intimate part of our day. Guests gathered in Lincoln’s living room and stood around as the speeches were made by Laine’s Matron of Honor, Andrew’s Best Man, and Andrew’s sister. Having everyone gathered so closely in one room with full attention on the speaker made it a really cool moment that we’ll always remember.

Q8: Do you have any wedding planning or marriage advice that you’d like to share with other couples planning their day?

A8: Laine and Andrew did all the planning together, and for the most part it was fun rather than stressful. Since we did most of it ourselves, it did get overwhelming at times. Our advice would be to not get hung up on the small decisions. If it sounds good the first time, it’s probably the right choice. However, take the time to really think about the bigger decisions like the flow of your ceremony and your first dance song. Thinking through the logistics of the day of the wedding and all the people involved is also highly recommended.

If the weather is a concern, it’s a great idea to come up with two versions of seating charts so you don’t have to be stressed out changing everything at the last minute. We had planned to sit outside, but had to move everyone inside to eat dinner in President Lincoln’s bedroom! This was still a cool atmosphere, but the tables were different sizes and it was tough figuring out the new seating charts.

Get inspired and check out this lovely wedding below, as beautifully captured by Mantas Kubilinskas Photography.