Happily Hitched is a Leesburg Virginia Wedding Planner serving Virginia, DC, Maryland, and beyond! Christina and Aishah do such an amazing job wedding planning, so I was honored to have them do a guest interview!!
Describe your dream wedding day: My dream wedding day would be one where it’s centered on the couple and their marriage. Seems like a silly thing to say, because you’d think that of course, a wedding day is focused on the couple, but that’s not always the case!
When couples get engaged, everyone has an opinion! From the type of venue, to the style of dress and everything in between, couples are constantly on the receiving end of what everyone else thinks their wedding should look and feel like. My wish for couples is that they can sift through all the noise, take the suggestions that are helpful and feel true to them, and let go of the rest. We love to see friends and family gathered to celebrate the commitment a couple’s making and to stand in support of it. That’s the most important thing about a wedding day to us.
But once those boxes have been checked, we love to dress things up! We firmly believe in being a little extra if you have the means to do so! A wedding day is a rare moment of having all the people you love in the same place at the same time, and you may never get that same chance again. So splurge on that seating display that will give your guests a more interactive experience. Get the bigger bouquet with your favorite flowers. Pay the extra hour for your DJ so you can keep dancing longer. Because if not now, when? There are few things more momentous than your wedding day. You’ll never know if you’ll be able to get another chance.
I also love florals and believe there’s no such thing as having too many on your wedding! And I’m always looking for ways to weave in and incorporate personalized details to help tell a couple’s love story! Above all, lots of love, laughter and support for the couple’s relationship and future strength of their marriage are what really matters.
What makes a dream client for you? Dream clients share our love of flowers and love for the little details! They care about putting in work to help make sure their marriage starts off on a strong foundation and know how to keep focused on the “why” behind the wedding day. They want a collaborative planning experience where they provide input into planning decisions, but also trust their planner and appreciate guidance and direction. Guest experience would be a top priority.
What is the most popular service you offer? Partial Planning! Many couples come to us to have a wedding planner who will help them finalize the logistics in the last weeks of their engagement and to have someone they trust to execute their wedding day. But they’re also looking for help and guidance throughout the planning process. Whether we help with finding and securing a vendor in a category that’s been particularly challenging or overwhelming for a couple, or provide consultation-like planning meetings along the way to work through issues or bounce ideas around and make sure they’re staying on track, our couples know they don’t know what they don’t know and don’t want to risk the outcome of their wedding day by going through the planning process alone.
How many weddings do you take on per year? How far outside of your location do you serve? There hasn’t been a set number for us! It’s ebbed and flowed based on the season of life. But currently, we serve anywhere from 15-20 couples on their wedding day each year, with plans to increase that number as our team of planners grows even more! We tend to stay within Virginia/DC but open to traveling based on the specific circumstance!
Do you specialize in any particular type of weddings? While we work with a variety of styles, we truly thrive when we can provide couples with intentional designs that are purposefully pretty and reflect their personal love story. Our ideal couples opt for aesthetics that highlight the natural beauty of a space and tend towards a mix of modern farmhouse, vintage chic, romantic boho or garden-inspired styles. We love working in secluded environments that provide couples with privacy to celebrate with family and friends, so we can often be found working in barn venues in the open countryside, wineries, waterfront locations or historic manor estates.
Do you offer any services outside of full planning? Yes! Each couple receives a customized planning proposal based on the level of support they want and specific needs. We also rent out farm tables hand-crafted by my father for couples looking for a more personal touch to their wedding table design.
Do you offer services on non-wedding days? Yes! Whether you just need an hour to sit with a planner to talk through some things, or you want to have a weekday wedding, we’re flexible with working through the needs of each couple.
What are your top 3 favorite venues and why?
- Riverside on the Potomac – Leesburg, VA – There are so many unique locations on the property. The owners, Suzi and Travis, have opened up their family farm for couples to experience a historic bank barn and ceremonies by the water. We love that couples and their guests have so many options for where and how to celebrate on this historic property with modern amenities! It’s also where I got married, so might be a little biased : )
- District Winery – Washington, DC – District Winery is the perfect place to experience a DC location with the convenience of easy parking! I love this venue for the ease of access (which can be hard to come by with DC weddings!) where guests can park directly behind the venue in a large parking lot and couples can reserve parking spaces for guests and vendors in advance. You also can’t beat the views! With two levels to choose from, there’s always going to be a Plan B option for inclement weather that couples will love. If weather threatens an outdoor rooftop ceremony, you can easily move inside and still take advantage of the beautiful views with floor to ceiling windows. And their team is super easy to work with, on top of every detail and have the best food and beverage in-house!
- The Barn at Willow Brook – Leesburg, VA – The owners, the Madden family, are just the sweetest people. They care so much about each of their couples, it really feels like their couples become extended family! Not only is their gorgeous white barn full of modern farmhouse amenities, but the on-site accommodations for not only the bride, but groom as well, were so thoughtfully created. The option to choose a full-weekend rental package makes for a beautiful and convenient location to enjoy time with family and friends before and after the wedding day. Not all venues allow you to get ready on-site, especially in such a stunning space, so for this reason, it is one of our top venues!
Leesburg Virginia Wedding Planner advice:
What would your advice be to brides who don’t currently have a planner? At the very least, please, please hire a wedding coordinator who can help you finalize all the logistics (I recommend 6-8 weeks out) and execute your wedding on the day-of. There are so many things to keep track of in the weeks leading up to the wedding. A wedding coordinator will help you stay on top of everything, and more importantly, help prevent you from missing anything or problem-solve any last minute issues that may arise. They’re really helping to protect everything you’ve planned for (and let’s be honest, spent a lot of time and money on!) so your wedding day unfolds the way you’ve envisioned. A coordinator will truly allow you to enjoy the day without worrying about the details, AND allow your vendors to focus on their jobs so your vendors, like photographer or DJ, don’t have to also try and keep track of your timeline. How sad would it be to have your photographer miss capturing key moments of your loved ones interacting together because they were trying to help keep your wedding running on time?
Why did you decide to be a wedding planner? After helping a friend with her wedding, I was hooked! There’s something about hospitality that drew me in! Providing a warm welcome as guests arrive, giving a smile as you direct them around the venue, asking how I can serve couples and their family and asking if they need anything. I love knowing I’m being of help during such an important time, but also one that’s very stressful and full of unknowns. I love to serve and weddings hold such a significance that doesn’t compare to any other type of event. It’s truly an honor to be chosen to be part of such a special day! I thrive under pressure, love to problem solve (which is required for every wedding, even the best-planned ones!), and enjoy seeing how I’m able to bring a lot of ease to the planning process.
What is your favorite part about wedding planning? Definitely finding ways to incorporate personal details! It’s just a matter of time before we uncover those details that would be perfect to weave into the wedding day, whether through a play on words for the signage or a seating chart display. Or learning a couple’s favorite food that they want to incorporate into the menu. Finding ways to make the wedding unique and authentic to each couple is something I really enjoy!
#1 piece of advice for current brides wedding planning Really take time to think about what’s most important to you during this season of life and what’s most important on your wedding day. If you’re too busy, or not organized or just not excited about putting in time to plan a wedding but still want it to be an amazing day, prioritize hiring a wedding planner to help make sure you stay on track and everything gets done. And don’t believe everything you read on Google about how much you’re “supposed” to spend on each area of your wedding. Make a list of the top 3 things most important to you and your fiance, and put your money there. Not everything is important and you should prioritize your budget to spend on the things that matter most to YOU.
Favorite current wedding trend: Interactive seating chart displays. This goes back to guest experience! We love helping guests find their seats for the reception in a unique and fun way that shows off the couple’s personality and style. Bonus points if it’s an escort display that doubles as a way for guests to pick up their favor!
Favorite drink: Dr. Pepper!
Favorite thing to do when you’re not working? Time spent with family, playing with all the cars and trucks with our two toddler boys, and finding new and interesting thriller mystery series to watch on Netflix!
Thank you to the Happily Hitched Team for sharing your advice!! You can find them here:
With love,
Katelyn Workman
