Intimate DC Wedding: Rachel + Nelson

bride and groom

Rachel + Nelson were married in Washington DC and had their perfect wedding with lots of help from family and friends. Rachel is lucky to have three very talented sisters that put together a pretty, simple, intimate wedding. Rachel’s sister Naomi (of The Rockstar Diaries) is a very crafty person who played a major role with the wedding styling. Naomi made the invitations (including a custom stamp), Rachel’s hair piece, and lent Rachel her lovely heels. Rachel’s identical twin sister Rebekah found a dress at a thrift store and completely reconstructed it to make it work for Rachel. Rachel rarely wears makeup so her sister Hannah helped her with her makeup. The three of them made her wedding cake together – lemon, Rachel’s favorite! Aren’t sister’s the best?! :)

A bit more about the day from Rachel: My inspiration for the day really came from my favorite colors (pale yellows and light pretty pinks) and favorite flowers (peonies and billy balls). Everything sort of stemmed from there and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it all turned out. There were a lot of little DIY touches for our special day, most of them coming from my sisters. I really love them all so much for taking all the time they did out of their busy lives to make my day so personal and special.

Thanks so much to Amelia Johnson Photography for the photos and congrats to Rachel + Nelson!

mormon wedding

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

The wedding ceremony was my absolute favorite memory. It was so special to me, and was definitely better than I had ever imagined. I had been waiting for that moment my entire life and I was thrilled I could share it with Nelson.

lace wedding dress

bridesmaids pink dresses

bridesmaids pink dresses

flower girl


The gorgeous florals were by Holly Heider Chapple.

flower girl

bridesmaids

petite cake

yellow bouquet

wedding party

wedding party


How did you and Nelson meet? Nelson and I met three years ago at school. Nelson, who was a Sophomore at the time, helped me with all my luggage on my first day on campus.

lace wedding dress

birdcage veil

lace headpiece

bouquet

bride and groom

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

I think communication is key. Especially if you choose not to have a specific wedding planner and take a more DIY route which is what I did. I feel lucky that a lot of my friends and family stepped in to help make my day special, but there was added stress and chaos for a while in the process because I wasn't as clear as I could have been in terms of what was taking place and what I wanted (I'm one of the few girls who never really thought about her wedding until I got engaged). In the end it all worked out great (yay!) and I'm so appreciative of everyone that stepped in to help with my wedding day.

photography: Amelia Johnson Photography // florals and floral crowns: Holly Heider Chapple

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