Katie and Pete’s Hotel Monaco DC wedding had everything that we love about helping couples document their wedding day. Lots of beautiful moments? Check! Family and friends fully invested in supporting the couple? Check! An event that reflected who the bride and groom are individually and together? Check! A rocking dance floor? Check! A great wedding venue with a cool DC feel? Check! An awesome couple who were a joy to be around throughout the day? Check! Katie and Pete’s wedding at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC was fun, sweet and touching. And not surprisingly, the photos of their celebrations captured all those elements that made their wedding special!
Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC Wedding
Before we talk about Katie and Pete’s marital event and everything that made it such a joy to photograph, we want to say a few words about their venue. We’ve photographed other weddings at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC. So we knew coming in what an awesome place it is. But what the venue contributed to Katie and Pete’s wedding exceeded even our lofty expectations!
It all starts with the location. The hotel sits in Washington DC’s historic Chinatown neighborhood. That means that you’re not far from a lot of DC’s most famous landmarks. More importantly, the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC is across the street from the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. That means that getting really cool couple’s portraits in two of the city’s most iconic spots couldn’t be easier. (More on that below!)
Even if you don’t want to leave the hotel, though, you’re sure to get magical portraits. And that’s because the Hotel Monaco DC effortlessly combines the resources of a big hotel chain with the cool, personalized feel of a boutique place. The entire interior – from the rooms to the event spaces to the public areas – is unique and contains nods to American and local DC history. That means all the photos of your wedding will be one-of-a-kind and have a distinctly DC feel.
The icing on the cake, though, was the service the Hotel Monaco DC’s staff provided. The entire team was attentive to every one of the couple’s needs throughout the day. They were friendly, flexible and helpful, and we heard Katie and Pete say more than once how taken care of they felt.
Photos of Preparations for Hotel Monaco DC Wedding
Returning to Katie and Pete, they each chose to get ready at the hotel. And fortunately, they could not have picked better places to spend time with their family and friends while getting into their wedding clothes! Each received a suite that was luxurious, comfortable and above all, spacious. (The bride described her room as “ridiculously huge.”)
The groom got ready in the company of his immediate family. His parents, sister and brother-in-law spent the early afternoon hanging with Pete, chatting with him and watching football together. (The groom and his brother-in-law were both former players, and the entire family loved the sport. Which immediately endeared them to us, of course!) The presence of his closest relatives kept Pete calm throughout, especially when the tailoring on his pants proved a little snugger than anticipated. Fortunately, his dad was able to run over to the couple’s apartment to grab a backup pair!
There was a similarly chill vibe in Katie’s suite as she and her bridesmaids had their hair and makeup done. The highlight of that part of the bride’s day was the creation of an elaborate “flower tattoo” along her arm. Gerry Rogers of Petal’s Edge Floral Design attached an intricate string of flowers that ran from the back of Katie’s shoulder down to her forearm. It was a gorgeous and distinctive element that drew raves the entire day. (More on that below!)
First Look on the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC Spiral Staircase
Once they were both ready for the main event, the bride and groom shared a very sweet first look. The location for this was the Hotel Monaco DC’s lovely spiral staircase. That is one of the venue’s most distinctive features and perhaps more importantly, is one of the best spots for a first look you’ll find anywhere in the DMV. The background is clean and elegant. The change in height adds a bit of drama to the photos. And the curve of the stairs means your photographers can get multiple unobstructed views of the special moments that play out when you see each other for the first time.
We were particularly glad that Katie and Pete chose that location for their first look. Theirs was one of the sweetest and most emotional that we’ve seen in a long time. Both shed tears of joy throughout, and thanks to the unique layout of the space, we were able to capture all of it.
National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum Wedding Photos
There are many reasons to do a first look before your wedding. One of the most compelling is that you can then get all of your portraits out of the way before the ceremony. Which is exactly what we did with Katie and Pete!
We started their couple’s portraits in the hallways of the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC. Thanks to the venue’s boutique feel, there are a lot of unique elements in the decor that add something special to wedding portraits. In particular, the various mirrors that adorn the walls of the hotel’s corridors allowed us to create some really cool photos. As did the mirrored surfaces and ornate fixtures in the Hotel Monaco DC lobby.
As we mentioned above, though, one of the big selling points of the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC as a wedding venue is its proximity to two iconic photo locations. The National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum both offer a wealth of creative possibilities. So as soon as we were done taking Katie and Pete’s pictures in the hotel lobby, we made a beeline for the museums.
We started in the Kogod Courtyard, an open-air (but still climate-controlled!) space between the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. There were small sunflowers growing in the long planters on one side of the courtyard. We love what those showy yellow flowers add to portraits, so naturally we created some beautiful pictures of the couple posing near them.
From there, we headed up to the top floor of the . That institution’s avant garde, almost trippy installations are perfect for creative wedding portraits. Then we continued around to the National Portrait Gallery, where we used the grandeur of the Great Hall and haunting beauty of the stained glass windows to create gorgeous photos.
Sweet Semi-Jewish Wedding Ceremony in the Hotel Monaco Paris Ballroom
Katie and Pete returned to their suites at the Hotel Monaco DC for a little down time while their guests arrived. The invitees filed into the Paris Ballroom, a magnificent event space on the venue’s top floor. Its exquisite fixtures give a wedding ceremony a touch of class and elegance, and its skylight lets in lots of natural light. Which ensures that photos of an afternoon wedding ceremony look stunning!
The couple added a wonderful personal touch to the Paris Ballroom’s gorgeous decor. In honor of her Jewish heritage, the bride had knitted a chuppah. That lovely element was a great reminder of the love of all those there to support Katie and Pete.
Their wedding ceremony also featured elements of traditional Jewish matrimonial customs. For example, the signing of the ketubah. Just prior to their public exchange of vows, the couple and their immediate families met in one of the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC’s conference rooms.There the bride and groom signed the document that outlined their rights and responsibilities towards one another as a married couple.
Katie and Pete’s main ceremony was a very sweet reflection of who they are as a couple. There was laughter, a few tears and even more expressions of support from their loved ones. The cheers when the groom stomped the glass at the end were unsurprisingly loud.
Equally unsurprising was how awesome photos of that moment looked! Pete was wearing customized Nike hightops, and the images of those distinctive shoes squashing the glass were pretty spectacular. (Interestingly enough, the groom confessed to us that he wasn’t even a sneakerhead. He just had larger feet and couldn’t find dress shoes big enough. The couple leaned into that and got monogrammed Nikes for the whole wedding party to wear during the reception!)
Touching First Dances and Speeches to Kick of Hotel Monaco DC Wedding Reception
While their guests enjoyed cocktail hour in the Athens Room, Katie and Pete caught a quick breather in the bridal suite. Once the Hotel Monaco DC’s efficient staff finished converting the Paris Ballroom, everyone reconvened there for the reception. The bride and groom made their entrance shortly thereafter and went straight to the center of the room for their first dance. After a few minutes of gently swaying to “You” by Dan and Shay, the newlyweds invited their friends and family to join them on the dance floor.
A few minutes later, with everyone settled in their seats and enjoying their salads, the bride’s father offered a lovely toast that left his daughter wiping away a few tears. Not long after, Pete’s brother-in-law and best man got up to say a few words. His speech was one of the best we’ve heard in a while – humorous but heartfelt, entertaining but touching. The maid of honor’s toast was equally sweet and warmed the hearts of everyone present. Especially Katie, who wiped away a few more tears!
Once dinner concluded and the bride’s friends finished serenading her with a song whose origins were a mystery to us, the couple returned to the dance floor, though not together. First Katie came to the center of the room to share a dance with her dad. Then Pete took his turn, spending a very sweet few minutes twirling his mother around.
Big Dance Party During a Hotel Monaco DC Wedding Reception
The last “formal” event of the evening was the cutting of cake. Almost as soon as Katie and Pete finished feeding the piece to each other, the dance floor started filling up. We’ve seen a lot of rowdy reception dancing in our time as DC wedding photographers. So we can tell you from experience that this group was not playing around. The guests danced to song after song, working up sweat and hardly taking breaks. And once someone broke out colorful light sticks, there was barely any room on the floor. We had so much fun trying to capture the craziness and celebratory atmosphere on film!
Night Wedding Portraits Outside the Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC
Before the evening concluded, we wanted to make sure that we got one last photo of the couple at the National Portrait Gallery. Though the museum had closed hours earlier, its outer facade made a perfect backdrop for some haunting night wedding portraits. So we brought the newlyweds across the street again and posed them on the National Portrait Gallery’s stone steps. The resulting images captured just a hint of what makes DC such a gorgeous and alluring city at night.
Thank you one more time, Katie and Pete, for letting us tell this part of your love story with our cameras! We value your trust and wish you a lifetime of happiness together!
Wedding venue and planning: Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC
Hair and makeup: Evine Beaute
Bridal gown: Lovely Bride DC
Groom’s suit: Suitsupply
Florals: Petal’s Edge
Cake artist: The Cakeroom
DJ: Summit Events
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