.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
From an impromptu proposal at the heights of Crater Lake, Oregon, to loading up on a party bus after the wedding ceremony and reception for the continuance of the nuptials celebration at the Gaylord at the National Harbor, Hope and Kelly’s journey has been one filled with love, fun and adventure.
“We would absolutely recommend Herrington on the Bay to others.”
When sharing the events surrounding the proposal, Kelly proudly shared that she was a “badass.” Though the couple had only been together for three months, she knew “this was it.” She searched for and found the perfect ring and then carried it around for about 3 weeks, waiting for the right moment to propose. They were on the way to Lake Tahoe to her family’s cabin and decided to stop at Crater Lake. The minute they got to Crater Lake, Kelly knew that the time was right. “It was 76 degrees, there was a slight breeze, the view was spectacular, there was nobody around—it was perfect.” Much to her delight, Hope said “yes.”
Kelly shared, “I went online and typed in something like ‘top five wedding venues in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area.’ Herrington on the Bay popped up and I was like, wow, this is really pretty and less than 10 miles away from my house! We went there, saw it, fell in love, put down a deposit and didn’t look any further. We hit the gold mine the first time!”
“Jordyn really did a great job guiding us—we didn’t have to think.”
According to Kelly, “We saved the date two years out, so we had the ring and we had the venue, but we waited until about the last 6 months to really start the planning. Hope got into her creativity mode and came up with all kinds of ideas.“
Hope said, “I made the table numbers and the seating arrangements, among other things. Brittany and Jordyn were great—Brittany in the planning stage and Jordyn the day of the wedding. They worked with us along the way and even let us set up corn hole on the lawn outside the Paradise Ballroom.“
“Everybody raved about the food—especially the salad,” said Hope. “The staff was so great. When we were having our pictures taken on the pier, the chefs came out and filled our champagne glasses and brought out trays of delicious appetizers, including this amazing crab dip. Oh, and I had forgotten to tell them that my sister is gluten-free. As soon as she mentioned it, they said “we’re on it” and had a delicious gluten-free meal out to her in less than 15 minutes.“
“They made it so easy the day of the wedding.”
“We had a lot of family visiting and actually staying with us the three days prior to wedding, so we were doing a lot of entertaining,” said Hope. “The morning of the wedding we were in such a hurry that we were a little stressed out. We realized as were traveling to the venue with Kelly’s brother and sister that we hadn’t even eaten anything that morning, so we pulled into a Valero and picked up some Red Bull and powdered doughnuts. It really helped to take off a lot of the stress because we were all laughing about walking in with powdered sugar all over us!“
Kelly and Hope shared that there were approximately 80 guests at their wedding, which was held on the Polynesian Lawn. Kelly said, “Not only were a lot of my co-workers there, but many of them were an integral part of the ceremony. Our friend T.J. was the officiant and he did an awesome job. This was the first time he had married anyone. He got everyone involved and drew the crowd in. Another of my co-workers sang Latch by Sam Smith, acapella, and yet another one said the prayer
before the meal. Best of all, my brother served as my best man.“
Hope added, “And as we were sealing our union with a kiss, a big dragonfly hovered above our heads for a long time. It was like it was offering itself as our spirit animal.“
“Jordyn timed everything perfectly and we were taken care of from start to finish,” said Kelly. “A friend gave us a pre-wedding gift of cake cutters and champagne glasses that had our names engraved on them. We gave them to Jordyn before the wedding and she made sure to bring them out at the appropriate time and made sure we were able to drink from them all day. I didn’t even have to hold out my hand and there was someone to fill my champagne glass. There was a little bit of a mix-up with the DJ—he was supposed to play a certain song as we entered the reception, but he started to play a different one. Jordyn took care of it immediately.
When asked about her favorite moment of the day, Hope replied, “I really enjoyed the time when we were taking pictures out on the pier after the ceremony. We were enjoying the champagne, appetizers, each other, and just having fun.“
Kelly shared her favorite moment. “It was when we were sitting at the head table, surrounded by family and friends. It was really special listening to my sister and brother share memories, and hearing all of the nice things people said.“
“The staff was so awesome at the end of the day. We turned around and everything was cleaned up and loaded into our cars. We didn’t have to do a thing.”
We're more than Maryland's best wedding venue.
We're Maryland's most beautiful and ecologically conscious events venue.