1. Real Weddings

An Inviting, Winter Wedding at Black Horse Inn in Warrenton, Virginia

Karen Ditko (24, designer and engineer) and Nick Itin (24, USAF officer) met at a bar during a friend’s 21st birthday while they were attending Virgin

Karen Ditko (24, designer and engineer) and Nick Itin (24, USAF officer) met at a bar during a friend’s 21st birthday while they were attending Virginia Tech. They dated throughout college, and both of them got jobs in Texas afterwards. A year after graduating, Nick proposed to Karen in her Waco apartment during an intimate Thanksgiving dinner. Since they met at college in Virginia and since Karen grew up in the D.C. metro area, the couple decided to get married in Virginia.  They were wed at the beautiful St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Clifton, Virginia, where Karen attended church while growing up. Their reception in Hokie orange and maroon was held at the Black Horse Inn in Warrenton. Karen and Nick fell in love with the quaint bed and breakfast and its stables, and since Karen is an avid equestrian, the venue allowed her to bring her horse to the wedding. The wedding party was able to take awesome pictures with the horse in their classic black tuxedos and floor length red dresses by Bill Levkoff, and during cocktail hour guests were allowed to visit the stables and pet the horses. The horseback riding theme carried into the reception with the seating chart arranged by horse racing badges instead of table numbers. Flower arrangements were kept simple and elegant with red calla lilies for the bouquets and boutonnieres and orange-red calla lilies for the floating candle centerpieces. At the end of the night, Karen and Nick cut into their tiered, orange and maroon fondant wedding cake with an Air Force sword.

Silver Jimmy Choo Heels for Winter Wedding
Karen carried a bouquet of red calla lilies which were the perfect dash of warmth for her winter wedding.
Karen wore a ball gown from Kenneth Winston's Private Label by G collection. The wedding dress was strapless with beading in the bodice and a bustle skirt.
Black Horse Inn allowed Karen to bring her own horse to her wedding day.
The groomsmen who weren't in the Air Force wore classic black tuxedos with red calla lily boutonnieres while the groom and his Air Force friends wore their uniforms.
The bridesmaids wore strapless, floor length red dresses from Bill Levkoff, which they wore with stoles for the winter weather.
The ceremony was held at the St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church in Clifton, Virginia, the church that Karen attended while growing up.
The reception was held indoors at the Black Horse Inn of Warrenton, Virginia.
Instead of numbers, tables were given different colored horse racing badges and this is how seating was assigned.
Centerpieces at the reception consisted of cylinder glass vases of varying heights filled with calla lilies and floating candles.
Cake Cutting with Air Force Sword
The ivory, orange and maroon cake was decorated with fondant and featured a cute cake topper from Etsy.