White Decor Brought Snowy Winter Charm to This Wedding at The Anderson House in Washington, DC

Brought together through their shared media careers, Brittney McCrae (30 and an entertainment marketing director) and Tracey Todd (31 and a digital strategy director) know how to make an editorial vision come to life. A cozy holiday vibe à la Richard Curtis (the screenwriter famous for Love Actually) was their theme. “The way you have to warm up with cocoa after a romp in the snow, the smell of pine and Christmas cookies baking in the oven and the omnipresence of love at the holidays: The way I feel at Christmastime is the way I wanted guests to feel on our day,” Brittney says. The weather was clear outside, but inside the historic hall, where they wed, it was a veritable whiteout. “I was adamant about everything being winter white and winter white only!” Brittney says. In the end, a sprinkling of evergreen snuck in too. 

As a warm holiday-inspired welcome to the ceremony, guests sipped on gingerbread eggnog. “We chose to forgo the traditional programs and instead upgraded some other day-of signage,” Brittney says, like the lucite seating chart. In keeping with the wintry palette, Brittney’s bouquet included white rose varieties and lisianthus. 

Historic charm was a major reason Brittney and Tracey selected the Anderson House. Many of the design details were a nod to the venue’s architecture.  The couple kept their wedding party small, only including three of their closest confidants. The staircase-inspired cake was a three-tier strawberry shortcake covered in buttercream. Later in the day, Brittney slipped into an asymmetrical dress with “a flirty, fun silhouette that was great for dancing.”  

“We wanted our place cards to also serve as personal thank-you gifts for our guests that reinforced our theme,” Brittney says. To achieve their vision, the couple had each guest’s name inscribed on a lucite ornament. The mementos were also emblazoned with “Yuletide Todd 12.14.19” before they were set atop the gold-rimmed chargers at the reception. "We’re hoping every holiday season, our guests hang their ornaments and think of the fun time they had celebrating our love with us," Brittney says.