Sarah and Lawrence were married at the gorgeous Arts Club and got ready for the day at the adjacent Hotel Lombary.
October 2nd is also the Groom’s parents’ wedding anniversary, as well as his grandparents. Sarah and Lawrence are now the third generation of Pangburns to get married on that day. And it was all by accident. Originally, the wedding was going to be September 25th, but the date was moved because of the World Bank annual meeting that was going to shut down streets in the area and drive up hotel prices. Lawrence didn’t even know the significance of October 2nd when they made the change, but it became a special part of the day.
The week before the wedding Sarah was really fretting about the weather, “I kept watching the forecast get colder and colder. It was supposed to be in the 70s that time of year, and instead it was in the 50s! Mostly I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to get the outdoor wedding in the beautiful courtyard that I had envisioned. We ordered patio heaters and I got pashminas to hand out to anyone that was chilly…in the end, we had to move it all inside and it was still absolutely wonderful. I really could not have asked for a better day.” Here her dad looks out hopefully on the gray sky.
Sarah shared a really sweet moment with her parents just before they left the hotel, “I knew it was going to be a crazy day, and it already had been a bit of a crazy planning process. I wanted to take a moment to say “Thank you” to my parents. Not only for the wedding, but for everything. For being the source of strength and support that had helped make me the person that I am and that got me to this point in life.”
Sarah and Lawrence are both architects and were inspired by the history and landscape of the Arts Club. “The location was perfect and the staff was wonderful (with very reasonable pricing, especially for DC). We loved the house and the courtyard–it was a little oasis in the middle of the city. We really wanted to have an outdoor wedding, but we didn’t want a tent. The house provided the rain plan (or “cold” plan as it turned out), without us having to get a tent.”
The Arts Club, inspired by London’s Chelsea Arts Club and the National Arts Club in Manhattan, was created by Washington artists in 1916 and is located in the Monroe House. With a focus on painting, sculpture, music, and drama, the Arts Club is less traditional than most of Washington’s clubs. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was the first club in the city to admit women as charter members.
Sarah’s gown had the most incredible twirl effect and looked so strikingly beautiful against the criss crossing of the brick. Here she is making her way into the Arts Club for the ceremony.
I. love. this. photograph.
The couple had their rings secretly inscribed and didn’t read each other’s messages until the wedding day. Sarah’s ring read, “Love of my life” and Lawrence’s read “My Love, you are wonderful.” Sarah says, this is “something I like to tell him every once in a while.”
Every table was adorned with silver and sapphire shades that were designated for a different area of Washington D.C.
Photography by Jessica Schmitt and Eric Swartz
Special thanks to all the vendors:
Arts Club coordinator/house caretaker: Jenna Beebe
Arts Club Maitre d’Hotel: Dwaine Davis
Arts Club Manager: Chris Glenn
Arts Club Executive Chef: Bill Colliton
Officiant: Christine Plepys
DJ: Tony Aversano, The Lace Music
Cake: Mille Baldwin, Sweet Memories Heirloom Pastries
Flowers: Shelley Cambell, Shelley’s Floral Enterprise
Hair: Robert Jacobs, PR@Partners
Dress: Oleg Cassini
Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse
Rings: I.Gorman Jewelers
Invitations, menus, programs and all the paper products were designed and handmade by the Bride. Paper from paperandmore.com and mountaincow.com
