Shoshanna Shapiro, owner of Frederick, Maryland-based luxury interior design studio Sho and Co., transformed a formal dining room in Rockville into a multifunctional pantry because, she says client Beth Higgins “loves to feed the world.” Beth and her husband, Tim, have four kids—two in their teens, two in their early 20s—and they’d been using the dining room as a catchall for shelf-stable goods for school snacks and lunches. The kitchen, slightly wider than a galley but not large enough for an island, was out of the question for food prep and storage, so Shapiro suggested putting the dining room to better use.  

“I call it a pantry room,” Shapiro says of the redesigned space that was completed in December. The room has hit all the right notes for Beth. “I love the cohesiveness from the kitchen to the pantry,” she says. “It helps keep everything neat and organized for a busy family.” 

Shapiro took into consideration the Higgins’ desire for a traditional-meets-modern look. The room feels intentional and timeless but with up-to-date touches. Because Beth likes to organize and display her pretty jars, Shapiro tapped Brass Hardware, an online business, to build an open-shelving structure, and Frederick-based Hoth Design to craft the white-oak shelves. Those are finished in an oil-based stain and finish from Rubio Monocoat that also was used on the kitchen’s other-white-oak elements to give the wood a raw feel.  

The wall behind the shelving features nickel-groove siding—aka nickel gap. A fresh layer of Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace (OC-65), a silky shade of classic white, coats the walls and cabinets.  

The clean design and neutral color scheme allow The Tile Shop’s checkerboard flooring to shine. 

Arabescato Vagli Extra marble tops the counters and island. To make the island feel like a heritage piece, Hoth Design made the legs from reclaimed wood. Hardware on the island and throughout the pantry room were sourced for visual interest from various collections at RH and Rejuvenation. 

The pantry room is separated into zones, including lunch-making and baking, for functionality. There’s ample storage—including side-by-side countertop appliance garages—for hiding things, such as the juicer. A Sub-Zero mini fridge holds water and refreshments, and a bottle-filling station in the wall is a clever addition: The kids can top off their drinks on their way to sports and other activities.  

As a final touch, Hoth Design custom built a pair of glass-paned arched wooden doors to close off the kitchen from the pantry room, offering a peek into where the magic happens.    

This story appears in the July/August edition of Bethesda Magazine.

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The birthday duo: Mary Vargo, a retired biochemist, and her husband, Tracy Vargo, a principal at real estate development company Stonebridge, live in Potomac. The pair met in Pennsylvania, where they grew up, and moved here together in 1986. Their 60th birthdays were in June 2023.  

The best friend: Dale Glass, 62, is a retired science teacher currently holding a long-term substitute position. (When this gig ends, she says she’s going back into retirement.) Dale moved to Potomac from Dallas, but like the Vargos, she grew up in Pennsylvania—though they didn’t cross paths till much later, when their kids brought them together. Dale’s daughter, Emma, and the Vargos’ son, Andrew, started dating in ninth grade. On the 10-year anniversary of their first date, Emma and Andrew became engaged—then married two years ago. “We’re co-mother-in-laws turned best friends,” Dale says.  

The party planning: It was only natural for Dale to throw Mary and Tracy their milestone birthday celebration, and she knew just who to call to help her pull it off: Janice Carnevale, owner of Bellwether Events, with whom Dale had worked when her older daughter, Lelia, got married (at the Vargos’ house, no less). Mary had also relied on Bellwether Events when she threw Dale’s 60th birthday party. While Mary and Tracy’s fete wasn’t a surprise, Dale did hope the duo would show up and “be delighted by how fun it was.” She also wanted fireworks and to have Citizen Cope perform. With Carnevale’s help, she settled on the Dockmaster Building, an indoor/outdoor venue on District Pier at the Wharf in Washington, D.C. Fireworks can be set off from a barge in the water. As for Citizen Cope? The singer-songwriter—and former D.C. resident—is Tracy’s favorite. The performer was available only on June 2 last summer, and so the date was set.  

The day-of: To make things easy, Mary and Tracy and their family (including kids Kate, Patrick and Andrew) stayed at the InterContinental Washington, D.C.—The Wharf, just steps from where the soiree would take place. (Dale stayed there, too.) “We spent the day in the pool, then walked over to the party, and went back at the end of the night,” Mary says.  

The theme: The waterfront location begged for a coastal beach theme. “I wanted it to look like an upscale dockside bar,” Dale says. A marquee sign on the pier reading “Life’s a Beach When You’re 60” set the casual, laid-back vibe for the 60 guests in attendance. Inside, Carnevale and her team had gone all out. Antique oyster cans filled with sea glass-toned florals (delphinium, campanulas, hydrangeas, sweet peas, snapdragons and others) served as centerpieces on the mix of tables. Various lounge areas (complete with beachy rattan furnishings) were staged inside and out, so guests could gather to chat, relax and nosh.  

The menu: The abundant food options by Susan Gage Caterers made a splash. A raw bar was set up in a rowboat and featured oysters shucked to order, among other seafood. Passed appetizers included mini-Reuben sandwiches (Tracy admits to loving these), grilled peach crostini, salmon brochettes, caprese skewers and a rendition of fish and chips served on potato chips. Dinner was buffet style, with lobster rolls (Mary’s favorite), lamb chops, halibut, a leek-and-shallot galette, tomato risotto, baby lettuce salad, asparagus and roasted-onion milk bread. Desserts included a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and edible white chocolate seashells. And the specialty cocktails? A Dark and Stormy and Strawberry Basil Margarita were among the drinks guests could indulge in at the outdoor open bar, which was outfitted with chunks of coral, decorative rope knots and vintage glassware in greens and blues.  

The concert and fireworks: Citizen Cope played both upbeat and mellow tunes for about an hour. “Mary, Tracy, Kate, Patrick and Andrew looked so thrilled and happy,” Dale recalls. “Tracy kept putting his arm around Kate, and they were singing together.” Following the set, Citizen Cope stayed to mingle with guests and take photos. “I think people liked that because they felt he wasn’t just showing up to perform, and integrated into the event a little bit,” Dale says. He even watched the fireworks—a highlight for Mary. “The night was so nice, and the fireworks went on for a long time,” she says. “It was perfect.” But the event didn’t end there: Instead, it kept going with music from a DJ, dancing, late-night snacks and cute seashell-shaped cookies Dale found on Etsy for guests to take home.   

The picture-perfect memory: Perhaps the most sentimental moment came when the Vargos managed to wrangle their immediate family together for a photo on the dock. They also pulled off snaps with Dale and the kids’ significant others—no easy feat to get everyone looking at the camera, eyes open and smiling. “We took one big picture together,” Mary says, “and it all worked out.”  

Vendors: Audiovisuals, Capitol Media Systems; catering and dining rentals, Susan Gage Caterers; DJ, DJ Flow from Zandi Entertainment; fireworks: Pyrotecnico; florals, LynnVale Studios; invitations, Paperless Post; large furniture rentals and colored glassware, Something Vintage Rentals; performer, Citizen Cope; photography, Stephen Bobb; planner and designer, Janice Carnevale of Bellwether Events; tabletop decor pieces, White Glove Rentals; transportation, RMA Limo

This story appears in the May/June edition of Bethesda Magazine.

The post Local couple celebrates 60th birthday with a splashy affair appeared first on MoCo360.

Puzzle Pieces

by Dana Gerber

This North Potomac couple’s multi-day nuptials included a giant crossword icebreaker, an Indian-style street fair and a buffet ranging from paella to sliders

The couple: Izzy Guimaraes, 33, grew up in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Georgetown Day School. She owns Wheelhouse Learning, a test prep company. Sid Luthra, 32, is originally from India. He is an entrepreneur who is currently between jobs. They live in North Potomac with their two dogs, Louie and Ruthie. 

How they met: The pair became friends after meeting on their first day of business school at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. When the pandemic hit, and their friend group hosted Zoom happy hours, Sid and Izzy would stay on talking until the wee hours. “There was a week where we logged, like, 40 full hours on Zoom,” recalls Izzy, who was living in North Bethesda at the time. They isolated for two weeks so Izzy could drive up to Sid in Pittsburgh for a “four-day first date,” where they played New York Times word puzzles and ordered takeout. “Then I drove home, and I was like, All right, well, I think this is it for me,” she says. 

The proposal: “She doesn’t love surprises,” says Sid of Izzy, so telling her he was taking her on a last-minute date on Nov. 10, 2021, without giving her any details, “did not go over super well.” But she agreed to the mystery outing, which ended up being a trip to The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, where they had talked about going since they started dating. “We made it there just in time for sunset,” Sid says, and that was when he popped the question. “That was the one good surprise,” Izzy says.  

Traditions: The day before the ceremony, the pair put their spin on several traditional Indian wedding festivities at their venue, the riverside Brittland Manor in Chestertown, Maryland. The day commenced with a baraat, a processional for the groom, followed by a varmala, where Sid and Izzy exchanged garlands, and a milni ceremony, during which members of their respective families were introduced. Then, they kicked off a street market-style event, where guests could pick out favors like bangles and bindis from vendor carts, get their henna done and munch on curry, kebabs and samosas. On the dance floor, the DJ led a lesson in bhangra—a type of folk dance—which “loosened everybody up,” Izzy says. Much of the celebration’s decor—paper umbrellas, hanging garlands and drapery—was sourced by Sid’s parents from India. 

The ceremony: The pair said “I do” on May 28, 2023, with about 170 guests present. “It’s a totally magical place,” Izzy says of Brittland. “You feel like you are totally in the middle of nowhere with all of your favorite people.” The morning of the wedding, however, the pair had yet to write their vows. “We took a golf cart out to a random place on the property where there was no one else around and just wrote them together,” Sid says.   

The reception: After the ceremony, guests migrated to a sailcloth tent on the estate’s back patio, where string and bamboo lights overhung the dance floor, which was surrounded by lounge furniture. “We basically just tried to make it look like our house, so it’s all a little bit midcentury influenced,” Izzy says. The earth-toned tablescapes were outfitted with taupe-colored candles and floral arrangements, including Queen Anne’s lace, garden roses and hydrangeas. After three of the newlyweds’ close friends performed their first dance song, Sunny Sweeney’s “Grow Old with Me,” the DJ spun dance remixes of wedding classics, such as “September” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” “They read the room perfectly,” Izzy says.  

The outfits: During the Saturday festivities, Izzy donned a custom pink-and-red lehenga—an Indian bridal ensemble—that Sid’s parents had gotten made in Delhi. “It’s my favorite outfit,” says the bride. Her “second favorite outfit,” she says, was her wedding dress: A V-neck gown from BHLDN. “It felt a little bit hippie-ish and a little bit boho, but also put together,” she says. Sid sported a light blue suit from Indochino, completing the look with a green floral tie that matched those of his groomsmen. 

The menu: The fare at the reception, the bride says, was “upscale comfort food”—a wide-ranging spread including stations for charcuterie, mezze, tacos, sliders and paella. No assigned seating meant “people could just go grab whatever they wanted,” Sid says. Izzy doesn’t drink, so the bar offered a range of zero-proof options, including mocktail versions of the signature drinks: a sparkling Bee’s Knees and a boulevardier. Instead of cake, there was a selection of mini desserts, such as strawberry shortcake trifles, chocolate ganache s’mores and brigadeiros—Brazilian chocolate confections as a nod to Izzy’s cultural roots. 

Handmade: The big day included several DIY touches from the couple, starting with the guest book, which took the form of an atlas. “People left recommendations, like, ‘If you’re ever in this place, you ​​have to go see this,’ ” says the groom, who also fashioned a mini photo booth out of an iPad and a bespoke wooden box. Guests tested their knowledge of the couple with a giant customized crossword puzzle, which Izzy designed and made into a dry-erase board. “It got people talking early on,” she says. There were also cornhole boards—monogrammed by Izzy—to add another activity into the mix. “We wanted to make sure that the non-dance floor people had enough stuff to do,” Sid says. 

The honeymoon: The couple hopes to take their honeymoon sometime this year and has their sights set on San Sebastián in Spain as the destination​​​​ due to its high concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants. “We read that, and we were like, All right, I guess we’re going to San Sebastián,” Izzy says. 

Vendors: Bridal alterations, Yolanda’s Bridal Alterations; catering, Chesapeake Chef Service; DJ, DJ Taj Productions; florals and rentals, Pretty Little Wedding Co.; golf carts, Golf Cart Sales and Service; guest shuttles, Chesapeake Charter; hair and makeup, Behind the Veil; lehenga, Show Shaa; marquee lights, Alpha-Lit Marquee Letters; mehndi, The Mehndi Diary; photographer, Stephanie Dee Photography; planner, Social Graces Events; restroom trailers, LuxLav; pipe-and-drape structures, On Your Mark Lighting Design and Equipment; second dress, Bardot; suit, Indochino; tent, Eastern Shore Tents & Events; venue, Brittland Manor; videographer, Toast Wedding Films; wedding dress, BHLDN.

Musical Mitzvah!

by Kristen Schott

The Fillmore Silver Spring was a show-stopping venue for this rock-and-roll reception

The teen: Matthew Kobrick, 13, was born at Sibley Hospital on April 3, 2010, and lives in Bethesda. His parents are Stacy Kobrick, an attorney at Covington & Burling LLP, and Jake Kobrick, a historian at the Federal Judicial Center. Matthew attends Sheridan School in D.C.  

The birthday: Matthew’s special year around the sun was commemorated in multiple ways—on a spring break trip honoring both him and his grandmother (who recently turned 75) at Rosewood Baha Mar in the Bahamas; a Capitals game, Shake Shack (his choice for dinner) and a sleepover with his best friend; and, of course, the main event a month later. 

The service: The bar mitzvah service was held on May 6 at Temple Sinai in D.C. It was led by rabbi Stephanie Bernstein and cantor Rebecca Robins, who paired Matthew with another boy for the occasion. “[Rebecca] knows the boys, and it came through in the service how much she cares for them and loves being part of this milestone,” Stacy says. Matthew wore a tallit (prayer shawl) that his grandmother had made for him out of his Auntie Samantha’s wedding chuppah. She died five years ago, and Matthew spoke about her in his d’var Torah (his interpretation of a Torah portion). A reception at the Fillmore Silver Spring followed the touching ceremony.

The reception theme: Matthew is a big music fan (and burgeoning guitarist and pianist), and he and his mom often attend concerts together. The Fillmore was an obvious location—the two had seen Blue October, Smallpools and Half Alive perform there. “We thought we’d do something unique to highlight his love of live music,” Stacy says. It was important for Matthew that the party strike the right note. Luckily, Ali Weitzman, a mitzvah-throwing expert and chief event officer at Ali Weitzman Events, knew how to achieve a blend of fun activities, decor and design elements to delight the most discerning 13-year-olds (and their parents, too).  

The kids’ cocktail hour: The 40 children who attended the service got the VIP treatment thanks to Weitzman, who arranged for a bus to escort them to the reception. “It was almost like they were in a band,” Stacy says. When the young people arrived at the Fillmore, they received VIP badges and were whisked to the green room for a private kids-only cocktail hour. “Matthew was so psyched about this,” she says. “The girls were posing in front of the mirrors like rock stars, and the boys were chilling on the couches.” While it was “off-limits” for the 100 adults, Stacy and her sister, Jill Sandusky, did sneak down to watch Matthew and his friends living their best lives. A special moment for him was signing his name on a brick on the wall, alongside all the bands that had played sold-out shows at the venue.   

The reception: The show-stopping elements were plentiful. To find their tables, guests had to match a lyric to the correct artist on a large record-inspired seating chart. “We wanted to make sure that each table represented an artist that would be known by that age group,” Stacy says. Artists included Fitz and the Tantrums, David Bowie and the Beatles (some of Matthew’s favorite bands), along with Rihanna and Taylor Swift. (Matthew also donned a T-shirt under his suit with Bowie’s blue-and-red lightning bolt.) The emcee, Christian “Exxo” Valentin, got everyone dancing. “It doesn’t happen at every bar mitzvah,” Matthew shared with his mom. The dance floor featured a logo bearing his name, which was also printed on graphic pillows designed by MitzvahLogos. The blue-patterned table cloths mimicked concert lighting, and the table numbers were repurposed 45s with corresponding album art. There was even a “merch store” stocked with tees made especially for the party.  

The menu: The menus were labeled by track instead of course and featured, among other things, family-style edible centerpieces (in lieu of flowers), espresso-crusted tenderloin and seared Alaskan halibut, plus a cookie-skillet station for a sweet treat. The Raise Your Glass lineup of signature cocktails ranged from the Purple Rain (Empress gin, Champagne, lemon juice and simple syrup) to the Spritz and the Tantrums (prosecco, Aperol and soda). There were mocktails for the kiddos and guitar-shaped straws for all. 

The pink flamingo “floatie” drink holders: These made Matthew’s—and everyone else’s—hands clap. “They were such a hit,” Stacy says. The flamingos were inspired by one of Matthew’s first favorite bands, AJR, and the cover art for their single “Bummerland.” Not many were left by the end of the night since everyone took them home as favors.  

Vendors: Planning and design, Ali Weitzman of Ali Weitzman Events; invitations, Paper Becomes You; catering, Ridgewells Catering; decor, DaVinci Florist; photo booth, Snap Entertainment; emcee and videographer, Washington Talent; photographer, Rachael Spiegel Photography; photo montage, Paige Rosenfeld; transportation, MJ Valet; dance-floor wrapping, MitzvahLogos; tallit, handmade by Meg Fisher of Elite Tallit.

Garden of Love

by Kristen Schott

The couple: LaTasha Mosley, 30, was born at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and grew up in Brookland; most of her family still lives in the D.C. area. Anwar Shagarabi, also 30, was born in London and raised in Atlanta. The couple lives in Birmingham, Alabama. LaTasha is a program manager for a nonprofit, and Anwar is a resident physician at University of Alabama at Birmingham.   

The introduction: The couple connected through a mutual friend, Jeffrey Moore (later a groomsman), in 2013 while in college. (LaTasha went to Spelman and Anwar went to Morehouse.) According to Anwar, their first date was the night they met—in a car, waiting for Jeffrey and his friend at the grocery store. “I was in the front seat, and she was in the rear passenger seat, so we weren’t even facing each other,” he says. “But we were talking about our childhoods and families.” Their first official date? To see her favorite football team (the Washington Commanders) play the Atlanta Falcons, followed by dinner at Lure, a seafood restaurant.   

The proposal: Anwar popped the question in December 2021, choosing Piedmont Park in Atlanta. He told her he wanted to go out, just the two of them. He followed the proposal up with a surprise engagement dinner at Lure—he’d also arranged for her mom and best friends, and some of his family, to be there to celebrate. 

The venue search:Because LaTasha was in the final stages of her PhD program when they became engaged, the pair took things slow. They also realized that finding a venue in the D.C. area would require advanced planning. They tapped virtual planner Brittany Smith, founder of The Venlist, to help them find their dream venues—National Cathedral School for the ceremony and Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ for the reception. They set the date for Sept. 2, 2023, the day before Anwar’s birthday.  

The attire: LaTasha chose an off-the-shoulder gown with a floral applique to fit their modern summer-in-the-garden-themed affair. (She shipped the gown to her mother’s house in D.C. so she wouldn’t have to hide it.) Anwar donned a white tuxedo jacket: “I won’t have another opportunity to wear one,” he says. His groomsmen sported gray ensembles, while LaTasha’s bridesmaids wore long dresses in various styles and shades of pink.  

The ceremony: Some 80 guests gathered for the union, which was officiated by LaTasha’s former youth pastor, Jeffery Fleming, and took place in the outdoor courtyard. The bride walked down the aisle with her mother. (Her father, who lives with dementia, was not able to escort her, but he was in attendance.) “I remember dreaming as a little girl about getting married, and to have the support of my mom was special,” she says. Because the couple didn’t do a first look, Anwar finally got a glimpse of his beloved as she made her journey toward him. “That’s my bride!” he recalls saying to his groomsmen. “She’s about to be my wife.” 

The reception:Following the ceremony, the group headed to the Marriott. Among the most memorable moments were the speeches, which included remarks from Anwar’s brother, Rani Shagarabi (the best man); groomsman Jeffrey Moore; and LaTasha’s maids of honor. Anwar got the biggest surprise of the day when LaTasha unveiled a video featuring those who couldn’t attend wishing him a happy birthday. As for the music? DJ P-Knock from Wroyal DJ Co.—the official DJ for the Commanders, and a Howard alum—set the vibe. “We chose him because we wanted to bring an HBCU feel to the reception,” says the bride. “We graduated from HBCU colleges, and a lot of our friends did, too.” 

The mother-daughter dance: The bride and her mother danced to “My Girl,” by The Temptations. A video of LaTasha and her father dancing together was projected in the background. “My mom was encouraging me: ‘Your dad would be up here cutting a rug with you too if he could be.’ ”  

The florals: In keeping with the theme, Farah’s Wedding Flower Designs dreamed up textural arrangements and personal florals filled with ranunculus and roses in peach, ivory, dark pink and plum hues, with eucalyptus for a pop of greenery. The ceremony arch was repurposed behind the sweetheart table, and Anwar wore what he says his mom called “the biggest boutonniere I’ve ever seen.” 

The menu: Guests dined on passed appetizers such as crabcakes and chicken and waffles. The main dish options were cola-braised short ribs with mashed potatoes (LaTasha says she wanted more), chicken or ravioli. The buttercream cake was made of lemon cake with blueberry, spicy vanilla chai and red velvet, with a Dr. & Dr. topper.  

The vendors: Virtual planner, Brittany Smith of The Venlist; month-of coordinator, Maxi & Co; invitations, The Knot; catering, Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ; ceremony chair rentals, Party Rental Ltd.; florals, Farah’s Wedding Flower Designs; photography, J.W. Collier Photography; videography, nVu Films; ceremony violinist, LjViolinist; reception DJ, DJ P-Knock at Wroyal DJ Co.; cake, Sweet Elevations Cakes and More; gown, Bridals by Lori; tux, The Black Tux; hair, Salon Noa; makeup, Shades of Radiance Beauty; transportation, Ed Smith; rings, Verragio rings from Solomon Brothers Jewelers (bride) and Mervis Diamond Importers (groom). 

Lights, Camera, Action

by Dana Gerber

This couple’s D.C. wedding pulled out all the stops—starting with their My Cousin Vinny-inspired engagement

The couple: Elyse Eisen, 39, grew up partly in Potomac. She is a travel and real estate publicist who owns her own company, The Chain Collective PR. Roger Sachar, 44, grew up in Southern California and Arizona. He is an attorney at Newman Ferrara LLP in New York. They live in Brooklyn with their dog, a Glen of Imaal Terrier named Judge Checkers.  

How they met: In 2018, Elyse’s friend goaded her into rejoining Bumble—and the first person she matched with was Roger. She was charmed by the setup for a joke on his profile: Why does Mozart eat chickens? When they matched, he revealed the punchline: Because they go Bach, Bach, Bach. “She said she dropped her phone and decided to give me a chance,” Roger says.  

The proposal: “Elyse’s favorite movie, bar none, is My Cousin Vinny,” Roger says, so in June 2020, he decided to propose by bringing the film’s iconic courtroom scene to life. He told Elyse there was a dispute regarding his billable hours and that she would need to testify in his defense—he even conspired with a judge he knew to preside over the fake case. Once she had taken the stand, he handed her an “exhibit” on his law firm’s letterhead that said “Dear Ms. Eisen, will you marry me? P.S.: You’ve been a lovely, lovely witness,” citing a quote from the movie. “She goes, ‘Yes,’ and then she sits there and waits for the next question,” Roger recalls. It wasn’t until her mother came in that she realized the whole thing was a ruse. “And then I was bawling,” she says.  

The ceremony: The couple wed on Nov. 5, 2022, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., with nearly 300 guests present. Prior to the ceremony, the couple signed the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract, and said “I do” under a chuppah bedecked in white drapery and bouquets. The same judge who had participated in their engagement stunt was their officiant, alongside a cantor. Meanwhile, Elyse’s uncle, donning a floral suit, served as the “flower girl,” which was “the highlight, for a lot of people,” says the bride. 

The reception:“Everything just felt very elegant, but not too opulent, where you couldn’t enjoy yourself,” Elyse says of the reception, and round tables ensured “people could see each other.” Elaborate tabletop candelabras stood out against the black, white and gold color scheme, and Roger picked out the flowers:
calla lilies—which are said to symbolize marital bliss—and white roses. A photo booth took 360-degree short videos that were sent to guests later, and an afterparty in the hotel lobby kept the party going well into the night. The kicker? “We did it on daylight savings,” Roger says. “Everybody got an extra hour of sleep.” 

The menu:After a burrata caprese salad as the first course, guests had three entree options: a petite filet with wagyu beef truffle ravioli, miso-
marinated cod with wasabi mashed potatoes or a vegetarian dish of black rice, baby bok choy, edamame, tofu, shimeji mushrooms and carrots in a miso broth. For dessert, a five-tier chocolate cake with a dulce de leche filling was served alongside other small treats, such as macarons and mini ice cream cones. As is par for the course, the newlyweds had little time to chow down themselves, but they got a second chance when burgers and fries made an afterparty appearance. “We were so hungry—it may have been the best burgers and fries I’ve ever had,” Roger says.  

The music: The 10-piece band “did not stop for anything,” Roger says—and that was just the way the pair envisioned it. “We wanted the party to keep going,” says the bride. The couple swayed to Linda Ronstadt’s cover of “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” for their first dance, but the bride’s real moment to shine came with a different tune. “I ran ‘Shout’—it was me playing to people, like, a little bit softer now,” she says. Even Roger falling out of his chair during the hora couldn’t spoil the fun.  

The outfits: Elyse’s long-sleeved, ’80s-inspired Leah Da Gloria dress was “not like anything I would have thought I was going to wear,” she says, but she was drawn to its detailing. “I just felt like, If I’m going to be a bride, that’s the dress I have to wear.” Later in the evening, both the bride and groom did outfit changes: Elyse traded her gown and heels for a black lace jumpsuit and sneakers, and Roger swapped his tuxedo for a green velvet jacket.  

The honeymoon: After a mini-moon to Anguilla soon after the wedding, the newlyweds jetted off this past summer for a six-week trip through Europe and North Africa, hitting London, Morocco, Athens, Dubrovnik, Rome and more. “We actually did it in carry-on suitcases,” Roger says. The trick? “Airbnbs with washing machines,” he says.  

Vendors: Accommodations, cake, catering and venue, The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.; band, The Blake Band of Starlight Music; design and planning, Jamie Kramer Events; dress, Bridal Reflections; florist and rentals, Amaryllis; hair and makeup, MAB Hair and Makeup Artistry; invitations, Etched in Sloane; jumpsuit, Zhivago; photo booth, Extraordinary Entertainment; photography, Michael Bennett Kress Photography; suit, LS Men’s Clothing; videography, G Muse Studios.

Dana Gerber, a Rockville native, lives in Massachusetts and works fulltime for the business section of The Boston Globe. Kristen Schott is the deputy editor of lifestyle and weddings for Philadelphia magazine.

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Your home’s exterior environment should reflect your life indoors and your style, whether you lean sophisticated and chic or simply want a place where the kids can kick around a soccer ball or play fetch with Fido. The three plots shown here do exactly that. One is a poolside setting straight out of the 1960s. Another, a classic Queen Anne abode, comes complete with a private putting green. The last is a contemporary resort-inspired retreat. And they’re all unique, providing one-of-a-kind experiences perfectly suited to the sunny autumn days that lie ahead.

Midcentury Musings

Anthony and Elizabeth Wilder’s Bethesda home feels like it was plucked out of 1960s Palm Springs, California, with a deck and poolside scene painting the backdrop to a Slim Aarons portrait. That was the vibe they were after when the couple, who run Cabin John-based Anthony Wilder Design/Build, embarked on their renovation project.

“We didn’t want to detract from what we feel is a beautifully designed home,” says Elizabeth, president of the company. “We wanted the renovation to enhance it rather than take away from it.”

The Wilders purchased the circa 1960s home, across from Congressional Country Club, in 2014 but didn’t embark on any major changes until 2020, amid the pandemic.

“We used our team’s downtime to finish off the house,” says Anthony, founder and lead architectural designer. “We reinvented it.”

The Wilders started by redoing the deck. “The deck that was added before we were there was not in the original design,” Elizabeth says. “We wanted to give it that midcentury look.”

More to the point, they wanted easier deck-to-pool access for their three dogs (an Australian shepherd/rottweiler mix named Izzy, and two Great Pyrenees/Bernese mountain dog mixes, Conrad and Lulu) and four grandchildren (their two sons are in their 40s), all of whom love to splash in the water. 

“When you’re designing a house with a pool, you want it to be visually connected to the inside,” Anthony says. “A lot of people have pools that are far from the house, and they rarely use them because you can’t see the children. It’s unnerving.” 

Anthony solved that problem by designing a staircase that leads from the deck, with its sliding glass doors, to the pool. The deck is made with low-maintenance ipe wood decking with Azek trim boards for longevity. The setup is a hit. 

“I don’t think we realized how integral the stairs would be,” Elizabeth says. “We do a lot of entertaining, and the staircase ends up being nice amphitheater-style seating.” In addition to the informal seating—plus a bench/storage box the Wilders brought from their previous home and retrofitted for the spa—the couple also outfitted the deck with various furnishings. The sofas are by Philippe Starck, and the gray coffee table is by an Italian designer. The Wilders obtained that table—and the two patio chairs by the spa—from a client who was moving. 

In addition to the deck, a small flagstone patio was added adjacent to the pool to provide more space for seating (via three lounges by CB2 plus an Ikea umbrella).  

Another component: Upgrading the cracked tennis court. Tilford Jones, who’s a friend of the Wilders and also president and CEO of Rockville-based Sport Systems, did the new court, which features blue outlines to tie in with the pool and lines for pickleball and tennis. A gated fence prevents the pups from chasing balls across the court.

So what’s it like to work on your own home versus a client’s? “Once you get into a house, your objective changes: It becomes subjective,” Anthony says. Adds Elizabeth: “It was good perspective: Designing your own home is emotional.” 

But when the home was completed in the fall of 2021, it was picture-perfect and timeless—setting the scene for years to come. 

Above Par

The elegant Chevy Chase Village home of Keeley and Britt Snider, a stay-at-home mom and a principal at D.C.-based real estate company Redbrick LMD, has a secret. The charming Queen Anne-style home has a putting green in the backyard—a draw for kids and adults alike.

“Britt loves to golf,” Keeley says. “The putting green was just an idea at first, but then we realized we could make it happen.”

The couple tapped Joseph Richardson, founding principal of Arlington, Virginia-based Richardson & Associates Landscape Architecture, to redesign their backyard—one component of an interior and exterior renovation of the historically designated, circa 1890s abode. (They also worked with general contractor Structure, GTM Architects and Chick Landscaping.) The project sought to preserve the aesthetic while also bringing the home up to date for Keeley, 45, Britt, 47, their daughters, ages 14, 12 and 2, and their dog—a parti-colored Yorkie named Birdie.

“A lot of what we did had to conform to the general design of the neighborhood,” says Richardson, who completed the project in the summer of 2021. “And we embraced that.”  

The putting green, for example, simply blends in with the rest of the lawn; it features a synthetic turf designed to mimic authentic greens. Real grass surrounds the play space. “It’s almost indistinguishable,” Richardson says. “There’s no visual seam, really.”

The lawn is an important element for the family—their oldest daughter is a lacrosse player, and she and her sister enjoy knocking around a soccer ball. Of course, Birdie loves it, too.

“He’d be out there all the time if we let him,” Keeley says.

Since they’re a relatively active family, the Sniders didn’t want anything too high-maintenance in their landscaping—though Keeley has a penchant for flowering plants. “I really don’t have much of a green thumb,” she admits. “I want the yard to look beautiful, and I love hydrangeas and peonies. Joe did a great job—he has a passion for finding things that belong locally and using those selections to make your yard shine.”

Richardson and his team used a mixture of low-maintenance flora. Screening trees line the perimeter of the backyard. There are flowering shrubs—hydrangeas, rhododendrons, astilbes, catmints—and European hornbeams, a favorite of Richardson’s, which are adjacent to the garage and the driveway. “It’s a great tree,” he says. “It’s grown to have a columnar shape.” They’re typically planted in a tightly spaced row, much like Italian cypress. Here, Richardson says, “They’re uplit, and it’s a neat effect—a great backdrop to the patio.”

The patio is tucked next to the wraparound porch, adding a modern touch without taking away from the historic nature of the home. There’s a concrete gas firepit for gatherings—depending on a client’s preferences, Richardson suggests gas over wood because of its convenience—as well as a teak dining set and lounge chairs by Kingsley Bate. A standalone Weber grill, rather than a built-in outdoor kitchen, allows for casual cooking. “Unless you’re passionate about cooking and going to use [an outdoor kitchen] a lot, it doesn’t always make sense to invest the kind of money it takes to build one,” Richardson says.

The family makes use of the entire space, from entertaining on the patio to honing their golf skills on the putting green. “We love being out in the backyard whenever weather allows,” Keeley says. “We wanted it to feel very indoor/outdoor—comfortable, welcoming and like our door is always open.”

Natural Oasis

For Lan and Mike Rosenblatt, both 55, dreaming up their new home in Bethesda was an extension of their jobs in the hotel industry: They hoped their dwelling would feel like a contemporary mountain lodge.

“I wanted the woods and that tree house feeling,” says Lan, who, along with Mike, co-founded Acacia Hospitality. Her vision was accomplished by Bethesda-based Sandy Spring Builders and Mark Kaufman, principal of Bethesda-based GTM Architects, in the summer of 2020 on a 2.2-acre plot the Rosenblatts had purchased two years earlier while living in Atlanta. (The couple had previously resided in the area.) 

Today, the contemporary manse sits off busy Bradley Boulevard, but you would never know it. The home is away from the street and backs up to a conservation area, and is practically transparent from the front to the back, with a gorgeous two-story wall of windows and interior bridge that look out on the backyard and forest beyond.

“All you see are trees,” says Ray Sobrino, president of Sandy Spring Builders. 

 The exterior and interior of the house feel like a continuation of one another, creating an indoor/outdoor vibe that’s perfect for a couple who loves to entertain, cook and sip wine—one of their favorite ways to unwind—amid a natural setting.

“They wanted spaces that were different rooms within the outside of the house,” Sobrino says. The porch, which has retractable screening, features the same Italian flooring that’s found in the adjacent kitchen—Cotto d’Este, a durable indoor-outdoor porcelain paver. The exterior stone is “blazed,” meaning it has a rougher, more slip-resistant finish; the interior has a natural finish. A set of sliding glass doors sits between the porch and kitchen, and connects the spaces when open. Directly next to the porch is a step down into the outdoor grilling area. The charcoal Big Green Egg smoker and Alfresco gas grill are built into stone, with granite counter tops. A set of CB2 Breton chairs surrounds a gas firepit.

“From those areas, the Zen-inspired pool becomes the center point—and also the next room,” Sobrino notes. “It’s a lot of outdoor scenes within a small area that [offer] a different experience.” The pool is a marvel, jutting away from the house. “The first time Mark presented [the idea] to me, I had to sit with it a little bit,” says Lan, who originally thought the pool would be parallel with the double-height windows. “But the more I thought about it, I really liked it.”

Another unique component of the pool: For the first 9 feet, on the shallow end closer to the house, there’s a Baja shelf where you can set up lounge chairs. “You’re basically lying on top of the water,” Sobrino says. TimberTech decking breaks up the space between the outdoor living areas and the water. 

Lan and Mike love the pool. She enjoys taking a break during the day to sit by the water for an hour or so; the first time Mike used it, he remarked that he can watch football while floating.

But perhaps it’s their golden retriever, McCrae (named after a wine from California’s Kistler Vineyards), who enjoys the entire experience the most. “She’ll bound through the pool while she’s chasing her ball,” Lan says. “She’s probably what gets us out there the most. She wants to be playing all day.” 

This story appears in the September/October issue of Bethesda Magazine.

The post Check out three blissful backyards in the Bethesda area appeared first on MoCo360.

Leap of Faith

A Chevy Chase couple’s nature-filled wedding took equal parts inspiration from Jewish and Indian culture

By Dana Gerber

The couple: Emily Mirengoff, 34, grew up in Bethesda and graduated from Walt Whitman High School. She is a communication specialist at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C. Srikanth Damera, 32, grew up in Rochester, New York. He is a medical student at Georgetown University. They live in Chevy Chase. 

The introduction: In January 2018, Emily and Srikanth matched on a dating app called The League, where one of Emily’s profile photos was a shot of her twirling in the Swiss mountains, a reference to The Sound of Music. Srikanth messaged her, “Is it just me or are those hills alive?” Emily was impressed. “I was like, ‘Hey, he got it!’ ” she says. Soon after, they went on their first date at Service Bar in D.C., and the conversation flowed. “It was good back and forth. If you’ve been on dating apps, sometimes it’s very one-sided,” Emily says.  

The proposal: On April 17, 2021, on Emily’s dad’s birthday and the day before Emily’s, she and Srikanth went to a family lunch at Emily’s sister’s house in Reston, Virginia. During the meal, Srikanth turned to her and popped the question. “He knew that I would think it would be on my birthday, so he punked me and did it the day before,” says Emily. “And I was sincerely surprised.” 

The ceremony: Srikanth and Emily tied the knot on June 19, 2022, at Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion in Chevy Chase with about 150 guests present. “Sri’s ideal was to get married in the middle of the woods. My ideal would be an old historic house or structure,” Emily says. Woodend was the perfect middle ground. The ceremony took place outside in an area called the Grove. Dinner was a tented affair off the house, and dancing was in the mansion’s foyer. Emily’s high school friend Ashwin Shandilya officiated the ceremony, and the couple recited their own vows on the beautiful, sunny day. “Some guests joked that clearly we needed both the Hindu gods and the Jewish gods to bring about such a miracle of weather,” Emily says.

The cultures: When the couple embarked on the wedding planning process, it was a given that their respective cultures—Emily is Jewish, Srikanth is Hindu—would be front and center. “It was predictably challenging at times to figure out the right balance to strike,” Srikanth says of their effort to create “a union of the two ceremonies, because it’s the union of the two of us.” Among the traditions included throughout the day were the signing of the Ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract; the presentation of the mangalsutra necklace to the bride, a Hindu custom that signifies marriage; and a baraat, an Indian ritual where the groom travels to the wedding on horseback. Some customs lent themselves well to both cultures, such as a wedding canopy, which took inspiration from the chuppah in the Jewish faith and the mandap in the Hindu faith. 

The dress: Emily picked a Justin Alexander ball gown with tulle, lace and a chapel-length train from Ellie’s Bridal Boutique in Alexandria, Virginia. “I liked that it was a little bit more detailed than a classic white dress,” she says. She also donned fresh jasmine flowers in her hair, a tradition for south Indian brides, and henna tattoos of the Ohm symbol on one wrist and the Star of David on the other. 

The music: Srikanth curated three playlists: one for the baraat, one for cocktail hour and one for the reception. “I wanted to DJ the wedding, but I was told that I could not do that,” he says. “So the second best was to hire somebody to press play on my music.” For their first dance, the newlyweds swayed to “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” a song from one of Srikanth’s favorite Bollywood films as a child, before guests grooved to throwback hits like “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers and “One More Time” by Daft Punk.

The menu: In keeping with the multicultural theme, the couple turned to both a Western caterer and an Indian caterer. Cocktail-hour appetizers included vegetable samosas and a strawberry-and-goat-cheese crostini, and for entrees, guests had the choice of a curry trio, sauteed chicken breast paired with mushrooms, or pomegranate-roasted salmon. The couple opted for a dessert bar filled with treats like creme brulee spoons, fresh fruit skewers and mango mousse. “I just thought it would be more fun than cake,” Emily says.

The flowers: “I knew that his family would be in bright colors, because Indian weddings are bright, famously,” Emily says, so she wanted the blooms to be vibrant and joyful. Florals like flame-orange pincushions, hot-pink freesias and purple veronicas made the bridal bouquet pop with color, and similar blooms appeared in gold vases on each reception table. 

The special touches: During cocktail hour, kids and adults alike were entertained by outdoor games of backgammon, Jenga and cornhole. A Polaroid was available during the reception for guests to snap photos, adding “a nice vintage feel,” Srikanth says. Emily, who pours candles as a hobby, whipped up two custom blends to serve as party favors. “I really wanted to give people something personal,” she says. 

The honeymoon: Srikanth’s medical school schedule put the honeymoon on hold, but they have a trip booked for January to Patagonia in South America, where they plan to hike the scenic W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park.

The vendors: DJ, Chris Laich Music Services; drinks, Ace Beverage Fine Wines & Spirits; event planner, Kristi Hartig of Glow Weddings and Events; florist, Elegance & Simplicity Inc.; food, Catering by Seasons and IndAroma; hair and makeup, Updos for I Dos; horse, Harmon’s Horse Drawn Hayrides and Carriages; photographer, Shelly Pate Photography; rehearsal dinner, Masala Art; venue, Woodend Sanctuary & Mansion.

Destination ‘I Do’s’

This Bethesda pair turned their wedding into a family vacation, then continued the party back at home

By Kristen Schott

The couple: Ariana Kelly, 45, grew up in Bethesda and graduated from Walter Johnson High School in 1994. She represents District 16 in the Maryland House of Delegates and is the vice chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee. Stephen Taylor, 53, grew up in Spring Valley, New York, and moved to Montgomery County after earning his chiropractic degree about two decades ago. He owns Family Back & Neck Care Center in Montgomery Village. They live in Bethesda with their four teenagers, Jordyn, Dylan, Maeve and Leo. 

The introduction: Stephen has Ariana’s cousin, Margaret Dayhoff-Brannigan, to thank for bringing them together. Dayhoff-Brannigan was sifting through Ariana’s matches on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel to find her the “right” man. “The people I was dating were interested in me because of my work,” Ariana says. “People for whom politics is a hobby find it glamorous.” Stephen’s politics-free profile made him a prime candidate. The two went on their first date at Mon Ami Gabi in August 2018. They talked about the past, the future and what wine to pair with steak—Stephen had ordered a white wine, and Ariana teased him that it should be red. “It was a cute little conversation,” he says.

The big move: In the two years before getting engaged, the couple started taking steps to solidify their future. One of the biggest moves was combining households. They were purposeful about buying a new house together rather than moving into one or the other’s house; they wanted the kids to feel comfortable about the decision, too. “We made sure they looked at the house before we bought it and were excited, and it has a lot of fun places for teenagers to hang out,” Ariana says. “It was perfect because then COVID happened and we were trapped at home.”

The proposal: The couple got engaged in 2020 after living together for a little over a year. It wasn’t traditional: Ariana simply said it was time to get married. Stephen, who is a bit more old-fashioned, according to Ariana, said it was the “man’s job” to propose. Ariana, in turn, called him a sexist. But he got his way and popped the question the next week, getting down on one knee in the living room with a vintage sapphire ring. 

The ceremony: As with their home, Ariana and Stephen were intentional with their wedding. First and foremost, they thought of their children. “We wanted them to feel like we were moving forward together,” Ariana says. The pair also didn’t want to plan a big reception in the middle of COVID. So they decided to do a destination wedding in Hawaii—starting with a trip to the Big Island and ending with a ceremony on a rugged clifftop in Hana on Maui, overlooking the ocean. “I thought it was metaphorically beautiful to get married on a rocky cliff,” Ariana says. “The cliche is the white sandy beach—maybe that’s your first marriage. By the time you’re brave enough to go through it a second time, you understand there are challenges that come with the beauty.” On hand for the union, which took place on Jan. 1, 2022, were their four kids and officiant
Kameran-James Kealoha Kamalu Fernandez, who doubled as the ukulele player. Right after he pronounced Stephen and Ariana husband and wife, one of the kids shouted, “Group hug!” It was one of Stephen’s favorite moments.

The reception: On May 1, Ariana and Stephen held their reception at Pinstripes in North Bethesda with 100 friends and family members, plus elected officials. “We were going back and forth about whether we should have the reception, but I’m glad we did because it was touching,” Stephen says. “It was the first time that my family met her family. It was great to have them all together.” The theme? A modified luau, with tropical flowers (protea, orchids and others in pink, orange and green hues) and photos from the ceremony as the centerpieces, plus a photo booth with cardboard cutouts of Elvis in a bathing suit and then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—in honor of Ariana’s daughter, Maeve, a fan of the congresswoman.

The entertainment: The couple paid homage to Ariana’s heritage with Irish dancing and music from Celtic Music for All Occasions, which also played the tunes for the Jewish couple’s hora—all while wearing Hawaiian shirts and leis. 

The menu: The brunch menu included appetizers such as tenderloin sliders and pigs in a blanket. For the main course, guests ordered from the omelet bar and dined on waffles, breakfast potatoes and bacon. Tropical sangria was the signature drink. For dessert, an ice-cream bar supplemented a giant Napoleon cake by Stella’s Bakery. 

The special touch: The kids led an extended toast complete with a trivia game about their mom and dad. “It was so sweet to see the four kids up there talking about how they liked this family that we built together,” Ariana says.

The favors: Guests went home with mugs bearing what Ariana calls “cheesy resort pictures” of the family in front of an “aloha” sign during their vacation. 

The vendors: Cake, Stella’s Bakery; invitations, Evite; catering, Pinstripes (North Bethesda); ceremony florals, Hala Tropicals; reception florals, Petals to the Metal Florist LLC; entertainment, Celtic Music for All Occasions; hair and makeup, Maui Makeup Artistry; ceremony photography, Kevin Brock Photography; reception photography, Kate Lewis Photography; photo booth, Good Vibrations Entertainment Services; bride’s ceremony dress, Sottero & Midgley from Urban Set Bride; bride’s reception dress, Sachin & Babi from Anthropologie; bridesmaids’ dresses, The Dessy Group; groom’s attire, weddingtropics.com and Suitsupply; wedding bands, Tiffany & Co.

New Traditions

High school sweethearts honored their Cambodian and African backgrounds throughout their festivities

By Kristen Schott

The couple: Vannyda Mbimba (maiden name Kong), 29, grew up in Gaithersburg. She is a senior associate in governance oversight at Fannie Mae. JC Mbimba, 29, was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved with his family to Gaithersburg when he was 7. He is a clinical pharmacist at Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. The couple lives in Gaithersburg. 

The introduction: JC was not in a good mood when he met his future bride at her high school lacrosse game. His friend, also a lacrosse player, had dragged him to the match. “I probably didn’t make the best impression,” JC says. Regardless, they hit it off. They were friends first before they began dating in 2010, during their junior year of high school. Their first date: mini golf at Bohrer Park and milkshakes at Silver Diner.  

The proposal: JC’s plan began to take shape when a mutual friend asked the couple to pose for portraits for his photography portfolio. JC realized it would be a perfect opportunity to propose. He set the occasion for July 2019 at the National Arboretum, after Vannyda returned from visiting family in Cambodia. A twist? “When she was away, she was texting me that she was having dreams that I proposed and she hated the ring,” JC says. But the psychic energy didn’t deter him. He surprised Vannyda by getting their friends and family to hide around the National Capitol Columns and come out once he got down on one knee. The day before the proposal, he had recreated their first date. 

The cultural ceremony: The pandemic delayed the wedding twice to mid-2022. It was important to Vannyda and JC to pay homage to their respective cultures. “I always pictured myself having a Cambodian wedding, and he always pictured himself having a church wedding,” Vannyda says. So they did both, beginning with an intimate Cambodian ceremony on May 14 in the Germantown backyard of Vannyda’s sister-in-law, Yolande Mbimba. During the groom’s procession, his family brought gifts for the bride and her kin. During another traditional ceremony, guests pretended to trim the couple’s hair. “It symbolizes getting rid of your dead ends and old life and embracing your new married life,” Vannyda says. The festivities ended with a literal knot-tying—friends and relatives tied a red string around the couple’s wrists and offered a blessing. 

The wedding: On June 3, the couple said “I do” at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church in Frederick and held an evening reception in Catoctin Hall at Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville. Vannyda describes their theme as “romantic summer garden.” The color scheme was coral, gray, cream, pink and green. Tall trumpet vases filled with hydrangeas, cream and pink roses, Italian ruscus and greenery served as the centerpieces. “Guests told us they were the perfect height so they could have a conversation at dinner,” the bride says. For table numbers, the couple used pictures depicting them at that age. The sweetheart table was decorated with Vannyda’s bouquet and a neon-sign backdrop that read “The Mbimbas.” And, on a table toward the entryway, the couple placed photos of their grandparents and other family members who had passed. 

The menu: Appetizers included goat cheese crostini and chicken and waffles. Strawberry “Marry Me Margaritas” were the signature drink. The 156 attendees dined on filet, mushroom ravioli or flounder stuffed with lobster. And there were not one but two cakes: lemon-raspberry for him and Jamaican coconut rum for her. A dessert table was laden with mini fruit tarts, eclairs, chocolate chip cookies and raisin cookies.  

The reception: The couple honored their parents during their parent dances. For hers, Vannyda changed into a custom dress of Cambodian fabric, and her dad wore a shirt made from the same material. For JC’s dance, his bowtie matched his mother’s traditional Congolese ensemble. “At one point, I started crying, then she started crying, then the whole room started crying,” JC says. “All the important women in my life came out and danced with us, too.” One of JC’s favorite elements of the ceremony was the exotic rental car—an Audi R8. “It was my favorite car growing up,” he says. “I got to keep it for the weekend, so that was awesome.” For Vannyda, one of the most special moments came as the sun sank from the sky in a spectacular sunset. Their best man, Rhyen Kinnear, brought the couple outside to see the gorgeous scene. “Then we turned around, and all of our guests were on the back patio enjoying the sunset, too,” she says. The DJ ushered everyone out so Vannyda and JC could have a private dance to Michael Bublé’s “Save the Last Dance for Me.” Afterward? A sparkler exit.

Vendors: Cake and desserts, Classic Bakery; invitations, Basic Invite; catering, Musket Ridge Golf Club; florals, Events by Jemie; entertainment, Just-Ice the DJ; event planning, Melody Wardak and Victoria Tucker (day-of) of Musket Ridge Golf Club; hair and makeup, Metropolitan Makeup & Hair LLC; photography, Sam Hurd; videography, Paperboys; bride’s dresses, Madison James from Couture Bridal of Maryland (ceremony) and Designs by Victoire (reception and groom’s bow tie); bridesmaids’ dresses, Azazie; groom’s attire, State & Liberty; cake topper, Rawkrft from Etsy; wedding bands, Masica Diamonds (bride) and Georgios Collections (groom). 

Hoppy Ending

After years of dating long-distance, a Gaithersburg couple planned a barn wedding featuring an abundance of flowers, a dessert bar and a bespoke beer can 

By Dana Gerber

The couple: Gabby Duffy (maiden name Paolini), 28, grew up in Gaithersburg and graduated from Quince Orchard High School. Zach Duffy, 31, grew up in Boston. They both work as government consultants for Booz Allen Hamilton and live in Gaithersburg. 

The introduction: Gabby and Zach met through mutual friends in 2012, when Gabby was a freshman at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Zach was a junior. The pair kept in touch even after he graduated, enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in San Diego. They went on their first date in 2016 when Zach came to Boston while on leave, but they didn’t make their relationship official until Gabby visited Zach in San Diego the following March. They dated long-distance for a few years. “You had to really rely on communication,” Gabby says, adding that they exchanged more than 10,000 emails before they moved in to a Rockville apartment together just as the pandemic was starting. “We got to know each other probably more quickly than if we were in person.” 

The proposal: Gabby’s family has a longtime tradition of going to Downtown Crown Wine & Beer in Gaithersburg every Friday night, which Zach joined once he was local. In October 2020, Zach arranged with the owners to display “Gabby Will You Marry Me?” as one of the beers listed on tap. The brew was described as being a “Maryland IPA with West Coast Flavor,” a nod to their long-distance beginnings, with an ABV of 20.22%, since they knew they wanted a 2022 wedding. “Eventually, she saw it, and she turned around and was like, ‘Oh, wow, this is happening,’ ” Zach recalls.

The ceremony: The couple wed on May 21, 2022, at Sweeney Barn in Manassas, Virginia, with about 140 guests present. “I always wanted a barn wedding, but not your rustic, slats, dirt barn wedding—more of a refined, renovated barn,” Gabby says. Her uncle officiated the outdoor ceremony, and the pair wrote their own vows, which included plenty of inside jokes and references to their favorite shared movies and TV shows. “We just spoke to each other’s personalities,” Gabby says. 

The dress: In search of something “funky, something that you don’t traditionally see,” Gabby visited Love Couture Bridal in Park Potomac with her mom to try on dresses. She picked out a blush-pink ball gown with floral detailing. “My face did get a little red—I think that was the closest to the Say Yes to the Dress crying moment,” Gabby says. To complete the ensemble, she donned a pair of sparkly Keds sneakers, which she kept on even after switching to a long-sleeve, open-back dress for the reception.

The flowers: To achieve Gabby’s “enchanted forest” vision, William Thomas Floral set up a lush arch over the altar, festooned the aisle with flowers and constructed a pergola atop the head table in reception, incorporating blooms like roses, hydrangeas and eucalyptus. “The only time the entire wedding that I teared up was seeing the room and the flowers,” Gabby says. An outdoor escort wall—with a banner that read “You’re Simply the Best,” a reference to a romantic moment in one of the couple’s favorite TV shows, Schitt’s Creek—guided guests to their reception seats with place cards tied to petite vases of flowers.

The music: For the newlyweds’ first dance, the 10-piece Free Spirit band crooned “Simply the Best” by Noah Reid—a callback to the couple’s escort wall. Afterward, the band got guests grooving with hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “No Diggity.” “It did feel like a concert at one point,” Gabby says. The bride’s favorite moment from the big day was standing next to Zach just after seeing everybody dancing to a rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’. ” “He just turned to me and was like, ‘Wow,’ ” she recalls. “Everything had just come together.”

The menu: During cocktail hour, guests munched on passed appetizers of mac-and-cheese bites and Hawaiian tuna poke, plus fare from charcuterie and guacamole stations. The plated dinner included asparagus and beet ravioli, jumbo crab-stuffed prawns and short ribs with fried shallots. The self-proclaimed “anti-wedding cake” couple opted for a dessert bar instead, serving up confections like red velvet cake pops, mini cheesecakes and s’mores cups. The standout late-night bite was the “pizzarita,” a Clark University delicacy that combines a chicken parmesan and a quesadilla. After the reception wrapped up around 10 p.m., shuttles took guests to the nearby Three Monkeys Pub & Chophouse, where midnight snacks and an open bar kept the party going into the wee hours. 

The drinks: Two specialty cocktails named after the couple’s cats (“The Harry,” a tequila concoction, and “The Harvey,” a bourbon mixture) were offered at “Bailey’s Bar,” named after their dog. The couple’s love of craft beer was also on full display: Aslin Beer Co. in Alexandria designed a customized beer label for the pair, featuring their wedding hashtag, “#TillDuffDoUsPart,” on cans of IPA. “It was definitely a talking point,” Gabby says. 

The honeymoon: The day after the wedding, the newlyweds flew to Denver for their honeymoon, spending four days hiking and checking out local breweries. In October, they did a “part two” in Amelia Island, Florida, lounging by the pool and playing golf. 

The vendors: After party, Three Monkeys Pub & Chophouse; band, Free Spirit by Entertainment Exchange; beer, Aslin Beer Co.; catering, Occasions Caterers; dress, Love Couture Bridal; floral and decor, William Thomas Floral; hair and makeup, Georgetown Bride; hotels, SpringHill Suites Gainesville Haymarket and Tru by Hilton Manassas; invitations and menus, Kelly Joyce Design; lighting, Atmosphere Inc.; planning and design, Michele Hodges Events; photography, Steve Canning Photography; rehearsal dinner, The Black Sheep; signage, LeahLetters; suits, Men’s Wearhouse; transportation, Reston Limousine; venue, Sweeney Barn; videography, Bowen Films

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Celery-juice cleanses. Laxative abuse. Drinking too much water (yes, it’s possible).

Wellness advice—sometimes taken too far—has popped up all over TikTok for years, with a barrage of content from uninformed influencers, rather than health care professionals, touting hacks to improve you inside and out in a snap. One of the latest pet topics of the social media app: gut health.

At last count, the #guttok hashtag had nearly 642 million views, with tips claiming to relieve bloating, stop constipation, increase energy, decrease brain fog—the list goes on.

While focusing on your wellness is by no means a bad approach, what is problematic is the preoccupation of not being satisfied with a “normal” digestive system, says Dr. Aamir Ali, a gastroenterologist at Capital Digestive Care in Chevy Chase. Ali once treated a patient with severe inflammation in the rectum and lower colon due to a coffee enema—another TikTok-inspired idea gone wrong.

“The enemy of good is better,” he says. “[People are] trying to achieve that undefined ideal.”

Put another way, the gut is complex—and there’s still so much we don’t know. But let’s start with what we do know. 

In a nutshell, a healthy gut is all about balance, says Dr. Aline Charabaty, a gastroenterologist with Johns Hopkins Medicine at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Upper Northwest D.C. “It’s judicious enough to know what nutrients need to be absorbed and what elements we are ingesting that are harmful. The gut should be strong enough not to allow the bacteria…we’re ingesting to harm our body,” Charabaty says. The intestinal lining and what’s inside the gut—or the microorganisms in the gut microbiome—should live in harmony. “They need to feed on each other and help each other out.” 

Is there a one-and-done way to ensure everything is copacetic? No, she says. “There’s never going to be one thing that’s going to fix it.” 

Signs of a healthy gut include regular bowel movements, not having acid reflux, and not experiencing pain with digestion, notes Jill Fuster, a registered dietitian with the Potomac Valley Psychotherapy Associates and the Eating Disorders Center of Potomac Valley in North Bethesda. All of that can, for most people, be achieved by eating a balanced diet and listening to your body—rather than “working” on gut health. “It’s like working on calf health or hand health,” says Daisy Miller, a licensed dietitian nutritionist and owner of Dr. Daisy & Co. in Rockville. Instead, you have to look at the bigger picture.

Regardless, the TikTok sphere is hard at work promoting quick fixes. “An extreme preoccupation with your health can cause anxiety, which can backfire and cause gut distress,” Fuster says. “There’s a need for people to understand gut health, but on a platform like TikTok, the majority of people won’t be able to discern what positive information is versus what’s just the next fad.”

A common sense approach: If you think you have a problem, talk to a primary care doctor, gastroenterologist or a dietitian. Don’t try to solve it on your own, or with only the help of TikTok. Here’s what health care professionals had to say about a few trending fixes.

Adding L-glutamine powder

Probiotics, supplements and powders all claim to be cure-alls for your tummy. L-glutamine powder, for example, can heal your gut lining, according to some TikTok users. But we typically make enough of the amino acid to support our bodies, Charabaty says. If you’re already eating a healthy diet—with proteins such as eggs, beef or tofu—you’re absorbing foods rich in it. 

However, those with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease or celiac disease have intestinal linings with greater permeability than those with a normal system—and therein lies the kernel of truth in the trend, Ali says. 

“[Adding L-glutamine powder] is related to the concept of a leaky gut, which is still in evolution,” Ali says. “The lining of the intestinal tract can become leaky and permit the passage of more compounds than usual” in people with injured intestines. We don’t know how to measure a leaky gut, he says, and there’s no accepted single test to demonstrate whether someone has it or determine its root cause. (Is a patient’s leaky gut causing symptoms of celiac disease, or is it part of the irregularities that occur in the digestive tract as part of the condition?) “You have to know what the problem is first,” Fuster says. “So see a gastroenterologist.”

Even well-researched additives, like probiotics—which supposedly help promote the good bacteria in your gut—are questionable because the gut is so complex. “We’ve spent millions of dollars researching probiotics and still don’t really understand what’s actually helpful and for whom,” Miller says.

The verdict: It might help if you really need it, but only a doctor can tell you that.

Snacking on papaya seeds

People either love or hate papaya, though most folks agree that the seeds are bitter. But various TikTok videos claim that scooping the seeds from the flesh of the fruit and downing them raw can remove parasites that live in your body. 

“These seeds are associated with anti-parasitic activity, but it’s not proven,” Ali says. And if you actually think you have a parasite, turn to a doctor. “It’s better to take a medication rather than this agent we don’t know much about—or what parasite we’re trying to target.”

While the seeds are rich in antioxidants and monounsaturated fatty acids, they’re also high in calories. And while the fiber could help with constipation, so can the actual fruit. 

“The risk of something like papaya seeds on TikTok is that people get the idea that it’s a magic fix…and more is better,” Fuster says. “And eating too much of any one thing, like papaya seeds, can be a problem.”

An over-the-counter papaya enzyme supplement is a potential aid in digestive issues. Says Miller: “It can sometimes be a little helpful.” When taken appropriately, of course.

The verdict: If anything, an enzyme supplement is more helpful than the real deal.

Sipping bone broth

Some TikTok influencers will tell you bone broth is good for digestion, inflammation, skin health and anti-aging. One user filled a clear mug with it and said it “looks really thick when you pour it, which is kind of gross.” She then shared that she likes to warm it up before drinking to, presumably, make it more appetizing.

“I’m OK with bone broth [in moderation],” Charabaty says. “It’s natural. …There are no side effects [to consuming it in a healthy diet],” she says, noting that the protein in the broth may support bone, muscle and cartilage health, although there is no scientific evidence of this.

Fuster is also a proponent of adding bone broth to your meals—in a practical way, and assuming you actually like the taste. “If you have a slow cooker, it’s tasty to make and uses a resource we’d normally just throw out,” she says. She incorporates it as a base in chicken noodle soup for her kids. 

But bone broth has gained in popularity because people are saying collagen in the broth strengthens bones, and that you can boost the amount of this protein in your body by consuming it. “That concept is untrue,” Ali says. For collagen to be absorbed, it needs to be broken down into component amino acids. “People think that when you consume collagen, it automatically attaches to the collagen in their bodies, but it doesn’t. And it’s not a particularly rich source of the necessary amino acids to build collagen anyway.” 

A word of caution to chugging bone broth: A recent study, Ali says, showed that it has a high content of lead. “Potential excessive consumption could [contribute] to exposure.”

The verdict: This is harmless in moderation, maybe even mildly helpful, but you don’t have to drink the stuff straight.

Drinking olive oil

Olive oil is generally recognized as a good thing—it has many antioxidants, including monounsaturated fatty acids, and can aid heart health, decrease blood pressure and lower the risk of stroke. On TikTok, however, you’ll find people like Olive Oil Queen advising you to drink it straight for hormone health, nutrient absorption and weight loss.

“I’m a big believer in olive oil,” Charabaty says. “But you never want to make food an obligation, like: ‘I’m going to drink a cup of olive oil every morning because it’s healthy for me,’ ” she says. “You’re turning food into a medication.” Instead, food should be something you incorporate into your diet and enjoy—put it in your salad, she suggests, with grilled vegetables. 

Additionally, Ali says, there isn’t much high-quality evidence that there are benefits to drinking olive oil neat. “People have cited anecdotally reduced inflammation or constipation, but this hasn’t been evaluated,” he says. He’s even had patients who tried this approach and ended up with cramping—far from the sought-after result.

The verdict: Don’t bother—just use it in your food.

Cutting out broccoli and other veggies

Certain TikTokkers claim that eliminating nutrient-dense foods such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts will reduce bloating. While there is a bit of truth in that—“cruciferous vegetables tend to produce more gas,” Ali says—severe side effects aren’t common.

Instead, bloating refers to air in the intestines, which is, for the most part, a natural part of digestion. The fear of stomach distension stems partly from the “thin ideal” of past generations, but it’s taken a new form. “Kids didn’t [used to] talk about bloating, and they do now,” Miller says. “It has to do with this idea that ‘my tummy is sticking out more than it should be.’ ” Indeed, many of the bloat-focused TikTok videos showcase people (frequently young women) comparing their former “bloated” bellies to their now “flat” bellies. (It’s reminiscent of the diet ads of 1990s-era TV.)

Something to consider, advises Ali, is that the vegetable you’re cutting out may not be the only culprit. Dairy and carbonated beverages can cause bloating, and if you consume all three at once (think broccoli-cauliflower cheese soup and a Coke), there could be a cumulative effect. But if you’re insistent on avoiding broccoli and its brethren, substitute equally healthy items—zucchini, lettuce, spinach, blueberries and strawberries.

Bloating also can be caused by not eating enough for a long period of time. “Your body slows down, your gut moves food more slowly, and the production of enzymes for digesting food decreases,” says Fuster, who mainly works with people who have eating disorders. “So when you go back to normal eating, often you feel awful. …You basically have to practice eating for a while.”

Restrictive eating and watching every morsel that you ingest complicates a basic aspect of living. “It leaves people feeling deprived because they aren’t enjoying their food,” Fuster says. “And that’s part of the reason we survive as a species.” 

A better choice, Charabaty suggests, is to grill, boil or cook your food to make the fiber easier to digest. So soak your beans overnight (this leaches out the substances responsible for bloating) and discard the water, or boil and then roast or saute your broccoli. “But if you’re having a big party and you’re wearing a tight dress,” Charabaty says, “maybe just avoid [those foods] that day.”

The verdict: If you really want to, fine, but proceed with care. 

Kristen Schott is the editor of Philadelphia Wedding magazine and a freelance writer living in Alexandria, Virginia.

This story appears in the November/December 2022 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Your kitchen is the workhorse of your home. It’s where you prepare meals, where family and friends gather for dinner parties or the holidays, where you sneak a late-night treat. It needs to be functional but also a reflection of your personal style—and the four shown here do exactly that. One is a design-driven renovation of a kitchen in a late-19th-century home, and another is a playful addition for a young family. There’s a breezy, modern escape, and a neutral place that provides a sense of calm amid an active lifestyle. They’re different, yes, but they have one thing in common—they’re each beloved in their own way. 

Easy elegance

Efficiency, storage and something new—those were crucial elements when it came to redesigning Bridget and Mike Morris’ kitchen. The couple purchased their 1920s-era Friendship Heights home in 2005 from Bridget’s parents, who had raised her there. The Morrises, in turn, raised their four now-grown children in the home, mixing old memories with new ones.  

“It’s an old home, and we wanted to honor the house,” Bridget says of the renovation, which began in 2020 amid the pandemic. “While my kids have moved on, I love to cook and entertain. We have a large family, and friends in the area, so we host a lot.” She wanted a space with a more modern aesthetic but plenty of efficiency and usability—objectives that were accomplished thanks to interior designer Melissa Cooley of Case Architects & Remodelers, which is headquartered in Bethesda. 

A prime example is what Bridget calls “appliance cubbies”—aka counter wall cabinets—which were installed for the toaster and coffee maker. Pullout drawers for pots and pans, a utility cabinet for the brooms, and a cabinet divider for trays also ensured a clutter-free space. 

“After raising my kids, I didn’t want to see anything on my counters,” Bridget says. The refrigerator is hidden, too—its panels blend in with the white cabinetry.  

The crisp lines are complemented by warm wood tones in the flooring and in the existing reclaimed wood ceilings, which were originally installed by Bridget’s father—and also in the driftwood-stained range hood by Crystal Cabinet Works that was brought in for “visual interest,” Cooley says. 

The gold-and-marble backsplash is a textural counterpoint to the smooth hood. Sutton Place champagne-finish cabinet pulls by Atlas Homewares and a gleaming gold light fixture that presides over the peninsula add to the quiet sophistication.  

The green hue of the high-top bar chairs was a happy accident, Bridget recalls. “We got rid of all our old furniture, and one thing I didn’t anticipate is once your project is done, you need furniture. That wasn’t the brightest move on my part.” She purchased the chairs on a whim online, thinking they were gray. But when they turned out to be green, their elegant pop of color lent a cool, beachy vibe to the kitchen.  

Says Bridget: “I feel like I’m on vacation every day in this beautiful space.” 

Pop of color

When Becky Feinberg, 45, moved into a home in Bethesda’s Wyngate neighborhood in 2017, she knew she wanted to make some changes in the future. Built in 1952, the colonial had three bedrooms, one bath and a minuscule kitchen. It was fitting for her family back then—Feinberg would soon give birth to her first child—but when she got pregnant with her second in 2019, she knew it was time for her and her two kids to make the space truly their own. 

Feinberg enlisted the help of Michael Rouse, principal architect of D.C.-based MPR Architecture, and Michael Thiede of Bethesda Contracting to help bring her vision to life via a two-story addition totaling about 1,000 square feet. A key component of the project was the new colorful, comfortable kitchen flowing into the family room. For her, it all began with the tile. “I wanted it to be the focal point,” Feinberg says. She was drawn to the dark blue, light blue and orange hues—the latter is one of her favorite colors—of the handmade zellige tiles that she found online at Mosaic House, a design store in New York City. (The tiles are crafted in Fez, Morocco.) “There are dozens of geometric patterns and colors of tiles, and you just mix and match whatever you want,” she says. That resulted in her custom stove backsplash, set off by teal subway tile. 

“A lot of modern [designs] nowadays tend to be more stark with the materials; the artwork provides the accent colors,” Thiede says. “But this is the opposite: The materials of the project are the showpieces. People shouldn’t be afraid to bring materials and colors in if it’s done tastefully.” 

The design team pulled in lots of neutrals—dark quartz countertops, modern satin nickel pendants, whitewashed oak cabinets, floating shelves—to counter the brighter shades. “Mike [Rouse] had to remind me that everything in the room can’t be screaming,” Feinberg says with a laugh. 

The circular hood was selected to soften the harder edges in the kitchen and to let the tile shine through.  

A must-have? The island. “I wanted an eat-in, and the island accomplished that,” Feinberg says. “We have almost all of our meals there.”  

Plenty of light was also key (Rouse remained true to the body of the home by using more traditional window elements), as was the screened porch that was added off the side of the kitchen. A pass-through window to the porch allows Feinberg to serve her kids outside. It’s a clever touch that speaks to the playful, family-friendly design of the space. “We spend 98% of our time here,” Feinberg says. “It’s so easy to use.” 

As for the former kitchen? It’s now the powder room.   

Heritage style

Barbara Winnik knew her home was a gem long before she moved in. She lived around the corner from the circa-1892 abode—one of the first homes built in Chevy Chase Village—for 11 years before making it her own in 1994.  

“I love this home,” says Winnik, who enjoys entertaining and cooking. The kitchen was in good shape when Winnik moved in—it had been refinished in the late ’80s—and she later added her own touch with a black-and-white-checked floor. That floor, which got old and began cracking, was what jarred her into kicking off her recent renovation.   

“It was like, Wait, what? My kitchen isn’t nice and new?” she recalls thinking. So in 2020, Winnik tapped Matt Covell, founder of North Bethesda-based Structure, and Chevy Chase-based interior designer Gerald Smith to bring the kitchen into the 21st century, while also staying true to the historic character of the home. 

The goal of the project, which also included transforming a porch behind the kitchen into a new sitting room and mudroom (and renovating the powder room), was to create a practical but statement-making place where Winnik could host gatherings for her friends and family. A few walls were removed to update the floor plan, and design-forward elements were brought in. Among them was a large custom hood that Winnik initially wanted in white; Smith convinced her to go with rolled steel. It turned out to be the perfect match for her BlueStar range, which she loves using to prepare meals. It’s a “thrill,” she says, to cook in the new space. 

The monochromatic scheme continues throughout, with white Wood-Mode cabinetry, quartz countertops and a quartzite oven backsplash.  

A pièce de résistance is the custom island. It boasts a curved, built-in, two-person banquette, upholstered in a gray-and-reddish-orange pattern for color and softness. Three midcentury elongated bubble pendants from Design Within Reach hang over the island. “They take the kitchen to another level,” Winnik says. “They’re simple but design-driven.” 

Apart from the visual impact, the kitchen is highly functional. “[The counters are] very easy to clean up,” Winnik says. “I’m probably a messy cook, but you can’t tell because there are so many places to put things away.”  

A coffee bar includes a drawer stocked with Keurig pods, plus refrigerator and freezer drawers for java accoutrements.  

The renovation also included the addition of a lovely bay window over one sink. And in a nod to the home’s history, one of the original stained-glass doors was retrofitted for the pantry—a modern classic, indeed. 

Minimal fuss

For Adam and Amy Eisner, updating their kitchen was largely about simplicity and maintaining order amid their busy day-to-day existence. 

“Our lives are chaotic,” says Amy, the mother of three teenagers. “There’s always sports equipment and things everywhere. So I wanted the kitchen to be fairly neutral.” 

The couple, now in their mid-40s, purchased their home in the Bradley Park neighborhood of Bethesda as a spec house in 2008; while they had no input on the customization, it fit their needs at the time. But as their children got older and their lifestyle changed, they wanted to make it more reflective of their family dynamic and of their personal flair—contemporary, light and airy.  

“We wanted it to be soft and minimal, and avoid anything that felt overdone,” says Bethesda-based interior designer Julie Geyer, who notes that the former kitchen had a darker design aesthetic.  

Rather than completely overhaul the kitchen, many of the original elements were retained and updated. The wood cabinetry was in good condition, so a fresh coat of white paint, as well as some detail changes (think cleaner lines and updated hardware) from Mark Amero of Kensington-based Ovation Renovations gave it a modern boost. 

The red-oak floors, formerly stained orange, were sanded and re-stained and are now a deep brown.  

The country vibe of the eat-in island had to go. “That was not our style at all,” Amy says. Geyer worked with Amero to flatten out the island’s edges and make it more streamlined; a quartz countertop and dove-gray paint finished that transformation. And while the original appliances remained, the walls were updated with sleek white subway tiles to add brightness and light, further assisted by circular pendants and sconces in polished nickel and black tones.    

To offset what Geyer calls the more “sterile” vibe, she wanted a warm color for the dining set. So she sourced a table with a wood herringbone top and an iron base from Moe’s Home Collection and teamed it with leather West Elm chairs.  

The overall effect is minimal but lived-in—a welcoming, usable space for entertaining that the Eisners adore. “We have the great feeling of something new that we were able to design for ourselves,” Adam says, “but it is also familiar to us.”

Kristen Schott is the editor of Philadelphia Wedding magazine and a freelance writer living in Alexandria, Virginia. A native of Orange County, California, Schott is an avid runner and wine enthusiast. 

This story appears in the September/October 2022 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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