The couple:
Abby Mullally (maiden name Wallisch), 27, grew up in Bethesda and graduated from the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington. She works as a strategic communications consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. Jack Mullally, 27, grew up in Chevy Chase and graduated from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He is the director of finance at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Florida. Until moving to Florida this summer, the couple lived in Arlington, Virginia, with their dog, Geer, and their cat, Grasshopper.
How they met:
Abby and Jack met during their senior year of high school in 2014, when they were cast in supporting roles in a Gonzaga Dramatic Association production of Fiddler on the Roof. “Abby was kind of the cool new kid on the block,” recalls Jack, and an off-stage romance soon blossomed. “I was just drawn by how genuine Jack was,” says Abby. Just before opening night, he asked her to prom in front of the whole cast. She accepted and later asked him to her prom. They started dating and remained in a long-distance relationship through college, when Abby went off to the University of Maryland and Jack went to Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
The proposal:
Jack proposed on May 27, 2021, deciding to pop the question at a nighttime spot the pair had visited after Abby’s prom, years prior: the Lincoln Memorial. After dinner at Seven Reasons in Washington, D.C., the couple headed to the landmark. “It took me a little bit to finally muster up the courage, but we had a photographer waiting there, so I couldn’t back out,” Jack recalls with a laugh, and he eventually got down on one knee. “We can’t really remember what we said—thank God, because I was probably blubbering like an idiot.”
The ceremony:
Jack and Abby said “I do” on June 25, 2022, at the St. Bridget of Ireland Catholic Church in Berryville, Virginia, with about 135 guests present. “There was just not an ounce of nervousness” walking down the aisle, the bride recalls. “I was just like, Everything’s right.”
The reception:
The reception took place at the sprawling Historic Rosemont Manor, just a mile from the church. Close friends and family stayed at the on-site bed and breakfast—one of the main draws of the venue for the couple. “It really felt like we could keep everyone there together and just continue the celebration throughout the full weekend,” says Abby. Cocktail hour was held on the portico outside the property’s main house, with dinner and dancing inside the nearby carriage house. Outside, lawn games including badminton and cornhole were set up, as well as a fire pit where guests could gather and tell stories well into the evening.
Food and drink:
The celebration’s summery menu began with a first course of mesclun greens mixed with strawberries, toasted pecans, feta and balsamic vinaigrette, plus focaccia bread. The main course, served buffet-style, was chicken medallions with a lemon, garlic and herb pesto and flank steak. One of Abby’s best friends whipped up the cake—a three-tier vanilla confection with lemon filling, buttercream frosting and a border of sliced strawberries—and there were also “dessert shooters” of treats such as key lime pie and strawberry shortcake. The specialty cocktails—bourbon and tequila concoctions—were named after the newlyweds’ pets, and the signature beers, fittingly, were two lagers from Jack’s Abby brewery in Massachusetts.
The dress:
Upon visiting iCON Bridal & Formal on Rockville Pike, Abby fell in love with a strapless Morilee gown with a beaded bodice and a mermaid skirt. “I just loved the detail,” she says. She paired it with an aquamarine necklace that Jack had given her in high school and a bejeweled pair of heels.
The music:
Knowing how long Catholic ceremonies can be, the couple wanted to find a way to spice things up—so they called on a gospel choir to lend their pipes to the service. “We really wanted it to be as joyous and happy as possible,” says Abby. For the reception, a DJ spun what the groom calls the “Fourth of July, swim meet and bar mitzvah playlist” the pair envisioned, with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver proving a fan favorite. “If you were to ask me that day what I was most nervous for, it had to be our dance,” recalls the groom, but the newlyweds succeeded in pulling off the choreography for their first dance, to “When I’m With You” by Ben Rector.
The atmosphere:
For the big day, the pair aimed for a “summer fun” vibe, “like how you would imagine a pool party summer,” the bride says. Sunglasses affixed with tags served as escort cards, and inside the reception area, string lights and paper lanterns hung overhead. Bouquets of pink garden roses, blue delphiniums and yellow cottage yarrow provided pops of color, with vibrant charger plates to match. The biggest surprise of the day? An overhead fireworks display, courtesy of Abby’s parents. “It was all surreal,” Jack says.
Honeymoon:
Right after they tied the knot, the newlyweds left for a two-week tour through Italy, taking in the Colosseum and the Forum in Rome, cooking classes in Tuscany and the seaside town of Amalfi.
Vendors:
Cake, Baked By G; catering, Celebrations Catering; ceremony, St. Bridget of Ireland Catholic Church; desserts, Simply Desserts; DJ, DJ Terry Bulles of JJ&T Entertainment; dresses, iCON Bridal & Formal and Hello Molly; flowers, Sponseller’s Flower Shop; gospel choir, Nova Y. Payton and the St. Martin’s Catholic Church Gospel Choir; guestbook, Artifact Uprising; hair and makeup, Amina Evans of Bella Jameil Beauty; hotel, Springhill Suites Winchester; invitations, Truly Engaging; photographer, Becca B Photography; planner, Michael Haymaker; rings, Fred H. Straub Jewelers; transportation, Bayside Limousines; tuxedos, The Black Tux; venue, Historic Rosemont Manor.
This story appears in the September/October issue of Bethesda Magazine.