Joy and Mike rocked it on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in June!

Everyone started in the garden with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

And live music!

The Unified Jazz Ensemble made a glorious noise!

Stunning flowers awaited inside.

Stunning food, too! Savory croissants, mini Black Forest quiche, mini Spanish quiche, French toast bites, among many other yummy things, all by Rouge Fine Catering.

Pink on pink with red flowers. Set perfectly, absolutely lovely.

Venue: Chase Court
Caterer: Rouge Fine Catering
Florist: Jacques Snyman
Entertainment: Unified Jazz Ensemble
Photography: Erin Wallace (Images above by Chase Court.)
Cake: Graul’s
Transportation: ZBest Limousine

—David

A beautiful bride ready for her garden wedding on a lovely Saturday afternoon in June!

Gina’s dad walked her down the aisle.

Sealed with a kiss!

The two junior bridesmaids were two of the four daughters of the bride and groom.

Venue: Chase Court
Caterer: Chef’s Expressions
Officiant: Ken Patterson, The Maryland Wedding Officiant
DJ & Lighting: Gavin O’Leary, Absolute Entertainment
Florist: Wishing Well
Photography: GMS Photo
Photo Booth: Maryland Mojo Photo

—David

This was the best, most engaging wedding ceremony I’ve seen at Chase Court! Karla and Page had an early afternoon ceremony in the garden, using our Complete Intimate Wedding Package. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful experience!

Could they be any happier!

The Rev. Jesús Rivera did an outstanding job of weaving together Spanish for Karla’s Peruvian family and English for the rest of the guests. It was seamless and beautiful. Jesús is a seminary-trained cleric, and it shows in the skill and understanding that he brings to the wedding ceremonies that he does at Chase Court. He’s also an incredibly warm and engaging guy!

Karla’s and Page’s parents were asked for their support and blessing.

The brides did a wine ceremony, symbolizing the blending together of their two different lives into one.

Each set of parents offered a reading of something significant to them that they wanted  to share with the brides. Notice that Karla and Page came down two steps from the pergola, and that Page’s parents stood before them. Each movement like this – and there were several – was symbolic and meaningful.

The rings were exchanged out in front of the guests, all of whom had just held each of them in their hands and sealed them with their blessings.

The nuptial blessing.

No standing on formality here!

The photography, flowers, officiant, and, of course, the venue, were provided by Chase Court as part of our Complete Intimate Wedding Package. We carefully choose each vendor for your wedding from the top professionals on our Recommended Vendors list. Our intimate “elopement” packages run from four guests up to 45, and start at $795.

All of the photographs above are by Chase Court.

Chase Court Intimate Elopement Packages

The Maryland Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held their Man & Woman of the Year fundraiser Kick-off Celebration at Chase Court in April.

Rouge Fine Catering provided their as-always stunning food, with presentation to match. The LLS colors of red, silver, and black looked great against Chase Court’s Gothic architecture.

It looks a little gray, but everyone had fun with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the garden.

Jon Rosa, Executive Director of the Maryland Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, welcomed everyone to the event and told the story of how we’re saving lives that would otherwise be lost to leukemia & lymphoma.

The ballroom was full of Man and Women of the Year candidates, one-hundred strong, ready to go out and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund cancer research and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

We are tremendously grateful to our catering partner, Rouge Fine Catering, for their support of this event.

Lymphoma is personal with us. The work of LLS has been real and tangible in the life of Chase Court. We’re delighted to have found this wonderful way to support lifesaving work in the fight against cancer. This event, now in it’s second year at Chase Court, is our gift to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the support of their work.

Lots of men, women, and children have encounters with lymphoma and leukemia that are a lot less deadly thanks to the work of LLS. Every one of the people present for the Kickoff Celebration evening got that, and they are giving back.

It’s quick and easy to add your support to the fight to cure cancer. Click here to see the page of candidates, and click the red box below their photograph to choose how you’d like to add your support. Thanks!!!

Venue: CHASE COURT
Catering: ROUGE FINE CATERING

We’re looking forward to next year, and hosting the 2014 Man & Woman of the Year Kick-off Celebration! —David

Special orange signs were hung up and down Chase Street last week.

There were lots of strange-looking things scattered around! These big cables led to large super-silent generators that were mounted on trailers. They powered some really big lights—on the order of 1,000 watts each.

All kinds of interesting things were on the street. They came in by the tractor-trailer load.

Talk about Tinker Toys! There were lots and lots of these!

These boxes are called “apple crates” in the ‘biz. Useful for making things and people higher.

Shooting took place across the street. The big green scissor lift had a huge light mounted on it, shining through a window.

Television production takes lots of light!

Have I mentioned what was going on? HBO’s “VEEP“, a television series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which is now in its second season, was shooting in our part of the neighborhood. They needed a place to feed their extras and crew, so they asked us to help. Of course, we said yes, and it worked out perfectly!

Guess who! All of the cast members had a trailer, which some of them shared. This trailer was the largest, with pop-out bay windows and only a single occupant.

On the set! That’s Reid Scott on the left, playing Dan Egan, and Matt Walsh next to him, playing Mike McLintock. The “members of the press” that you see on the right are actually actors. You can just see the light from one of those big movie lights behind Reid and Matt.

Now we’re getting to our part! There are an unbelievable number of people involved in television production, and they have to eat somewhere! Chase Court provided the dining space for all of the crew and extras–and as it turned out, the cast. More on that later.

Marios‘ people travel around the country with film companies. The food that comes out of these trucks is outstanding, on a par with any from our Approved Caterers. It’s really amazing.

Yes, it was whipped cream, and we couldn’t say no when he offered us a taste!

Those are massive flank steaks on the grill!

It’s possible to eat lightly on a television production shoot, but it isn’t easy!

Fancy gives way to expediency in film industry signage!

Lots of salad toppings were laid out in the Chase Court ballroom.

Luscious fruit, and there was a whole ice cream station, with sundaes and smoothies.

I had the pleasure of being invited to dinner, so I can tell you that this baked potato (I cheated the diet and added sour cream!), broccoli, bed of brown rice and greens and especially the salmon were all delicious!

Serious salad!

Apple pie ala mode, with a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie!

It looks a little different from a wedding, doesn’t it? Four long rows of tables seat up to 175 in the ballroom in a cafeteria-style arrangement.

The Teamsters eat first, which is the way of the film industry, then the crew and the extras come in. To my surprise, nearly the whole cast came for supper, including Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Jonah Ryan, and…Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The hours are long, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s great to have the film industry back working in Baltimore! —David

VEEP on Facebook

Guests gathered in the Ballroom for the ceremony. That’s Ken Kolodner in the background, playing the hammered dulcimer.

We’ve been doing same-sex “commitment ceremonies” since 2004. This is our first same-sex ceremony, under the new Maryland law, that is legally a wedding. Hurrah!

The Rev. Richele Eraso, on the right, was the officiant.

Jonathan and Brian are known for their “Doctor Who” exits!

The decor was stunning! Red and orange rocked on top of the neutral cream and brown tones of the Ballroom. The banner over the fireplace was hung after the ceremony, while the guests were in the Library and Foyer for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres (you’ll see it more clearly below).

Everyone involved was ecstatic, especially these two!

Here’s the feature story on their wedding in the Washington Post!

Venue: Chase Court
Catering: Sascha’s Catering
Flowers: Fleur de Lis Florist
Lighting: Event Dynamics
Officiant: The Rev. Richele Eraso
Ceremony Music: Ken Kolodner
Photography: Jen Johnston (Images above by Chase Court.)
Cake: Patisserie Poupon
Tables and Chairs: Select Event Rentals

—David

What’s important to us is that every one of our couples get our loving care in creating wonderful celebration experiences, without stress or worry. We and our invaluable vendor partners love making that happen! Thank you for the gifts of your presence, and for your appreciation! —David

The bride and her father. Just before they walked down the aisle together, he said to her, “You have always been beautiful, but I have never seen you as beautiful as you are today.”

The parents of the groom beamed as the father of the bride presented his daughter to their son.

The bride’s brother, Hanifa, officiated.

The stunning flowers were done by JJ Cummings.

They shared a long and deeply heart-felt kiss!

Married!

They danced for joy, all the way out!

Venue: Chase Court
Caterer: Absolutely Perfect Catering
Flowers: JJ Cummings
Officiant: Hanifa Jones
DJ: Sounds Sensational
Photography: Accent Photography (Images above by Chase Court.)

—David

Last week we had a super-fabulous celebration at Chase Court hosted by Equality Maryland to celebrate the writing into law of same-sex marriage in Maryland. It was an over-the-top sampling of food, drink, decor, entertainment, and more. Take a look…

Can you tell that something special was about to happen?

Those beautiful little jewel-like LED lanterns from Crimson & Clover Floral Design were hung in the trees, teasing the eye and showing the way through the entrance garden.

The lights were turned down low and the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly. Sparkly linens, very cool floating candles in tall glass vases, and a slick airbrushed cake were just the start!

Yummy goodies from Chef’s Expressions were on the tables, surrounded by hydrangeas bursting out of shiny vases. Oh, and the drapes… All the way to the ceiling—fifteen feet tall!

We were rocking the bling with crystals suspended from the chandeliers and sparkly-tufted furniture. The photographs just begin to describe how all that draping changed the look and feel of the ballroom.

The total effect was spectacular!

It was a wonderful party! Our thanks to Equality Maryland for their part in making same-sex marriage legal in Maryland!

Here is the article in the Washington Blade about the event.

There are more photographs of the event here.

Equality Maryland is Maryland’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights group, with thousands of members and supporters across the state. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of LGBT Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels. Their work is far from over. Your support means a lot!

Venue: Chase Court
Event Production: Boutique Events
Caterer: Chef’s Expressions
Linens: Gala Cloths
Flowers: Crimson & Clover Floral Design
DJ: Absolute Entertainment
Photography: Jennifer McMenamin Photography (Images above by Chase Court.)
Pipe & Drape: Fabrication Events
Furniture: American Furniture Rental
Cake: Baltimore Cakery
Wine: Barefoot Winery
Vodka: Sloop Betty Vodka
Stilt Walker: Entertainment Exchange
Graphics: Lynn Theresa Designs
Photo Booth: Shutterbooth

—David

This is going to be a super-fabulous celebration of the advent of same-sex marriage in Maryland and – at the same time – a stunning, high-quality wedding show! Hosted by Equality Maryland and produced by Boutique Events, who also produced the unique Cirque du Events here back in August, (see here and here), it will be an over-the-top sampling of incredible food, drink, decor, entertainment, and more (at a venue we hope you’ll like!).

The award-winning Chef’s Expressions is one of the top caterers on our Approved Caterers list. Their food is simply awesome, and Melanie Brzozowski, their Event Design Consultant who does all of their Chase Court events, is super creative! By the way, a big tip-of-the-hat to Laura Alima and Blair Hanemayer at Chef’s Expressions. Laura and Blair are the go-to people at Chef’s Expressions for promotional events like these, and they’ve done a great job! Be sure to send them a note if you like what they’ve done!

To go with all of that good food, there will be wine from Barefoot Winery and Sloop Betty Vodka from Blackwater Distillery Company.

Want some dessert? Baltimore Cakery is bringing cake!

The small, smiley, and remarkably stealthy Jennifer McMenamin of Jennifer McMenamin Photography will be our photographer. She does outstanding work!

Great music? Check! Absolute Entertainment will be spinning the tunes!

Somewhere between entertainment and decor, Entertainment Exchange has, shall we say, a high-flying surprise for you!

Let’s talk decor! Jean and Emily, the incredible ladies at Boutique Events are going to “WOW” you with what they’ve put together from Crimson & Clover Floral Design (one of our favorite florists!), American Furniture Rental (wedding furniture like you’ve never seen!), Gala Cloths (linens to die for), and Fabrication Events, who bring an entirely new meaning to “pipe and drape”. Whether you walk away with one good idea or plan to do it all, the decor alone will be worth the price of admission!

Last but not least, Lynn Theresa Designs did the fabulous poster you see up top. Imagine what she could do with your wedding invitation!

Its all happening this Thursday, starting at six o’clock. Register here, and come be part of a fantastic experience!

Equality Maryland is Maryland’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights group, with thousands of members and supporters across the state. Equality Maryland works to secure and protect the rights of LGBT Marylanders by promoting legislative initiatives on the state, county and municipal levels.

—David