Maddy + Steve | National Museum of Women in the Arts Wedding | Washington, DC

February 5, 2025

Maddy and Steve’s wedding this past Saturday at the National Museum of Women in the Arts was perfectly them: warm, silly, unique, and very special.

The Couple

Maddy and Steve met online and their first date was bingo night at a brewery in Leesburg. Steve initially thought the date went terribly and Maddy hated him, but she called him the next day and the rest is history. Before getting engaged, Maddy designed her engagement ring using the diamond from her grandma’s engagement ring for the central stone. Because there wasn’t much of a surprise factor, Steve devised a series of 5 scavenger hunts each of which yielded a clue that, when combined, indicated the place of the actual engagement. They went on 5 dates during this time, that Steve planned and which had some meaning to their relationship (i.e. the first was a recreation of their first date, but with drag bingo instead of normal bingo). After 3 dates, the disappointment of not being proposed to was too much and they went to National Harbor where they took in Ice! at the Gaylord, then a rousing dueling piano performance at Bobby McKeys followed by the actual proposal on the Ferris wheel overlooking the water. It was lovely. The proposal was the first time Maddy got to see the finished ring and while she assumed Steve had hidden it somewhere very secret, it turned out it was in his bedside table the whole time!

The Wedding

After Maddy and Steve’s very silly and fun engagement session at the Museum of Illusions last year, I knew we’d have fun for their wedding. We took equally silly photos this weekend with the art at the museum. But what I loved most about this day was how warm and wonderful it felt. Maddy quilted and cross stitched unique gifts for each of her bridesmaids, their chuppah was made from material from her mom and grandmother’s wedding dresses (she wore a dress made from those dresses the night before the wedding too!), they had very personalized vows from the heart, and really made the most of the time with their friends and family. It was uniquely them and awesome to be a part of. Here are just some of my favorites from our time together!