Spring Fling
The wedding of Nicole Marriott and Maxwell Avery glowed with the bright promise of spring—with yellow-and-white accents lighting up everything from the flowers to the reception linens to the pale-yellow vintage Jaguar that the couple rode away in at the end of the evening.
The Couple
Nicole Marriott, 26, whose family founded Marriott International in Bethesda, grew up in Potomac and is an account manager with mcgarrybowen, an advertising agency in London, where the couple lives. Maxwell Avery, 27, grew up in Vail, Colo., and is sales manager for the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
The wedding
April 27, 2013, at the Washington National Cathedral; reception at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
How they met
The couple met in an English class in August 2006 on the first day of their freshman year at Southern Methodist University in Texas.
First date
Nicole and Max went for pizza after attending a football game at the university. "We went back to the dorms and kept talking for another few hours," Nicole says.
The proposal
Getting engaged in May 2012 was “quiet, personal and intimate. Nothing elaborate or planned,” Nicole says. It was “just a moment together sitting on a bench in a sculpture garden next to a pond” in a park in New Orleans.
Wedding theme
Spring colors of yellow and white and touches of gray
Number of guests
375
Gown
A short dress by Liancarlo with a full skirt by Monique Lhuillier worn around the waist
Photography
Videographer
Vinyl Weddings/Institution One
The Honeymoon
A week in Bali and two days in Shanghai. At the Bulgari Hotel in Bali, “there were monkeys all over,” Nicole says, and the couple had an “exciting adventure when a monkey ended up in our hotel bedroom shortly after we woke up our first morning.”
What made the day so special
The couple held their ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral where Nicole’s family has close ties. Her grandfather, J.W. Marriott Jr., presided over the ceremony as he has done for all of his children and grandchildren. Nicole and Maxwell also chose a cocktail hour-style reception with food stations rather than a formal dinner so that guests could dance the night away.
Favorite moment
One of Nicole’s favorite moments occurred when she saw her future mother-in-law before the wedding ceremony. “She immediately teared up at seeing me, and I showed her my ‘something blue’ and ‘something old’ on my bouquet—her Grandma Nellie’s handkerchief that she gave to me for my birthday just days before our wedding,” Nicole says.
Favorite details
Departing the reception in a 1974 yellow E-Type Jaguar belonging to Nicole’s dad while the wedding band played “When the Saints Go Marching In” was memorable, the couple says. “We were engaged in New Orleans, so this was an homage to the beginning of our married lives,” Nicole says. “It was a fun way to signify the end of the night.”
something to laugh about later: Watching guests on the dance floor was a highlight, the couple says. “There were some funny dance moves that might have produced some torn trousers,” Nicole says.
The Details
Hair and makeup were by Carl Ray Makeup/ Ismail Tekin of George’s Salon Four Seasons in Washington, D.C.; catering, by Occasions Caterers; cake, by Maggie Austin Cake; planning, by SOCO Events; flowers, by Amaryllis Event Design; invitations and programs, by Creative Parties and SimpleSong Design; rentals, by Nuage Linens/Amaryllis Furniture; music, by Andy Kushner Entertainment; and transportation, by Linder and Associates.
