Photos by Tracey Buyce photography
The couple: Daniel Fleishman, 28, grew up in Potomac and graduated from Winston Churchill High School. He now runs his family’s business, Bethesda Bagels. Kate Sperber, 26, grew up in Slingerlands, New York, a suburb of Albany, and works as an account associate for WeddingWire in Chevy Chase. They moved to a townhouse in Potomac in June 2015.
The wedding: Kate and Daniel tied the knot on Oct. 18, 2014, in a ceremony at Kate’s childhood temple, Congregation Beth Emeth in Slingerlands. The reception followed at Sixty State Place, a former bank that’s now used as an event venue.
When they met: In 2007, while they were both students at the University of Maryland. The following year they lived in the same apartment building and he asked her out.
First date: “He knew I liked baseball,” Kate says. When Daniel invited her to a Nationals-Mets game, she said yes, waiting until midway through the game to tell him that she’s a fan of the other New York team, the Yankees. “It was the thought that counted,” she says.
The proposal: Daniel planned to propose at a spot on the University of Maryland campus where the two often ate lunch outside. But the forecast for the intended day included torrential downpours. Instead, he covered the apartment where they lived with rose petals and candles, made a special breakfast and woke her up early to propose.
Wedding colors: Gold and slate gray, accented with deep purples and pinks. “Raspberry and sangria, I called them,” Kate says.
Number of guests: 150
What made the event special: “They kept a lot of the bank’s charm,” Kate says of the reception venue. The bathroom floors are covered in adhered-on pennies and there’s a chandelier made of safe-deposit box keys. The cocktail hour took place in what had been the bank’s vault.
Favorite moment: The first look, outside before the ceremony. “It’s such a surreal feeling—the day of your wedding,” Kate says. “Seeing Danny really calmed me down.”
Getting personal: Kate and Daniel gave guests a bag when they checked into the hotel that included New York apples and a fake newspaper they created with articles about how they met and their dog. At the reception, cocktail napkins had facts about the couple printed on them, such as their favorite food (Daniel’s was bagels) and their celebrity crush. “We knew we wouldn’t get to spend a lot of time with each person at the wedding,” Kate says. So the couple spent the two weeks prior to the big day writing notes to each guest. Waitstaff delivered the notes between the first and second courses.
Fun touches: Cocktail hour included a grilled-cheese bar and a custom drink that the couple had enjoyed on a trip to Mexico: a “royal” mojito made with champagne instead of soda water. Guests were given cotton candy as they left the reception, a nod to the amusement park Kate’s father owns.
Special details: “Pearl is my birthstone, so we used a lot of pearls throughout,” Kate says. The escort card table had a gold oyster shell filled with pearls and a sign reading, “The world is our oyster but you are our pearls.” A small pearl bead was affixed to each escort card. Pearls were also incorporated in the cake and Kate’s dress.
Cost-cutting tips: “Do a lot of research—everything’s online,” says Kate, who found a cake she liked on Pinterest and had a bakery re-create it.
Gown: A Monique Lhuillier lace gown with champagne underlay, a keyhole back and pearl buttons, purchased at Betsy Robinson’s Bridal Collection in Baltimore
The honeymoon: A trip to Thailand
The details: Cake was provided by Make Me a Cake Next Door; calligraphy, Ink Revival; catering, Mazzone Catering; event planner, Katie O. Weddings and Events; flowers, Fleurtatious Designs; invitations, Jenny C. Designs; music, John Charles Cook (ceremony) and Nonstop Music (reception); photography, Tracey Buyce Photography; videography, Clark+Walker Studio.
