THE DRESS: Dimitri’s mother, Kiki Moshovitis, designed and hand-made Donna’s gown. Together they selected silk from G Street Fabrics in Rockville and ordered lace from a store in London. “The dress was more special than anything I could have dreamed of because she created it for me from a pile of fabric and string,” Donna says. Dimitri’s mom also made the flower girl dresses.
THE CEREMONY: Dimitri and Donna each have two children from their previous marriages and wanted them to be part of the wedding. During the ceremony, Dimitri, Donna and their children poured different colors of sand into a vase, symbolizing the creation of their family. They let the kids choose their roles in the wedding—Dimitri’s daughter, then 9, decided to be a flower girl because she thought she’d get to wear a prettier dress than if she was a bridesmaid.
THE FOOD: “It was very important to me that it wasn’t your typical, generic, ‘Would you like chicken or beef or fish?’ type of thing,” Dimitri says. He collaborated with the Watergate Hotel’s chef to create the menu: charred asparagus salad and an entree of sous-vide rib eye cap with poached lobster, lobster tortellini, pomme puree and mushroom ragout. “I didn’t want to go the Mediterranean route because that was too obvious.” For dessert, the couple chose a cake with black frosting in honor of Dimitri’s favorite color.
THE RECEPTION: “I’ve been to one too many weddings…where they’ll sit down and eat, and then party, and then stop and do speeches, and then party again,” Dimitri says. To minimize the interruptions, the couple didn’t announce the cake cutting and had just one speech. Led by Donna and her bridesmaids, female wedding guests performed a surprise choreographed dance to Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.” The bride wore custom-made, blinged-out Converse sneakers for the performance. There was a band for the first part of the reception, then a DJ took over and played Greek music. Dimitri says there were two special stipulations in their contract with the hotel: a late-night delivery of Shake Shack burgers and fries, and smashing plates (a Greek custom intended to bring good luck). “The workers were sweeping up the plates as we were dancing,” Donna says. The couple had booked the ballroom until 11:30 p.m., but the party went well into the night.
THE HONEYMOON: The newlyweds spent a week in Paris. Neither had been there before. “We wanted to experience something new together,” Dimitri says. They brought a padlock engraved with their names and wedding date to attach to Pont des Arts bridge, where couples have fastened locks as a sign of their love. But when they arrived, they discovered locks were no longer allowed. Instead, they threw theirs into the Seine River.
VENDORS: Cake and catering, The Watergate Hotel; florist, EDGE Floral Event Designers; hair and makeup, StyleMeBar (now closed); invitations, Lovepop; live music for the ceremony and reception, Andy Kushner Entertainment Design; photobooth, Unforgettable Events; photographer, FillmanFoto; programs, Minted; reception DJ, Fun Sounds Entertainment; videographer, Avail Visuals; wedding planner, The DC Event Planner.
