Rustic Romance Wedding Reception at the Maryland Zoo: Eva + Rajesh

We are back with more of Eva and Rajesh’s wedding at The Maryland Zoo from Kirsten Marie Photography! If you were blinded by the gorgeous flowers from their ceremony outside on the zoo grounds, you will want to keep going and check out all of the pretty little details that they DIY’d for their reception. Mixing soft pinks with burlap is the perfect way to pull off a romantic, yet rustic look! Also helping with the rustic vibe is the cute little baby penguin who came to their cocktail hour. If you are getting married at the zoo, why not a penguin!?

From Eva: Good food was a huge priority. We splurged on a photographer because the pictures will tell our story for years and years to come. We also splurged on a photo booth for our guest because we wanted them to have something memorable to remember our day as a bonus we got a copy of all their silly pictures.

Eva’s advice for other couples in the DC area:

First, don’t be afraid to talk to the vendors and try to get them to work with your budget many will work to make adjustments to accommodate you. Second, the day goes really, really fast so we barely got to see our dear guests. I would say make time to not rush through the receiving line or when you go table to table. Also, I got caught up on trying to recreate all the great ideas I saw on Pinterest and I got a bit overwhelmed. Especially, since we had to do all our own set up and clean up. I think asking for help and having a plan on how to execute all the details is important, I would say if you can, get a wedding planner! Also, get a good photographer it makes a huge difference. And, one more thing I let my bridesmaids pick their own dresses within a color pallet and same length – it saved them tons of money and saved me lots of headaches.