Weddings Archives - Page 16 of 19 - Deb Lindsey Photography

Katy + Paul’s Strong Mansion wedding – May 14, 2011

May 26, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

Katy and Paul’s wedding was my second time at Strong Mansion in the month of May. And unfortunately, just like the first one, the forecast was not promising. Spitting rain, drizzle and an ominous forecast for later in the day had me more upset than usual. There’s always a rain plan but Strong Mansion is such a gorgeous place, it seemed criminal to have to shoot the ceremony inside a tent! As I waited with Paul by the stone steps for Katy to sneak up behind him for their first look, I heard her voice from the house telling the caterer that unless it was raining, raining…the ceremony would be outside. A woman after my own heart! The other thing that struck me as I waited with Paul is that at the sound of Katy’s voice, he burst into the broadest smile. And that smile didn’t let up the whole day—except for maybe a few emotional moments during the ceremony. After the ceremony the bridal party headed down to the lower garden on the grounds and we took a ton of fun shots. I’m not usually a big fan on formal group shots but this group was game for anything. I don’t do many jumping shots at weddings but they ended up being among my favorites of the day. Special thanks to my wonderful second photographer Ricky Carioti who carted my light up and down the big hill and held back tree branches so I could get my shots. And there was a four-legged member of the bridal party as well. Katy’s dog Chloe. She was walked down the aisle, greeted the newlyweds right after their vows (one of my favorite shots from the day) and even looked weary at the end of a long night of partying. Oh, and it started to pour about 8 p.m.—just in time for dinner and dancing under the tent. So no one even seemed to notice.

Those helping Katy + Paul with their special day:

Wedding and reception: Strong Mansion

Food and cake: Canapes

Flowers: Blossom and Basket

DJ: Shew-sical Entertainment

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Sarah + Mikey’s Buddhist and Woodend weddings – May 6+7, 2011

May 19, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

My departure almost a year ago (!!) from the Post was the event that brought Sarah and I together. In my email to the newsroom saying goodbye, I happened to mention that if anyone needed a wedding photographer to be sure and give me a call. Sarah’s response was pretty quick for her wedding to Mikey the following year. We’d managed to work in the same newsroom and never had a chance to meet before. I was excited about Sarah + Mikey’s wedding since it was a two parter—Friday morning a Buddhist ceremony to honor Mikey’s heritage and on Saturday morning a Jewish ceremony for Sarah’s. This was my first experience with a Buddhist ceremony and it didn’t disappoint. The monks chanted and the couple and the guests sat on the floor. A lovely part of the ceremony was when the couple bowed to their parents and grandparents, to show their respect. After the monks were fed, there was a delicious Burmese lunch and that concluded the festivities for Friday. The weather totally cooperated for the Saturday morning Woodend ceremony. After Sarah made her way down the aisle to the Beatles “Here Comes the Sun,” their ceremony was emotional (both cried) and funny (Mikey took a couple tries to break the glass). As a send off, Sarah and Mikey left in Sarah’s red Mini that had been appropriately decorated. But first they had to run the gauntlet of their guests throwing sunflower seeds. Those suckers are pretty big and showed up nicely in photos—those are some of my favorites from the day! I was especially thrilled to have the help of Jonathan Newton at the last minute as my second shooter. He made some amazing photos.

Making Sarah + Mikey’s day fabulous were:

Janice Carnevale at Bellweather Events

Woodend Sanctuary in Chevy Chast

Caterer: Marco Polo

Cake: Cakes Plus

Ceremony musicians: Elan Artists

Officiant: Harold White

Reception entertainment: Jeff Furnas at MyDeejay

Flowers: Fiore Floral

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Abi + Eileen’s Strong Mansion wedding – May 1, 2011

Abi and Eileen’s (collectively known as Abileen) true wedding day was actually the day before their celebration at Strong Mansion near Sugarloaf Mountain. Since same sex marriage isn’t legal in Maryland, they had a small ceremony the day before in DC. Rabbi Fred performed both ceremonies but waited to officially sign the marriage certificate during the Ketubah signing on Sunday with all friends and family there to witness. Abi and Eileen’s day started with them getting ready together and helping each other pick our their jewelry for the day and their shoes. Eileen wore a necklace that belonged to Abi’s mother and Abi wore a Richard Nixon tie clip that had belonged to Eileen’s father on the bow of her dress! The most unfortunate part of the day was that the weather didn’t cooperate. Both women were great about doing their portraits in the drizzle but it was just too much to ask everyone to sit outside in the rain for the ceremony. So it was moved inside the house which turned out to be lovely. Highlights of the ceremony for me were the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors that decided who would place the antique house ring on whose finger first. The rings themselves were very cool…literally houses and they’d been in Abi’s family forever. The real rings went missing during the ceremony so they had a very intimate ring exchange during their Yechud (private time) with only me as a witness. The other shot from the ceremony that I loved was the two of them simultaneously breaking the glass. The reception really got underway with the Hora and the look on Eileen’s face while she was on the chair, was priceless. The guests entertained the two of them while everyone clapped and cheered. Right before the pie cutting (a beautiful heart shaped strawberry-rhubarb pie), the brides entertained their guests with a rendition of “Abba Dabba Honeymoon” on the ukelele.

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Jennifer + Josh’s wedding – April 16, 2011

May 3, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

If it’s a good omen when it rains on your wedding day, Jennifer and Josh are in for a large dose of good luck. It rained all day with high wind gusts. Which definitely put a damper on our plans to take some outside photos. Theirs is not the smallest wedding I’ve ever done (Melissa and Craig are still the champs on that one!) but it’s a contender. We started the brief day with a “first look” that turned out to be Jennifer coming off the elevator of the hotel and spotting Josh in the lobby. Then a rain soaked cab right to Elizabeth’s on L, a charming little venue between 13^th & 14^th St., NW. It was just the three of us for some portrait time and we did venture outside when there was a lull in the weather. I shot a few photos before a huge gust of wind almost knocked us over ( see if you can guess which photo that was!) and we decided to finish up inside. Jennifer and Josh were relaxed and very casual as their immediate family arrived at the ceremony. In total there were about 13 guest in total. As everyone milled around and had a cocktail, the bride and groom made their way to the “altar,” again, very low key. And then the service started and Jennifer got teary a few times. It can be a very informal wedding but it’s still and emotional event! There was an impromptu first dance and parent dances and a very funny bride family portrait recreating a family superhero theme and then a big sit down dinner. It was intimate day, small but sweet.

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Marina + Sean’s wedding – April 9, 2011

April 28, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

On the eve of the royal wedding it seems only appropriate to do a wedding blog post. Marina and Sean’s wedding didn’t quite attract the media attention that Kate and Will but they had a beautiful day and a classic Washington wedding. The day started at the Fairmont Hotel followed by a ceremony at Georgetown’s Dahlgren Chapel. It was a little cool and very overcast but the rain held off. In spite of the it being prime cherry blossom time, a lot of the rest of DC was not quite in bloom on April 9 but the Georgetown campus provided a very pretty backdrop for the couple and the bridal party. We had a lot of time built in after the ceremony to do portraits and in what is definitely a first for me, the bridal party had time to warm up and play hangman in a classroom on campus! After our Georgetown adventure we headed back to the Fairmont Hotel and found some magnolia trees still in bloom so that turned out to be a group formal bonus! I knew it would be a fun and dancing crowd early in the day when the bridesmaids and Marina were dancing in their seats in the limo on their way to the church. It was a great party. a fabulous send off for Marina and Sean as they headed off for their honeymoon in Thailand and then home to San Francisco.

Here’s who wonderful vendors who helped them with their day:

Event coordinator Emily Dionne

Site coordinator Bob Mikolitch at the Fairmont Hotel

Florist John Duffy at Yellow Door Floral

Hair and makeup Hair: Julie Jackson, Makeup: Kelley Epps-Woods

Band/DJ Aaron Platt with Chris Laich Music Services

Cake Alexandria Pastry

Videographer Blue Sky Films

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Stephanie + Michael’s wedding – April 3, 2011

April 13, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

I’ve photographed many Jewish weddings–Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist–but Stephanie and Michael’s Orthodox wedding was a number of firsts for me. The day was full of interesting and symbolic events. Among the more visual parts of the day were the Tish (where the woman and men gather separately to greet and praise the bride and groom) , the mothers breaking a dish at the signing of the Ketubah and an energetic 40-minute Hora. All of this took place amidst much hugging, some crying and lots of laughter. It was really special to see how seamlessly these families were coming together to celebrate the union. The tear started early when Stephanie’s dad saw her for the first time in her dress. Stephanie’s eyes welled when she and Michael had their first look. And the toasts at the reception had everyone tearing up! All that makes for great photos. We were able to take advantage of a beautiful spring day and the fabulous Magnolias in full bloom outside the Park Hyatt. Inside the flowers and the purple accents at the ceremony and reception were elegant and unusual…I loved the goldfish bowls with tulips that served as decoration for the Tish and cocktails.

I am most grateful to Lesley Cohen who sent Stephanie and Michael my way. As a close friend of the couple, I’m sure she had a blast being a guest for once instead of working the wedding. And a special thanks to Michael Connor who shot with me. It’s always a pleasure when we get to work together.

Those who made their day special are:

Venue: Park Hyatt Hotel and coordinator Michael Deltette

Florist: Yellow Door Floral Designs John Duffy

Band: Spectrum

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Donna + Brian’s wedding – April 2, 2011

April 12, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

I remember very clearly when my husband David came home from work and told me that Donna was engaged. My first question, of course, was “does she have a wedding photographer??” David was her editor for a time at USA Today where they both still work and I was thrilled to hear that she and Brian were getting married. Donna is an amazing reporter. She’s covered hot spots around the world–wars, hurricanes, earthquakes–you name it. She’s also a past president of the National Press Club. So it was very fitting that her reception would be there and the rest of the day was quite the ultimate Washington wedding. We started the W Hotel with it’s fabulous views of DC. What first caught my eye when I entered the suite were the sparkly Jimmy Choos that Brian had given Donna as an incredibly thoughtful wedding present. Donna was calm and collected and complete unfazed by the fuss going on around her. It cracked me up that she made sure to bring her USA Today press pass with her in her monogrammed LL Bean tote bag. You never know when some news might break out! There was one point in their rooftop ceremony at 20 F St. where sirens were blaring and Donna looked around. Most of us half-expected her to investigate…The day was a little chilly as early April can be in DC and the rooftop was a little on the windy side especially for the large Florida contingent. But it was a beautiful view of both the Capitol and the Washington Monument as the sun set over their ceremony. The wedding party, immediate family and some of the guest Metro’ed back to the Press Club and that made for some fun photos. Once we arrived there was lagniappe everywhere (that’s free stuff to any non-New Orleanians—Brian’s family is from Louisiana). Engraved golf balls, pralines (yum), an assorted candy bar, New Orleans coffee, macaroons (double yum) and they even had custom wine labels for their wedding day. The lighting at the Club was fun as well…the logo looming over the proceeding’s was a nod to Donna’s job and vaguely looked like the USA Today logo. The funny part for me was being introduced (both USA Today folks and others) throughout the evening as “David Lindsey’s wife.” Not that I don’t love that—it just doesn’t happen to me much at weddings!

Those making the day special for Donna and Brian were:

Venues: 20 F. St., NW rooftop, National Press Club

Planner: Danielle Lendino, Aflutter Events

Flowers: English Garden Flowers

Lighting: John Farr Lighting

Reception Music: Anthony Simpson, My DeeJay Inc.

Cake: Ms. Desserts

Macaroons: Michel Patisserie

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Emily + Rick’s Florida wedding – March 19, 2011

April 1, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

I was definitely ready for my first wedding of 2011. The fact that it was in Naples, Florida was another reason to be excited. I had never been there but had heard it was gorgeous. I was not disappointed! After a dreary Washington winter it was lovely to be someplace warm, sunny with palm trees and high hedges filled with blooming flowers. Oh yes, and the beach. The town of Naples is a very nice beach town but as soon as you get away from downtown and start exploring the residential neighbhorhoods—the houses and the landscaping and all that beautiful Florida sun. I only wish I could have stayed longer.

Emily and Rick’s wedding was all that a beach wedding should be. Emily got ready with her girls at a cute pink house before heading to the Port Royal Beach Club. Their sunset ceremony was funny and sweet and the bride and groom were positively beaming. I really think it would have been hard to take a bad photo of the two of them. As they hugged each other and celebrated as the sun set over the horizon, it was just magical. The reception was a lot of fun and ended with a sparkler send off and what was supposed to be a solo trolley ride back into town for the bride and groom. It didn’t turn out quite that way but one of the things that was go great about Emily and Rick was they just went with the flow as they piled into the bus and headed off with their guests into the night.

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Susie + Gabe’s wedding – December 12, 2010

January 3, 2011/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

I am a believer a destiny (and that often we make our own destiny but that’s another story) and I firmly believe that when a couple chooses me to photograph their wedding that destiny plays a part. I know, it’s a little corny. But when I met Susie and Gabe, I think there was a little more than luck at work. Maybe it’s that Susie grew up in Potomac where I now live or that my son Wyatt and Susie’s nephew Teddy are now in the same 4^th grade class. Whatever the reason, I was excited to be with Susie and Gabe at the Fairmont Hotel on December 12 for my last wedding of the year. It was a rainy and grey day but it didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm. Of course, it was December so everything was inside anyway. I’ve had a few large bridal parties but I think this one took the cake. I believe including the two junior groomsmen, flower girl and ring bearer there were 23 in the bridal party not counting the bride and groom! That made for a crowded scene under the chuppah. The couple’s nieces and nephews were everywhere stealing the show. One of my favorite photos from the day was one taken by the fabulous Michael Connor who was my second shooter. I just love the photo of Susie’s niece looking out over the Christmas decorations in the courtyard of the hotel. Another favorite of mine is Susie walking into the ketubah ceremony. You can just see her excitement and things were getting underway. One funny photo happened as I followed the couple for the yehud (private time) after the ceremony. As they entered the bridal suite, a maid was in there cleaning. They had to ask her to come back later. In the shot below you can see the maid peeking around the corner as Susie and Gabe are kissing! The reception included a rollicking Hora and a very cute toast by the nieces and nephews with Susie’s parent singing “Happy Talk” from South Pacific. And then Gabe’s father introduced the couple as Mr. and Mrs. Freeman (Susie’s name). That got a good laugh.

And a special treat for me, I got to work with some of my favorite wedding pros:

Flowers: Petal’s Edge –Susie’s bouquet was especially gorgeous with rich purple flowers (can you tell I’m not a florist??)

DJ: Chris Laich. It was a pleasure as always working with Chris and Aaron. I think I shot seven or eight weddings with them this year alone.

Fairmont Hotel: Such a pretty hotel and the events run like clockwork thanks to Bob Mikolitch

Ceremony music: Sage String Quartet

a posting on District Weddings!

December 14, 2010/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

Just a quick note…I was very excited to learn yesterday that District Weddings had posted Ashley + Michael’s elegant St. Regis wedding. Here’s the link. I love their blog and definitely recommend them to any of my upcoming brides as a great resource for all wedding things DC.