Marisa + Raimonds wedding - Rockville, Maryland

I first met Marisa a couple days before she left for St. Petersburg Russia where Raimonds is posted for the State Department. That takes long distance wedding planning to a new level! So I didn’t get to meet the groom until the wedding day and when I did he and his groomsmen were holding the biggest beer mugs I’d ever seen. That made for a fun picture and unfortunately there wasn’t a videographer along to capture the song (in Latvian I assume) that went before the drinking. We lucked into a gorgeous mid-November day but a lot of the beautiful foliage had already passed it’s peak. Except for one glowing orange tree right in front of the church. I think you can see by the photos that I took full advantage of the pop of color. The ceremony was in Latvian and the highlight for me was Marisa’s walk down the aisle. She was so anxious to see Raimonds that she was peeking around everyone standing up as she made her way down the aisle and the look on Raimonds face as he saw her was priceless. He was literally beaming. I have to say that the reception hall was really lovely. They made full use of draping and uplighting to make the room colorful and glowing. The dance floor came alive for polkas and mid-way through the reception came the traditional stealing of the bride. Friends of the couple took Marisa to an undisclosed location until Raimonds came up with an appropriate payment to get her back. Which I believe included Maker’s Mark Whiskey. He then serenaded his bride and they were happily reunited!

Wedding and Reception venue: Latvian Lutheran Church of Washington, DC