Posts

Maura + Pat’s Old Town and Belle Haven Country Club wedding

/in /by

After a nice summer break I was more than ready to get to Maura and Pat’s wedding in Old Town. It was a gorgeous sunny day filled with bright colors (loved the electric blue and green theme through out the day) and lots of doggies. Riley and Rumplestiltskin, their adorable pups weren’t actually in the wedding but were very much involved. Doggie treats were given out in their honor at the local florist, they were escorted across the street from the church during the ceremony and they made their final appearance of the day for a lovely family portrait with their parents behind the church. The reception at the Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria was a blast. Cocktail hour included a game of Cornhole and a Martini bar. Sometimes being a wedding photographer means I think I’ve seen pretty much everything that can happen at a wedding but Maura and Pat’s had some exciting new firsts for me. The gnome groom’s cake was quite a conversation piece…I still need to get the story behind that! And Maura and her friends heartfelt rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” was hysterical and culminated with the girls carrying Pat horizontally around the dance floor. I’ve never seen that before! It was great fun. They also cut their cake with Pat’s grandfather’s sword and one thing I have seen before but not recently was the “cake smush.” Maura got him good and it always makes for a good picture. And special thanks to the wonderful Ricky Carioti for second shooting with me. He always makes the day fun.

 

Event coordinator Zoe at My Simple Details

Venue: Belle Haven Country Club — Nicole Duncan

Florist Columbia Florist Gallery

Hair and makeup Ali Wear 

Band High Society High Society — Washington Talent

Cake: Sweet Ladies Bakery

Kat + Daniel’s Old Town wedding – May 29, 2011

/in /by

I was so thrilled to get the phone call from Kat that she wanted me to photograph her wedding to Daniel over Memorial Day weekend. But then came the snag. He was finishing up FBI training at Quantico and now was being posted in Philadelphia and all this was happening a couple months before the wedding. There were a couple weeks of waiting before he was officially told he could have the weekend off to get married. It was a beautiful (and a little hot) day in Old Town for their wedding at the Carlyle House and reception at Columbia Firehouse both within walking distance in Alexandria. I loved the fact that Kat’s mom, an excellent seamstress, made her veil and tailored her dress and made the flower girls pompom and the ring bearer’s flower pin. The flower girl even had navy blue nail and toenail polish to match the colors of the day! Their ceremony in the garden gazebo lovely and Kat was a little overcome with emotion before walking down the aisle but was all smiles by the time she saw Daniel. And I am absolutely in love with the photos from the time I spent with just the two of them between the wedding and the reception. The light was delicious! Even though the restaurant didn’t have a true dance floor the friends and family of the couple made the most of it. It was a pretty hilarious and wild bunch. Kat and Daniel met at the University of Alabama so a highlight of the evening was “Sweet Home Alabama” with appropriate fist pumping and yelling of “Roll Tide” after every chorus. One of my favorite dancing photos of the night was courtesy of my fabulous second shooter Jonathan Newton who went outside and shot from across the street, capturing the happy couple dancing in the picture window.

Working to make the day beautiful (beside the light of course!) were:

Wedding site: Carlyle House

Reception site: Columbia Firehouse restaurant

Flowers: Petal’s Edge Floral Design

Hair and makeup: Circe Salon and Spa

DJ: Rusty Belicek

Cake: Alexandria Pastry Shop

undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined undefined

Ashley + Michael’s wedding – St. Regis Hotel, Washington, DC – October 16, 2010

/in /by

Ashley + Michael’s wedding turned out to be a bit of a reunion for me. Michael had been a groomsman for Lindsay + Chris’ wedding a couple years ago and I was so pleased that he and Ashley chose me to be their photographer. It was great seeing familiar faces among the bridal party and the guests. And in a repeat of Lindsay + Chris’ wedding, I was again working with the fabulous Toni Sandys.

They were married at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Alexandria, the same church that Ashley’s parents were married in. It’s really nice when there’s a sentimental attachment to the church and a family history. I particularly liked the photos of the two of them after the ceremony in the limo—in some the reflection of the church is visible in the car windows.

For the second time in two weeks I was at the St. Regis, a beautiful hotel with an elegant lobby just right for romantic photos! I really like the Vanity Fair-ish bridal party shots we did there. Thanks Lindsay for styling! I also got a chance to explore the hotel restaurant Adour, which has very cool round mirrors in its entryway and a see-through wine cellar which also made for some interesting and different couple portraits.

The reception was wonderfully romantic with large red roses at each place setting. After a funny toast by Ashley’s dad that pulled out her high school letterman’s jacket and her blankey (!) the party kicked into high gear and by the time Toni and I left, the dance floor was packed. We did manage to get Ashley and Michael outside for some night streets scenes in front of the hotel and a lovely dip photo in the driveway.

The vendors who made their day beautiful:

St. Regis Hotel

Music: Cherry Blossom Strings

Coordinator: Terri Eaves at Bash

Flowers: Multiflor

DJ: DJ D-Mac

Erika + Christian’s wedding – October 10, 2010

/in /by

It was a gorgeous day for a memorable wedding date. I spent 10-10-10 with Erika and Christian at their lovely wedding at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria. I got to spend more time with Erika than I do with most of my brides. We did a fabulous bridal portrait shoot about a month before the wedding at Oxon Hill Manor. I loved having time to focus on making really interesting portraits—something that I don’t always get time to do on the wedding date. Since the bridal gown was under wraps until Christian saw her at their first look on the big day, I wasn’t able to blog the photos until now. But I had a few I really liked so I’m including them here. And talk about bling! Take a look at Erika’s wedding band. Wow.

There were a few highlights of their wedding day in my mind. Before the ceremony, Erika’s mother had a prayer for her daughter than included the girls in the bridal party laying hands on her. Everyone was crying by the time it was over and of course, it made for some wonderful photos. I also loved Erika’s dance with all the important men in her life in lieu of the traditional father-daughter dance. Everyone kept cutting in until she ended up with her new husband! And one of my favorite photos was the late evening balcony shot of the two of them. I admit, I stole if from my friend Michael Connor and I believe in giving credit where it’s due. Holding the light behind them and shooting with me the whole day was the fabulous Ricky Carioti. And I got to work with one of my fav DJs Aaron who kept the party rocking!

Those who helped make the day special:

Hair and Makeup: CityGirl Salon De Belleza – Mara Fontanez

Flowers: Floral Specialties

Wedding and Reception: Belle Haven Country Club

Videographer: 5 Star Media Productions

DJ: Aaron at Chris Laich Music Services

Cake: Cheesecake Etc.

a couple of engagements

/in /by

Just a quick post with a couple of recent engagements shoots.

First I spent some time with Sean and Marina at the Capitol, wandering around the Hill and appropriately for two lawyers in love, at the Supreme Court. I love shooting portraits there. You get all of the white marble Washington is famous for without the crowds or the hassle. Once we got there Marina changed into her killer pink heels. Love those!

The following week I got to hang out with Matt and Liz and their adorable puppy Buckley. We wandered around Old Town looking for beautiful early fall late afternoon light and was happy to find some. I particularly love the shadows on the brick wall we found and the b&w walking photo was shot as the light was fading but I thought it just had a nice slightly arty feel to it. In our roaming we found several fabulous historic houses that Liz found suitable for her future home. I hope I’ll get an invite to the housewarming party!

I’m looking forward to Sean + Marina’s wedding in April and Matt + Liz’s in May.

Tara + Stephen’s wedding – June 12, 2010

/in /by

For the entire month of June it seemed like every Wednesday and Thursday it was sunny and beautiful with low humidity and by the time Friday and Saturday rolled around it was 95 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Which is another argument for getting married in the middle of the week but alas, people tend to want to do it on the weekend! Tara and Stephen’s wedding day was no exception. Hot, sunny, humid. But their calming water themed wedding made it not feel so bad. The day was full of meaningful touches. Tara’s veil was made from the wedding dress of her late mother. The church they were married in was built by Tara’s dad. Lucky for me it was a beautiful and light-filled sanctuary. As Tara and her father came through the massive wooden front door of the church, Stephen teared up. There’s nothing I like better at a wedding than a crying groom. I love the emotion! And every once in awhile he’s take Tara’s hand and kiss it. And through a good part of the ceremony, the bridesmaids were crying as well. For a whimsical touch, they had cupcakes for their guests waiting outside the church after the ceremony. We limoed to Old Town Alexandria for some waterfront photos and got caught in a little rain. Luckily it blew right over and by the time we got to Indigo Landing, the sun had returned and were were able to do shoreline shots there as well. It was a great reception with dancing under a tent overlooking the Potomac River and in the distance the bright lights of the city.

And the vendors who helped make it happen:

Florist: Occasional Flowers, Tonya Evans,

DJ: Norman Voss

Indigo Landing Restaurant

Hotel Monaco, Old Town Alexandria

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Potomac, Maryland

and a special shout out to the bride who did the centerpieces at the reception herself and did a wonderful job on carrying out the water theme!

Erika + Christian engagement

/in /by

A warm and gorgeous Saturday in Old Town was the setting for Erika and Christian’s engagement shoot last week. So it was just a little bit crowded. Luckily we chose to mostly be off the beaten path and to soak up the charm of Alexandria’s side streets. The light was amazing but it was really windy. It didn’t affect us much (as long as Erika’s hair was blowing with the wind) but it showed up in some of the backlit photos where everything that flying around in the air is captured. Pollen, twigs, dust, you name it. We had fun with their puppy Hercules and taking the King St. trolley and just strolling along King St. looking for fun spots to shoot. They’re getting married on 10-10-10 so of course, I’m looking forward to their fall wedding!

Lesley + Chris’ wedding April 24, 2010

/3 Comments/in /by

As noted in my last post, it was a mere two days between engagement shoot and wedding day for Lesley and Chris. It was a dicey weather day but Chris was determined that there would be an outdoor ceremony at the lovely River Farm. And he was right. We did decide to do the first look inside the Hotel Monaco in Old Town in one of my favorite hallways. I love the red walls and the big windows. The rain stopped just in time for us to then wander around Old Town a bit and do some portraits on the cobblestones of Prince St. before heading out to ceremony. The ceremony held one surprise, Chris got teary! I wasn’t expecting that but that started Lesley to cry a bit as well. I thought it was really sweet when Lesley grabbed for her mother’s hand as she headed up the aisle after the ceremony. The reception was wonderful as well, the highlight being Chris’ singing a song to his bride accompanied by the band Hipshack and there were some wonderful toasts from Chris’ brother and Lesley’s friends as they cloaked them in the purple blanket of love. It did get a little chilly during dinner!

If you want to see their slide show you can find it here.

I was fortunate to work with the wonderful Katherine Frey as my second photographer and some wonderful vendors including:

Vicky Choy at Event Accomplished

Florist: Bergeron Flowers

Caterer: Complements Catering

Band: Hipshack

Ceremony Musicians: String Poets

Videographer: Blue Sky Films