I am determined to get these posted before some of these wonderful couples get married! Yes, I’ve been too busy to blog these engagements but August is a great time to revisit earlier summer shoots, right? Here’s some of my favorites and I made my self-imposed deadline…Randi and Mike are getting married in Pa. on Aug. 25. For the rest of the couples, I’m looking forward to shooting their weddings in Sept. + November. And stay tuned for more recent engagements coming next week!
I first met Jen + Ross at a swim meet on the GMU campus on a chilly day in December. OK, I was the one at the swim meet and I ducked out to meet with them at a nearby hotel. But I do think it’s the first time I’ve combined the two things where I spend of my time…weddings and swim meets! What I remember most about that meeting was the way they talked about each other as they recounted the scavenger hunt in Central Park that culminated in Ross’ proposal. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other. So it was especially meaningful for me to do their engagement shoot in Central Park few months later. Their wedding at the Willard Hotel was just sweet and elegant. They are a no-fuss couple and really just have fun being together. When Jen filled out the shoot list questionnaire I sent them before the wedding there’s a blank for special things for us to be on the look out for. Her response was simply that she was marrying her best friend. I thought that summed them up perfectly. They lucked out with a gorgeous spring day that allowed us to take advantage of the view down Pennsylvania Ave during the group shots and their portraits. Another noticeable thing about Jen + Ross is that there is just a little height difference. They solved this for me several times during the reception when Ross picked her up and twirled her around joyously while they danced.
Wedding, reception + cake: The Willard Intercontinental Hotel 1401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC
Event coordinator: Sarah Peterson/202.637.7457
Florist: Edge Flowers/301.330.5232
Hair and makeup: Andre Chreky Salon/202.293.9393
Band: Sound Connection – Andy Kushner music/301.869.8855
Videographer: Jackson Steppe – Blue Sky Films/301.755.5478
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography/202.412.8909
Just a quick few lovely engagement session shots to start of a crazy busy Memorial Day week. Andra and Daniel and I spent a lovely spring afternoon at Dumbarton Oaks and I’m looking forward to their wedding coming up in a few short weeks!
Wedding season is here and since it’s such a pretty time of year in DC there’s always lots of engagement sessions on the schedule. Here’s a few of my favorites from two recent shoots — Kathleen and Chris at the National Cathedral and Katie and Jake at Belle Haven Marina and Old Town Alexandria. I’m looking forward to both couple’s fall weddings! And on a side note–both brides are continuing my ongoing trend from 2011 with an abundance of brides whose names start with the letter K.
When I first met Kathy I could see we had a lot in common. She was a Potomac girl (OK, technically I’m a Bethesda girl but transplanted to Potomac) and she teaches at the elementary school I went to until 2nd grade. I thought we had made all our connections before the wedding but I was very surprised to walk into her suite on her wedding day and to be recognized by her mother. Turns out she was one of the nurses in the allergy office I went to for years! Kathy + Evan’s wedding turned out to be on one of the most popular wedding dates of 2012. It also was on the same night as the White House Correspondents Dinner which caused a huge snarl of traffic on Connecticut Ave. in front of the hotel. Luckily we were happily ensconced in the Mayflower by the time all that hubbub started. Their day was elegant and just gorgeous and classically DC. The rain held off for our trek to the Capitol where we made some of my favorite photos from the day. The hotel ballroom and all the details were lovely as well…from the menu cards to the Georgetown Cupcake giveaways. And the party rocked. I loved the balcony in the ballroom that allowed us to make some very fun dance photos.
Wedding and reception The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC, 202.347.3000
Event coordinator Bridget Newby of SoCo Events 240.498.5146
Florist DaVinci Florists 301.588.8900
Hair and makeup Victoria Stiles/makeup 571.265.7138 Paula/Hair 240.687.7006
DJ Chris Laich 202.997.2514202.997.2514202.997.2514
Videographer Blue Sky Films 301.775.5478
Photography Deb Lindsey Photography 202.412.8909
Ginny and Barrie officially kick off my spring wedding season. I was very excited to be back at the Hotel Monaco after a couple years. Such a cool hotel. The biggest problem is narrowing down the great places to make pictures. Despite the dire predictions of rain, the weather held and we were able to inside and out and take full advantage of being right in the heart of downtown. Their first look took place on the hotel fabulous staircase. They were beyond excited to see each other. We had to remind Barrie to stop looking up the stairs before Ginny arrived and the look of joy on Ginny’s face when she saw her intended was just wonderful. They ceremony was well documented by me and my team but also by Barrie’s mom and stepdad who had better-than-the-average-amateur cameras. Canons, of course. Some of my favorite shots of the day came just after the ceremony. We went outside in front of the National Portrait to take a few more portraits and it reminded me why I like to take some photos after the ceremony. Ginny and Barrie were much more relaxed and even though it finally looked like it was going to rain, it made for just beautiful color. Finally, I need to give a shout out to Barrie’s brother’s who gave a thoroughly embarrassing best man speech. It resonated with me in particular after finding out that Barrie survived solely on toaster waffles and fake maple syrup as a kid. There’s a little boy in my house who could totally relate to that. And Barrie is living proof that you can eat that day in and day out and grow up to be a productive and healthy adult!
Wedding and reception and catering Hotel Monaco Buddee Clinton /202.449.7014
Florist Barbara Von Elm/Growing Wild 540.364.6246
Hair Hair Salon Revive 202.232.1008
DJ Steve Hoffman/Good Note DJs 202.213.1977
Cupcakes Baked and Wired 202.333.5506
Photography: Deb Lindsey/ Mark Gail/Linda Wang
Debbie, Paul and I hit a lot of great locations in a small radius of downtown DC for their engagement shoot. We started at the Navy Memorial and luckily just missed the Cherry Blossom parade. We made a pitstop outside the National Portrait Gallery before heading into the Verizon Center. They had their first date there at a Wizards game so we made our way to their seats that night then played around with the Wizards’ logo and some of the jazzy red walls on the concourse level. It always fun for me to shoot in a meaningful location and it was great that Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis was open to letting us recreate their first day! I’m looking forward to Debbie + Paul’s wedding in October. I won’t be at all surprised if there’s something sports related about their day…
For those of you who didn’t get quite enough love on Valentine’s Day here’s some engagement love from my fall/winter engagements. Enjoy!
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
Caterer: Tracy Toth at Quite A Stir Catering
Florist: Maryann Sheridan
Hair and makeup: Jessica at Alchemy Hair Salon,
Band: Last Train
Cake: Fluffy Thoughts
In the spirit of the holiday I’m offering my Black Friday blog post. And stay tuned to the blog in the next couple weeks (if not sooner) I’ll be unveiling some design changes and a spanking new website!
There’s a fairly unusual reason that Deb and Drew came to me when they were on the hunt for a wedding photographer. First was Deb and then there was her sister (and Matron of Honor) Lindsey. When she saw my name she had to get in touch. And then it turns out that my parents grew up with her parents so it seemed we were meant to work together! Their wedding was my first at the Omni Shoreham and what a wonderful venue! Full of history for those born and bred Washingtonians like myself. We lucked out with the weather, it was a gorgeous sunny day which allowed us to use the grounds of the hotel for first look and family photos before heading inside for the ceremony. There was a certain amount of chaos during the day courtesy of the adorable flower girls all under age 5. The ceremony started with the four girls coming down the aisle and stopping dead at the top of the runner where they proceeded to studiously drop all their flowers there. Eventually they made it down the walkway but it was a pretty funny scene. Another funny moment came courtesy of the groom. Deb and Drew are at the cake table doing the usual cutting and when it comes time to feed the bride some cake, Drew calls an audible and feeds himself! It caught everyone by surprise but Deb was laughing the hardest. The whole day was filled with tears and laughter.
It’s always a pleasure to work again with Janice Carnavale of Bellweather Events who made the day run so smoothly!
Wedding planner Janice Carnevale www.bellweatherevents.com
Omni Shoreham coordinator Haydee Gamez/202-756-5164
Caterer Omni Shoreham Hotel
Florist Dever’s Design www.deversdesign.com
Hair Jessica Sarno/ Headlines Hair Design
Makeup Suellen Kay Totally Polished
Ceremony music Tim Metz- www.Timmymetz.com
Reception music Prime Time/Bialak’s Music
Cake Pastries By Randolph
