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!
Any discussion of Patricia + Manny’s wedding has to start with Hurricane Irene. They were scheduled to get married in Rehoboth Beach Delaware August 27, 2011. The weather that day conspired against them and they had to postpone the wedding. They did, however, go on their honeymoon as scheduled and they tied the knot while they were away. But they were determined to have what they’d originally planned…a Greek Orthodox service and a lovely country club reception. Fast forward to June 30, 2012 and they finally made it legal in front of their friends and family. Not without a little more weather though. Turns out they were married the day after a derecho roared through DC creating major havoc. Oh, and the temperature on their wedding day was about 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. But they couldn’t have been happier. Rehoboth was spared the storm and everyone held up well in the heat. The little church a block from the beach was such a great place for an intimate service. It was too hot to trek to the boardwalk so we opted for waterfront photos at the country club where a nice breeze helped everyone get through the heat and onto the party!
Wedding: All Saints Episcopal Church, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Reception: Rehoboth Beach Country Club
Florist: Bayberry Flowers
Makeup: Mischel Rillera, MAC Makeup Artist
Hair: Gigi Rios Geraldine
Band/DJ: The Nation Band/Elan Artists
Cake: Nage Catering
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography
I knew from the start that Cheryl and Drew’s wedding was going to be different. The first clue was the theme…disco glam. The second was my pre-wedding phone call with the couple to discuss all the final details. I spent a good half hour of that call with Drew while Cheryl was out of earshot, talking about all the surprises he had planned for Cheryl. There was the giant Kiddush cup, his suit pants that transformed from straight legs into hot pink lined bellbottoms in the middle of their first dance and the musicians he hired especially to do their processional and recessional music. I have never seen a chuppah of Lucite and their first look was just as memorable. How perfect was it that Drew bowed down to her and then checked under her dress! I have to say that they did a fabulous job carrying out their theme! The also did the Hora outside during cocktails which made for some very fun pictures. For the reception, the Bolger Center was transformed into a disco palace of hot pink, black and silver. They broke out into the Hustle in the middle of their first dance and everything down to the lettering and record albums used to decorate the guest card table were true to the disco era.
Reception and wedding venue: The Bolger Center/301.983-7000
Event planner: Cara Weiss/Save The Date
Hair: Hair by Giselle/301.984.9007
Makeup: Bridal Artistry/703.380.9961
Flowers: DaVinci Florist/301.588.8900
Cake: Fancy Cakes by Leslie/301.652.9390
Musicians: Davis Dj
Videography: Blue Sky Films/Tonya and Jackson/301.755.5478
Photo Booth: Elite Party Entertainmentt
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography/202.412.8909
Andra + Daniel were married on a glorious Father’s Day evening. Seriously, for mid-June in DC and considering the sweltering heat that was to follow, it really was a perfect day. The Bethesda North Marriott was the scene of all the events of the day and I knew things would go well as soon as the couple saw each other. The sneak peek I posted on FB of the two seeing each other brought a comment from one of Andra’s friends that they were “cuter than a basket full of puppies!” I thought that summed them up perfectly. Daniel just couldn’t stop kissing his bride. Which is a good problem for a wedding photographer to have. They had a traditional Conservative Jewish ceremony with a modified tish where the bride and groom separated during cocktails and came together for the bedecken (groom putting the veil on the bride) and then the ceremony. And speaking of cute…when the ring bearer came down the aisle holding toy cars in both hands he then decided as he neared the chuppah that the aisle runner was a great racetrack and he proceeded to get down and play! Loved that. In another twist on tradition, as soon as the ceremony was over the whole wedding headed into the reception and immediately started a rousing Hora. It created great energy for dancing the rest of the night.
Wedding and Reception: Bethesda North Marriott/Randi Jacobs/301-822-9271
Florist Chevy Chase Florist/301-986-0986
Hair and makeup: Art and Chemistry Hair/Sinia Cruz/301-437-3882
Band: Millenium- Washington Talent/301-762-1800×110
Cake Creative Cakes/301-587-1599
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography/202-412-8909
I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Vanessa and Jonathan before their wedding day. Little things like Vanessa’s graduation from medical school and Jonathan’s residency in Minnesota meant they weren’t in the DC area much before their June 2 wedding. So I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect…I have to say the whole day was a pleasant surprise. It was my first time shooting at the Tyson’s Ritz Carlton even though it’s one of my favorite meeting places in Virginia. Both the ceremony room and the reception were elegantly decorated…a chuppah dripping with crystals and beautiful spotlighting (I know, I’m all about the lighting). The theme continued for the party set up…crystal draped floral arrangements and candlelight set a romantic mood. I loved Vanessa and Jonathan’s first look. From the moment they saw each other the joy in their faces truly moving. The ceremony was a mix of Jewish and Filipino traditions including a surprise for Vanessa–Jonathan donned a traditional Filipino dress shirt just before he walked down the aisle. They had glorious sunny day and I so appreciated that the couple was willing to go outside for pictures before and after the ceremony and finally after dark where we were able to take one of the coolest photos I’ve ever done at a wedding.
Wedding, Reception, Catering + Cake: Ritz Carlton at Tysons Galleria/703.506.4300
Event coordinator: Linda Lazo/202.285.9622
Florist: Edge Flowers/301.330.5232
Hair and makeup: Hee-Soo /240-246-6677
Band: Onyx /301.807.8335
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography
Memorial Day weekend wedding #2—Kelly and Andrew get married at Congressional Country Club. It’s one of my favorite places to shoot—and not just because it’s minutes from my house (although that doesn’t hurt!). It was another warm but beautiful sunny day and I’ll take that over rain any day. Especially if it’s an outdoor wedding and a venue that has lovely grounds. Kelly was well assisted in getting ready by bridesmaids (2 of which were her sisters) and there were a few smiles but a little air of nervousness. Not terribly unusual on a wedding day. The first real smile I saw from Kelly was when she finally got to see Andrew. They are a great argument for having a first look. I’m not sure she could have held out until the ceremony started. Once they saw each other, they were both all smiles. It was a bit of a sun-soaked ceremony on the back patio of the country club—a blue sky without a cloud in sight. After the ceremony they were anxious to join friends and family for cocktails but we did manage to squeeze in some of my favorite shots from the day of the two of them in one Adirondack chair on the putting green. The décor was romantic with wrought iron candelabras and very pretty small arrangements of flowers on the tables. I particularly loved the mint used in some of the vases and used that to shoot one of my ring shots. The couple had a big hit with their choreographed first dance and another highlight of the night was a performance by medical school friends of Andrews who have a band that plays gigs around NYC. It’s not everyday you see a group of surgeons jamming. And they were really good!
Wedding and Reception: Congressional Country Club
Event coordinator: A Trendy Wedding/Anne Kelley 703.932.2185
Florist: Beehive Events /Shawn Cossette 434.286.4509
Hair and makeup: Belle Soeur/Alison Souza 301.549.3454
Band: Rhythm Collective, Elan Artists 888.800.3526
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography 202.412.8909
Old Town Alexandria is a very special place for Selina and Dan. They got engaged on the waterfront and on the very warm Saturday of Memorial Day weekend they got married there. It was a classic Old Town event. They started the day at historic Christ Church, where Washington and Robert E. Lee were regular worshippers. From there it was down to their party at the Torpedo Factory. During the course of the day they navigated the bikes of Rolling Thunder –a Memorial Day staple around town, and they were graciously escorted to a private dock at the bottom of King St. for a quick portrait session. And we even squeezed in a few minutes near the spot where they got engaged in Waterfront Park. Among my favorite photos from the day are Selina and Dan’s first dance. The smiles on their faces just never quit…even when a slight glitch in the song delayed the action for a few minutes. The rest of the night the party was a big dancing affair culminating in the cake cutting and singing of an Arsenal FC fight song while cutting the groom’s cake. Let’s just say Dan’s a fan.
Ceremony Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia
Reception The Torpedo Factory 703.838.4565 x2
Catering Main Event Caters 703 820 2028
Florist Petal’s Edge 703.518.8488
Hair and makeup Connie Tsang 703.554.9595
DJ DJ Elon Bialek’s music 410-484-7978
Cake Fluffy Thoughts 703-942-5538
Videographer Blue Sky Films – Holly Neff
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.
