I first met David a few years ago when I arrived at his house for a Food assignment. He was writing the Real Entertaining column for the Washington Post’s Food section and I had been sent to do the photography. It was the first of many trips there (more for his subsequent column Sourced) and as much as I enjoyed photographing the food, I definitely was up for tasting whatever he’d cooked. He did one column on locally sourced blueberries that had a blueberry ginger lemonade recipe that is still one of my favorite summer coolers. And it’s killer with a little rum while sitting with friends at the community pool on summer evenings. But I digress…

I knew David was getting married from our mutual friend, deputy Food editor (and food stylist extraordinaire) Bonnie Benwick. But I was very surprised to get a call from David in late July asking about my availability to be his mid-September wedding photographer. And meeting was arranged and it was then that I met Michael and I could see what a lovely and emotional day they had planned. Their attention to even the smallest detail was impressive. Matching custom made suits and initial cufflinks, David’s red rubber Vivienne Westwood shoes, cake trim to match their invitations and of course, the food. Their dog Coco made an appearance in Pershing Park for some photos. She was a presence at the grooms’ table at the restaurant with her photograph but I suspect the day wouldn’t have been complete for either Michael or David without a Coco visit.

I have to admit it was more than a little thrilling (and surreal) to have Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiating the ceremony. The buzz was palatable as she arrived and proceeded to sign the marriage certificate and to talk with Michael and David for a good half hour prior the ceremony. It felt like I was on a news assignment for the Post. And not just because the New York Times was there covering the wedding for their Vows column. The funniest details emerged to me when I was editing the wedding photos. I loved her security guy always standing nearby holding her purse. And the colorful beaded collar she wore over her judges ‘robes. She led the ceremony in such a relaxed and warm way making it very personal to Michael and David. They in turn, honored her by toasting with milk instead of wine at the end of the ceremony. It was a tribute to her remarks about the benefits of marriage during arguments before the Supreme Court concerning the Defense of Marriage Act.

“There’s two kinds of marriage, there’s full marriage and then there’s sort of skim milk marriage,”

The other particularly moving part of the day was during the speeches after the fabulous five course dinner. The microphone was passed around the room to friends and family and it was so touching to hear what this day meant to everyone after such a long history of not being able to be legally married and about family acceptance and love. And did I mention that the place was swarming with some of the best chefs in the DC area? And that Michael and his NOAA friends used their influence to provide a perfect (partly cloudy) day for their rooftop ceremony? So much to this wedding…maybe after all this I should let the photos speak for themselves.