Lesley and Mike win the award for the hottest wedding I’ve ever photographed. And by hot I mean 105 degrees and an outdoor ceremony. The ceremony itself was surprisingly funny and made for many great moments but boy, was it hot. Did I mention the temperature?? All week long I watched the forecast as I always do and when the prediction was for sunny and 98 degrees, I started to prepare. Worked out a little extra. Made sure I packed several bottles of water I’d put in the freezer. The fact is, there’s no way to adequately prepare for being that hot. We made a slight adjustment and did their solo photos beforehand at Landsdowne where they were getting ready, thus minimizing the amount of time everyone would be outside. But Mike had to mop his brow a couple times which made some fun photos. It was a brief ceremony but sweet and full of laughs. I love the shots of Lesley right after the ceremony with her helpful bridesmaids with a fan up her dress. We waited for the temps to cool a bit before doing their couple shots in the vineyard itself and I love those portraits. Both were naturals in front of the camera and the light was perfect and the green of the vines just popped in the photos. The party was a lot of fun, starting off with a father-daughter dance that after a few slow minutes transitioned into Billy Idol’s “White Wedding.” Oddly, that’s not one I hear a lot at weddings! The night ended up beautifully with a sparkler send off and oh yes, a full moon. As always, thanks go out to the wonderful Jonathan Newton who shot with me and for some reason didn’t look nearly as overheated as I did.

And the people who helped Lesley and Mike’s day spectacular:

Bluemont Vineyard Coordinator, Beth Wright

Florist, Jennifer Morris  – J. Morris Flowers

Cake, Carolyn Taylor – Taylor Made Cakes

DJ, Daryle Maciocha DJ-DMAC

Violinists – Perfect Harmony

Officiant –Leora Motely

Hair/Makeup – K.C. Felton