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 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
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
I took Shilpa’s phone call on a street corner in Soho on a family vacation to New York City on spring break. She needed a photographer for her very small court house wedding the following Monday morning. I was happy to oblige. The ceremony was over in the blink of an eye–with just myself and Shilpa’s brother as witnesses. The real fun began while taking portraits after the ceremony in the little park areas around the court house. We worked in very windy conditions but the love between the two of them became quickly apparent. And it shows up clearly in the photographs. And one of my favorite little details of the morning was Neeraj’s sneakers with his wedding clothes!
The engagement shoots are coming fast and furious right now. Thank goodness the weather is cooperating. I had a great time roaming the grounds at Brookside Garden in Wheaton during spring break. If you get a chance to drop by, everything is in glorious bloom there right now. Especially the tulips, my personal favorite. I’m looking forward to Heidi and Brian’s wedding in October…Heidi will be my first kickboxing ballerina bride….that I know of!
Planning a wedding in February in the DC area is risky. This winter, not so much. Temperatures were regularly in the 60s in January and February so I was really excited and optimistic for Jennifer and Nate’s winter wedding. OK, it was 20 degrees and frigid when we did their engagement shoot on an early January morning at Eastern Market but the signs looked good for the wedding day. And then came the winds. And the fact that Thorpewood, where they were getting married is up in the Cacoctin Mountains near Thurmont, Maryland. Maybe the wind would hit the other side of the mountain. Maybe the weather forecast would be wrong and 40-60 mile per hour gusts were just a figment of their imagination. No luck there unfortunately but Jennifer and Nate were troopers. From their first look outside the venue to the fabulous rustic barn on the property, they posed without complaint. Although I think I did overhear someone worrying that the barn would collapse as we kept shooting while the sides of the building literally flapped in the breeze. It was totally worth it. Those barn photos were some of my favorites from the day.
And once we got back to Thorpewood proper it was nice and toasty in the main room as they were married in front of a roaring fire. I loved all the little touches that really made the wedding reflected Jennifer and Nate as a couple. Takeaway gifts were shawls for the women and hot sauces and whisky for the men. At each place setting was a little birds’ nests and my personal favorite detail—the lovebird cake toppers! The dance floor stayed crowded all night after the couple’s choreographed first dance and it was a particularly sweet moment late in the evening when the groom danced with his great aunt.
The fabulous vendor team:
Wedding and Reception: Thorpewood, Julie Parleman
Caterer and Cake: Canapes Catering
Florist: Blossom & Basket Boutique
Hair and makeup: Aisha Therese Alves, Picture Perfect Makeup DC
DJ: DJ Trayze
Photography: Deb Lindsey Photography with Michael Connor
I was so impressed with Leslie and George when they came to my house for our initial meeting. Like my best meetings, we had a long conversation about how they met and became engaged and I could easily see how happy and content they were with each other. And when they came to me for advice on others to help them fulfill their wedding dreams, I was happy to offer my two cents and we ended up working with such a fabulous team of vendors. Our day started in Reston with Leslie and her family and then we headed to McLean for the church ceremony. Leslie and George felt very strongly about not seeing each other before the ceremony and it was worth it to see the look on George’s face as he caught a glimpse of Leslie coming down the aisle! Their reception at Glenview Mansion was lovely and Christmas-y. I’ve decided that every wedding reception needs to have twinkling lights in the background…it makes for lovely ring and cake photos! One of the evening’s highlights was the elegant waltz to “Edelweiss” that was Leslie + George’s first dance. The day was a lovely celebration of family and I need to make a special shout out to Sara Bauleke who kept the trains running on time all day long, remade the bride’s bouquet and got everyone together for all the group shots I needed to get at the reception!
Event coordinator: Sara Bauleke, Bella Notte DC www.bellanottedc.com
Wedding ceremony site: McLean Presbyterian Church
Reception site: Glenview Mansion
Caterer: Occasions Caterers www.occasionscaterers.com
Florist. Nick’s Flowers www.nicksflowers.com
Hair: Maude’s of Herndon/Tina Jay www.maudehair.com;
Make Up: Dina Gardizi, dgardizi@yahoo.com
Music: Celebrated Strings www.strings4.com
Invitations: Paper Zest
Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy
DJ: Dabe and Janelle Swing Dance Instruction and DJ www.dabe-and-janelle.com
Cake: Occasions Caterers
Videographer: Blue Sky Films www.blueskyfilms.com
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
It’s not a stretch to say that the Wye River in Maryland will always hold a special place in the hearts of Annie + Scott. They got engaged while sailing on the river and got married on it’s shores at River Plantation’s Pintail Point on October 1. Would it have been great if the weather had been sunny and warm? Sure, but the overcast skies and early fall chill in the air didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Especially true for the happy couple. Except for a few sprinkles as Annie made her long walk from the manor house to Scott waiting by the river, the weather cooperated. Tears were flowing early as Annie’s 86-year-old Irish grandmother pinned on the veil she made for her granddaughter. Annie’s Mom was in on the action as well and it was a special point of pride that some of the beading from her wedding dress was now on Annie’s veil. I loved the cute sailing details that were everywhere throughout the day including the name tags hung on a nautical chart, cookies shaped like sailboats and their A&S logo. I have to admit that my favorite part of the reception (other than the sweet first dance and toasts) was the Brusters ice cream bar. Scott’s family owns a couple of stores in Richmond and yes, the detail shot of the cup of ice cream I shot was delicious! The day was filled with lots of Annie’s Irish relatives and my one regret was that there was a mention of Irish dancing that never came to pass. It would have been fun to shoot! As I was packing up to make the journey home, a guest pointed me in the direction of the last shot I took—Annie’s mom reading “The Pokey Little Puppy” to one of the adorable flower girls. It made such a sweet photo and was not a scene I see often at a wedding.
Wedding and Reception venue and catering: The River Plantation
Bouquets: Homestead Gardens
DJ Rusty with DJ D-Mac
Cake Julie Bakes