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Family Portraits – Washington, DC

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It seems to me that the dead of winter is a good time change up the blog a bit and post some of the fun family and baby portrait portraits I had in the late fall and early winter of last year. And a little hint for the mini baby boom going on amongst my brides from 2-3 years ago that have just come out with announcements for summer babies! I was fortunate to photograph so many expressive babies and toddlers this year–such sweet faces and personalities! I don’t know why I prefer black and white photography for children but it feels so timeless and classic. These photos could have been taken in 2015 or decades earlier. I love doing family portraits and the group below is a mix of my former brides and grooms who have now grown their families as well as new families who find me through word of mouth.

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Shelly + David’s wedding – Strathmore Mansion – Rockville, Maryland

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Shelly and I met for the first time on Skype. She and David live in Pittsburgh and they therefore have the honor of being my first Skype couple. I knew that after our adorable engagement session at Glen Echo last year that the chemistry between the two of them would be through the roof on their wedding day. I was not disappointed. From their first look that could have easily lasted 30 minutes (when most take about 5) to the laughter during their Ketubah signing and ceremony outside the Strathmore Mansion, they could not have been better together. Yes, it was a little steamy…par for the course in DC in mid-June but the weather held for the outdoor wedding and cocktails and then moved inside for a daytime lunch and dancing. A nice touch was the cookie table towards the end of the reception–a Pittsburgh tradition. They were sent off with bubbles and I just loved the photo of David’s grandmother having fun blowing bubbles at the end of the day. And as a bonus, since it was an early wedding with a tight timetable, Shelly + David were troopers and I got to do most of their couple portraits after the guests had left. They ended up as some of my favorites from the day—they were so happy and relaxed and we had the run of the place!

 

Wedding + reception Strathmore Mansion

Event coordinator Lula Mae Events Meighan Mahaffey 202.306.7999

Site coordinator & Caterer Restaurant Associates Jennifer Voories 212.613.5526

Florist Bloom Affair 888.990.7776

Hair Nancy Engler 240.498.7937

Makeup Beauty N The Bride Nikki Fraser 240.418.1354

DJ Halley Shoenberg Jazz Quartet 240.381.510

Cake Stella’s Bakery 301.231.9026

 

Talisha + Monica engagement photos

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What an adorable couple! We had such a good time finding wonderful light in Rockville of all places. We started at their favorite local restaurant Cava, and worked out way through their neighborhood ending up at the big and very cool mirrored building at the Human Genome Sciences headquarters. It goes without saying that I am beyond excited for their Memorial Day weekend wedding!

 

 

Julia + Vasily – September 23, 2012 – Glenview Mansion, Rockville, Maryland

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Julia and Vasily are continuing a trend for me this year. Couples who get married before their ceremony! The two were married in March but planned a lovely ceremony and party with close friends and family in September. They chose the fabulous Glenview Mansion and luckily the first fall day where the air started to feel crisp and sort of like fall. Highlights of the day included the toasts by the father of the bride and father of the groom outside the Mansion, just before guests went inside for dinner. This is where I found out that in the Russian tradition after a toast the champagne is declared “bitter” and the bride and groom must kiss to add sweetness. This happened a lot during the night. The dance floor was crowded for a swing dance lesson from Dabe and Janelle who do a great job of getting everyone to try some new steps. And Vasily’s Russian family and friends serenaded the happy bride and groom with a traditional song to wish them good luck and they danced around in a circle.

Caterer: Main Event Caterers, 703.820.2028

Florist: Sara King, Park Florist, 301-270-1848

Hair and makeup: Natalie, Posche Hair, 301.674.5485

DJ: Dabe and Janelle

Shilpa + Neeraj’s Court House wedding – Rockville, Maryland

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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!

Leslie + George’s winter wedding – McLean and Glenview Mansion

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marisa + Raimonds wedding – Rockville, Maryland

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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

Yuan + Jonathan’s Rockville wedding and DC reception

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When I first spoke to Jonathan and Yuan on the phone from their current home in Atlanta I was intrigued by their wedding plans. In 10 years of wedding photography, I’d never shot a civil ceremony. They were married on a recent Friday at the Rockville Circuit Courthouse surrounded by their immediate families. It was such an interesting scene there, watching the full bridal parties come and go for their quick service. Jonathan and Yuan’s nuptials lasted maybe five minutes but it was very thoroughly documented, not just by me but by everyone of the nine people there to witness for them! Day two of the wedding weekend started at the National Cathedral for their first look. We found a spot not affected by earthquake damage and Jonathan saw Yuan in her white dress for the first time. She had worn a fabulous red dress for the civil ceremony as part of her Chinese heritage. After some sweet photos there we headed to La Maison Francaise at the French Embassy in Georgetown for their reception with family and friends. The night was filled with fun little details like the colorful postcards that friends and family used to wish the couple well and the adorable cake toppers for the wedding cakes made by the bride’s sister Julia.

 

Site coordinator French Embassy Catering – Cindy Fuller

Caterer Sodexo, Henri Lubet

DJ DJ Atticus (Patrick Miranda

Cake Julia Shu