Vienna Archives - Deb Lindsey Photography

Meadowlark Gardens wedding engagement session

Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, Virginia is one of those go-to places where any time of year you can plan a wonderful wedding engagement session. This was particularly important for Kelly + Nate who are getting married in February. Short sleeves and pretty flowers blooming may be a little harder to find!! It was a glorious summer day (those clouds!! that light!!) and we had fun making their photos unique in a popular spot. As much as I love their portraits and their wonderful interaction, one of my favorite photos is their Nerf gun fight. The couple does this for fun and it’s a running joke that Kelly can never hit Nate. So I was very proud of my photo with the Nerf dart inches from Nate…perfect aim. And his reaction to it was just terrific. I’m so excited for their February wedding at Army Navy Country Club!

Meadowlark Gardens

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens wedding

November 7, 2016/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is such a beautiful place to have a wedding any time of year. The sunny almost fall Sunday that felt like summer, turned out to be perfect for Alex + Mike’s outdoor ceremony.

They shared their first look along the leaf-strewn path near the Garden’s Atrium and then we wandered the extensive grounds looking for pretty colors and beautiful light for their portraits and wedding party photos. We headed back to the patio for the traditional Jewish ceremony with lots of personal touches. Several friends and family members took part in the ceremony, telling stories about the couple and incorporating their love of books and history and even a poem about how they met.

From there the party really got started with a fun choreographed first dance, a rowdy Hora and lots of Bon Jovi to keep the dance floor packed! Topped off with a cupcake cutting and a bouquet toss, the evening ended with a sweet bubble sendoff.

meadowlark-gardens-wedding-deb-lindsey-photography_01

meadowlark-gardens-wedding-deb-lindsey-photography_67 Wedding and Reception Meadowlark Botanical Gardens 703-255-3631 x105 Ilka Morris

Caterer Great Blue Heron Catering 703-255-3631 ext. 104

Florist Karin’s Florist 703-592-0952

Hair and makeup Alina Karaman 202-257-2447

Cupcakes Cupcakes Actually 571-522-6315

Two Wedding engagements – New York City, Washington DC

February 24, 2015/in Engagements /by lindseydeb

Snow covered lawns and frigid temperatures make me long for spring. But until my spring engagements get underway here’s a little look back at my last engagement session of 2014 and to my first one of 2015. S+B had two sessions; one in their New York City neighbor in the Village and another over Thanksgiving at Meadowlark Gardens in Virginia. I had to include a shot from the balcony of their fabulous Manhattan apartment at night. Seriously, what a view!! And the timing of this post is very appropriate since their wedding is this Saturday in DC.

K+J live in San Francisco and were in town over Christmas to celebrate the holidays, do lots of wedding planning and have their engagement photos taken. Extra bonus points for us that the day after Christmas was sunny and 50 degrees! FDR Memorial is a favorite of their (and a new favorite of mine) and we wandered from the Tidal Basin to the WWI Memorial to the Reflecting Pool. Needless to say we were not the only people out enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Can’t wait to photograph their wedding in Alexandria in May with the fabulous Janice Carnevale at Bellwether Events.

Nicole + Michael’s wedding – October 13, 2012 – Vienna, VA and Washington Golf and Country Club, Arlington, VA

October 31, 2012/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

Finally–a swimming bride! That sounds like an odd statement but considering how immersed my family has become in swimming over the last 4-5 years I felt like I’d met kindred spirits in Nicole and her mom. Nicole is a swim coach for York Swim Club in Arlington, a group that my kids see often at swim meets in the metropolitan area. We both live in the world of swim practice, meets, chlorine and carpools. Nicole’s bridal party was a great reflection lasting friendships formed at the pool—they all were swimmers. I have great admiration for these coaches who like teachers play such a critical role in the lives of the young kids they spend time with daily.

Enough about swimming, on to the wedding! Nicole and Michael picked a glorious fall day to get married in their hometown of Vienna. I was a little jealous of the groom and groomsmen who got to go to the Vienna Inn before the ceremony. That’s another long story for a different blog post but I used to hang out there—more for the atmosphere than the famous chili dogs. The day started with a lovely ceremony at Vienna Presbyterian Church followed by a little hiking around the church for portraits and then the trip to Washington Golf and Country Club for the reception. It’d been a couple years since I’d been there and I was happy to make good use of the white Adirondack chairs and the balcony with columns overlooking the golf course. And one last swimming note and maybe a cautionary lesson for me…those swimmers (and everyone else there) know how to have a good time. The dance floor was packed all night long and yes, I saw the York group having a particularly good time!!

Ceremony Vienna Presbyterian Church, Vienna, VA

Reception Washington Golf and Country Club, Arlington, VA, 703.524.4600

Florist Kathy McGuiness 703.523.3114

Hair Betsy Allen – 703.389.0280

Make-up –Marti Wright 703.282.1347

Band Keynote – 410.697.4931

Cake Pastries by Randolph 703.243.0070

Engagements

August 8, 2012/in Engagements /by lindseydeb

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!

Sarah + Praveen’s wedding

September 17, 2010/in Weddings /by lindseydeb

This summer turned out to be my season of Hindu/Christian weddings. First in July I had the beautiful wedding of Janine and Ajit and then in August came Sarah and Praveen. I was less nervous this time having shot the Hindu part before so I was able to relax and enjoy the ceremony–and to know that everything is repeated a few times at least so I’m sure to get the shot! It was a gorgeous day at Meadowlark Gardens, not a cloud in the sky. And the day started with a baarat! I hadn’t photographed that before and it was a blast. Praveen mounted a horse at the entrance to the park and rode in towards the Atrium with friend and family dancing beside him. I loved what a good time he was having and when he dismounted in front of the building and started dancing, it made for some very fun photos. The ceremony was on the back patio and while it was lovely, by midafternoon in the bright sun it was pretty hot. Kudos as always for Jonathan Newton, my second shooter who worked in the heat for the entire ceremony. I took my cues from the guests, many of whom watched much of the festivities from the air-conditioned atrium so I moved back and forth! One of my favorite photos of the day is a Newton shot–he went home with Praveen for the change from his Indian attire into a suit for the Christian ceremony and the guys stripped down and stuck their heads in the freezer. Did I mention it was hot during the ceremony?? Part two of the day began with Sarah and her father preceeded down the aisle with their flower girl who decided just before getting out of the building that she didn’t want to do it! It’s a sweet little photo of the ring bearer trying to console her and encourage her to continue. She made it with some help from mom and Sarah was positively radiant as she made her way to meet Praveen. This ceremony was shorter but quite emotional especially when friends of the couple serenaded them. And since I always follow the bride and groom for the recessional, I had to laugh when I was editing the photos and saw the bridal party recessional that Jonathan shot. I’ve included one of the photos here–the bridal party danced back up the aisle and I had no idea until I looked at the photos!!

Some of the people who helped Sarah and Praveen make their day spectacular:

Caterer – Fusions Cuisine: http://fusionscuisine.com

Venue – The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens: http://www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens/content/the_atrium

Horse – Harmon’s Carriages: http://www.harmonscarriages.com/asia.htm

Indian Caterer – Tandoori Nights: http://indaez.com/catering

Cake – Cakes by Happy Eatery: http://www.happyeatery.com

Dress – Hannelore’s: http://www.hannelores.com

DJ – DCVibez: http://www.dcvibez.com

Decorator/Florist – Nivanjoli, Prabha Bhambri: http://www.nivanjoli.com