In early May, Michal and Rob had an intimate wedding with family and friends in the backyard at their house. They gave each other the gift of a newly landscaped yard to set the scene for their wedding. The new spring green provided a striking backdrop and was irresistible to photograph! Fresh bright little green leaves are one of my favorite elements of spring. 

Michal’s best friend put together all the flowers for the day. The buckets of flowers were too cute and quite clever! 

This month we had our annual team dinner at Poste where we caught up with each other and toasted to the new wedding season.

We had a great turn out. From left to right is: Kurstin and his better half Lucia, Barbara’s husband Andres and Barbara, Marvino!, Sally, Rachael and her husband Ryan. And of course, I took the picture since I’m most comfortable behind the lens. Smile!

As one who photographs weddings, how could I not photograph our table! It’s become habit! I also had to capture one of Poste’s signature drinks –the lavender Margarita!

No party is complete without Marvin and one of his stories! He had us laughing as he shared (or demonstrated) another funny one for us.

The ceremony was the most important aspect of the day for Meg and Kyle. They had a choir which enveloped them throughout the interfaith ceremony that included friends and family. Their ceremony was also marked by laughter and deep smiles as you can see from the image of Meg and Kyle proceeding down the isle after they were announced husband and wife.

Following the ceremony, everyone walked from St. Augustine’s Church through Meridian Hill Park where we stopped for a few portraits on our way to the Meridian House. Several passersby cheered us on.

The gorgeous spring weather combined with the Meridian House ground’s lent itself nicely to an afternoon of play for the kids.

Meg and Kyle also toasted each other. Kyle had to hide his face as Meg recounted her initial thwarted efforts to establish a relationship with Kyle. Obviously, she prevailed!

Shelley and Brett wanted their portraits taken at the Jefferson Memorial last month since they’ve decided to simplify logistics and not travel for portraits on their wedding day in June. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, but we were trying to beat the weather which was threatening to turn on us at any moment.

Another common challenge to photographing at the Jefferson are the tourists! Shortly after asking Shelley and Brett to take a seat on these steps, a herd of tourists (not sure how else to refer to them since they often travel in packs) walked passed. One tourist commented on getting in the shot –a comment that you can see Brett found particularly funny! At least we provided some entertainment for them and they provided some for us!

There’s always something unique about each wedding we photograph, and Jody & Sid’s wedding on March 15th did not disappoint! A first for me was seeing her black wedding dress hanging in the corner of her room at the Hotel Monaco. It was a beautiful dress –stylish and elegant, but also very practical. It had pockets! Can you imagine being able to keep Burt’s Bees lip balm in your pocket on your wedding day?! Personally, I love the concept. No need to carry a purse, but you still get to carry along some small essential items.

I asked a planner I know, Sara Bauleke of Bella Notte, if she had ever seen a black wedding dress and learned that Jody is on the leading edge of a new trend. In fact, I googled “black wedding dress” and discovered it’s the latest in Parisian wedding trends.

Of course there was a lot more to the day than the dress. There were also a lot of nerves which were calmed by a glass or two of red wine.

Rachael was also photographing the day with me and caught this exchange of smiles at the ketubah signing,

…laughter on the dance floor at the reception,

…and a secret kiss in the hallway.

Today I returned from this year’s Wedding and Portrait Photographers International convention in Las Vegas. The event is huge! Last year I was overwhelmed, but I had a strategy going in this time. The plan was to shop –something which is not too hard for me to do, but with over 350 exhibitors the task was tiring at times. That’s a lot of ground to cover!

I was on a mission to discover new albums and I found them. We have been offering the always elegant Cypress Albums and edgier books from GraphiStudio, but I plan to expand the variety of books we offer through them. And new to the menu will be Queensberry which creates extraordinary albums out of New Zealand. (Did anyone else love Flight of the Conchords? Not that anyone at Queensberry reminded me of Bret, Jemaine, or Murray but they always come to mind when I hear “New Zealand.”) Anyway, I can’t wait to display some new designs here on the journal.

There were also well over 50 sessions to chose from during the week. Most of the sessions I attended focused on wedding photojournalism –my personal favorite, and were led by the photographers who first defined the term –like Denis Reggie.

We are donating wedding photography package discounts which will be given away in a drawing at the Brides Against Breast Cancer™ Charity Wedding Gown Sale as well as adding a goody to the goody bags. This event will take place on March 20, 21, & 22, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia. I will personally be volunteering at the event Friday, March 21. Go dress shopping, collect a goody bag, and support a great cause. You’ve got to check it out!

If you’re in DC today you know it’s far from sunny! I’m already longing for the glimpse of spring we caught yesterday so I thought I would post some images from weddings Rachael and Daniel photographed on sunnier days.

Rachael and I photographed Mary and Peter stroll through LaFayette Park on a very pleasant fall day this past September. These are a few of her images.

And here are a few irresistibly sunny images Daniel captured on Cinco de Mayo in Mexico!

I’m thrilled that we have two new photographers joining our team –Rachael Spiegel and Daniel Bedbell.

Rachael grew up in Maryland. After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in photojournalism and interning with The Baltimore Sun and The Houston Chronicle, she worked as a photographer at The Gazette in Montgomery County, Maryland. She is now a freelance photographer and her clients have included Bethesda Magazine, The Star Ledger, The Christian Science Monitor, European Pressphoto Agency, American Medical News, Universal Studios, and Johns Hopkins University. But these days she has been consumed by campaign coverage that has had her traveling from North Carolina to Ohio.

On a personal note, she is recently married which gives her the unique experience of seeing weddings from both the perspective of a bride as well as a photographer. If you get a chance, ask her to tell you about the choir her husband arranged to sing as a surprise during their ceremony.

Daniel grew up in Central Florida in the little town of Avon Park. In high school he began writing about sports for his county paper, the News Sun, where his interest in photography was first piqued. At Andrews University he studied photography along with writing. While still in college he worked on freelance writing and photography assignments for regional and national magazines including a story he authored and photographed about a three-week journey through India and along the Pakistan border.

He’s photographed weddings from Florida to New Jersey as well as destination weddings in Mexico. He looks forward to working with us and moving to the DC area from, what he calls, “the frigid cold of Michigan!” He also wants everyone to know that if they are having a destination wedding his passport is ready and his bags are packed!

I joined Meghan & Preston for their intimate Valentine’s Day wedding at the Morrison House in Alexandria, VA. The weather was kind enough to cooperate. While the temperatures were still somewhat cool, we were all happy to see the sun in place of the rain and ice from prior days. Most couples can grin and bear it for a few pictures in frigid temperatures, but ice storms are a bit too much to ask of anyone –the bride, groom, or their photographer!

Meghan wore the wedding dress her grandmother had sewn for her own wedding in 1939. I was amazed at how well the dress held up over time especially considering that it was stored in a simple department store box. There was no discoloration and I overhead another guest of the hotel admiring the style of the dress. She gasped in disbelief when I mention that it was about 70 years old.

As you can see in the first two images below, Meghan’s mother Judy was touched that her daughter would wear the wedding dress of her mother who had passed away this fall. It was a surprise to her since Meghan had told her she would be wearing a dress from J Crew. As Meghan predicted, her mother was brought to tears upon seeing the dress.

We took some portraits outside before the ceremony –before we lost the light.

Meghan’s niece Chloe didn’t quite understand she was at a wedding. To her, it was a party! I would sometimes ask her to stand next to “the party girl” instead of the bride when taking group portraits.

Following the ceremony, a round of champaign and sparkling cider was served. Meghan’s sister Jennifer started off the toasts.

And Chloe enjoyed the new game she learned at the party called “cheers.”

There was some speculation that I took more pictures of Chloe than the bride. While I am a sucker for little girls in polka dot dresses with matching flowers, I got far more pictures of the bride. My bride bias has not been diminished!

And it was off to continue the celebration!

Preston, a very fun and relaxed groom, enjoyed a martini at the bar.

I couldn’t get enough of the narrow and cozy hallway with its warm color scheme. The redness gives off a mood that seems quintessentially Valentine’s Day. I didn’t adjust the color or skin tones in this image for that reason. It is straight out-of-camera.

The same hallway, the same loving couple, but in black & white.