I can’t wait for Lindsay & Mark’s wedding in September – mainly because they are so sweet and fun to be around and because I’m so excited to shoot all the bold colors and patterns that decorate Hotel Monaco in Penn Quarter.  We had a great time wandering around Georgetown recently for their engagement shoot.  It was super hot, so we just took things slow and meandered to and fro.

Had to include this shot in the giant Adirondack chair – what a hoot!

I’ve so been looking forward to shooting at the beautiful Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA and I was lucky enough to be photographing an absolutely amazing couple there!  Meredith & Denis were married in the most fabulous woodsy, foresty gazebo and their incredible good taste and interesting personalities were evident in all the details.

Denis is French and lives in Versailles.  Meredith, who speaks very little French, just moved there, only a week after the wedding.  I loved this little task board of “don’t forget.”  Even better was that every task was written in a different color and a different font.  Hey, there’s no reason for to-do lists not to be beautiful!

There were so many touching little details in this wedding that I must explain.  Below is a small collection of important things.  Meredith & Denis dated (very) long distance for much of their relationship and they kept all of the love letters they wrote back and forth.  Denis brought a great bottle of wine from France, and they each wrote one more letter to each other, which they sealed shut with wax.  During their ceremony, it was explained that on their first anniversary, Denis & Meredith would open the letters they each wrote on this important day, while drinking this bottle of wine.  I love it!!

On our way for their first look at Meadowlark, I couldn’t help but grab this shot of the sun streaming into the atrium, all ready for the reception.  So gorgeous!

Meredith’s flowers were just perfect – they might be my favorite wedding flowers to date!  Kudos to Karin’s Florist for doing such a fantastic job!

The ceremony was totally idyllic.  Seeing the photos again, I almost don’t remember how hot it was  I really loved how all the guests could just gather round, both inside and outside the gazebo.  Everyone could stand where they liked and I think it’s really wonderful that all of the people who are special to Meredith & Denis are in the background of their ceremony shots, rather than being separated from them.

LOVE the birdcage veil!

The reception details were so vintage, unique and botanical.  The name tags were luggage tags and the tables were named after cities worldwide.  Instead of table names though, they had postcards of old photos of each city – so charming

Loved the burlap table runners and the centerpieces were all completely different and yet worked so wel together.

The next couple photos require a bit of explanation.  It is apparently a French custom to stand on chairs and twirl your napkins when the bride & groom are introduced.  They weren’t sure the chairs were sturdy enough for that, but the napkin twirling did not disappoint!

The photo booth that Meredith put together turned out perfectly – so much fun!  In fact, my facebook page is now a shot of me holding a mustache in Meredith & Denis’ photo booth – couldn’t help but have a little fun with it.

Music from Potomac Jazz Project was fantastic!

It’s one thing to be able to take some pretty pictures, but it’s a whole other thing to be able to make things look pretty in real life!  I was recently lucky enough to work with a team of lovely ladies who have just this talent!  Julianne Smith of The Garter Girl (definitely check out her wedding garters – they are a must have!) invited me to join a team to produce an entry for the Inspired Creations Contest by Elizabeth Anne Designs.  Shelly Steitz, an amazing stylist (check out her fantastic blog, Going Vogue!) and Stephanie Ward, the absolutely inspired creator of Punk Rock Bride’s fabulous wedding dresses, helped to arrange these gorgeous combinations of lingerie, garters and bridal accessories.  We hope these images might help to inspire you to have a little fun selecting all of the accessories for your wedding day.  And if you feel the sudden urge to run out and grab up some of these lingerie pieces for yourself, you can find them all at Coup de Foudre in Georgetown.

A special thanks goes out to the folks at my favorite lunch place, Taylor Gourmet on H St, for their fantastic reclaimed wood plank walls, featured as a backdrop in some of these shots.  These are just a few of my favorites, but be sure to check out our Inspired Creations Contest entry here (and don’t by shy – make a comment!).

There’s nothing quite so beautiful as an outdoor wedding in the sunshine!  Even the heat couldn’t spoil how gorgeous and sweet Krissy & Jon’s wedding was last weekend at Mountain Branch, just north of Baltimore.  After spending a couple hours hiking around with Krissy & Jon for their engagement shoot, I knew their wedding would be relaxed, fun and full of love.

She is soooo gorgeous!

The flowers, by Flowers from the Heart, were absolutely gorgeous!

I love this series of shots from Krissy & Jon’s cake-cutting – they are so cute!

Krissy and her brother’s partner, Victor, swung around the dance floor for a few minutes and obviously had a blast!

I have just had such a wonderful time watching Vivian grow up over the last 15 months!  This darling little girl was only 3 months old when we first met and I’ve gotten to see her grow bigger, learn to crawl and walk and begin to talk – and she even knows some sign language now!  We had a great time during this session on the beautiful grounds of St. Francis Hall and I can’t wait to see Viv again!