Katherine and Allen were married on a gorgeous sunny April day recently – they were even more full of smiles and happiness than during their engagement session last fall!  These two just light up when they see they other and were so much fun to work with.  During their couple shots on their wedding day, I asked Allen to make Katherine laugh.  He looked at her and she at him and Katherine just burst into giggles – so fantastic!  Thanks, as always, to Dana, my second photographer, for her great shots of the guys and all the little extras!

Details:

Wedding Planner: Teresa Lee from Rex & Regina

Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Makeup: Harmony from Picture Perfect Makeup

Katherine’s getting ready location: Her parents gorgeous home!

Allen’s getting ready location: The Westin Reston Heights

Ceremony: St. Francis Episcopal Church, Great Falls, VA

Florist: Growing Wild Floral Company

Reception: Rust Manor House & Nature Sanctuary, Leesburg VA

Caterer: Festive Foods

D.J.: My Deejay

Reception Lighting: John Farr Lighting Design

Great moment when Katherine’s dad sees her in her dress for the first time, coming down the hall of their home.

Katherine’s mom looks on excitedly and the veil is put on.

Love this shot Dana got of Allen and his brother joking around!

The flower girl, Katherine’s niece, was not keen on the smell of Katherine’s flowers!

Last minute touches before the ceremony….

Rust Manor was looking absolutely gorgeous.  The cocktail hour was outside on the lawn and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  Everything was gorgeous – I loved the solo guitar player, the unique little white vases of pink flowers on each table and the entry table with it’s big gorgeous bouquet!

The tent for the reception looked just marvelous!  My favorite part, I must admit, is those amazing chandeliers – they add so much!

Beautiful and fun details were everywhere!  It was really great to have all these unique little touches and I really liked how the centerpiece on each table was a little different – it gave every table a more individual and personalized feel.

Katherine & Allen gave each guest a little box of goodies.  Included were gummy bears, so I had a little fun with those!

Ok, I have to tell this story.  Katherine’s dad gave a very sweet toast.  He said that when Katherine was 6 weeks old, the family moved to Portugal for a little while.  It’s a Portugese custom to buy a very nice bottle of port upon the birth of a new baby.  Katherine’s parents did this and all these years, they’ve kept that bottle of port, unbeknownst to Katherine, to give her on her wedding day!  I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room!!

And Allen’s brother’s toast had everyone falling out of their chairs – too funny!

The wash of pink-ish uplights on the interior walls of the tent made the most amazing backdrop for all the photos!

Congratulations Allen & Katherine – may you have a long and very happy life together!

By the time the day arrived, I was so excited for Ellen + Steve’s wedding!  After shooting Ellen’s brother’s wedding and Ellen’s friend Meredith’s wedding, I knew I’d get to see so many old friends again!  Steve has been Ellen’s boyfriend at all these weddings and I was so excited when she called me a few months ago and told me they were engaged.  They are so much in love with each other and everyone knows it just looking at them.  They were so filled with joy on their wedding day that I had a terrible time choosing the images to post on the blog – so many emotional moments to choose from!  I loved being there for their wedding and seeing all their family and friends again – thank you guys for including Dana and me!

This was my first time shooting at Raspberry Plain in Leesburg, Virginia and it’s really a beautiful and very relaxed venue.  It was a cloudy day with that feeling of spring freshness in the air – you could just about feel the leaves ready to burst from their buds!

The bouquets were made by the mother of the matron of honor and were just beautiful!

I love this shot of Ellen trying not to cry.  She’d just had her makeup finished and after a glance in the mirror, she began to tear up and was trying so hard to keep her eyes dry!

Thank you to Dana, my fantastic second photographer, for all these awesome and fun shots of the guys!  Look at those ring bearers – so cute!

Ellen’s dad got a bit teary-eyed when he saw his gorgeous daughter just before the ceremony.

We even found a lone cherry blossom tree in bloom!

All the stationary, including the invitations, programs and menus, were designed by Ellen’s friend Laura, owner of LATinNYC.  Laura is an amazing artist and illustrator and offers watercolor and ink-illustrated stationary – she is so talented!  And I love the way her illustrations wove together all the different parts of Ellen & Steve’s wedding.

And the centerpieces, and flowers for the cake, which were totally stunning, were done by Holly Chapple

I loved this idea – Ellen & Steve offered custom beers for their guests, which were named after certain periods of their life together.  The subtexts of each beer say “A story that began in Europe…and continues in New York…between a central bank advisor…and a blue eyed beauty!”  And even more fantastic – Steve brewed all the beers himself  - talk about dedication!

And the send off with rose petals was fantastic!