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Laurie + Scott
June 11, 2006
Lauxmont Farms
Wrightsville, PA

After a great wedding near Charlottesville in the Virginia countryside on June 10, I traveled up to Wrightsville, Pa (near York) for a wonderful wedding overlooking the Susquehanna River with Laurie and Scott on June 11. It’s been a busy, fun spring season for me and this was the end of a stretch of 3 weekends of weddings on both Saturday and Sunday. At first I looked at this schedule and thought I was nuts for doing it, but actually I enjoy shooting frequently and made some really nice images during this time. I often think I am at my best when I stay busy shooting frequently.

Laurie and Scott’s wedding was at a horsefarm about 20 miles east of York named Lauxmont Farms. Lauxmont is situated up on a hillside with a spectacular view of the Susquehanna River. It’s one of the nicest, most scenic settings I have photographed a wedding in. The folks up at Lauxmont are as nice as can be and tremendously easy to work with. I can’t recommend this location enough if you’re looking for an outdoor venue in the country.

From the first time I met Laurie she stressed how important pictures were to them. Laurie did her homework in researching photographers and I was honored to be chosen alongside my good friends at Blue Sky Films, who did the video work. Laurie did most of the planning by herself and she did a fantastic job bringing together all the details. She and Scott even brewed up their own home-made beer complete with custom labels commemorating their event.

Associate photographer Ned Bonzi assisted on this wedding.

Take a look!

Custom brewed beer complete with custom labels:

Gettting ready:

Shoe details:

This is one way not to forget the ring:

Laurie had all the bridesmaids sign her shoe:

One advantage of having a wedding on a horse farm is that Laurie and her dad arrived for the ceremony in a horse drawn carriage.

Was I right about this scenery?

Sometimes ya gotta get dirty to get the picture:

It was worth it!

Rosepetal shower during the recessional.

Couple also gets a carriage ride after the wedding!

The horse is thinking they should get a room!

Not a bad place for a stroll!

See, it’s not just the river that is beautiful. It just kept betting better into the evening.

Still beautiful even into the night.

Dramatic first dance.

Can you tell I liked the roof of the rotunda?

You know I can’t let a good full moon go to waste, especially when it rises over a river!

Intimate dance.

Sparkler departure.

Amy + James
June 10, 2006
Barboursville Winery
Barboursville, Va.

Amy & James had a great wedding on a beautiful June Saturday in the historic Virginia Countryside. Barboursville Winery, near Charlottesville, is a fantastic venue with interesting historic ruins as a backdrop as well as sweeping vineyards in the foothills of Virginia.

Amy, a high school teacher, had a wonderful, fun personality that is clearly evident in the pictures. I didn’t get the opportunity to meet James until the wedding day. Guys are often a little ambivalent about pictures, particularly when they are unfamiliar with my style, but James warmed up quickly once he saw that the photography would not be overbearing. Both were extremely easy to work with. Their passion and love for one another is obvious.

This wedding was nicely coordinated by Laura Weatherly, of Engaging Affairs in Alexandria. This was my first opportunity to work with Laura and you have to love her quiet, understated but completely thorough approach to wedding planning. Laura is the author of a wedding planning book aptly named “Stop! Don’t Plan a Wedding Without This Book!”.

Amy’s mom and sister kept her at ease during the hair & makeup

I had never seen anyone do makeup outside before but it made for nice images!

Flower Girl

Passionate first meeting before the wedding!

The wedding took place in front of the ruins of the former home of  James Barbour, Governor of Virginia from 1812-1814. Legend has it that the home burned on Christmas day in 1884 and rather than interrupt dinner, the family moved the tables outside and finished dinner while the house burned. The home was originally designed by Thomas Jefferson and the large columns make an interesting backdrop.

Amy was so excited about getting married:

I loved these columns:

Post-ceremony embrace:

The reception overlooked the vineyard.

Intimate first dance.

Toasts

The Hora!

Can’t let a full moon go to waste.

Jennie + Tyler
June 3, 2006
National Musuem
of Women in the Arts

As I mentioned in a post last week, this was a wedding I had been looking forward to. I did an engagement session with Jennie and Tyler several months ago. One nice thing about engagement sessions, outside of the pictures, is that it gives both the couple and the photographer a chance to get to know each other. They can get a feel for how I work, and I can get a feel for what they are comfortable with. When I went to photograph this wedding Saturday, I felt like I was going to see old friends.

Jennie and Tyler also really understood my approach to wedding photography. They wanted to just enjoy their wedding day without being bogged down or burdened by pictures. We planned out some of the photography in advance and on the wedding day I was able to pretty much just do my thing, which is document their wedding day. This is what I do best and the results were fantastic!

One thing I want to point out is that I photographed this wedding largely by myself. Many, many times brides ask me if I work with an assistant. For some reason “assistant” has come to mean “second photographer” these days. I often do work with a second photographer, but didn’t have one available for this wedding. Couples sometimes get concerned when I tell them I shoot about half of my weddings by myself. Obviously, as this wedding demonstrates, working by yourself is not a handicap. I am fortunate this year to have a summer intern, Rebecca Gallagher. Rebecca just started working with me and her primary role at present is logistics and lighting. She is learning, improving and will continue to have more responsibility as the season progresses. Rebecca did make a really nice image from this wedding that you will see posted below.

The wedding was perfectly coordinated by Kimberly Thompson at Serendipity Special Events. I had never worked with Kim before and she is now one of my new favorite coordinators. Kim has just the right mix of “tough love” to keep things moving when necessary, and more importantly for me, she understands what I do and and how I need to do it. Ridgewells did the catering, which was nice mixed buffet. Derek Romanoff from Bialek’s Music was the DJ. One nice touch that Jennie and Tyler added to the Women’s Museum, was some supplemental lighting provided by John Farr Lighting Design that added a bit of warmth to the events. Jennie’s hair and makeup was done by Kim Steele. Flowers by Petals Edge.

Getting ready:

A laugh and a hug with her mom:

Tyler getting ready:

Watching golf with his dad:

Jennie was just beautiful:

Gotta love those dramatic chandeliers and
marble rails at the Museum of Women in the Arts:

I also really liked the glass flower
vases with the floating votive candles:

Toasting in the Limo for a quick trip up to the Capitol for pictures:

It was a spectacular day:

Jennie in the Limo on the way back:

Back for first dance:

Spectacular lighting in a gorgeous room:

Rebecca made this first dance image:

Let’s get this party get started:

A martini bar always makes for a great party!

This guest must have stolen the powder blue tux from my closet!
I wore it to the prom!

 

Danielle + David
June 2, 2006
Ceremony – The Carillon
Reception – Top of the Town
Arlington, Va.

Danielle and David had an interesting and fun wedding last Friday at The Carillon in Arlington. The Carillon is the big belltower near the Iwo Jima Memorial and it has a great view overlooking the Potomac River and the National Mall. I’ve photographed weddings at the Jefferson Memorial before, but not here. It was a great perspective and it was fun to be in a new outdoor location with a great backdrop.

Danielle and David have a great apartment overlooking downtown Washington, DC with views of all the monuments. Since they see them everyday from their living room window, the monuments play an important role in their daily lives…so Danielle and David decided they wanted to incorporate them into their wedding. Not only did their ceremony site have a great view of downtown, but we did a swing around 4 different monument locations before the wedding for pictures AND their reception was at Top of the Town in Arlington. Top of the Town is almost directly behind the Carillon but it’s about 14 floors up so it has a another great view of the mall, particularly at night.

By the way, YES, we did have the required permits from the Park Service to photograph on the Mall!

The only tricky thing about the day was the weather. The weather service kept calling for thundershowers and fortunately it was just overcast all day. This kept it cooler but also meant that we could take pictures anywhere! The night was beautiful. Overcast isn’t bad for taking pictures. Sometimes it can look a little gray, but overcast skies allow you to shoot in areas you otherwise can’t in the middle of the afternoon with the sun blazing.

Pictures were very important to Danielle and David. It’s always fun to work with people who enjoy and appreciate what you do.

Associate photographer Ned Bonzi helped me cover this wedding. I also now have a summer intern, Rebecca Gallagher, who is a photography student at George Mason University.

Danielle wore her mother’s wedding dress.

With her mom after putting it on:

Seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day:

First stop was a stroll around Freedom Square:

Who’s that loser carrying too much gear?

At the Jefferson waving to well-wishers driving past on Independence Ave. What is it that makes total strangers honk, wave and yell at a woman in a white dress?

Walk around the Tidal Basin:

Shooting back at the Lincoln from the WWII Memorial:

Ned had a nice angle on this with the fountain:

Standing by the entrance to Memorial Bridge waiting for the car. We nearly got killed trying to cross Rock Creek Parkway to get to the backside of the Lincoln!

Intern Rebecca Gallagher made this overall view of the ceremony site from up in the Carillon belltower:

Great spot for a wedding:

This is me shooting a group picture of everyone who attended the wedding:

At Top of the Town:

Let the party begin:

Dancing:

Getting a snap of my photo-competition: