Liz and Mark’s wedding brought us somewhere new, to Meadow Event Park in Doswell, new home to the Virginia State Fair and historic birthplace of the famed race horse, Secretariat.  The ceremony took place outside the farm house under the shade of large, proud trees and we had a lot of fun taking portraits around the stables out back.

You’ll notice, pretty much right away, that Liz and Mark are hilarious and outgoing characters.   I remember someone telling me that the key to a good marriage is to keep each other thoroughly entertained.  If that’s true, and Sam and I believe that it is, then Liz and Mark are well on their way.  There’s also a very magnetic connection between them them which was fun to photograph.   The comment that was repeated again and again by friends and family throughout the day is how Liz and Mark become better and better together with every passing day.  Even with only one day to get to know them, I can very much see the truth in that, they seem to be zooming light years ahead of other married couples in their abilities to finish each others’ sentences.

The details were simply amazing, I had to worship the crafting goddess in Windy Jennings, who not only coordinated the days events but made almost everything for their wedding by hand.  There was a sweet, pastel vintage theme going on with a lot of lace and pretty flower arrangements in antique tea cups on cocktail tables out back.  So pretty and summery…

Liz might possibly win the prize for having the most fun at her own wedding, and we’ve worked with a lot of fun loving brides!

Here’s a slideshow with our favorites from the day and if you would like to be notified by email when their online gallery is ready for viewing, click here.  Congrats, Liz and Mark!

Posted by Mel @ 6:52 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink

I don’t have the best track record of sharing bridal portraits so I wrote “blog Jess’ bridal portraits” on my Monday to-do list with 3 stars next to it, just to get my own attention.  Bridals are taken in advance of the wedding and must be kept out of the public eye so as not to ruin the great reveal the day of and therefore, even when fabulous, these sessions just kind of fall off my radar.  So I’m here at my desk chanting my own little campaign slogan for the duration of this year and beyond, “no bridal left behind!”

We took Jess’ bridals on the historic grounds of the Virginia House, a medieval English estate moved piece by stone piece to a beautiful piece of land overlooking the James river in present day Windsor Farms.  The gardens surrounding the house are every bit as impressive as the house itself and make a romantic and dramatic backdrop for portraits.  While I’m not generally a fan of post production antiquing, I felt like it was appropriate for a few of these and Jess agreed.  Its nice to step out of the comfort realm every once and awhile…

A big thanks to Jess for being such a relaxed, gorgeous and enthusiastic bride.  I’m certain that we prefaced more than one shot plan with, “I know its going to sound weird but do you mind if we try ___?”  And congrats once again to Jess and Jason who tied the know on 6/18.  And thanks to you for checking these out!

Posted by Mel @ 9:16 pm, in Bridals, Portraits, Weddings | No comments | Permalink

A few years back, a photographer asked me how we get people to look so happy in their wedding pictures.  If only we had magic powers like that!  The real question, the one we are always asking ourselves, is how do we get such amazing couples to hire us?  Because we know that not every couple tying the knot is crazy in love, joyful, relaxed and ready to party down on their wedding day.  If every couple were so awesome, all weddings would be awesome and we would all jump up and down every time an invitation arrived in the mail.  But let’s face it: some weddings stand out in our memories.  For whatever reason, I feel like its the standout weddings that we get the honor of shooting again and again.  And just so you know, I’m knocking on my wooden desk right now.

Enter Jess and Jason.  There are so many things to love about this wedding but they are first and foremost.  Aside from having one of the best “how we met” stories (Jason, an anesthesiologist, knocked Jess out so she could get her tonsils removed and she slipped him her business card when she came to…), they just light up in each other’s presence.

Jason’s nieces and nephew all got to play a role and they took it very seriously, right down to the matching navy and pink glitter nail polish and flip flops!  You gotta love this kind of dedication to a color scheme, check it out…

Jason’s grooms’ cake might well be one of the most relatable among couples in the great state of Virginia.  The UVA/Virginia Tech rivalry is pretty fierce, for those who are unfamiliar: its like oil and water, like the Hatfields marrying into the McCoys.  But there’s no denying it: Hokies and Wahoos attract.  Football season serves as a litmus test for the strength of the relationship and these two clearly pass.  Anyway, I thought this was a mighty clever cake…

Windy did an amazing job designing and coordinating the day’s events  just like she always does, I feel like a broken record because I say that every time we have the opportunity to work together but I’m never any less sincere.  The Mill at Fine Creek remains one of our fav event locations, or more specifically, one of our favorite places to eat (its not just a pretty place, the service and catering is always gracious and delicious).  Here’s  a slideshow with our favorite photos from the day and click here if you would like to be notified by email when the online gallery is available for viewing.  Congrats, Jess and Jason!  Thank you so much for inviting us to be part of it…

Posted by Mel @ 5:26 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink

I’m writing this post just hours away from departing on an anniversary celebration of our own and thinking about how weddings have changed since we’ve been married.  Not too much, I suppose, except that wedding dresses are so much more elegant and charismatic now, Lauren’s dress serving as case and point.  It was around the time we were planning our wedding that we started shooting together regularly, Sam and I, and we’ve  met so many couples along the way.  Many of those couples attended Lauren and Clay’s wedding actually, I don’t know if we’ve ever seen so many familiar faces at a reception where we weren’t guests.  Which made us especially grateful to add Lauren, Clay and their families to the fold. Lauren and Clay are the kind of people that you like immediately: welcoming, easy going, always smiling.  It only follows that they have surrounded themselves with super likable people and it was no surprise whatsoever that the dance floor filled with good party folk!

The ceremony took place at United Methodist Church in Williamsburg with a reception at Two Rivers Country Club.  If I overheard correctly, the Two Rivers community holds many childhood memories for Lauren and the Country Club has been the place where she always imagined having her wedding.  The clubhouse overlooks the rivers at a point where two cypress trees grow from the water, a beautiful and symbolic “must” for pictures settings.

The decor was classic, I believe the color was called “ming blue”?  A lovely colonial hue and summery accents including adirondack chairs out back for guests to taken in the scenery and beer coozy favors.

It was an event to remember including great stories (we’re glad you made it, Bailey), happy tears, beautiful light (especially during that first dance), the perfect approach to the mother son dance (set to the Spinner’s “I’ll Be Around”), and of course, one off-the-hook dance party!   Congrats, Lauren and Clay, thank you for inviting us to be a part of it!  Here’s a slideshow with our favs from the day and if you would like to be notified by email when all the photos are ready (and guests, you should…), click here.  We’re looking forward to sharing more very soon…

Posted by Mel @ 12:04 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink