Aura and John's River Farm Engagement Session!

It's the beginning of a busy engagement session season, so we're kicking off the blog with this gorgeous couple, Aura and John!  Aura contacted me the week after they got engaged about doing some photographs, and I had to admire her for being completely on top of the ball!  She describes herself as a type A personality who is a girlie girl, and loves clothing, shopping, decorating and Bravo TV shows (any girl who likes Bravo TV is cool in my book!).  She described John as a guys guy, who loves golf, football and music.  They're both hoping to get married in San Diego (as John lived there for quite a few years) as it fits their mutual love for amazing weather and the water.  But for the engagement photos, Aura and John wanted to stay local and wanted a gorgeous backdrop for some photos.  So I though the perfect place would be River Farm in Alexandria! River Farm is a spectacular venue.  I've shot quite a few weddings there, and I love it every time I'm there!  It's owned by the American Horticulture Society and has lush greenery and flowers in bloom at most times of the year.  Aura, John and I walked around the main garden quite a bit at first for some shots of the two of them just hanging out and looking amazing. I didn't have to give them too much direction, as John really loved being playful with Aura and made her laugh so much.  Some of my favorite shots though are of the two of them goofing off (which, yes, I encouraged) on top of a random platform in the garden (which I imagine has some type of old well underneath or something).  Anyway, always remember when you discover a random platform in a garden it's the perfect time for...dancing!  So I made them practice some dancing for their wedding which was hilarious to watch and photograph, but the photos turned out great.

Now, to incorporate more of who Aura and John are, I decided to do some shots of Aura with shopping bags (remember, she likes clothing and shopping!) and some shots of John with his golf clubs (remember, he loves golf!).  First up, Aura and John carried some shopping bags as if they had just returned from a shopping trip where Aura had made some lovely purchases.  John really committed to the part of being the hilarious boyfriend who didn't really want to carry the bags, but did it out of love for his gal anyway.  So cute!  Next up was John though, who really loved posing with his golf bag and clubs!  Aura graciously posed as his caddie and assisted him as best she could on the golf course (eh hem, lawn of the farm).  John just really shined during these shots, and I really love the series of him tossing a golf ball around and then teaching Aura how to golf.  I also brought along a croquet set for the fun couple to play along with, as the lawn at River Farm just begs for a croquet set to be a permanent fixture there.  As you can see by their croquet game faces, I wouldn't mess around with them.  In the end, Aura (with her awesome game face and mad skillz) beat John at croquet, but it wasn't a real game anyway so everyone was a winner.  Yay!  We ended our session with a few final shots of the happy couple at the house and then hanging out in some cozy rocking chairs.

Aura and John, thank you so much for letting me photograph your engagement photos!  I had a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat!  Enjoy!

Amy and Kepper's Historic Fairfax, Virginia Engagement Session!

Happy Friday, everyone!  I'm back to blog about Amy and Kepper who I recently got to photograph in Historic Fairfax, Virginia!   Amy and Kepper are getting married near Austin, Texas later this year (where Kepper is from), so they decided to choose Fairfax as their engagement photo location, since that's where Amy is from!   We started out at the Historic Fairfax County Courthouse and I absolutely love the white dress Amy wore.  It actually makes them look like they got hitched at the courthouse!  I learned while we were there that Amy has some history of dancing, as she totally posed it out for some shots.  Don't those two photos look like something from Dancing with the Stars?!  Ha ha ha!   After we left the courthouse, we walked around the Fairfax area, as it has tons of  old (but super colorful) buildings and landscapes.  We also went to a local park (after a brief outfit change) and then went to the old Fairfax High School to grab a photo in front of a family tree.  Apparently Amy's parents met in high school and have a photo of them in front of this same oak tree.  How cute is that?!  :) Amy and Kepper were complete naturals when it came to modeling in front of the camera!  Both were admittedly a little nervous at first (especially Kepper!), but it did not take long for them to loosen up with a little direction!  By the end of the shoot, I had to congratulate them for giving me so much to work with!   I love all of their photos!  Thanks so much for an amazing time, Amy and Kepper!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Katie and Jeff's Three Fox Vineyards Engagement Session!

We're wrapping up the week with my lovely engagement session with Katie and Jeff at Three Fox Vineyards in Delaplane, Virginia!  When I initially met with Katie and Jeff about their wedding photography the mentioned how they definitely wanted their engagements at this vineyard out in Delaplane, particularly because they love it and also sponsor a row of vines!   So I was ecstatic when the date finally rolled around for me to drive out there with them! The vineyard is absolutely gorgeous, and was the perfect backdrop for Katie and Jeff's photos!  I loved how the vineyard really does have tables and chairs set up so you can just buy a bottle of wine and relax among the rows of vines!  What's also great is that Three Fox Vineyards is very pet friendly, so Katie and Jeff brought their adorable Westie, Fiona, along for the shoot!  When she wasn't posing with Jeff and Katie, she was making friends with other dogs!

I really loved the relaxed feel of this engagement shoot.  It just felt like any other day hanging out at a vineyard and enjoying life.  Katie and Jeff were so great to work with, and you can tell how much they adore one another in their photos.  I can't wait to work with them at their wedding, of which I hope to see Fiona again too!

Many thanks to Katie, Jeff and Fiona (and Fiona's caretake, Katie's mom!) for allowing me to come out with them for this awesome shoot!  I also did do a little tasting, and I have to recommend (along with Katie and Jeff) the 2008 Piemontese Nebbiolo!  It was absolutely delish!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa