How to Apply for a DC Photography Permit - National Park Service - Washington DC Wedding & Engagement Photography

Updated: 01/29/2024

What a lot of couples don’t realize when it comes to engagement and wedding photos in Washington, DC is that most of what they’re interested in photographing with is under the umbrella of the National Park Service (aka NPS). This would include the National Mall, with all of the iconic monuments like The Jefferson Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and really any memorial/monument in the immediate surrounding area. Yes, even the iconic DC Cherry Blossoms that circle the Tidal Basin are considered part of NPS! So, if you’re interested in any kind of wedding or engagement photography with those elements, you have to apply for an NPS permit to photograph there (and pay a couple of fees).

The process to apply for a DC photography permit is not that complicated! Here is a link with a long description of what to do from NPS. Or, just read my version:

• Fill out the Application Form: This is the form you need to fill out (should open as a PDF): APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL USE PERMIT STILL PHOTOGRAPHY (Short Form) There is a nonrefundable processing cost of $90.00 when you turn in your application. Write this fee in the “Amount to be Billed to Card: Application Cost” on the Credit Card Authorization page.

• Figure out Your Location Fee: In addition to the $90 application fee, there is a location fee based on the number of people being photographed. For an engagement session, that number is 1-10 people, so that will cost you an additional $50 ($140 total). For a couple and their wedding party, if you go above 10 people, that lands you in the 11-30 person range, which is an additional $150 ($240 total). Here is the breakdown:

Motion Pictures/Videos Location Fees
1-2 people/$0
3-10 people/$150 per day
11-30 people/$250 per day
31-49 people /$500 per day
50+ people/$750 per day

Still Photography Location Fees
1-10 people/$50 per day
11-30 people/$150 per day
30+ people/$250 per day

Once you determine your location fee, write this in the “Amount to be Billed to Card: Location Cost” on the Credit Card Authorization page.

• Fax, Mail In, or Walk in Your Application: You can fax your application to 202-475-2216, which is what I recommend. However, if you’re short on time, you can also drop off your application to this address:

National Mall and Memorial Parks
Division of Permits Management
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Washington, DC 20242

You can also mail it to the address above as well. It typically takes 7-10 days for the application to arrive by mail.

• You will be notified by a permits specialist of the status of the application and the necessary steps to secure your final permit. If you are in need of a permit quickly, you can call 202-245-4715 to try and move things along a little faster. Once your final permit is available, a permits specialist will send it to you via email as a PDF.

• Have Your Permit Ready on the Day of Your Session: Since the permit is sent in a PDF via email, you can save it to your smart phone and have it at the ready should a park ranger approach you during your session. I always like printing a hard copy to have on hand as well.

Other helpful facts:

• You can apply for a permit up to one year in advance and a minimum of four days from your session.

• If you need to change the date of your session, you can email/call the permits office and have it changed. It’s typically done very quickly and easily.

Still confused? Here’s a Permits FAQ’s page with all of the answers you need. Not sure if the place you want to photograph in is part of NPS? Here is a helpful map to see what falls on NPS territory.

I hope this information has been helpful! Thanks so much for reading.

Love,

Lisa

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About Lisa Boggs

Lisa Boggs of Lisa Boggs Photography is a DC wedding photographer located in Great Falls, Virginia. Lisa Boggs has been photographing weddings, engagements and portraits for over 13 years and primarily photographs in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. Her photos have been described as classic, romantic, candid and artistic. She has won several accolades over the years, including Editor's Pick by Washingtonian Weddings, WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards and several Fearless Photographers Awards. She has over-100 five-star reviews on WeddingWire (with more five-star reviews on The Knot, Facebook and Google) and is incredibly thankful to all of her clients for their continuing love and support. When Lisa isn't photographing, you can find her networking with other photographers as the leader of Capital Area Photographers, a DC wedding and portrait photographers group that promotes continuing education for local photographers. Lisa is also a huge fan of her family, friends, wine, coffee, chocolate, popcorn and Netflix. To learn more about Lisa Boggs and her work, please contact lisa@lisaboggsphotography.com or call 571-432-8469.

Anuj & Krishna's DC Cherry Blossom Proposal - Washington DC Cherry Blossoms

It’s been almost a year, but I’m so excited to share one of my favorite cherry blossom photo sessions from 2019: a proposal! When Anuj first contacted me about proposing to his girlfriend, Krishna, I got really excited. It’s been a long time since I’ve photographed a proposal in general, but to plan one out around the cherry blossom peak bloom at the Tidal Basin sounded really fun.

I met up with Anuj during the week before the proposal to scout some areas in the Tidal Basin I thought might work photographically. We began at the Jefferson and walked down to the FDR and MLK Memorials. We knew the proposal was going to happen that weekend, which would be incredibly busy and overrun with people. So although we had some pretty ambitious spots in mind for the proposal, we ultimately landed on a quieter area at the FDR Memorial, in front of a cherry tree, where we could have a little bit of privacy and keep people out of the background.

The day came for the proposal and the weather was absolutely perfect. Of course, the Tidal Basin was packed with people! However, Anuj and his friends were able to secure the spot we’d decided on and we waited for Krishna to arrive.

Krishna’s arrival was perfect, and as she rounded a corner and realized what was happening, I did my very best to stay focused and photograph, even though I was dying (and crying a little!). Anuj waited for Krishna to get closer, then got down on one knee and proposed. Krishna was so shocked, but ultimately said yes, and the crowd that had gathered to watch cheered valiantly!

After the official proposal was over, I took photos of Anuj and Krishna’s family and friends hugging and celebrating, along with a few group photos of everyone. Then Krishna, Anuj and I walked around the Tidal Basin for a bit and took some photos of just the two of them with the cherry blossoms. It was so much fun and I really could not have been happier for Anuj and Krishna. Here are some photos of the experience below:

Thanks for reading and looking!

Lots of love,

Lisa

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When Do the Cherry Blossoms Peak in DC?

Generally, DC’s cherry blossoms (aka, Yoshino cherry blossoms, aka the Tidal Basin cherry blossoms) bloom during the last week of March into the first week of April. However, it changes every year due to weather conditions, so sometimes it can be a little earlier or a little later than that time period.

This year the cherry blossoms peaked on March 20th, 2020 (earlier than normal) due to warmer winter temperatures. Last year, the cherry blossoms peaked on April 1st, 2019. You can also count on the Kwanzan cherry blossoms to peak roughly two weeks after the Yoshino’s. Those trees are a little more scattered throughout DC, but there’s a really lovely grove of them on Hains Point if you ever want to go check them out!

For up-to-date information on the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC (Yoshino or Kwanzan), I always keep an eye on two websites: the National Parks Service and Cherry Blossom Watch.

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About Lisa Boggs

Lisa Boggs of Lisa Boggs Photography is a DC wedding photographer located in Great Falls, Virginia. Lisa Boggs has been photographing weddings, engagements and portraits for over 13 years and primarily photographs in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. Her photos have been described as classic, romantic, candid and artistic. She has won several accolades over the years, including Editor's Pick by Washingtonian Weddings, WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards and several Fearless Photographers Awards. She has over-100 five-star reviews on WeddingWire (with more five-star reviews on The Knot, Facebook and Google) and is incredibly thankful to all of her clients for their continuing love and support. When Lisa isn't photographing, you can find her networking with other photographers as the leader of Capital Area Photographers, a DC wedding and portrait photographers group that promotes continuing education for local photographers. Lisa is also a huge fan of her family, friends, wine, coffee, chocolate, popcorn and Netflix. To learn more about Lisa Boggs and her work, please contact lisa@lisaboggsphotography.com or call 571-432-8469.

Jessica & Andrew’s DC Cherry Blossom Engagement Photos - Washington DC Cherry Blossoms

It’s 2020, a brand new year! Even though we are in the throes of winter right now, I can’t help but get excited about the next season (which happens to be my favorite): Spring! And, as I’m sure you can imagine, because I’m a dc wedding and portrait photographer, my mind goes straight to the  Cherry Blossom Festival DC. I used to love visiting this festival and the blossoms before I was a professional photographer, but I love it so much more now. Photographing couples among those puffy pink blossoms is so magical.

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite sessions from the cherry blossoms in 2019: Jessica and Andrew. Believe it or not, it was actually pretty chilly the morning I photographed them, even though the sunrise at the Tidal Basin looked nice and warm. But they were total superstars and looked so sweet and in love, regardless of the cold temperatures.

What I really love about photographing at the cherry blossoms is the ability to get so many different looks out of my couples within a small amount of space. As I’m sure you can tell in the first silhouette photo, there are a lot of people around, whether they be tourists, photographers, runners or cyclists. So it’s always a fun challenge to see what I can create among this slight chaos. I actually talk about that a little bit in an article “5 Ways Photographers Get the Perfect Cherry Blossom Engagement Photo” the Washingtonian interviewed me for last year.

It’s hard to pick a favorite photo from the bunch, but I do have a few. I actually love the photos I took near a beautiful old cherry blossom tree that has a hole shaped like a heart in it. I knew if I found that tree one day I would want to use it in a photo, so it was a real treat to track it down and shine a light on it. However, I really love the last two photos from the session because those photos were totally unique. Can you guess what it is you’re seeing? It’s Jessica and Andrew’s reflection in a puddle! It’s such a different perspective of the gorgeous blossoms and I really like that it’s a little perplexing at first glance. Plus, they’re just so adorable laughing and having a good time that it’s hard not to love it. And them!

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out one of my favorite cherry blossom tidal basin portrait sessions!

Love,

Lisa

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When Do the Cherry Blossoms Peak in DC?

If you’re a big fan of the DC cherry blossoms and want to attend/photograph the Cherry Blossom Festival DC 2020, make sure you keep a close eye on those projected peak bloom dates. Last year they peaked on April 1st, and all of my portrait sessions happened between April 2nd and April 6th (at least with the yoshino cherry trees. Kwanzan cherry trees bloom roughly two weeks later). For up-to-date information, I always keep an eye on two websites: the National Parks Service and another called Cherry Blossom Watch 2020. Hope that helps and fingers crossed those yoshino cherry blossoms look magical again this year!

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About Lisa Boggs

Lisa Boggs of Lisa Boggs Photography is a DC wedding photographer located in Great Falls, Virginia. Lisa Boggs has been photographing weddings, engagements and portraits for over 13 years and primarily photographs in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. Her photos have been described as classic, romantic, candid and artistic. She has won several accolades over the years, including Editor's Pick by Washingtonian Weddings, WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards and several Fearless Photographers Awards. She has over-100 five-star reviews on WeddingWire (with more five-star reviews on The Knot, Facebook and Google) and is incredibly thankful to all of her clients for their continuing love and support. When Lisa isn't photographing, you can find her networking with other photographers as the leader of Capital Area Photographers, a DC wedding and portrait photographers group that promotes continuing education for local photographers. Lisa is also a huge fan of her family, friends, wine, coffee, chocolate, popcorn and Netflix. To learn more about Lisa Boggs and her work, please contact lisa@lisaboggsphotography.com or call 571-432-8469.

Jessica & Tom's Autumn Inspired Larriland Farm Engagement Session

Jessica and Tom's autumn inspired engagement session took place at Larriland Farm. While there, they picked beets, walked in wildflowers, and also picked their own apples in the orchard. The weather was cool and crisp, the perfect fall inspired day!

Lisa Boggs of Lisa Boggs Photography is a DC wedding photographer located in Great Falls, Virginia. Lisa Boggs has been photographing weddings, engagements and portraits for over 13 years and primarily photographs in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland. Her photos have been described as classic, romantic, candid and artistic. She has won several accolades over the years, including Editor's Pick by Washingtonian Weddings, WeddingWire Bride's Choice Awards and several Fearless Photographers Awards. She has over-100 five-star reviews on WeddingWire (with more five-star reviews on The Knot, Facebook and Google) and is incredibly thankful to all of her clients for their continuing love and support. When Lisa isn't photographing, you can find her networking with other photographers as the leader of Capital Area Photographers, a DC wedding and portrait photographers group that promotes continuing education for local photographers. Lisa is also a huge fan of her family, friends, wine, coffee, chocolate, popcorn and Netflix. To learn more about Lisa Boggs and her work, please contact lisa@lisaboggsphotography.com or call 571-432-8469.

Courtney and Patrick's DC Cherry Blossom Engagement Session

It feels like just yesterday that I was taking cherry blossom photos of Courtney and Patrick down at the Tidal Basin! Courtney, Patrick, their dog, Lucy, and dog watcher, Denise (Pat's mom), all met me at the MLK Memorial in the spring for some gorgeous engagement portraits. It was the perfect spring evening despite the crowds and a little bit of wind! We were able to get tons of different looks with the blossoms, but my absolute favorite photos were the silhouettes I took with Courtney and Patrick in front of the Washington Monument. I was able to get candids with other tourists, but we also did some with Denise walking Lucy in a couple of the frames, which was a nice personal touch! I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Arielle & Hugh's Snowy DC Engagement Photos

If you know me well, you know I love extreme weather. Whether it's a good thunderstorm or several inches of snow, I am always excited about it...and even more excited to photograph in it! So when I received a call from Hugh and Arielle on one of our snowiest days this spring asking if I'd be interested in photographing them in the snow, you bet I was thrilled! I packed up my things and left quickly to meet them at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.

Arielle and Hugh were already slated to have a cherry blossom engagement session with me, so I was pretty pleased when they spontaneously switched it to a snowy engagement session. I knew they were going to bring their two dogs, Champ and Charlie, regardless of what we did, and I have to say...those dogs loved the snow! I think I can speak for all of us that the snow was really magical that day. We were all in such high spirits and I was able to capture very fun, playful and joy-filled photos. I really can't get enough of this adorable couple and their dogs!

I hope you enjoy the photos below! And many thanks to Arielle, Hugh, Champ, Charlie and dog-wrangler extraordinaire, Niki, for such a fun time. P.S. Love the photo of Niki hitting Arielle and Hugh with a surprise snowball! Ha!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Nicole's Cherry Blossom Washington, DC Bridal Portraits

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for spring! So today I'm sharing Nicole's cherry blossom bridal portraits from this past spring to get everyone ready for warm weather and flowering blooms!

Nicole and I both are a little obsessed with cherry blossoms. If you were around this past spring, you may recall that the Yoshino cherry trees in Washington, DC's Tidal Basin were a little lackluster! However, both Nicole and I know that right after the Yoshino trees bloom come the Kwanzan cherry blossoms (think a little more pink and extra puffy)! So, we knew we had to at least check out the Kwanzan cherry trees on Hains Point in East Potomac Park. 

We were thrilled to discover that the Kwanzan blossoms looked amazing! So Nicole turned on her inner model in her Berta bridal gown and Jimmy Choo shoes and we got some stunning photos of her. Yay! I hope you love these photos as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Allie & Connor's Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session

I'm super excited to share Allie and Connor's Old Town engagement portraits today! Allie and Connor were so much fun to work with. I really loved their outfits as they had so much color. But most of all, I really loved how Allie and Connor laughed through their whole engagement session. They really had a great time with each other and it showed!

Allie and Connor, I simply love these photos and I can't wait until your wedding later this year! Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Stephanie and Brian's Meadowlark Botanical Gardens Engagement Session!

I'm so excited to share Stephanie and Brian's Meadowlark Botanical Gardens session with you today!  Stephanie and Brian are two of the nicest, most laid-back people I've ever met.  And, as it turns out, Stephanie and I discovered she went to grad school with one of my closest friends after she booked me!  Bonus for working with friends of friends!  :) Stephanie, Brian and I met up on a cold October day to begin their engagement session with their pup, Charlie.  I'm a sucker for dogs, so of course I couldn't resist having him in a few photos!  After we left Charlie at Stephanie and Brian's house, we drove over to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, the location for their wedding.  Even though it was cold outside, everything looked so warm and inviting!  The colors on the trees were looking bright and lovely and some of the lighting at Meadowlark that day was spot on.  Brian was great and kept Stephanie nice and warm, which is what every fantastic fiancé should do during a cold engagement session, amiright?  ;)  My favorite photos of Stephanie and Brian were at the very end when the sun was going down.  Brian and I concurred that, even though we were on our way out of the gardens, the light was too good to resist photographing with!  I am so glad we stopped and made those photographs happen!

Stephanie and Brian (and Charlie), I love you guys and these photos and I cannot wait for you upcoming wedding this year at Meadowlark!  Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Woltering Family Portraits!

I'm so excited to share photos from a recent family shoot I did with the adorable Woltering family!  This is such a special portrait session for me because Astrid (the gorgeous mamacita in the pale pink skirt) is a dear photographer friend of mine.  She's one of the kindest, most hilarious, no-nonsense and talented gals I know and I'm so lucky to call her my friend.  Her husband and daughter are just as adorable as she is, and with a new Woltering on the way in just a few short months, I leapt at the opportunity to photograph all of them together! Astrid, Chris and Charlotte were such a joy to photograph.  Charlotte is one of the cutest, most energetic toddlers around and is officially obsessed with picking flowers, hugging/kissing trees and running everywhere instead of taking photos!  However, she did a fantastic job of interacting with her mom and dad (and even hammed it up for a few photographs in between her activities!).  My favorite photos are definitely of the these three laughing and loving on one another.  I love this family to pieces and cannot wait for the next baby Woltering to come along!

Thank you Astrid, Chris and Charlotte for spending an evening with me and letting me photograph your beautiful faces!  Love you to the moon and back!

Just a little ice cream before glamming it up for the shoot, duh.  :D

Credit to Astrid for this next photo!

This next photo looks cute, but really, Charlotte was having a meltdown:

Credit to Astrid for grabbing the camera from me to document the meltdown.  I know Charlotte's crying, but she's just so cute!

Aaaaand loungefest after the shoot.  Love it!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Jessica, Brian and Saniya's Family Engagement Session at the National Zoo and Cathedral!

When I first met with Jessica, I was incredibly excited about the idea of working with she and her fiancé, Brian.  They're a very sweet, laid-back couple, who dress crazy well and have a ton of personality!  Jessica mentioned in our meeting that if we were going to do an engagement session, it would most definitely include Saniya, Brian's daughter.  For me, I thought this was an awesome direction to take an engagement session.  Sure, I'd snap a few of Jessica and Brian by themselves, but I absolutely loved the idea of including Saniya and having that family dynamic in their engagement photos.  I promise you, it made these photos even better! We started our session out at the National Zoo, because Jessica and Brian had indicated the three of them went their at Christmastime and had a blast.  I thought it was a fabulous idea and off we went traipsing about the zoo!  I have to admit, it was hard for me to focus on taking some family photos at times because I am a huge animal lover and wanted to "ooh" and "aah" at the animals along with Jessica, Brian and Saniya.  But I had to make sure to interact and pose with these three cuties as much as possible to get some stellar photos!  My favorites at the zoo are definitely the laughing photos where Jessica, Brian and Saniya are being total goofballs.

The latter part of our session took place at the Bishops Garden at the National Cathedral, and Jessica, Brian and Saniya made sure to change into some really gorgeous outfits for a more formal look (I admittedly was a little obsessed with Jessica's orange vintage fascinator)!  I was really excited that the garden was pretty lush and green, and even had a few tree blossoms to work with (our session was before the summer weather had set in!).  My favorite photo from the garden was of Brian and Jessica in the stone doorway about to kiss, but runners up of course are going to be the photos with the three of them acting sassy and hilarious.  These three really know how to turn out some gorgeous photos, and I'm sure you understand how hard it was for me to narrow them down!

Jessica, Brian and Saniya, thank you so much for joining me in such a fun family engagement session!  I can't wait for the wedding later this year so I can photograph your smiling faces again!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Christin's Snowy Trash the Dress Session!

Yesterday we were supposed to get slammed with a ton of snow from winter storm Saturn, or more known to the local area, Snowquester.  Snowquester actually did dump a lot of snow, but most of the snow here in Great Falls only accumulated to about three inches.  Sad face!  Nevertheless, I wasn't about to throw in the towel in regards to a snowy portrait session of some kind, so my darling sister-in-law Christin graciously accepted the invitation to model for me!  I had purchased a vintage powder blue gown not too long ago and I was just dying to use it in the snow, and as luck would have it, it was Christin's size and matched her gorgeous blue eyes!  So we marched off to a nearby field (I know, I know, but it was the only thing left that didn't look like slush!) and took some photos.  These were my favorite photos from yesterday, and I hope you enjoy them.  Hopefully next year we'll get some more extreme snow to cheer up this meteographer and extreme weather junkie!  :)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Dyanne and Steven's Mad Men Engagement Session!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with Dyanne and Steven for their awesome Mad Men engagement session at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner!  Eeeeeeeeeeek! When I first met with Dyanne and Steven to learn about their wedding, I knew I wanted to work with them because they're two of the nicest people ever.  However, as they talked further about their plans for an engagement session, specifically a Mad Men inspired engagement session, I was completely hooked.  We all sat there and talked about the show for a while, and Dyanne cited a bunch of still photos from the show that she was drawing inspiration from.  My heart fluttered in anticipation to hear back from them about working together, and when they emailed to book me, I was elated!

On the day of the shoot, Dyanne brought all of the inspiration photos we had talked about.  Some were still shots from the show, some were from stylized photo sessions of the actors, and some were other stylized shoots that had that Mad Men look.  The shots were incredible, and I was really excited to recreate/reinterpret them!  We had a blast working in the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, specifically in one of their suites, their restaurant, Härth, and their stunning lobby bar.  The minimalist look of the hotel really worked with the glitz and glamour of the outfits that Dyanne and Steven wore!  And let me just say, I had about 50 audible gasps when it came to how stunning Dyanne looked in her Mad Men dresses (all from Rent the Runway).  TO DIE FOR!

I hope you enjoy these photos from the shoot!  Thanks so much for looking!

Thanks again for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Dark and Spooky Hurricane Sandy Trash The Dress!

As I'm sure many of you know, I'm a bit of a weather nut.  Yup, since early last week when there were early projections of Hurricane Sandy hitting the mid-atlantic and northeast, I've been glued to all things weather related and reporting as diligently as possible!  Of course, this all by hobby, but whenever I can combine my love for extreme weather with my love for photography, my brain kind of implodes with excitement.  I wasn't sure if it would be possible, but somehow the rain and clouds aligned for me to photograph a Hurricane Sandy (well, at that point, Superstorm Sandy) trash the dress session! I had so many people volunteer to model for me, which I didn't expect and was so grateful for!  Ultimately, I decided it'd be a good idea to find someone who lived in the NOVA area not too far from me and in a spot where most power lines were underground (just in case we were dealing with really high winds). So when I saw that Laura Ritchie of Events in the City was interested, I immediately perked up.  She lives in Leesburg (not far from me at all) and I knew that most power lines there were underground.  We discussed a few location ideas, but ultimately decided on Ida Lee Park, where I could shoot out in the open and get a lot of cool sky shots.  I also decided that I wanted all dark details, whether that be a dark satin sash we use with the dress, or a dark umbrella.  I wanted everything to be dark, storm and spooky looking.

Our original shoot date was scheduled for Monday, which ended up being the worst storm day in terms of high winds and rain.  Luckily, we were able to reschedule and shoot yesterday (Tuesday), when the winds had died down significantly and we were really just dealing with some light rain and dark clouds.  It was perfect!  Laura arrived in her wedding dress along with Christie, another awesome Events in the City chick, who was there to assist with coffee, and coat and light stand holding.  Laura also brought along a really awesome dark and spooky bouquet made by Holly Heider Chapple that we were delighted to use in the shoot!  Laura was the perfect model and was incredibly optimistic the whole time, even though it was crazy cold and rainy.  I have so many favorites from the shoot, but below are my top 14.  The last shot is probably my absolute favorite from the shoot, but I'd love to hear what yours is!

Sooooooo many thanks go to Laura, Christie and Holly for helping me out with this!  I can't thank you enough!  It really made my day (heck, my week!) and I appreciate it.  And to all you other readers, I hope you have a Happy Halloween!  Eat lots of candyyyyyyyyyyy!  :D  Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Meet the Team of A Sweet Soirée Events!

Just a few weeks back I was thrilled to be able to photograph the wedding planning team of A Sweet Soirée Events!  I have been working with Courtney Swierczek, the CEO (Chief Events Officer…as she calls it!), since 2010.  Courtney is an absolute pleasure to work with, and I'm very excited to continue working with her and her team in the upcoming 2012 wedding season!  Courtney was gracious enough to write up something about the styled shoot that we did with her and her new employees Ellen, Karen and Marisa...so without further ado, here's Courtney! "I am so excited to have Lisa share our styled photo shoot with her readers, and I'd love to share a bit of our background story to it. We are so thrilled and proud that A Sweet Soirée Events was able to hire three new employees last year to serve our clients. But along with it, came the need for cohesive head shots and group photos for our website and marketing materials. Of course when thinking of who would be the best to shoot our group, I immediately thought of Lisa. We work so well together and I knew she'd be able to make us comfortable and bring out the 'us' in us.

We knew we wanted to do something fun for the shoot instead of boring ole' regular head shots, so Karen and Marisa came up with the idea to do a styled shoot much like it was it's own little wedding. We incorporated our company colors of black, gold, peaches, and pinks into everything from the table cloths to the flowers, and added a touch of french from the french macaroons to the champagne on ice.

We are so, so pleased with the result, and hope that you enjoy our company's reintroduction and styling!"

Thanks so much, Courtney!  I hope you all enjoy the photos, and if you are looking for a wedding planning team, definitely check out A Sweet Soirée Events!  You can also find them on Facebook here and Twitter here.  Also, many thanks to the Briar Patch Bed and Breakfast for letting us use their venue!  Thanks for reading!

Love,

Lisa

A Trip to See the Grandparents

My grandparents are the cutest.  No really.  You think yours are, but you're wrong.  Kidding, kidding!  But Gramma and Grampa (as we call them in the family) certainly top the charts as some of the cutest and greatest grandparents of all time. This past weekend my sister, Nicole, and I drove up to upstate New York to visit them.  We had the urge a few months ago, as it hit us that we really don't know as much as we want to know about them.  And we wanted that to change.  So we spent four days with them, helping them with some household chores, teaching them about some new technology, and just plain old hanging out with them.   It was amazing.

We learned so much.  So much that we never knew and we are so honored to know now.  I was able to get some of what they had to say on video, which is not edited or ready for the viewing public quite yet.  But some of our favorite questions we asked them involved their marriage, and I really loved what they said.  Here's some dialogue from the Q&A's with Gramma and Grampa (who have been married for 63 years!):

Us (to Gramma):  "What do you like most about Grampa?"

Gramma:  (laughs as she's drinking her hot chocolate) "You'll have to ask your mother.  She sent a form to us a few years ago that she uses with her classes sometimes.  And she laughed and laughed because on Grampa's form, the same question was 'What do you like most about your spouse,' and Grampa just put, 'She loves me.' And  for my answer I wrote here and here and around the edge of the paper, 'He's handsome and he's truthful..." and all of this stuff you know.  And she took this to school for an example of how things are sometimes with women and men.

Us:  "Is there one thing you like the most?"

Gramma:  "Well I don't think there's one thing.  He's very honest.  And he's trustworthy.  He's been a great husband, he's been a very good father.  There are a lot of other things, but those are big important ones."

Us: "What is the best thing that's ever happened to you?"

Gramma:  "Well, I suppose marrying Grampa.  And then the next eight things are our eight kids.  And then the next twenty-three things are all you grandkids."

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Us to Grampa:  "What do you like most about Gramma?"

Grampa:  "About Gramma?  Wow, these are tough questions!"  (we start giggling, and Gramma interjects from across the room with, 'Don't be smart!  There outta be one thing!'  Grampa calms down and then says...)  She's usually happy."

Us:  "How did you know Gramma was the one?"

Grampa:  "We had gone together enough so that we knew what each other liked and disliked, and so consequently we got together."

Us:  "What are some of the happiest memories you have?"

Grampa:  "I was happy with most of the things we did.  We started our marriage with not a cent.  We didn't have any money at all.  And even our honeymoon was up in a state park.  We gradually gathered together enough to buy a home and come out with a little bit left.  So we don't worry about the future.  Because we have enough to carry ourselves through.

I was happy when our children were growing up.  Each one would come along and we would enjoy having them.  And they were different, all of them different.  So, we were able to enjoy them as they grew up, and that was a happy part.

Gramma and I had many happy days.  One of the things that always made me happy was we never argued seriously or fought.  If we disagreed, we disagreed, and that would be it.  It wouldn't be held over until the next day, or the next month, or the next year.  It was over.  And I think if married couples can agree to that kind of approach, then they'll have a very successful life.  So I can't even think of one major thing that we disagreed on that wasn't settled or forgotten.  There weren't many arguments."  (he grins)

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So, as I'm sure you'll agree by now, they're just the cutest ever.  And if you didn't think that before this next photo, I'm pretty sure it will solidify it for you.  Thanks for reading, and if you have grandparents and have never interviewed them, I highly recommend it.  It's really quite incredible.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving from Lisa Boggs Photography!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Today I am thankful for so many things, but most of all for these beautiful guys who are a huge part of my life every day: I love you, Mike and Penny (and Margot the Friendly Cat, not pictured).  Also, big shout out to my Dad who's having a birthday today!  Happy birthday, Dad! :)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Love,

Lisa

Deanna and Joe's Fall Engagement Session in Riverbend Park!

I was really excited to photograph Deanna and Joe for a number of reasons, but reason number one was because we did the engagement session in my neck-of-the-woods at Riverbend Park!  You've probably seen me post on Riverbend Park before.  It's a lovely park on the calmer side of the Potomac, just northwest of Great Falls Park.  Deanna and Joe really like hiking in Great Falls Park, so I suggested Riverbend as a nice alternative because it's less-traveled and we could find some great spots without a ton of people around. Reason number two that I was excited to photography Deanna and Joe is that they're just the sweetest couple everrrrrrrrr.  They have that kind of love that's simple and unspoken.  And it's fun to see unfold in photographs!  The scenery and lighting was just perfect for what I consider to be a quiet, but emotionally moving shoot.  Deanna and Joe would just exchange these looks and touches that made your heart melt.  We should only be so lucky to experience these moments ourselves!  But I was just so pleased with how the photos turned out, as I really felt the photographs emulated who Deanna and Joe are as a couple.

Thanks for such a beautiful and fun shoot, Deanna and Joe!  I hope you enjoy the photos and I can't wait for your wedding next year!  :)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

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!

Megan and Tim's After-Wedding Portrait Session at Brookside Gardens!

I think I've officially discovered something from Megan and Tim's portrait session, and that is that every bride loves to twirl in her wedding dress.  And let's be honest, not only does she feel awesome while she's twirling, but she looks awesome...and so does the dress for that matter!  Well, you'll get to see Megan twirl a couple of times in the photos below that I took from our session at Brookside Gardens! Megan connected with me a few months back with the idea of taking some portraits taken, because their wedding photographer was very photojournalistic at their event.  So there are very few portraits of Megan and Tim alone and very few shots that really showcase the dress as well.  I told her I was completely game and met up with them just a few weeks ago to have some fun!

Brookside Gardens is a really stunning place for portraits.  I had never been there, but I most definitely will be back, if anything just to roam around and take in all of the scenery!  I really felt like it combined elements I like from Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, along with stonework similar to Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown.  Although it was incredibly hot the evening Megan, Tim and I set out on our adventure, you can't really even tell!  Megan and Tim looked awesome, and it was such a pleasure getting to walk around, take their photos, and get to know them.  I was really pleased with the photographs we got, and I hope you enjoy them!

Thanks so much Megan and Tim for letting me take some portraits of you!  (We'll just try to forget how horrendous I looked after sweating all over the place...ha ha ha!)  :)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa