Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene Wedding - Part Two!

If you missed part one of Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene wedding, go here!  Otherwise, keep reading for some recap of the reception, along with some gorgeous detail and reception photographs! By this time of the wedding we have made it passed the insane outdoor photos with the wedding party and happy couple, Briean and Casey.  Everyone, of course, got completely drenched in the rain, even with umbrellas! Our umbrellas, unfortunately, were no match for the 25-30 mph winds outside, but they did make for some lovely props!  :D

After all the craziness, heading indoors at The Sunset Room at National Harbor was such a nice, warm welcome!  The room was simply stunning, and really captured the essence of Briean and Casey's nautical theme I had heard so much about.  I don't even know where to begin on the amount dedication that Briean and Casey put into their details!   So I'll just start listing all of my favorites:  wooden sailboats as table "escort cards," wooden oars for guests to sign (that Briean and Casey can later display in their home), nautical lanterns as table centerpieces, Briean and Casey's favorite Bethany Beach go-to places as table names (all neatly framed, of course), a giant porcelain boat to hold all of the beer, cocktail napkins with questions about Briean and Casey on them (in the wedding colors, obviously), roped boat knots lining the cocktail chairs and a "Hail to the Hurricane" signature cocktail added the day before the wedding.  Other amazing details were the simple white cake with a gorgeous giant flower, made my Purple Onion (mimicking the flower on Briean's sash she wore with her dress), plus ruby red slippers that Briean changed into for her "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" dance with her father.  See what I mean?  Briean and Casey had everything covered!

Aside from the details, I just really loved how excited and energetic the whole wedding reception was.  Yes, there was still a hurricane going on outside.  Yes, the lights would flicker every once in a while (particularly later in the evening, as things got worse the later it got).  Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed themselves!  The food was incredible thanks to Purple Onion and the dance floor was hopping thanks to DJ Blazin Hot (who came straight from Bethany Beach for the wedding!).  The speeches were incredibly touching and the love in the room was palpable.  I enjoyed every single minute of it!

One more thing I want to say is about the last photo I took, which ended up being one of my favorites of the whole wedding.  Something the Gaylord does down at the National Harbor every Saturday evening in the summer is have a fireworks show at 9:30 pm.  Briean and I had talked about that well in advance and had totally planned out the shot we were going to do with the fireworks in the background.  Well, needless to say, the fireworks were completely cancelled due to the hurricane.  However, throughout the night, I kept noticing how cool the raindrops looked on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Sunset Room, particularly when they were backlit by some outdoor lights.  So, with the same shot in mind as the fireworks, I wanted to illuminate Briean and Casey and capture the window with raindrops in the background.  I was so stoked at the final result of that photograph, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  If it can't be fireworks, I'm definitely happy with this as a runner-up!

Thanks again to my gorgeous couple, Briean and Casey, and to their family and friends for allowing me to capture this incredible event amidst a hurricane.  I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!  :)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene Wedding - Part One!

Where do I begin with Briean and Casey?  It's been almost a year since I met them, and even though we don't hang out on a regular basis, I definitely consider them to be friends!  They're just an incredible couple inside and out.  I shot two amazing engagement sessions for them, one of them last winter and one this spring, and I honestly can't get enough of hanging out with these two.  That's why it's so crazy that their wedding is over and done with! Briean and Casey's wedding theme was perfectly suited for the two of them, as they both have a unique history with everything nautical.  Casey used to be a rescue diver in the Coast Guard, and Briean's favorite place to be in the world is Bethany Beach.  Not only that, but Briean worked at National Harbor for quite a while!  So when Casey proposed to Briean at Bethany Beach last year, it was no surprise that once they began their wedding planning they went with a classy nautical theme to tie everything in (not to mention planned their reception at National Harbor).  With a white, pink and navy color palette, Briean worked her magic all over this wedding and it pulled together to look amazing!

Of course, one aspect of the wedding we weren't counting on was the fact that a hurricane would be a part of it!  I had just returned from a small trip on Monday to see the news reports of Hurricane Irene brewing in the Atlantic, with the trajectory hitting the east coast, and *gasp* the Washington, D.C. area on Saturday!  Both Briean and I were a little panicked, but we both stayed calm and just came up with a backup plan.  I knew that we would probably have to do most of the formal photographs inside, but I told her we may want to venture out into the rain to get some of the shots I know she envisioned for the wedding.  I have to say, I was completely impressed with Briean, Casey and their wedding party.  I have never met a more passionate group of people who were willing to do whatever it took to get the perfect photographs!  For me, it was a dream, because I'm a huge weather nut, so I was up for anything!  But it was just so amazing to see everyone pull together for the happy couple!

I could go on and on here, but this is only PART ONE of Briean and Casey's wedding!  So, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  :)  Enjoy everyone, and stay tuned for part two!

The salon provide Brie with a hurricane drink:

Many thanks to the Westin National Harbor for letting us shoot indoors:

And now...the outdoor photos!  Also, yes, the four inside-out umbrellas were made that way from the wind, I promise:

Outdoors it looked more like this with all the dark swirly clouds:

Running to the reception:

Briean's garter was falling down so Casey was a big sweetheart and helped a girl out.  Isn't this shot adorbs:

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

The Washingtonian Features Lisa Boggs Photography!

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my most recent wedding of Briean and Casey was just published in the Washingtonian!  Squee!  Right after Briean and Casey's wedding I knew someone would want to cover it.   It took place on Saturday, August 27th in the middle of Hurricane Irene (and I know most weddings in the area were cancelled because of the hurricane).  Photographed at National Harbor, my husband and I were still able to get the photographs that Briean envisioned for her big day...even in a hurricane!  I cannot thank the Washingtonian enough for writing about Briean and Casey and posting some of my images.  I am so thrilled with the whole experience (if you know me well, you know I like extreme weather, so this really fit!), and I thank everyone who was an encouragement to me right before this wedding!  Many thanks to Briean and Casey for entrusting me with their photos (and their lives!) during Hurricane Irene! Below are the screen captures, but to read the article on the Washingtonian, just go here:

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa