Jen and Scott's Bristow Manor Engagement Session!

I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with Jen and Scott for their engagement session at Bristow Manor in Bristow, Virginia!  We had such a blast riding around on golf carts to various destinations on the property, and even got to bring their dog, Brody, in for a few photos!  It was a perfect blue-sky day, much like today, and I thought Jen and Scott coordinated fabulously with the bright colors!  Jen and Scott, thanks so much for spending your engagement session with me!  I can't wait for your wedding later this year!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

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

Mariah and Evan's Fall Engagement Session!

Guess what, party people?  It's time for Mariah and Evan's awesome fall engagement session!  Woot woot!  :D Evan used to know my husband, Mike, in high school, and when he got engaged to his adorable fiancee, Mariah, he contacted me about potentially photographing their wedding.  I'm so excited they chose me, and you'll love the photos we recently took at Sully Historic Site for their engagement session!

It didn't take long once I started photographing Mariah and Evan to see the amazing connection they had with one another.  They were incredibly sweet and playful and they were complete naturals!  They started their own leaf fight together and even had a small football match!  And although I could see the strong competitiveness in each of them, they always seemed to shake it off and hug and kiss one another immediately afterward.  So stinkin' cute!

It's so hard to pick favorites from the day because we had a lot of different photographic opportunities at this site!  Almost no one was there to get in our way, and we had free range of some gorgeous fall color, a cute garden area, two historic homes (one of which had an awesome window I could shoot through) and a lot of grassy areas for the football photos.  All-in-all I have to say I just love the ones of Evan and Mariah being completely natural with one another.  You can feel the love and the laughter they were experiencing during the session, and it makes my heart melt.  I seriously cannot wait for Mariah and Evan's wedding so I can see their adorable glowing faces on that day!

Thank you so much, Evan and Mariah!  Enjoy!  :)

Nicely framed, right?  Well, I shot through a window that Evan had spotted, so it really was through a window frame!  I kind of like it:

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!

Madalyn and Thomas' Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session!

I love a couple with ideas.  When a couple knows exactly what they want out of their engagement session it makes my job so much easier!  And Madalyn and Thomas were just that couple who made my life (and their engagement session) so much better! I met Madalyn and Thomas down in Old Town for their engagement session, and got to meet their awesome dog Bentley as well!  For Madalyn and Thomas' initial photos they wanted to be in formal wear (with Thomas in his Army uniform).  They first wanted to create a scene where Madalyn is reading one of Thomas' letters he sent from overseas and then he walks up as if he just arrived back to the US.  I really dug the idea and I thought they did a great job of portraying that kind of incredible glee that occurs when you get to see someone you've missed for so long!  We then took a few photos of them walking around and hanging out with Bentley (who responded very well when I made monkey noises to get him to look at me!).  And, of course, we got some great shots with Thomas' dog tags and also ones he gifted to Madalyn.  I just loved the his and her tags that said "No Matter the Distance" and "No Matter How Far."  Swoon!

After the formal shots, Madalyn and Thomas changed into some casual wear and we kept walking around in Old Town!  We landed in a small park down there where I recently took some proposal shots, and we were able to do a ton of different looks with what they brought!  We used a blanket and pillow, bubbles, a parasol and chalkboards!  So awesome!  Madalyn and Thomas did a fantastic job just hanging out being so in love.  They really needed next to no direction, as they wanted their photos to have a very natural flow to them.  I was incredibly impressed with this couple, not only with their incredible modeling skills, but also with their relationship.  It's so amazing to see a couple so united, especially when they have been apart so much!  They're just awesome.  :)

Thanks so much for a wonderful shoot, Madalyn and Thomas!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

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

Weekend in Review - Love Is in the Air!

What a great weekend!  I had three beautiful portrait sessions that took me to very different places in the DC area, and they were all spectacular!  Dan and Kristen got engaged in Old Town Alexandria (and I photographed the proposal!); Katie, Jason and Blake explored the Cherry Blossoms in DC; and Katie and Jeff met with me for their engagement photos in Delaplane, VA!  Although exhausted after everything yesterday, I still couldn't wait to review the photos and pick my favorites from the weekend.  Enjoy the photos below and stay tuned for each groups own blog post!

Dan and Kristen just after the proposal:

Katie, Jason and Blake.  Blake's looking at the Cherry Blossom's for the first time!

Katie and Jeff at the gorgeous Three Fox Vineyards:

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Kelly and Grant’s Historic Occoquan, Virginia Engagement Session!

I recently had the opportunity of photographing a super cute couple, Kelly and Grant! I met with Kelly and Grant back in the fall, and was so excited when they signed with me for their July 2011 wedding! But before their wedding, we had to do their engagements of course! And we happened to choose the opposite of what their wedding day will be: a chilly, windy day in Occoquan, VA! Kelly and Grant were super champs for braving it through the frigid temperatures and wind to get some incredible photos! One thing I love about being outside in some chilly air is getting those snuggling photos of a couple. What's more adorable than that? Aside from the snuggling photos, some of my favorites from the day are ones in front of a blue house we found. They both really love Zoolander and had to do their "blue steel" looks in front of the blue house! Ha ha ha! Kelly said she had a hard time portraying her "blue steel" look, and that she could do better, but I both think they did a great job!

Thanks so much to Kelly and Grant for a super fun time, and for also hanging out with me a bit afterward at a local restaurant! We all had lovely meals consisting of mostly potatoes and cheese. And yes, I ate a whole plate of cheese fries. :) Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Rachel and Ryan's Washington, DC Engagement Portraits

Spring is here!  On the official first day of spring, I was fortunate enough to take some lovely engagement photos of Rachel and Ryan in downtown Washington, DC!  We seriously couldn't have asked for a better day.  I had originally scheduled to shoot Rachel and Ryan's engagements back in February, right when the blizzards decided to strike the greater DC area!  So, we really had to wait for the great-melt-of-2010 to take place and before we moved forward, and boy did we make the right decision!  I could not be happier with the images we came up with!  We made a circle around a park (with the weeping willows), up to the WWII Memorial (new and old), then up through the West Potomac Park to the Lincoln Memorial.  Below are my absolute favorites from the day, but there are obviously lots more!  Hope you enjoy the images as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!  Also, wanted to point out that the really cool rusty door (shot number two) was actually at the very bottom of the steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial.  What an awesome, hidden gem, right?

Love,

Lisa

Kimberly and Dan's Riverbend Park Engagement Session

This past weekend I photographed Kimberly and Dan at Riverbend Park in Great Falls, VA, a lovely little park on the calm side of the Potomac.  I go there all the time, as it's a great place to hike, bring the dog, and even go on the beaches and wade in the water.  So much fun!  Kimberly and Dan saw a series I did with a friend here, and really wanted to create some images similar to those.  I was certainly up for the challenge, even though we had fewer leaves on the trees!  However, the day turned out really lovely!  It was in the 70's that day, and splashing around in some water wasn't entirely crazy, even though it's November!  Below are some images from the occasion.  It's hard for me to pick out favorites, but I really do love the weeping cherry photo (number two) and the last photo with the geese flying in the background!  Thank you to Kimberly and Dan for a super fun time...and a big shout out to Dan (effing-a!).  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Libby and Matt's Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session!

I've been waiting for a while for a couple who would embrace some rain, and I finally met my match with Libby & Matt!  I met them both down in Old Town, Alexandria this past weekend, with my awesome new assistant, Mr. Mike Boggs.  Libby & Matt came complete with wellies and an umbrella (as did Mike and I), and we braced ourselves for what could have been some major rain.  Luckily, the heavy rain and storms didn't come through until after noon that day, so we just got some cloudy skies, with a lot of puddles!  As you'll see below, Libby and Matt were an amazing pair to work with, and totally embraced the atmosphere we were in.  Engaged couple + rain + wellies = magical.  Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for looking!  And many thanks to Mike Boggs for second shooting and taking some killer shots!

Love,

Lisa

P.S.  Stay tuned for some non-welly photos of Libby & Matt, and more engagements from the weekend!