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