Jessica and Thomas' McLean Presbyterian Church and Westfields Marriott Wedding!

I am a lucky gal when I get to photograph people I already know.  A few years ago, I had the honor of photographing a fabulous couple, Ryan and Rachel.  They were fun and goofy, and I really fell in love with their families.  Plus they are a hoot on the dance floor!  Well, a few years later, I get an email from Jessica, Rachel's sister, who had gotten engaged and wanted to hire me as her and Thomas' wedding photographer.  I was beyond thrilled for her and Thomas and very, very excited to see and photograph some of my very favorite people again! On Jessica and Thomas' wedding day there was a huge threat of rain.  I knew many other planners and photographers on this day were only a few miles away and battling major downpours and having to initiate their backup plans.  However, for whatever reason, it never rained on Jessica and Thomas' wedding!  It was actually a really beautiful overcast at McLean Presbyterian Church, and Jessica and myself were beyond thrilled we got to work outdoors for their portraits!  Jessica and Thomas were absolute naturals in front of the camera.  And it was abundantly clear that Thomas was brimming with excitement to be married to Jessica!  We'd be photographing and all of a sudden he'd pull her in, dip her and kiss her.  It was just so cute!

Jessica and Thomas' wedding reception was held at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, one of my favorite places to photograph!  One of my favorite details of the reception was Jessica and Thomas' caricature they had made and printed on the place cards, wedding menus, etc.  It was a really personal touch and honestly, it looked just like them!  I, of course, loved hearing all of the speeches from Jessica's dad and her sisters, and then really loved it when the party started and everyone let loose on the dance floor!  I have two favorite shots from the dance floor: one of Ryan dancing and pointing his toes while his family laughs in the background and then the shot of one of Thomas' family members stuffing a $20 down Jessica's second dress.  It was an amazing night full of fun and laughter and I'm so thrilled I got to be a part of it!

Jessica and Thomas, thank you so much for having me photograph your special day!  I really hope you, your family and friends all enjoy the photos!

Karleigh and Jack's Northern Virginia Wedding!

Today I'm blogging about two incredibly awesome people: Karleigh and Jack!  You may remember Karleigh and Jack from their Middleburg engagement session this past summer, and guess what?!  They got hitched recently here in Virginia and here are the photos to prove it! Karleigh and Jack are two of the most fun-loving people I've ever met.  I knew from the get-go that they were super excited to get married, but most of all just have a huge celebration with their family and friends.  On the day of the wedding, I started out with the ladies at Karleigh's aunts house in Clifton, while Mike was photographing the guys at Westfields Marriott.  Karleigh wanted a dramatic entrance in her dress for her family and bridesmaids, so she changed upstairs and came down the stairs to surprise everyone.  Some tears were shed by Karleigh's dad and all of the other bridesmaids were in awe of how amazing she looked.  I just loved those photos!

After we were ready, we headed to St. Clare of Assisi in Clifton where Karleigh and Jack were hitched!  My favorite photo from the ceremony was probably of Jack and the look on his face as Karleigh came down the aisle.  So cute!  Once we were finished at the church, we headed to an amazing park near Westfields Marriott to take some photos of the wedding party and Karleigh and Jack.  I loved the sun-kissed look of those photos as they really mirrored the look and feel that Karleigh and Jack's engagement session had!  Karleigh and Jack took a few more photos afterward in front of Westfields Marriott, and I really love the one of the two of them acting really excited.  You'll totally know it when you see it!

Karleigh and Jack's wedding reception may be one of my favorites to date in terms of the amount of energy in that room!  The entire night was just one huge party, made particularly awesome by the band, Burnt Sienna.  Rumor has it that they played at Karleigh's sisters wedding, and I completely understand why they picked them for Karleigh and Jack's big day!  Whenever Burnt Sienna was playing, it felt like an incredible rock concert.  They even had this stunning light display set up behind them that really set the mood of the room.  They were awesome!  My favorite shots of the reception are of Karleigh singing with one of the band members on stage.  But honestly, all of the dancing photos are pretty cool!

I want to thank Karleigh and Jack for having me photograph their gorgeous wedding day.  I had such an amazing time with you and your family and friends.  I really hope you guys enjoy the photos!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Ahsha and Ade's Gorgeous Northern Virginia Wedding!

Yay!  It's time for Ahsha and Ade's full blog post!  I met Ahsha a little over a year ago at a bridal show, and she and I hit it off straight away!  She went to high school with a good friend (and former bride) of mine, so I was really excited when she decided to book me! First off, I'm sure you'll agree that Ahsha and Ade are such a stunning couple.  They're the kind of couple that have that regal, celebrity look, which you just can't ignore!  But on top of that, they're just a sweet, laid-back couple.

Ahsha and Ade were married at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Herndon, and then traveled to Westfields Marriott in Chantilly for their reception.  I'm sure you'll agree that Ahsha's dress and shoes are incredible, and her dress got a lot of attention when I posted their sneak peek (I'll have to ask her where she got her dress!).  By the time Ahsha got dressed and arrived at the church, it was almost ready for showtime, so I didn't really get to speak with Ade before the ceremony!  But Ade looked amazing, and I was really happy with the way some of the ceremony shots turned out.  One of my favorites is the black and white photo of Ade looking at his new ring (courtesy of Mr. Mike Boggs).

The reception at Westfields Marriott was stunning when you walked in.  We managed to get some beautiful portraits of the couple and wedding party before we went in and partied, but I really love the dancing and toast photos.  There's just so much personality in them!  And you may have seen the staircase shot in the sneak peek, but that's definitely one of my favorite shots of the whole wedding.  I didn't really think Ahsha and Ade could look any better than they had all day, but they totally topped it!  Thank you so much Ahsha and Ade for letting Mike and I photograph your special day!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Barb and Dave's Scottish Inspired Wedding!

I recently shot Barb and Dave's wedding at the lovely Westfields Marriott in Dulles, Virginia and had an absolute blast! Barb and Dave found me through my WeddingWire page and we instantly clicked! I was excited about their wedding because Dave is Scottish and he informed me he would be wearing traditional Scottish attire. Barb also informed me that Scottish elements and colors would be throughout everything, and she was totally right! Even the hotel colors matched the theme! As you can see below, we had a lot of fun at their wedding and Barb and Dave were an incredible couple to work with! A special thanks to Neil Benjers at Blue Sky Films for providing that lovely off camera light in the last shot (and for being a pretty fabulous videographer too!). Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa