Outdoor

Alex and Joe's Bluemont Vineyard Engagement Session!

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It's time for another engagement session!  Yippee!  I recently headed out to the gorgeous Bluemont Vineyard to photograph a super sweet couple, Alex and Joe!  I met Alex at a wedding this past spring, as she was assisting the lovely planner, Tabitha Roberts.  After the three of us hit it off at the wedding, Alex contacted me about photographing some engagements for she and her fiance Joe, and the rest is history! Alex and Joe chose Bluemont Vineyard for their engagement photo site, and I couldn't have been happier.  Even though driving out that way takes up a bit of time, the wine and stunning views make the journey completely worth it!  Alex and Joe also brought their adorable dog, Jazz, along for the ride (which I didn't mind at all, I love dogs!).  We all had an awesome time just relaxing, sipping on some wine, eating some delicious snacks, and eventually taking some photos (we almost forgot that's why we were there!).

Alex and Joe were so cute in front of the camera.  We really had a blast just walking around the vineyard and taking photos here and there.  Alex  incorporated some really cool elements like writing her "save the date" on her boots for some photos.  She also made a rope banner where she clothes-pinned photos of she and Joe's loved ones that had already passed on.  Alex's grandfather recently passed away, and I thought it was so cool to pay tribute him and other relatives who won't be at Alex and Joe's wedding by having them in some engagement photos.  After our shoot at the vineyard, we kept an eye out for any other locations that might be fun to photograph in, and actually stumbled upon a field with a tractor!  Joe loves tractors, so he was completely giddy.  We ran into the field really quick-like, took some photos, and ran out to avoid anyone who might get mad at us photographing there!  Ha ha ha!

Thanks so much, Alex and Joe (and Jazz!) for inviting me along to Bluemont for your engagements!  I hope you love the photos!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Alexis and Andrew's Oxon Hill Manor Wedding!

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It's pretty crazy to think that I met Alexis and Andrew almost a year and a half ago!  Alexis found me through the amazing local area blog, United with Love, and I couldn't be more thankful for that!  I've enjoyed each time I have spent with this couple, whether that was at their engagement session or just meeting to go over wedding logistics.  They're just awesome! Alexis and Andrew's wedding day began at the Embassy Suites in Old Town, a gorgeous hotel not too far from Oxon Hill Manor.  I really loved some of the getting ready photos, just because you could really feel the emotion of the day in them.  Alexis looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown, and you could see how excited all her bridesmaids were for her!  Once we all arrived at Oxon Hill I was able to take a few bridal portraits of Alexis which I just looooooooove.  She just has this old Hollywood glamour about her that is hard to stop photographing!  But I think my favorite getting ready photo was of Alexis and her dad in her suite.  Taken through the mirror on the wall, you can see her father's excitement seeing her for the first time in her dress.  It's just so sweet!

The rest of the wedding day was absolutely beautiful.  Alexis and Andrew's ceremony was a traditional Ukrainian ceremony, which had a lot of elements I enjoyed.  My favorite part was probably the crowning of Alexis and Andrew.  This was when Alexis and Andrew were both crowned with wreaths, which symbolizes that they will be the king and queen of their own family kingdom, ruling side by side.  Who wouldn't love that?  :)  After the ceremony we took lots of awesome photos, and it you'll notice through the photos you see that the wedding instantly turned into a fun celebration.  Everyone was just having an amazing time, even before we started the reception!  Once the reception started rolling though, more fun was to be had for sure.  One of my favorite parts of the reception was her maid of honor starting her toast to Alexis, but then launching into a dance sequence with the other bridesmaids and dancing around Alexis.  It was amaaaaaazing!  But I can't forget about one of my favorite guest appearances, Morton the mallard.  It's a tradition with Alexis and her Boston University gals to bring Morton to every wedding they attend and make sure he's photographed throughout the reception.  I think Morton had a great time (as did I!).

Many thanks to Alexis and Andrew for having me photograph their big day!  I had an absolute blast!  Also a huge thank you to Maria at HJ Planners for all of her hard work, along with Zack Pope of Roundz Catering for making some of the best food I've ever had at a wedding!  I hope you enjoy the photos!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Jessica and Seth's Old Town Alexandria Engagement Session!

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I love Jessica and Seth.  We had a fantastic time strolling around Old Town for their engagement session, and you'll definitely see why! First off, these two are snazzy dressers!  I really loved their outfits and I thought they worked perfectly for their shoot!  Secondly, these guys are just too fun.  They laugh together, make quirky faces together, and are two genuinely great people.  We took our time working around Old Town, heading to some specific spots that Jessica and Seth had picked out.  Personally, I really loved this ivy corner we found while we were out.  I feel like I could have taken all of their photos there!  But I also loved their sassy spy-like photos we took with Jessica and Seth's trench coats and sunglasses (their idea...awesome, right?).  So cute!

Thanks Jessica and Seth for having me, and I cannot wait for your wedding next year!  Enjoy!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Helena and Dan's WWI Memorial Wedding!

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It's pretty rare that I cry at weddings.  I'm usually so in the photography zone that even the sappiest of ceremonies don't really affect me...until now.  Helena and Dan's wedding had me crying, and here's why... Helena and Dan were married at the WWI Memorial a few weeks ago, and I have to say, they had one of the most beautiful, intimate ceremonies I've been to in a while.  Married among a small group family and friends, Helen and Dan shared the most moving sentiments toward one another in their vow exchange...particularly because they were creating a new family for themselves.  Dan has two children from a previous marriage, Marco and Gigi, and I knew before their wedding just how much Marco and Gigi meant to Helena.  Helena said the sweetest things about Dan and her new step-children during her vows.  She said she never would have imagined this life for herself, but said meeting Dan, Marco and Gigi was the best thing that's ever happened to her.  Aaaaaaaand that's when the tears started flowing from Helena, me, and plenty of others who were there!  But they were such happy tears, because knowing Helena and Dan found each other was just so wonderful.  They're truly an incredible couple, and their children, Marco and Gigi, are some of the sweetest, well-behaved kids I've ever met.

We weren't at the WWI Memorial for too long after the ceremony, so it allowed us to travel to lots of places in DC for photos!  Our first stop was Constitution Gardens, where we had to brave some baby geese (who hissed at us!) to get to the spot we wanted.  Afterward we headed to Meridian Hill Park for some beautiful shots (and yes, where I waded in some water), followed by some photographs near the National Gallery of Art.  We had such a fun time getting to travel around for a couple of hours and managed to get tons of different photos from the experience (this is where I plug to all brides to make room for portraits!  It pays off!  :D).  Marco and Gigi were along for the ride along with Helena's mom, and boy were they all great sports posing with us in all of these different spots!

Many thanks to Helena, Dan, Marco, Gigi, and the rest of their family and friends for allowing me to be a part of their special day!  You were all an absolute joy to work with!  I hope you love these photos!

P.S.  Notice some pretty stellar cuff links that Marco was sporting?  They were his lightsaber cuff links!  And it couldn't have been more appropriate, as Helena and Dan's wedding day was May 4th (May the Fourth be with you!).  ;)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Helena and Dan's WWI Memorial Wedding - Sneak Peeks!

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On Friday I was thrilled to be able to photograph Helena and Dan's wedding at the WWI Memorial in Washington, DC.  Their intimate wedding was absolutely beautiful (I cried, a lot!), and then we traveled around DC taking some more photos of the happy couple and family.  Here are two sneak peeks I really loved, one in front of a WWI Memorial column, and the next at the fountains at the National Gallery of Art.  I hope you enjoy them!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Kayleen and Chris' Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Wedding!

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This past fall Mike and I got the opportunity to travel down to Kilmarnock, Virginia for the wedding of Kayleen and Chris!  Kayleen is a friend of a friend, and I was super pumped to work with she and Chris for their gorgeous Chesapeake Bay wedding!  Chris' family owns a very historic house right there on the bay, which was the site of Kayleen and Chris' ceremony.  I'm sure you'll notice that the location was absolutely stunning and that the day itself was perfect for their outdoor wedding! What I love about Kayleen and Chris is that they're such a chill (but fun!) couple.  They decided to do a first look underneath the biggest magnolia tree I've ever seen, and I love the way those shots turned out.  Then we took some photos of them with their attendants right there on the steps of the house (which were adorbs...love the silly faces!).  Their ceremony was slightly delayed due to some shuttle issues, but it did not change Kayleen and Chris' demeanor at all before the ceremony.  You'll notice the shot of the two of them looking out the window and how relaxed they are...that was them keeping an eye out for the shuttle!  I know for some people this would have driven them crazy, but not Kayleen and Chris!  They were cool as cucumbers.  :)  The ceremony went off without a hitch and the photos we took immediately after were some of my very favorites of the day!

I hope you enjoy the photos below!  Many thanks to Kayleen, Chris, and their family and friends for letting Mike and I be part of their special day.  Enjoy!

 Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

Happy Thanksgiving from Lisa Boggs Photography!

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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

Style Me Pretty Features Lisa Boggs Photography!

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So a few months back, my lovely bride, Brandy, wanted to submit her wedding to Style Me Pretty.  I was completely up for the challenge, so she compiled all of the info and I polished off all of the photos, and BAM!  We submitted it!  And within a few short days, Style Me Pretty accepted the submission, and a few months later published it on their national blog.  How exciting is that?!  I can't tell you how cool it was to see my images (Who, me?  Lisa Boggs?  Where?) on a wedding blog of that caliber.  SO FREAKING COOL!  And of course Brandy did such a great job with her write-up and list of vendors.  So, just scroll down and see for yourself how it looks!  If you want to see the original post, just click on the screen capture I made and that will take you to Style Me Pretty.  Also, Brandy's original wedding blog post on THIS blog is right here.  :) Thank you Brandy and Style Me Pretty!  You guys rule!

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

October Wedding Sneak Peeks - Part Two!

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I can't believe October is almost over!  Crazy!  Well, with more weddings under my belt, I'm here to share some more sneak peeks!  Thanks to my amazing couples who let me be a part of their special day! Here's Jenny and Steven!  I love Jenny's smile and that we stopped to take photos with she and Steven's adorable pup, Martini...

Here's Kayleen and Chris!  Their Chesapeake Bay wedding was gorgeous and I love Kayleen's freckles...

And last up, here's Katie and John!  Their wedding in Leesburg was beautiful and sunny, just like the two of them...

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa

 

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

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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!

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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!

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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

 

Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene Wedding - Sneak Peek!

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I have to write a huge post for Briean and Casey following this one, as there are so many great things to say about them and great photos to share.  But, for now, here's a sneak peek of one of my favorite images from the day.  Hurricane Irene looks beautiful on the window, no?  ;)  (This was originally supposed to be a fireworks shot, you know...before the hurricane came through.  I'm pretty sure I love it more than fireworks!)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa