Stephanie and Matt are rebels. Rebels, I tell you! National Arboretum says "no photos here" and "no weddings here" and they say pshaw and get married anyway in a tucked-away little corner. Turns out the National Arboretum is freakin' enormous. Though we did have some run-ins with park police... driving by and not paying us even the slightest bit of attention. But a little drama makes for a more interesting wedding day anyway! Plus, who couldn't just be happy for these two?
Matt's sister officiated and their parents each took a turn reading a scripture passage.
I love her beautiful bouquet! Peonies are one of two flowers I can name with conviction.
They held their ceremony in the Asian Valley, far away from almost all the tourists. But we crept back up to the Azalea Gardens near the entrance at the end.
Congratulations, you guys!
Amy and Matt got married on a beautiful day last week after having planned their wedding for just a handful of days (not that you can remotely tell). This wedding completed the trifecta for me - I finally photographed a wedding conducted by the third lawyer in Arlington who performs them. Even better, lawyer #3 holds them in a lovely courtyard in-between all the office and apartment buildings! Afterward, we rolled on down to the Netherlands Carillon / Iwo Jima Memorial for iconic views, "urban" scenes and even one in the "deep woods." Amy and Matt:
We started in a pretty little courtyard to the side of the lawyer's office building.
There were even canine guests.
Then we hopped in some cars and rolled on down to the Iwo Jima Memorial and Netherlands Carillon. It's a good spot for after Arlington intimate weddings because there's lots of pretty trees and such and also an unexpected but lovely view of not one but two memorials!
Playing with the funky architecture.
We came back around to say hi again to Amy's grandmother and there were about a thousand eighth graders in bright orange shirts, so naturally I had Amy and Matt walk through them.
My clients humor me sometimes. Ok, most of the time.
These "deep woods" are about five feet from the street.
Congratulations guys!
Danielle and Sam hosted a two-day wedding extravaganza - first an intimate wedding at the courthouse with just family, then a slightly larger lunch at Petits Plats, a lovely little French restaurant in Woodley Park. Then they brought in all the folks for a big shindig at American Visionary Art Museum, minus bouquet tosses and first dances and toasts and all of that noise but with lots of tasty food and giant paintings on the ceiling and massive amounts of relatives. Just the parts they wanted. Danielle and Sam:
The courthouse was very nice that day. I like this secondary room better - more space, more symmetrical.
The officiant phrased the put-the-ring-on-his-finger bit a little awkwardly, so Danielle ended up having to count his fingers.
Love the moms!
Hard to believe now, but we had a really chilly day a few weeks ago. Danielle and Sam mostly pretended it wasn't cold.
Wedding portraits round one completed, we rolled on up to Woodley Park for some eats and things. Look how Danielle's mom's hat doubles as a necklace! And the double-ear grab.
The next day, we all made it up to Baltimore for Act II: American Visionary Art Museum. I was a last-minute addition but it was supposed to rain on the day we arranged in advance for big-dress portraits, so they had me along to the reception.
I've seen photos with this sign about a billion times. I was glad to finally make my own mark.
But people *should* hang out with this giraffe more.
Those paintings are waaaaay up high, but take up the whole ceiling - very cool.
And then I skedaddled. I have to assume it was a rollicking good time afterwards. Congratulations Danielle and Sam!
Matt's sister officiated and their parents each took a turn reading a scripture passage.
I love her beautiful bouquet! Peonies are one of two flowers I can name with conviction.
They held their ceremony in the Asian Valley, far away from almost all the tourists. But we crept back up to the Azalea Gardens near the entrance at the end.
Congratulations, you guys!
We started in a pretty little courtyard to the side of the lawyer's office building.
There were even canine guests.
Then we hopped in some cars and rolled on down to the Iwo Jima Memorial and Netherlands Carillon. It's a good spot for after Arlington intimate weddings because there's lots of pretty trees and such and also an unexpected but lovely view of not one but two memorials!
Playing with the funky architecture.
We came back around to say hi again to Amy's grandmother and there were about a thousand eighth graders in bright orange shirts, so naturally I had Amy and Matt walk through them.
My clients humor me sometimes. Ok, most of the time.
These "deep woods" are about five feet from the street.
Congratulations guys!
The courthouse was very nice that day. I like this secondary room better - more space, more symmetrical.
The officiant phrased the put-the-ring-on-his-finger bit a little awkwardly, so Danielle ended up having to count his fingers.
Love the moms!
Hard to believe now, but we had a really chilly day a few weeks ago. Danielle and Sam mostly pretended it wasn't cold.
Wedding portraits round one completed, we rolled on up to Woodley Park for some eats and things. Look how Danielle's mom's hat doubles as a necklace! And the double-ear grab.
The next day, we all made it up to Baltimore for Act II: American Visionary Art Museum. I was a last-minute addition but it was supposed to rain on the day we arranged in advance for big-dress portraits, so they had me along to the reception.
I've seen photos with this sign about a billion times. I was glad to finally make my own mark.
But people *should* hang out with this giraffe more.
Those paintings are waaaaay up high, but take up the whole ceiling - very cool.
And then I skedaddled. I have to assume it was a rollicking good time afterwards. Congratulations Danielle and Sam!