Mara & Rich | Carlyle House wedding | Athenaeum | Old Town Alexandria

Mara and Rich were married at the always-beautiful Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria and held a lovely reception at the Athenaeum, just a few blocks away. They brought all their friends and family for great food, fun music and more laughs than you can shake a stick at. We started the day at Hotel Monaco Alexandria - a perennial favorite for its cool art and funky fabrics and such. Always fun to shoot there. I love this photo of all of Mara's ladies cracking up. We stole a few minutes pre-ceremony to sneak down to the lobby and take some photos. Then Mara soaked up some love from the street on the way to the Carlyle House. Rich peeking in on the processional. Their officiant did a great job. Whenever a plane went over, she would make everybody take a sigh, which inevitably resulted in big laughs. Everyone Mara knows seems to be a solid foot taller than her. These two make it look easy. The Carlyle House is a really atmospheric place. Old Town is such a great place to do portrait work. There are so many funky alleys and cobblestones and doorsteps. I super-dig the spiderwebs on the door here - makes it look like they're off to a secret garden of looooooove. Party time at the Athenaeum! These two have so much fun together. Mara notoriously hates pink, so her friends showed up in matching cardigans. Artful cake. Several hours into her reception, Mara finally sat down. Congratulations guys! Mara and Rich's vendor team: Getting ready venue: Hotel Monaco Alexandria Ceremony venue: Carlyle House Reception venue: Athenaeum Caterer: Main Event Caterers Band: 3MTs Florist: Wisteria Florist Rentals: Sammy's Rentals Cake: Fluffy Thoughts Ceremony music: Classical Guitar Ceremonies (Chris Dunn) Officiant: Debra Peevey