Karen & David | Mayflower DC wedding

Warm. Kind. Generous. Tall. Short. Loving.  The bride's sister Liz read off a huge list of adjectives Karen and David's friends and family had used to describe them.  I looked around the room and saw a lot of tears and a lot of nodding heads.  Some came all the way from Egypt to see these two tie the knot and it was truly an honor to be their wedding photographer. wedding photographer Amber Wilkie Karen and David were married at the Mayflower in DC, a beautiful historic hotel with quite a bit of history and a ton of class.  Karen was an incredibly sweet and very composed bride.  David didn't seem the least bit nervous, an admirable trait in any groom.  I was struck by the graciousness of their families.  And even though I saw it plenty in their engagement session, they once again won me the heck over with how ridiculously cute they are once you tell them "go stand over there and hug." These cool cats were upgraded from some other swanky bridal suite to the Presidental Suite, which they informed me is one of only two hotel rooms in the city that is bullet-proof!  This here room where Karen's getting dressed?  That is their hallway, y'all. bride puts on her shoes in mayflower suite Karen's gorgeous ring is an antique and was picked out by David alone because he knew she would love it. bride's shoes and rings wedding day preparation in the mayflower hotel mother of the bride in the washington, dc hotel mayflower putting the boutenniere on the father of the bride bridal portrait at the mayflower, washington, dc bride and her sister on the mayflower suite balcony Karen and David didn't have a lot of bridesmaids and groomsmen, so they went all-out on the bouquets.  Check out Karen's on the left full of anemones (I learned this flower word that day), and two other kinds (the tendril-things and the fern things).  I don't know all this technical flower stuff, but I was super-impressed with these bangin', unusual bouquets. beautiful wedding bouquet with anenomes and feathers bride on the way to the ceremony at holy rosary church So much thanks to Kelly for helping me out.  Love this frame she grabbed right before they walked in the doors! bride and her father at dc holy rosary church parents of the groom walk down the aisle parents of the bride walk down the aisle here comes the bride! at holy rosary church groom sees his bride for the first time They were married at the gorgeous Holy Rosary Church on Third street right downtown. wedding at holy rosary church, washington dc bride and groom at holy rosary church ring ceremony at holy rosary church in washington, dc wedding at holy rosary church wedding photography at Holy Rosary Church priest at dc holy rosary church bride and groom inside holy rosary churchfather of the groom praying at holy rosary church ceremony scenes from dc catholic ceremony little girl during the wedding ceremony end of the wedding ceremony at holy rosary church hugging after the wedding ceremony adorable little girl with bride bride and groom portraits at mayflower hotel black and white portraits of bride and groom wedding portraits in mayflower elevator room decorations at mayflower hotel wedding cake from mayflower in dc first dance holding hands first dance in the mayflower hotel father-daughter dance wedding photography I love their families.  Everyone was so gracious. parents of the couple at the wedding bride and groom listening to speeches David's brother brought down the house. bride and groom and her mother at the wedding reception best man giving a speech at the mayflower emotional moments after best man speech And then Karen's sister made everybody cry. maid of honor speech And then there was a surprise belly dancer!  With a candelabra on her head!  She did the splits balancing this monstrosity on her head.  I photograph the coolest weddings. belly dancer at the wedding ceremony couple dancing at the wedding reception at the mayflower belly dancer at wedding reception wedding couple laughing father of the bride with the belly dancer dancing at the mayflower wedding reception dancing at the dc wedding reception guests dancing and singing at the mayflower This is what happens to the photobooth at the end of the night. photobooth party bride and groom dancing on their wedding day groom being hoisted in a chair bride being carried by crowd Karen & David, your wedding was spectacular and so filled with love and good wishes and kindness.  Thanks for being you and good luck with everything!! You can see even more of Karen and David's day in this little slideshow action right here: Mad props to the fabulous vendors who helped with this wedding: Ceremony - Holy Rosary Church Reception - Mayflower Hotel Cake - Fancy Cakes by Leslie DJ - David Grimm with Signature Talent Flowers - Mayflower Hair and makeup - Salon Blu Karen's fantastic dress - Lazaro

NHFA Noche de Gala – D.C. Event Photographer

A couple weeks ago, I photographed the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala.  The NHFS promotes Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries.  Their annual Noche de Gala recognizes students who received scholarships that year and the individuals presented with the organization's awards. Also, Jimmy Smits was there. Esai Morales, Cristina Saralegui, Giselle Itié and Jimmy Smits at the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala From left to right: Esai Morales, Cristina Saralegui, Giselle Itié and Jimmy Smits.  Actors Morales and Smits are two of the five founders of NHFS.  The others are actors Sonia Braga and Merel Julia and attorney Felix Sanchez. Here are a few more from the evening. On the left, attorney Felix Sanchez and actress Merel Julia.  Cristina seemed really cool.  I didn't get a chance to talk to her or anything, but there is a weird kind of communication between photographer and subject - you look at each other, acknowledge that a photograph was taken, maybe she is checking to make sure you got what you needed... it's kind of neat. Actress Sonia Braga and Ugly Betty's Tony Plata. National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer The amazingly gorgeous congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) with Jimmy Smits.  We can make fun of actors - they're real people, too.  In fact, I was very impressed with Smits' willingness to pose for every single picture asked of him - which included side-by-side shots with every single woman in the room (minus me!).  He seemed like a nice guy. National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer We were also serenaded by singer Frankie Negron. National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts' Noche de Gala 2010 - Washington DC event photographer