Leah and Mike were married at the outrageously beautiful and quaint
Silverbrook Farm out in the Virginia countryside. They put heaps and heaps of effort into making the place their own and showing their guests a great time - from lawn games and pre-ceremony snacks to meticulously collecting vintage dessert plates. It was quite an occasion. And their guests rose to the challenge, busting it on a mad dance floor. Leah and Mike:
As always, Julia did a fantastic job.
Leah and Mike planned plenty of time for me to take them to the barn and back, scooping up all the little scenes and cutesty bits around the property.
We made ample use of this window.
Look at these classy people.
They provided lawn games and snacks for their guests to enjoy before the ceremony...
... while the rest of the folks got ready.
Flower girl down!
Dot, who owns the place, performs the wedding ceremonies.
Leah and Mike really pulled out all the stops for wedding decor. Leah's mom is a
florist, so they had some crazy beautiful flowers going on, too.
Julia's shot. I love her.
I'd never seen this before. They played the "shoe game" where the band leader asked them a bunch of questions like "who's the better cook?" and things. They held up the shoe of the person they thought was the winner of the question.
And then Mike had to prove he's the better dancer.
Okay so I totally love Julia but now I'm going to throw her under the bus. I asked for a nice photo incorporating the various dessert plates Leah and Mike had collected, and this is what she gave me. I love it, I really do, but definitely not what I had in mind. Then again, I'm sort of obsessed with showing the structure and behind-the-scenes of weddings. I love photos of the caterers carrying off the cake or if they have to move tables and chairs - showing the bits that are otherwise meant to be hidden. Like a dirty half-eaten dessert able.
Mike has been waiting for this shot for more than a year. I hope he likes it!
Their guests just kept waving the ribbons long after Leah and Mike had run through them.
Congratulations, you guys!
Mike and Leah's hardworking vendor team:
Ceremony and reception venue:
Silverbrook Farm
Caterer:
Market Salamander
Florist:
Lavender Fields
Band:
The Bachelor Boys
Dessert spread:
Shugar Shugar
Leah's gorgeous and unique dress:
Wedding Atelier (NYC)
Mike's dashing tux: Indochino
Hair and makeup:
Ammara Rana
We started the day at their home.
But quickly scooted on to River Farm for dress and things. It was a tornado of ladies and girls getting prettified. Too much for some.
Big thanks, as always, to Julia. I love this simple portrait of Shahrooz. It helped that those cufflinks were incredibly difficult to take on and off.
So I'd heard lots about River Farm but I had no idea how truly beautiful it is. The gardens are so picturesque.
Meredith carried an unusual and lovely bouquet.
So many pictures of these little ladies. And more to come. I can't help myself. Look at the floral crowns!
They had spiked lemonade for folks to enjoy before the ceremony.
Meredith and Shahrooz celebrated their marriage with a Persian ceremony, which included a veil carried by Meredith's sisters and friends, sugar ground over their heads, and a sofreye aghd - a spread of wonderful things to bless their union.
Then at the end of the ceremony - get this - they get to have sweets! I think we should immediately implement this for all weddings.
The flower girls getting down on the wedding-blessing candy.
I really could not get enough of these trellises.
Their decor included lemons as centerpieces - very cool.
And now, a flower girl dancing montage:
Congratulations, you guys!
Meredith & Shahrooz's vendor team:
Ceremony & reception venue: River Farm
Catering: Main Event
Florist: Wild Green Yonder (They did a really beautiful job with bouquet and centerpieces - I hadn't worked with them before but they seemed great!)
DJ: DJ Hawke aka Munir
Flamenco guitarists for cocktail hour: Jose Oretea and Gerardo Moreno
Meredith's dress: Global Bridal Gallery
We met up at 
A little stopover for some celebratory shots.
And it was wedding time. Richmond was in the midst of some enormous bike "race" that had half the city blocked off and closed down. So the Poe Museum wasn't even open. Undeterred, these two hopped in the doorway and did their thing.
It's turtles all the way down.
We were meant to do abandoned warehouses, but with the bike race blocking all the damn streets and the timing not ideal, we just skipped to "industrial" photos instead, always a big favorite of mine. Why are loading docks so awesome?
Richmond has some really wonderful murals.
The city also has a big lovely old train station which is absolutely empty, at least during a big bike race. A cop actually told us to go into this building. Very different than the DC experience where you will be kicked right out of Union Station.
Truth is, I don't know what to say about these.
Congratulations, guys!