It’s the perfect sunny day for a wedding –lots of them in fact! It’s the first day that same-sex marriages are being performed in Washington DC. Congratulations to all the couples who are getting married at the courthouse and around the nation’s capitol today!
We all see flower girls spreading petals as they proceed down the aisle. But what are they doing before and after their starring role? Often the most interesting moments are captured during other times of the day. In today’s installment of Friday Frolics, I wanted to share images of flower girls when they are not tending to their duties.
Stay tuned for the second installment of Friday Frolics – Flower Girls when I announce our flower girl of the year!
Same-sex couples were greeted with cupcakes (Hello Cupcakes to be precise!), roses, and congratulatory applause as they exited Washington DC’s Moultrie Courthouse with marriage license in hand. Today is the first day that gay couples can obtain a license to be legally wed in the District of Columbia. Some couples had wedding plans underway, others had put plans on hold until the law went into effect since Congress could have overturned it until yesterday, and for some today provided the legal recognition of a commitment they had made and celebrated years ago. Congratulations to all of the happy couples!
Beth and Jeff love nature and were engaged while hiking. So it makes perfect sense that they would have an outdoor wedding at ThorpeWood — a rustic retreat in Maryland which provides “education and personal development programs for at-risk youth” as well as a setting for weddings and other events. Their love of nature was woven throughout every detail of their day from their wedding bands and table cards to their reception venue –ThorpeWood’s “green construction timber frame lodge.” Rachael, who photographed their November wedding, described the setting as “GORGEOUS” (her emphasis!) and that Beth and Jeff welcomed the sun which broke through the clouds moments before their outdoor ceremony began.
What? How are we associated with Nicole Richie’s wedding? Well, we’re not really, but it was a fun surprise to have one of our images in this week’s issue of In Touch Weekly. The article gives suggestions on what Nicole should consider for her wedding including a bouquet by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers that we photographed at Amanda and Steve’s June wedding at Lansdowne Resort. I’ve attached the original image –which the magazine cropped, along with others showing the striking flowers from the day.
Today I’m rolling out a new theme on the blog –Friday Frolics. I got the idea while talking to my little brother who was telling me his favorite thing about the second grade. Friday Frolics was a time each Friday afternoon that his teacher allowed him to partake in a fun activity of his choosing. So I thought I would adopt his teacher’s practice and write Friday blog posts that are about anything I want but all will share one thing in common –they’ll be about something fun!
The first post will be about one of my favorite things –shoes! Last May when I was photographing a wedding at the Daughters of the American Revolution I noticed that every woman in attendance was wearing really cool shoes. There wasn’t a single exception. Every woman was wearing something notable on her feet. Below is a sampling.
Maria and Rick first met while working together at the White House where they became friends. Coincidentally as life would have it their professional paths crossed again when they began working for the same company in San Francisco a few years later. Some things are just meant to be!
They were welcomed back to Washington DC for their wedding by unusually warm and pleasant weather for a mid November day. It also suited their rooftop ceremony at The Hay-Adams quite nicely. The floral design, created by Philippa Tarrant, was inspired by the lily of the valley pattern on Maria’s wedding gown and wheat which relates back to her Portuguese heritage. Wheat is also often seen as a symbol of fertility and prosperity. The classic white color scheme was also carried through to the wedding cake designed by Kendall’s Cakes. The day would not have come together without the thoughtfulness and foresight of Alison Okobi, the catering director at The Hay-Adams.
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a cupcake fiend! I’ve resisted –a word I don’t use often when talking about cupcakes, posting images of cupcakes on the blog before now, but I came across a cupcake photography contest and can’t decide which image to enter. I’ve narrowed the selection down to six different images featuring cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake and Hello Cupcake. The contest will be judged by a group of “cupcake-obsessed-photography-loving-peers who will independently choose their favorites based on creativity, concept, and execution.”
Help me decide and make your vote count! Leave a comment and tell me which image you think I should enter in the contest. You have until midnight Wednesday, February 24 to cast your vote. They’re announcing the winner on March 4. The prize is Totally Rad Actions for Lightroom, but the real treat was spending the better part of a Sunday afternoon photographing cupcakes and Sunday evening eating them! I’ll let you know how I do!
1. Wide-Eyed Cupcakes
2. Classic Vanilla
3. Simple Strawberry
4. Princess on a Platter
5. Lights, Camera, Cupcake I
6. Lights, Camera, Cupcake II
I’m really thrilled to announce Kevin Dietsch has joined The Observatory to photograph weddings! Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photojournalism from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and is now a full-time staff photographer with United Press International. He has developed a unique eye and quick reaction time covering major national and international events. This makes him a perfect fit for capturing the peak emotions and unexpected moments that occur throughout a wedding. In the past year alone, he has photographed President Obama’s inauguration, the Super Bowl, and the late Senator Kennedy’s funeral. Most recently he covered the devastating earthquake in Haiti while embedded with the US military as they provided medical aid to Haitians. Next he flies out to Vancouver BC to cover the Olympics for the entire month of February. As a fan of both the Olympics and the Pacific Northwest, I admit I’m particularly jealous of that assignment!
In his free time, he and his wife Ioana enjoy the outdoors and participate in a number of recreational sport leagues, including two-hand-touch football. He has also recently taken up what I would describe as “extreme” trail running, which involves meeting up with a group of runners in the late night or early morning hours to run through Rock Creek Park with nothing but the aid of a headlamp to light their way!
You can see his wedding portfolio on our website. Welcome to the team, Kevin!
It was fun to see one of our images accompany a story in the current issue of The Knot about the best Washington DC area museums to hold a wedding. The image, taken by Barbara Salisbury, is from Michelle and Joel’s wedding at the The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Whether outdoors in the Wilson Plaza or inside the grand Atrium or the more intimate Rotunda or Pavilion rooms, the Reagan Building is always a venue we enjoy photographing. Great architectural lines! You can see more images from Michelle and Joel’s wedding in a slideshow on our website.
by Andrea
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