The best expectation I can have for an engagement session is that it just feels like three friends hanging out for an hour or so. Nevermind that one of them is taking pictures the entire time. You probably won’t be surprised that I’m carrying a camera even when I’m not with a client. That’s the goal of my engagement sessions. To make the couple I am with feel comfortable and happy, not just to let their guard down but to not feel like they need to have their guard up. That having your picture taken isn’t something to get nervous about or cringe at.

This was exactly the case with Sherry and Mike.

Before the engagement session, the three of us had spent hours talking. Of course about their wedding but it never quiet seemed to stay on that subject. We would veer off onto what delicious confection Sherry was baking for Mike. Or Mike and I would rant about driving and driver. Since we’re both from New Jersey, we agreed with each others opinions. Before long Mike was inviting me to baseball games and Sherry was excited that we both liked the The Soup (I am cooler for it). So when it came time to actually take pictures, it was, well, cake.

We started off walking around downtown Fredericksburg. Pretty soon Mike was looking for a tree and soon after he was hanging upside down from it. This was his idea, not mine. From there we went to Chatham so that Sherry and Mike could let their two dogs, Apollo and Athena, run through the field. The flowers were blooming and it was an idyllic end to a pleasant afternoon.

Engagement sessions can often give you a glimpse into what a couple’s wedding will be like. For Sherry and Mike, I know it will be a blast.

Most of the time, my clients book me six to seven months out. A year at the utmost. Becci and Tai booked me two years ahead of their wedding day. So with that kind of lead time you knew the wedding was going to be amazing. Excited and happy would be an understatement. Not even the overcast sky could dampen Becci and Tai’s spirits.

The day began with a tea ceremony followed by the wedding ceremony at Rock Spring UCC. Becci first outfit of the day was a traditional tea ceremony dress that Tai’s parents had made and shipped directly from Vietnam. Becci quickly changed from that amazing gown into her wedding dress for the wedding ceremony upstairs. Not to be outdone, Becci had still one more dress change that day!

Becci and Tai had wanted their guests to blow bubbles for them as they left the church. At first it seemed like the rain would put an end to that plan. But with a little quick thinking, the guests were quickly moved back downstairs to form a huge line of well wishers and bubbles.

In all, Becci and Tai had an amazing day, showing that true love and passion can make up for overcast weather and plans not going exactly the way you wanted them to.

Congratulations Becci and Tai!

Church: Rock Spring UCC
Venue: The Fairfax Country Club
Flowers: Juliet’s Flowers
Cake: Cakes By Linda
Hair and Makeup: Creative Images Hair and Makeup Artistry
DJ: DJ Billy Zee
Photobooth: DC Photobooth

I was back at the University of Mary Washington last week to do production still of their current production Hedda Gabler. Anoterh great production from a terrific cast.

Returning from their honeymoon, George and Hedda Tesman begin to settle into their new life together. With the return of Eilert Lovborg, George’s academic nemesis, the couple’s relationship unravels amidst whispered secrets, professional disappointments, and a startling realization of what life truly holds for Hedda as George’s wife. Passion and rivalries flare in this new adaptation by Jon Robin Baitz, who breathes new life into Ibsen’s classic tale with an interpretation of Hedda unlike any other.

Go here to buy tickets.

On this blog, you’ve mostly seen what happens on stage during a production at the University of Mary Washington. That’s all we usually get to see as audience members. The actors, the scenery and the lights. What we don’t see is the hours upon hours of work and planning that goes into making this productions come to life. It’s work that deserves just as much recognition as the actors who take a final bow.

While taking images of their productions, Gregg, the head of UMW’s Theatre department, also asked me to take behind the scenes images as they go up. This has helped Gregg and Jon show the intensive training that perspective students can expect when they decide to attend UMW. From costume design and set construction to manning the sound booth during performances, Mary Washington student’s are fully immersed in the theatre.

The University of Mary Washington’s first performance of 2012 is Moon Over Buffalo, a 1995 comic play by Ken Ludwig set in Buffalo, New York in 1953. The action and dialogue are fast-paced, as the characters are constantly bickering and trying to make amends for the mistakes they have just committed. It is a side splitting performance sure to entertain you and friends.

I had a great time photographing this performanec and as always it is a joy to work with Gregg and his team. Please, go see it over it’s two week run.

I’ve continued to work with UMW’s Theatre department these past months and I’ve been remiss in not blogging about it sooner. I shot their production of “The Women of Lockerbie” in September and then their production of “Rent” in November. Both were terrific productions and I hope you had a chance to see them while they ran at the University. If not, be on the look out for their upcoming productions in the spring.

I also did headshots at their Fredericksburg campus which is always a lot of fun. Students are shy at first but with a few corny jokes from me, they open up and it’s great to give them a start on their headshot book.

Since Melissa and Kevin had won an engagement shoot from another photographer at a bridal show they had gone to, I didn’t get much of a chance to get to know them before their wedding day. In the end, that didn’t matter, since Melissa and Kevin were great fun to be around and had a wonderful wedding a Stevenson Ridge.

Stevenson Ridge is a beautiful bed and breakfast here in Fredericksburg with several different homes to stay at. Their reception hall is wonderfully restored with original wooden trusses and a huge fireplace. The room is spacious but cozy and provides for an excellent evening.

Melissa and Kevin were a joy to work with and really the pictures speak for themselves. Congratulations Melissa and Kevin

Some of the most enjoyable weddings I get to do are the ones of friends and coworkers who trust me no matter what. It was the case when my coworker Scott asked if I would do his wedding last June and we had a ton of fun. So when two of my coworkers got married, I knew things would be a piece of cake.

I’ve known Carrie and Ron since starting at Northrop four years ago and they are both easy going people. We all work down in Dahlgren, VA and it seemed almost appropriate that they get married at Dahlgren Chapel. Which, for some reason, is in Boonsboro, MD. But no matter. Carrie and Ron had a small ceremony with loved ones followed by a reception at The Gauntlet in Fredericksburg the following day. There was plenty of dancing and gambling, fun had by all.

Congratulations Ron and Carrie!

When Kate’s mother, Fran, told me that she was so pleased to see Kate looking so relaxed and happy in the pictures from our engagement session and that that was not always the case, I was delighted and knew that the wedding was going to be a success. Photography is important to Kate and I set the bar high for myself because I knew how much this day would mean for her to be captured beautifully in pictures. Looking back on it now, I’m very proud as to how things turned out.

The ceremony was at St.Anthony’s in King George which was literally up the road from Kate’s parents home where Kate was getting ready. Which was a good thing because Kate intended on walking to the church. What she did not intend on was the bagpipe player who her parent’s had secretly hired for the walk over. Below her embarassed smile, I could see the joy and excitement in Kate’s eyes as she and her family made their way to the church.

An intimate reception was held at the community house at the Dahlgren Naval Base. Close to sunset, I grabbed Mark and Kate to go take some last portraits of the day. As I worked, Kate and Mark enjoyed each others company and you can see in the way they hold each other in the frames I captured that they were meant to be together.

Congratulations Mark and Kate!

Doing what once?

I didn’t say that.

I said “Yeah, I’m ready!”

And then this happened:

It’s the expressions that really do it for me. From the first shot where no one really knows what is happening, to the last where everyone’s mouth is on the floor. It’s this kind of excitement that really pushes a wedding day above and beyond.

Amazing!