On Saturday we had the pleasure of spending the day with Tracey and Brandon and their friends and family as they married in Richmond on the 24th floor of the Suntrust Building on Main Street. With stunning views everywhere and a rockin’ band, I have to say that it was a perfect location for a wedding ceremony and reception. Here are a few of my favorites:

The groom and his groomsmen, (trying!) to give me a Blue Steel look:

The lovely bride:

Tracey’s sister is gorgeous too:

Actually, all the bridesmaids were beautiful:

Congratulations to you both! Hope you’re having a blast in the Dominican Republic.

Yesterday I photographed Tracey’s bridal session…just in time for her wedding next week! Accompanied by her mother and sister, the women had me laughing so hard I literally had to stop taking photos! Her sister told Tracey, “Pain is temporary…pictures are forever.” I’m going to remember that line for a while!

Although it was really warm out, the humidity wasn’t terrible, and the late late afternoon sky was gorgeous (and the rain held off!).

I am so amazed at how good looking all my brides are. They are all so beautiful and gorgeous! Tracey claims she is not model material, but I beg to differ:

Thanks for the fun day ladies!

Brian and I headed out to photograph Sarah and David’s wedding and I have to say that I was really looking forward to spending the day with them. After our fun engagement session in May, I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for their big day! (Side note: I really recommend booking engagement and/or bridal sessions because it is a great way to get acquainted with your photographer and get comfortable in front of the camera.)

The bridesmaid dresses:

Sarah really does have the most incredible eyes:

I love this one…I love the house she got ready in. The house was beautifully decorated and the lighting was perfect:

Then we headed off to the Living Word Fellowship Church to see the guys:

Okay, this has to be one of the best “formal” portraits I’ve taken. I love David’s sense of humor! And guys, here it is, on my website for the world to view, as you requested. (That’s what she said!)

David and Sarah I hope you are having a wonderful time in Cancun and I wish you much joy and love in the years to come. And lots of laughter.

Katie and Chase, or as their friends and family affectionately call them, Chatie (similar to Brangelina, Bennifer and TomKat) celebrated their wedding at Whitehall Manor this weekend. Although the day was rather hot and humid and the ceremony was slightly delayed (Northern VA traffic, of course!), Katie and Chase took to the day with a great, easygoing attitude (I figured as much because they are also fellow Hokies!). They planned a beautiful wedding with spectacular details from the personalized candy table to their lovely folded paper cranes.

Some of my favorites from the day include:

The lovely bride:

The laid-back groom:

The exchange of rings:

A few of my favorite portraits:

And what would a wedding be if Hokies didn’t play the Hokey-Pokey at their wedding?!:

Congratulations to you both! Thanks for the lovely evening!

What do you get when you throw in a little bit of Paris:

A little bit of Rome:

Maybe some Venice:

And Egypt?!:

Where else but:

Brian and I love traveling and one of our destinations this year was to Las Vegas. I grew up in New Jersey, so Atlantic City was always a few hours drive away. This was the first time we have been to Vegas and it is quite an extravagant and decadent city. We had a blast watching two Cirque du Soleil shows, O and Mystere (both excellent), and came back with lighter wallets and blisters. I loved the low humidity (kind of a shock to come back to 98% humidity in Richmond) and had to chuckle a bit with the palm trees and fake grass (astroturf) in the desert.

As much as I love traveling there is always the thrill of coming home.

Although the majority of my work on my website is wedding-related, I do photograph families! This weekend I had the pleasure of spending some time capturing images of Nate, Melissa and Isaac for their family session. Although weddings can be fast-paced, there is nothing quite like chasing after a toddler! Although I met Isaac in December, I almost didn’t recognize him! Children grow so quickly; it is special to be able to photograph a moment in time of their life.

Some highlights of the day:

Check out his hair! This cracks me up:

And for Melissa:

Thanks to Nate, Melissa and Isaac for the fun day!

This weekend we headed out to Staunton to photograph Katie and Dan’s wedding at The Frontier Culture Museum. I had never been to the outdoor museum, but it was a wonderful location, especially more meaningful to Katie and her family because of they have spent time working at the museum.

Saturday was the perfect day for an outdoor wedding and reception and I have to admire the love and dedication that Katie and Dan’s family and friends showed them…from setting up to special words during the ceremony to their many toasts, they are a truly blessed couple.

Highlights of the day:

I especially love this one:

Instead of cake, they fed each other cupcakes:

Congratulations to Katie and Dan! I wish you many happy years together!

The other day I headed out to Carytown for an engagement session with Ainoy and Daniel. Though they claimed to be nervous in front of the camera, these two are total naturals! They are such a vibrant couple; it was so great capturing their big smiles and love for each other. The dreary weather definitely did not put out their positive attitude and humor. Plus, how can you go wrong with a couple when they WANT to run through traffic and pose with Hello Kitty…and get in trouble for it?

A few from the day:

I love this moment:

This is definitely one of my favorites:

Thanks Ainoy & Daniel! I’m excited to be a part of your big day!

I wanted to give a special thank you to Brett Harris for providing Photos by Vera with a few of his wonderful and delightfully charming songs. His music makes me smile.

Check out his website here and his myspace page here.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of photographing Yoko and Andrew’s intimate wedding. I was looking forward to their wedding for a long time! When Yoko emailed me last year, she totally stole my heart when she complimented my work with such beautiful words.

Even though it was a little chilly, thankfully the rain held off and we did have a couple of bursts of sunshine throughout the day at both The Lafayette Inn (for getting ready and reception) and Lydia Mountain (for the ceremony).

It was truly a lovely wedding and I can honestly say that this wedding was especially meaningful to us. Yoko and Andrew went out of their way to treat us like part of their family and we were so honored by them.

A few of my favorites from the day:

A gift from the bride to the groom:

I love all the little details to Yoko’s dress:

The kiss!

The lovely bride:

Yoko made their cake topper and it was so charming! Their cake was probably one of the most delicious cakes I have ever eaten!

Yoko’s father gave an especially touching speech…quite a few tears were shed!

Andrew has really great eyes:

Thank you Yoko and Andrew for including us on your day. We love the coffee and especially the chocolates!

Congratulations to you both. I wish you two many happy years together.