I recently posted some of my favorite photos from Bunmi + Livaughn’s Washington, D.C. wedding at the Colonnade in Washington, D.C., and wanted to also share their video slideshow from the wedding. Here I get to share some more fantastic images, as well as put them to the incredible music from Ólafur Arnalds. If you’re not familiar with his music he makes fantastic moody songs and is definitely someone to check out!
Sometimes destination weddings for me are not destinations for my couples. Such is the case for Bunmi and Livaughn, who live outside of Washington, DC and chose to hold their wedding at the beautiful Colonnade within the Fairmont Hotel. It wasn’t just a destination for me, but for many of their friends and family as well who came from all over the US and as far away as Africa to attend this amazing wedding.
I had the honor of photographing Bunmi’s sister’s wedding as one of my first weddings over six years ago and was so thrilled when Bunmi contacted me after Livaughn proposed. We spoke over the phone and were able to meet once before their wedding to go over details and their timeline. They chose not to see each other before the ceremony, but the timeline allowed for us to photograph both the girls and guys around the Colonnade prior to the ceremony. The grounds at the Fairmont Hotel are beautiful, and although there wasn’t a lot of Washington, DC architecture, there were some beautiful spots within walking distance from the hotel, and we managed to take advantage of those both before and after the ceremony. Their cocktail hour was held in the courtyard outside of the Colonnade where the ceremony was held as well as the reception and as the sun went down we managed to get a few beautiful twilight photos before they danced the night away.
Bunmi and Livaughn, thank you so much for inviting me out to celebrate, and document your wedding with you. It was a truly beautiful and elegant affair!
To see a few of my favorite images from their wedding, click on the large image above, or any of the thumbnails below.
Friends and Family members can register to view all their images at Pictage by clicking here.
Melissa and Craig are getting married in November at the Temecula Creek Inn and contacted me after seeing another wedding I had photographed at the Temecula Creek Inn on my blog. After chatting about their wedding plans over the phone, we decided to meet up the next time they came to Temecula to visit the Temecula Creek Inn. We met up at Leonesse Cellars, which is one of my favorite wineries in Temecula and grabbed a glass of wine, sat on the back patio over looking the beautiful vineyard, barrel room and rolling hills of the Temecula Valley. They mentioned how they had originally planned to hold their wedding in Paso Robles, but that the Temecula Creek Inn made it so much easier for them … rather than figuring out how to bring in a tent, and chairs, and linens, and catering, Temecula Creek Inn offered all of that in their package. As we talked more I found out that Craig and Melissa were members at Tablas Creek Vineyard … my absolute favorite winery in Paso Robles. Which got us talking more about wine than their wedding, but eventually we made it back to wedding plans and details!
For Melissa and Craig’s engagement session I drove up from San Diego to Rancho Palos Verdes to meet up with them. They live right outside of Palos Verdes, and wanted to incorporate some of the feel of that area, since they’re wedding will be in Temecula. I had a great time exploring the beautiful communities around Palos Verdes before we started the shoot. Ultimately we decided to start at the historic Malaga Cove Library and the shops nearby.
After photographing around the library we wandered down to the shops. I absolutely loved all the mixed design of the buildings in the Malaga Cove shops, the old fig and eucalyptus trees, and as Melissa and I would agree, there was a lot of great texture down there!
Like any good relationship, Melissa and Craig have their rivalries … namely Arizona v. UCLA. When we first met in Temecula, one of their musts for the engagement photos was to incorporate their favorite teams. They even have a doormat for each team, and whichever team wins that year their doormat gets displayed out front until the following season. I think Craig is supposed to be enjoying coming home to his team’s name on the front step at this point!
After photographing around Malaga Cove and a quick wardrobe change, we drove over to the incredible Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes. This place is fantastic, and we had such a blast, although, I think we all felt like we were going to get kicked out at any moment. The landscaping and buildings around Terranea as well as the views of the cliffs, and Pacific ocean are incredible. There’s a beautiful cove below the resort, as well as a public walking path that goes around the outside. We, however, drove right up to the front gates, parked and wandered all through the resort.
Melissa and Craig, I had a great time hanging out with you guys in Palos Verdes, and am really looking forward to your wedding! Thanks for making the session so fun, and for the delicious fish tacos afterwards!
If you didn’t see Part I of Elise and Dave’s wedding hop back there now to check out the getting ready and ceremony photos as well as the details of their day. After the ceremony, Elise and Dave and family gathered around the fountain while guests headed to the Yacht Club at Herrington Harbor for cocktails hour. Elise was super thrilled about portraits with Dave, and as we finished up family and then bridal party photos, and they returned to the cocktail hour, Elise and Dave stayed behind, on the docks, on the beach, throughout the hotel grounds and working our way back to the Yacht Club.
After arriving to the Yacht Club Elise and Dave and their bridal party were announced upstairs to dinner followed by toasts and a welcome from Elise’s father. Their first dance was held downstairs while guests looked on and after that the dance floor was rocking all night long until the very end, when under increasing clouds, and dense humidity as Hurricane Irene approached Elise and Dave were sent with to a sparkler exit.
Click on the large image above or any of the small thumbnails below to view a few images from the second half of Elise and Dave’s wedding. Friends and family members can register at Pictage to view all the images from their fantastic wedding by clicking here!
Elise and Dave are rockstars! Seriously! And I don’t mean, they were rockstars posing it up in front of the camera. I mean, Elise and David met when David was auditioning for the band that Elise sings in. Like “ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!” (I”m doing my best Rob Halford here) 
So it should be no surprise that music would play a huge part in their wedding day, from the names of their tables, the decorations around the reception, the string quartet that played prior to the ceremony to the musical interlude generously provided by the ice cream truck traveling through Herrington Harbor Marina in the middle of their ceremony their day was filled with music from beginning to end.
When Elise and Dave planned their wedding for a Friday afternoon, they had no idea how fortuitous their decision would be. By Saturday afternoon most weddings up and down the Atlantic coast had been cancelled, as hurricane Irene made landfall, and traveled up the Chesapeake Bay area. I was on one of the last flights out of BWI on my way back to San Diego, passing through the clouds that preceded the coming storm. But on Friday, the weather was perfect and Elise and Dave celebrated with friends and family under light clouds that barely hinted at the coming storm. [continued below]
Elise and her girls got ready at the Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa and we had time to shoot some portraits there out at the docks before heading to the ceremony site at Herrington Harbor. They held their ceremony on the bridal lawn overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, with high white puffy clouds and cerulean skies. Elise’s father walked her down the aisle as Dave and his groomsmen waited. The ceremony was fantastic with readings by friends, and of course the music of the ice cream truck. After the vows, the ring exchange and the kiss, Elise and Dave recessed down the aisle past their guests, and as they reached the end of the aisle Dave let out a huge breath that it seems he must have been holding for the entire ceremony.
Click on the large image or any of the thumbnails above to see a few of the images from the first half of Elise and Dave’s wedding. Stay tuned! More images from the second half of Elise and Dave’s fantastic day coming tomorrow!
by Evan Bishop
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