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.

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!

Friends and family can go to Pictage to register to see all the images from Elise and Dave’s wedding as soon as they’re released by clicking here.

Jessica and Chris held their wedding at the Herrington Harbor Marina about thirty miles south of Annapoils, Maryland and just north of Chesapeake Beach.  Located right on the Chesapeake Bay it’s a beautiful location with several lawns for weddings and I’ve had the pleasure photographing weddings here several times.  Since Jessica and Chris were planning their wedding from North Carolina, Jessica’s mother and father took leading roles in many of the plans and details for their Maryland which for Jessica and Chris as well as Chris’ family ended up being a destination wedding not just for me, coming from San Diego, but for them as well.  While I was in Maryland last year, I had the opportunity to meet Jessica’s parents in person, but hadn’t yet met Jessica or Chris. After arriving at Herrington Harbor  I dropped off some equipment at the Yacht Club and walked the short distance to the room where Jessica was getting ready.  I hadn’t been to Herrington on the Bay in a while, and they have totally redone the hotel portion of their property, and it not only looks great, it photographs so much better![blog post continued below]

While Jessica was finishing up getting ready, I went back to the yacht club where the guys were hanging out prior to the ceremony. It was a hot and humid August day, so everyone was taking shelter and getting a drink before heading to the bridal lawn for the ceremony. After the ceremony guests went to the yacht club for cocktail hour while we stayed behind taking portraits at the docks and on the beach.  After Jessica and Chris joined their guests for the end of cocktail hour they were invited upstairs to dinner, and to a welcome from Jessica’s father, as well as toasts by Chris’ best man, and Jessica’s maid of honor.  Not to be out done by a blessing from Jessica’s niece.  After dinner, Jessica and Chris went back downstairs for their first dance accompanied by a few guests, while others stayed upstairs to watch the dancing below.  One of the unique features of the yacht club is the open ceiling on the first floor which gives a great view of the dance floor as well as the second level.  After their dances and cake cutting, guests started moving to the dance floor, and before the end of the night, Chris and Jessica joined in and danced until the last song.

Click on the large image, or any of the thumbnails above to view a few images from Jessica and Chris’ wedding day!

If you didn’t see the first half of Frank and Jean’s wedding at the Johns Hopkins, University Baptist Church on the blog yesterday, hop on back there to take a look at their ceremony and portraits at the church before we all headed to the Valley Country Club for their reception.  I’ve photographed several weddings at the Valley Country Club and it really has a unique feel to it.  The front porch is a beautiful location to take in the evening air, the main floor and ballroom have a great charm and the bar filled with dark wood and Art Donovan’s sports memorabilia is pure man cave! It’s got something for everyone is what I’m trying to say!

Jean and Frank were introduced into their reception straight into their first dance.  I was lucky enough to see a few of their dance moves during our engagement session together, so I knew they were not going to simply rock back and forth on the dance floor.   Following their first dance, a close family friend provided a blessing for dinner then toasts.   As the daylight faded outside and just before cake cutting I took Frank and Jean out in front of the mansion for some beautiful twilight shots.  After cutting the cake, the rest of the night was filled with dancing by Frank and Jean and family and friends.  My good friend and outstanding videographer, Matt Buerhaus was there through it all to document the video of their whole day.  Check his page out for their upcoming video spotlight!

Jean and Frank, I had a great time meeting you at your engagement shoot and was so thrilled to be a part of your wedding day!   Thank you for including me in your plans!

If you haven’t yet registered to see all of the photos from Frank and Jean’s wedding and engagement photos on Pictage, click here.

You’ll remember Frank and Jean from their  in Fells Point and at the Cylburn Arboretum engagement session.  I met with them for the first time at their engagement session, just before hopping on a plane to San Juan for Valerie and Ray’s destination wedding in Puerto Rico.  After their wedding, I flew back to Baltimore for Frank and Jean’s wedding at the University Baptist Church in Baltimore.  Traveling so much for weddings can be exhausting, but it can also be exhilarating, this two week span was exhilerating!!!

I had spoken with Jean over the phone while I was in San Diego about her and Frank’s upcoming wedding.  She had been referred to me by Bridget and Matt … I shot their wedding so long ago, I can’t even provide a link to their blog post because, well, back then I didn’t have a blog! (I love my couples, and I love that even years later, they’re still referring me … even after I moved across the country!) Any way, I spoke with Jean on the phone about their plans, and even though their wedding was coming up so soon, it worked out perfectly as my travel plans were taking me back East just before their wedding anyway.  Since, they wanted to have an engagement session, we scheduled to meet in person the day before I left for Old San Juan, then fly back from Puerto Rico to document their wedding in Baltimore. Again, it can be exhausting, but so much fun to travel this much!!!

Jean and Frank chose the University Baptist Church, just across from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore as it was her childhood church, and even she had moved out of the city, many of her family still lived in Baltimore, and went to the church.  Jean got ready in the back of the church right next to the small chapel.  After the ceremony, I took Frank and Jean back to the chapel to get some quiet portraits of the two of them.  It’s such a beautiful little area in the church with fantastic light!

To see  a few images from the first part of their day click on the large image or any of the thumbnails above.  I’ll be posting the second half of their wedding day including their reception at the Valley Country Club tomorrow!

Friends and family members can log onto to see all their wedding photos as well as their engagement photos at pictage.

Yesterday I posted the first half of the images from Kate and Eric’s Temecula Creek Inn destination wedding which took you through the getting ready and ceremony as well as the portraits right after the ceremony.  Today, I wanted to finish their wedding images by sharing their classic and rustic designed table and details.  Kate was inspired by the huge tree which would oversee their ceremony at the Stone House, and all the details from their day seemed to spring from this old monarch.  Not only did I want to emphasize that in the ceremony, I wanted to make sure all their images reflected that feel throughout the day.  I found that the old Stone House, as well as all the details Kate selected helped greatly.

On another note, I’ve done several smaller intimate weddings and whether those weddings are for local guests or for a destination wedding, it’s rare that there’s a lot of dancing when there’s only a handful of people.  This obviously wasn’t the case for Kate and Eric’s guests.  All 28 of them made it to the dance floor at some point in the evening, and even when Eric was taking a break off to the side with his brothers, his and Kate’s dad, they sat close by and watched as Kate and the flowergirls and her sisters, and mom tore it up! This was truly a celebratory night and it was finally capped off when Brian Stodart wrapped up the night with a mashup of New York, New York and Sweet Caroline for both the New York and the Boston Fans.

Again, friends and family members, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign into Kate and Eric’s Pictage event page to be notified when all their images are posted and receive your print credit towards your first order!

I met Kate in the barrel room at Wiens Family Cellars in Temecula valley while she was scouting locations for her destination wedding from the East Coast and I was photographing Jeff and Betsy’s ten year renewal.  Months later I received a call from Kate about photographing her wedding at the Temecula Creek Inn.  After scouting locations Kate found the Temecula Creek Inn, one of only a few locations in all of Temecula that can both host a wedding as well as the guests she was inviting.  Since she and Eric were planning their wedding as a destination for their 28 guests coming from Boston and New York they wanted to have a single location that could play host to their entire guest list for an extended weekend.  Most of their guests arrived on the previous Friday, and they held their wedding ceremony on Tuesday.

It was a beautiful day and I met Kate early in the day while she was starting to get ready.  A sense of calm filled the hotel room while her sister ironed, and her mother looked on while Kate had her hair and makeup done.  In an instant all that changed with the arrival of Kate’s eight beautiful flower girls.  While Katelyn was finishing up Kate’s makeup a flurry of white dresses, blonde and red hair furiously filled the hotel room and the outside patio where Kate was.  All of the sudden, the energy of a wedding filled the place … now there was primping to be done, makeup for the girls, and Kate’s dress to get into!!!

The Temecula Creek Inn provided me a golf cart to get from the hotel room to the ceremony site at the Stone House which was fantastic and fun! I’m not a golfer, so I don’t often have the opportunity to cruise around in golf carts, and for some reason when I do I feel like I’ve just stolen a go cart from a track.  Any way, I safely arrived at the location to find Eric and his brothers waiting for the ceremony.  The location was incredible! I’m not sharing it with you in this post, because … well … there are simply too many fantastic images for me to get all into one post, but Kate did a fantastic job designing the look of their wedding reception.

To see a few of my favorite images from the first part of Kate and Eric’s day click on the image above or any of the thumbnails below.  I’ll be posting the second half of the images tomorrow, so check back for all the details at the stone house as well as the super fun reception!

Kate and Eric, congratulations on your wedding, I couldn’t have been happier to have been a part of your day with both of your incredible families!

To Kate and Eric’s friends and family members: Have you signed into their Pictage event page yet? By registering now, you will be notified as soon as their wedding images are ready to view and you’ll receive a gift certificate towards your first print purchase by registering early!

Vendors:

Location: Temecula Creek Inn

Makeup: Katelyn Warmuth

Band & DJ: Brian Stodart

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is a beautiful landmark, not only as a historic hotel, but for its noted hauntings, and the inspiration it provided to Stephen King for his novel ‘The Shining’.  For Emily though, it meant more.  Emily’s aunt lives in Estes Park, and this town was the backdrop of many family vacations.  Knowing that they were planning a destination wedding, Emily and Brian chose Estes Park and ultimately the Stanley Hotel as the location for their wedding.

The small and intimate wedding was held in the Manor House, decorated with leaves and rocks in fitting with the gorgeous Rocky Mountains just outside the windows.  As Emily was walked down the long hall by her father into the ceremony room, Brian lit up, the family’s lit up and Emily lit up.  Filling the small dark wood room with light and love.  After the ceremony, Brian and Emily and I drove to the MacGregor Ranch for some portraits.  By the time we returned, the families were all in the music room of the main hotel awaiting Brian and Emily’s introductions.  Emily’s sister and Matron of Honor, Megan, provided the toast, talking about the years of dreaming Emily had spent one wedding plans.  Years, and a law degree, and service in the Navy as a JAG officer got in the way of those dreams for a little while, but ultimately, it was in the service that she met Brian and she began to start dreaming of those wedding plans again.  After Megan’s toast the floor was opened for family members to toast, and after a few well wishes, Brian took the floor to toast his new bride.  I don’t think I was the only one with a tear in my eye when Brian finished his toast, but he managed to hold it together quite well.

The rest of the night was filled with dancing, and pies, and trick or treating for the kids and the not so kid kids!

I love all my couples. I love that they let me into those special days, those momentous occasions, but Emily and Brian are different.  I have known Emily and her family since high school.  I was first friends with her sister Megan, then worked for her mother at her fund raising company as one of my first real jobs (I’m still known as Dr. Sugar in that family … long story!) and ironically when I moved across the country from Maryland to San Diego, she had just been stationed out here, so I had the great opportunity to meet and spend time with Brian whenever he was in town.  I truly feel a part of Emily’s family, her father still calls me son every time I see him and I know her mother considers me an unofficial family member as well.  I couldn’t have been more honored to have Emily ask me to photograph her wedding, and felt overwhelmed much of the day from getting ready to the ceremony to the last dance.

To see a few of my favorite images from the day, click on the large image above or any of the thumbnails below.  For family members that would like to see all the images from the day go to their images on Pictage.

Megan and Chris’ wedding at the Baltimore Basilica with their reception at the Gramercy Mansion was both elegant and full of East Coast fall charm.  Megan and Chris met me just over a year ago at the beautiful Ladew Gardens for engagement photos.  They were excited about being able to get engagement portraits in the fall as they were planning their wedding for almost exactly a year later.  The Basilica is a beautiful church, and Megan managed to get us access to the basement for some portraits with her and Chris after the ceremony.  On the way to the Gramercy, we stopped along the side of the road to make some portraits in the beautiful fields surrounding northern Baltimore.

Megan and her friends did all the decorations at the Gramercy and this was one fantastic DIY wedding! She incorporated the green seed pods that we had found during their engagement session at Ladew Gardens the year before as well as doing a beautiful job decorating the terrace where dinner was held. The held a family style dinner with long tables surrounding the outside of the terrace.  To see a few of the images from the wedding, click on the thumbnails below, or the large image above.

Friends and family can register to see all of the images at Pictage.