When two people are in love, truly in love, well, it’s an amazing thing — you see it in the way that I and me becomes us. Working with Matt and Lucy, we saw this right away — the decisions they made about their wedding, they made together every step of the way with calmness, respect and love. It’s just the way they treat each other. Devout, loyal, and oh so very much in love, these two start their marriage with all the pressures that being a doctor and a nurse are sure to bring. We feel honored that these two would share their day with us and that we have the awesome privilege of documenting their relationships with those they love on their wedding day.

Matt and Lucy, thanks for being sooooo easy to work with! We have to say, this is the first time we’ve been served courses at a wedding — it was so grand to see the care you showed your guests and we thank you for making us feel special by including us. We really appreciate clients who make us feel like family!

Things we loved:

That Lucy wanted their images to reflect that it was their day, not just hers
We love that Lucy freely expressed the emotion she was feeling
Matt’s face when he saw Lucy for the first time
Lucy’s parents — Theresa was just the sweetest. And Louie, well, we are total sucker for a guy that cries. We pretty much all melted down when this father hugged his daughter as his little girl for the last time
Matt’s Family — Lots of love all around here!
Mark and Nate — The best brothers a girl could have! A special thanks for all the help you gave us — a shout out to Mark for his uber swing dancing with the bride.
Jennifer and Tara — Wow, two of the prettiest bridesmaids that were just as sweet on the inside. We could have continued to photograph them ALL day!
Michael and Scott — Happiness is GQ groomsmen willing to do their thing for us…thanks so much
The handmade quilt that everyone contributed to — what a lovely present!
That Matt surprised Lucy with his song choice for their first dance — we could tell she loved the song he chose!
That we got to be part of this wedding and share the love of their special day!

Click here to check out Lucy and Matt’s SNEAK PEAK slideshow!

Happy anniversary Travis and Christine!

(See the awesome picture we took of Gary and his car).

Shot at Ever After Visual's Outdoor Studio; Sterling, Virginia

We were so very excited when we received the call from Monica about doing a portrait shoot on our big blue couch!

Shot at Ever After Visual's Outdoor Studio; Sterling, Virginia

“Mindy and Joriana are enormously talented and their photos are meaningful and artistic…they capture the heart of what the day means. I was not as focused on this part of our wedding, but truly, they show you that what you are investing in is history, family, and what will truly be a treasure throughout your life and an heirloom. Their slide show, as I was told by many family and friends, brought tears to their eyes…and then there was the engagement shoot (fun and phenomenal result), the guest book, the album slideshow, the ALBUM itself…they’ve become a major part of our wedding, and I’m grateful that we chose them. I can’t imagine now how I ever neglected thinking about this part of the day.

And, importantly - they’re kind, easy-going, and absolutely lovely to make part of your day, although through all their smiles they MAKE IT HAPPEN. I had 1,200 perfect shots to enjoy.”

When we watched them dance, we felt that these two were perfectly matched — for us, it’s so special when two smart, funny, amazing people such as Seth and Ilse find each other.

Ilse’s vows to Seth really struck a cord with us — what better way to remember them than to feature them in their custom-designed album?

Check out the Album design for Seth and Ilse and let us know what you think!

Click here to check out Seth and Ilse’s Album slideshow!

Don’t you agree? Be sure to check it out and leave your comment!

Click here to check out Bobbi and Jeff’s slideshow!

In the meantime, enjoy your upcoming holiday!

Mindy & Joriana

What a great day to be a photographer!

Hope you like it!

And the words of Coldplay’s song say it all about this couple’s wedding:

It’s such a perfect day
It’s such a perfect day
Now the sky could be blue
I don’t mind
Without you it’s a waste of time

Check out the Album design for Jeff and Bobbi and let us know what you think!

Click here to check out Jeff and Bobbi’s Album slideshow!

Click here to check out Larry and Juliane’s Album slideshow!

This couple is soooo unique — both training to be doctors, they hired us before they met us — they just looked over our portfolio on our website and called us sight unseen. What fun it was to meet up with them during the cherry blossoms and take some gorgeous engagement images of them — that’s when their couple personality really started to shine through. We knew that Seth was going to be fun to work with when he climbed the tree at the basin — how kewl is that? And he was great fun as he laughed, smiled and danced with great joy throughout the day.

Ilse has the most beautiful green eyes to go with her striking red hair — a match made in heaven for this photographers lens, truly. I found myself just wanted to take shot after shot of her — one of those brides that truly doesn’t have a bad side. Ilse kept the medieval theme by choosing a gown that was right at home in The Cloisters Castle. With embroidered roses on the bodice, and in her bouquet, and on her gloves, too, Ilse made my heart turn over when she talked about planning to wear this particular wedding dress for the last ten years — and how she couldn’t wait to see Seth’s face. I just love seeing the groom’s face light up when he sees his bride and Seth’s face did not disappoint.

What an awesome location The Cloisters is! Lots of great locations all across the property, a windmill in the back, spiral staircase and turret — not to mention a dance floor inside big enough to do the Jewish wedding dance of the hora!

That dance was slightly outdone by the bride and groom’s first dance though…they chose to really dance! Listening to the fast tempo of “Sway” and watching the smiles on both of their faces, the twinkle in their eyes as they looked at each and enjoyed the quick and intricate steps while their friends cheered and clapped — well, it’s added to the list of reasons we love photographing weddings.

Click here to check out Ilse and Seth’s SNEAK PEAK slideshow!

Thank you both so much for letting us play a part in your special day.

Check out the Album design for Ryan and Valerie and let us know what you think!

Click here to check out Ryan and Valerie’s Album slideshow!

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Click here to check out Chris and Astrid’s Guestbook Slideshow!

Check out the Album and see if you agree!

Click here to check out Ken and Jessica’s Album slideshow!

We loved that Chris and Astrid picked an urban location — and what better place than Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia! Those two are playful and fun, romantic at ease in front of the camera — and above all, in love! It really comes across that not afraid to show how they feel about each other.

So the words to the song for their slideshow has an urban beat, but it’s the words “All I want is for you to be happy and take this moment to make you my family and finally you have found something perfect” that really fit them.

We think Chris and Astrid are perfect for each other!

Click here to check out Chris and Astrid’s slideshow!

The highest compliment for us as photographers is to be hired by a photographer. So when Bobbi Parker asked us to come to Norfolk to photograph her wedding, we were overwhelmed with the honor. Bobbi, who just graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design, assured us that she had searched high and low before choosing us to document the start of her family.

The honor was truly all ours as we got to know this wonderful couple — Bobbi, is truly gorgeous inside and out — and just totally unique. We LOVE all the kewl things that added to her special day! Each one added it’s own romantic part to the love story of Bobbi and Jeff.

Norfolk Botanical Garden was the perfect choice. No matter where we were — and we were all over in our golf cart cheerfully chauffeured by Cindy (thanks for everything you do) — the sweet smell of honeysuckle wafted through the air. It just added this wonderful touch to the whole day.

Bobbi is just this really kewl, unique person — a juxtoposition really. At first glance, her gorgeous dress, the hair, the pearls all spoke to me of a person who values tradition and timelessness, but you don’t have to scratch the surface very far to see that Bobbi is a calm planner and a real creative gal — she loves to have fun , loves her family, and loooooooves Jeff.

One of my absolute favorites parts of the day was Bobbi’s trip down the aisle, which started with the familiar strains of “Here Comes the Bride” — only to change to “The Pink Panther Theme”! Be sure to watch the slideshow to see how much all the guests enjoyed this fun and personal entrance!

And I have to mention the gift that Bobbi sent up to Jeff right before the wedding — a pair of socks for his ‘cold feet’ — the look on Jeff’s face when he opened them was truly priceless!!!!!

Yes, it was 106 degrees (I have an image of the thermometer to prove it!) but the heat was made bearable by the SnoZone snowcones — what a fabulous idea that I hope one of my future brides steals! They were sooooooo good and really hit the spot!

The snocones were a first for us at a wedding — but not the first wedding that we felt that familiar lump in our throat. When Bobbi and Jeff stepped to the side under a beautiful trellis and spoke their vows to each other, Bobbi cried. Jeff cried. I cried. Even Joriana cried. It was just one of the most beautiful moments.

And Bobbi — well, she is just a gorgeous girl with great depth who I expect we will see great things from. Jeff, Joriana and I think that you are one fortunate guy to have landed such a beauty with brains and heart.

Click here to check out Bobbi and Jeff’s SNEAK PEAK slideshow!

Juliane and Larry are one of those couples that we immediately clicked with — they got our style of creating images, they got our style of music — they got us! We love how real they are, how they are all about the important things, and best of all, how much their respective families mean to them.

Joriana and I have talked about the strange sense of deja vu we have with Juliane and Carolyn, her mom. They are like us — there is this strong family bond that is almost palpable. They tell each other exactly what they think — and even though Juliane is independent, it’s important to her to know what her mom thinks. Now, that doesn’t mean that she will agree with it!

That is so us — in fact, Joriana and I decided that we would be exactly like Juliane and Carolyn on Joriana’s wedding day — there will be lots of joy and stress, rushing and laughter, tears, hugs and kisses. Juliane’s dad, Warren, bustling around a house taken over by his girls — and literally full of girls from top to bottom — just made us chuckle. We love that Larry had his father as his best man — how sweet is that?

We couldn’t help it. We tried not to. But we fell in love with Juliane and Larry and we fell in love with their families, too.

It wasn’t hard. It started with their engagement images, and just watching the way that they treat each other. Larry’s always thinking of her with the small things. We love the way he looks at her with that look we’ve come to know and love — that groom look that says “I can’t believe she is marrying me! I’m so lucky!” Juliane had the bride equivalent, that smile of pure joy — ALL day.

One thing I wouldn’t have missed are the speeches and poems — Larry’s surprise reading to Juliane — well, it made our hearts melt. We are so happy we were part of their day. Just looking over the images from their first dance literally brought tears to my eyes — there is much written on their faces — so much happiness, so much laughter and so much love.

Favorite moments of the day for us:
The look on Carolyn’s face when she first saw Juliane.
Finishing up the family formals moments before the first cloud burst.
Working with bridesmaids that are as nice as they were beautiful.
Anytime we get to have a 49 Rolls in the images, it’s always a great moment!
Rocking music from Who’s Ya Daddie — wow, what an awesome band!
Juliane’s Father/Daughter dance — love, love, love that they did something different — it was way cool! Larry’s Mother/Son dance was so sweet, really special.

And our most favorite part of the day?
Finding out that Emily is NOT married, so that we will get to not only stay in touch with Juliane and Larry, but hopefully get to work with this awesome family again!

For Larry and Juliane, we wish for you peace, joy and a long life filled with love and laughter!

Click here to check out Juliane and Larry’s SNEAK PEAK slideshow!