Top Of The Town

1400 14th Street North
Arlingon, Virginia 22209
(703) 387-8696

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portraits.

I’m going to be honest here . . . I never thought it would be possible for two of the most attractive people I’ve ever seen to find each other, fall in love, and get married.  But I’m SO happy to be proven wrong. Patrick was looking to meet people in Arlington and joined the Arlington Young Democrats’ (AYD) softball team.  Kelly was already a member of AYD. The softball team captain – also the President of AYD – suggested members of the team come to an AYD meeting.

Patrick came to the meeting and noticed Kelly right away. When he describes it, he says that she was so “sparkly” and had a beautiful smile. After the meeting, everyone all split up into subcommittee break-out sessions. Patrick said he had no idea what any of the subcommittees were for, but that he was following Kelly to whichever subcommittee I was going to. Patrick and Kelly became friends first, then about 5 months later, they went out on their first date.

Fast forward …

It’s April 2, 2011, Patrick’s birthday.  Kelly and Patrick have the tradition of taking each other out each year for a really nice dinner for each others birthday.  Patrick said that he wanted to go to Marcel’s, which is Kelly’s favorite restaurant. She asked him why he chose it, but Patrick, having special plans of his own, told Kelly that he loved the restaurant too. Throughout the day, both Kelly and Patrick separately, called the restaurant 3 times during the day – Kelly, to make sure they did something special for Patrick’s birthday and Patrick to tell them of his proposal plans. Patrick had told the restaurant staff that he needed a candle in his dessert to go with his proposal.

After a wonderful dinner,  they brought out dessert. The staff, as requested, had a single candle in Patrick’s dessert and they had written “Happy Birthday” in chocolate on the plate. After Patrick closed his eyes and blew out his candle, he leaned in close, gave Kelly a kiss and said “The only thing I wish for is that you’ll spend the rest of your life with me.” And then pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

Kelly, completely shocked, started crying so Patrick, being the gentlemen that he is, opened the box for her.  “Yes” she said, through her tears and he asked “Is that a yes?” with a big smile on his face.

And I again, Kelly said, “yes!” Almost immediately thereafter the waiter brought another plate with chocolates on it and “Congratulations” written on the plate in chocolate. They popped champagne and all of the waiters congratulated us. It was a perfect evening!

We think the images from Kelly and Patrick’s wedding reflect their timeless style, elegance, and of course, love!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

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The Lodge At Little Seneca Creek

14500 Clopper Road #A
Boyds, Maryland 20841
(703) 618-0806

Gordon and Jenny’s Wedding!

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portrait.

How do you make a wedding unique?  How do you personalize it, so that your friends and family can really see your personality shine through?  These questions are pretty common for every bride and groom planning a wedding.  We’ve seen it done before, but not with quite as much flair as Gordon and Jenny’s wedding had.

Jenny’s dress was modern vintage — so beautiful!  Instead of lace, the edges were embroidered.  Mindy and I thought this was a very beautiful way to bring your personality out through your wedding gown.

What we loved the most about Gordon and Jenny’s wedding was the emotion.  Gordon and Jenny, I’ll admit, were not the ONLY ones to shed a tear or two.  There’s nothing better than to see two people who hit it off on their first date progress to the point of saying their ‘I Dos’ … to spending the rest of their lives together!  We know that these two will be happy forever!

We also loved their reception.  Every table had something personalized.  The sign in tables had thin pieces of wood with “Please log in” written on them!  We’ve never seen that before, and we’ve photographed a LOT of weddings!  To accent Gordon and Jenny’s choice of color, aqua and red, they had a specialty drink which was blue, complete with a Rock Candy swizzle stick!  All in all, everything was very detailed and flowed extremely well!  Take a look at the oodles of images we were able to capture of such an amazing day!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

April and Chris’ wedding at Chartwell Country Club was one of our favorites! We are so excited to announce that today, it’s being published in My Inspired Wedding!

Please be sure to check it out here!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Joriana and I are thrilled to announce that we received the 2012 Two Bright Lights Editors’ Choice Award. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the Two Bright Lights Network who demonstrate hard work and talent required to be featured repeatedly in our top magazines and blogs.

Among the thousands of photographers competing for this publication the Editor’s Choice represent the best-of-the-best.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

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Seaquins Ballroom

1300 Fording Island Road
Bluffton, South Carolina 229910
(843)-837-6161

Trapped in a heart of sand…

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portrait.

A chance meeting at a graduation party led to a a friendship that soon blossomed into a deeply felt love between these two.  Weeks turned to months and soon, Jeremy was down on one knee on  the beach where they had their first date — and Erica was  trapped  in a heart of sand at sunset — isn’t that a most romantic proposal story?

Erica certainly thought so!  From the Turquoise and Brown colors to the specialty wine served at each table, this wedding was full of details, fun and most especially the love of two hearts now together as one.  Thanks for including us and honoring us by choosing us to document your love story!

To get an overview of their special day, be sure to watch the slideshow below!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer
Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Joriana and I are thrilled to let you know that we received a Bride’s Choice award.  This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Clarendon Ballroom

3185 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22201
(703).469.2244

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portrait.

He says she asked him out on their first date.

She says,  it would’ve been rude to discuss dinner plans and not invite him along.

What may have started out as a social faux pas ended in love.

We asked Jen how she knew Dan was ‘the one’ — you want to hear her response?  It’s sure to melt your heart.  She said that she knew Dan was the one from the millions of people on this earth that she could’ve chosen from because she’s able to be herself around him.  They always have fun together.  And, of course, he sings along to Disney songs with her.

Dan said that family is very important to him, so when he took Jen home last Christmas to meet his parents,  he realized she was ‘the one’ by how well she got along with his family.  His mom LOVES her.  That’s when Dan started thinking about engagement rings.

Fast forward to Jen and Dan’s wedding day!  We think Jen and Dan’s vintage style wedding had as much charisma and charm as this gorgeous couple do!  What a privilege to document their beautiful smiles and the love they feel for each other so evident on their faces.

To get a quick overview of their day, be sure to watch their montage.  We hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Florist: Affordable Arranagements
Cake: Connie’s Cake Creations
Bridal Gown: Alfred Angelo
Hair Stylist: Jewel Hair Design
Makeup Artist: Makeup Artistry by Lori

Whitehall Manor

18301 Whitehall Estate Ln
Bluemont, Virginia 20135
(703)-948-2999

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portrait.

GO HOKIES!!

I thought I would get this post started off right — especially since Patrick and Ashley met at Virginia Tech!  If we went back to the beginning . . . Virginia Tech would be where it all started.  Patrick met Ashley on campus one night . . . immediately they hit it off discussing all different things, but mostly music.  They found that they loved the same bands and ‘emo’ music in general.  After that night, Patrick ‘had it bad’ as they say.  So bad, in fact, that he chased Ashley for two years.  Finally, Patrick couldn’t keep his feelings to himself for any longer.  So on Valentine’s day, he decided to send Ashley flowers from a secret admirer.  Ashley was so captivated by the flowers that she asked every mutual male friend if they were from him.  That night, Ashley’s quest for her secret admirer was fulfilled.  Really, it was the lyrics on the inside of the card that gave it away.

“Now you got me thinking

And I really think it’s true

You know sometimes the sun shines

Just for you … “

Ashley knew all along in the back of her mind, that those flowers were from Patrick.  On March 19, 2007, Ashley and Patrick became a couple.  And on one beautiful day in October, Ashley and Patrick became man and wife.  All the shared love songs, all the moments together with good friends and family, were all just a beginning to this new chapter in their lives.

We really can’t say enough good things about Patrick and Ashley.  We loved their wedding, loved their family and friends and loved them!  We hope you all like the images of such a wonderful couple!

We also had a great time with Patrick and Ashley at  Our Outdoor Studio for their engagement shoot.  Check it out here.

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

The Airlie Center

6809 Airlie Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187
(540) 347-1300

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portrait.

The Lovely Love Story:

The fierce dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice.  Although it was cold, he was pretty happy in there.  It was after all, his cage.  Then along came the lovely other dinosaur.  The lovely other dinosaur melted the dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.  I like this dinosaur thought the lovely other dinosaur.  Although he is fierce, he’s also tender and he is funny.   He is also quite clever, though, I will not tell him this for now.  I like this lovely other dinosaur, thought the dinosaur.  She is beautiful, and she is different . . . she smells so nice.  She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.  But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the lovely other dinosaur.  He is also overly fond of technology.  Are all dinosaurs so overly fond of technology?  But her mind skips from here and there so quickly, thought the dinosaur.  She is also uncommonly keen on feelings.  Are all  lovely other dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on feelings?  I will forgive his peculiarity and his fondness for technology, thought the lovely other dinosaur, for they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.  I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for feelings, thought the dinosaur for she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises.  Besides, I am not un-keen on feelings either.  Now the dinosaur and the lovely other dinosaur are old.  Look at them.  Together they stand on a hill telling each other stories, and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.  And that, my friends, is how it is with love.  Let us all be dinosaurs and lovely other dinosaurs together.  For the sun is warm and the world is a beautiful place.  (This is Maria and Erik’s love story).

As you could have guessed, Erik is the dinosaur that’s fond of technology.  And Maria is the lovely other dinosaur, so keen on feelings.  We were honored to be in their presence to witness their marriage … one dinosaur to another.  We loved how unique and individualized Erik and Maria’s wedding was.  The story that you read above had special significance to them — while they were dating, as a cute way to show Erik how much she cared about him, Maria put dozens of little dinosaurs all over his car . . . he soon returned the favor.

There was also a wine ceremony.  This was so incredibly cool.  Maria and Erik took a bottle of wine, one of the first that they had enjoyed together and put it in a beautiful, ornate wooden box.  During the ceremony, they placed letters, written to each other, only to be opened the following year on their first year wedding anniversary.  We loved, loved, LOVED this special part of their big day.

We know that Erik and Maria, like the dinosaur and the lovely other dinosaur, will be happy the rest of their days with the sun shining on their back.

We hope you enjoy the slideshow …

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

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People, people EVERYWHERE!

But we think images without random people are sooooo much kewler…so we got these shots…clients like Jen and Dan are the kewlest EVER and they deserve to have amazing images no matter who is around!

Jen and Dan's amazingness at the Lincoln Memorial - after session for their Wedding

Jen and Dan's amazingness at the Lincoln Memorial - after session for their Wedding

What do you think?

Reception: Belmont Country Club

Bridal Gown: Katherine’s Bridal

Florist: Lavender Fields

Cake Artist: Cake Panache

Cake Artist: Cupcake Heaven

DJ: DJ Derek Romanoff

Hair Stylist: Creative Images

Makeup Artist: Creative Images

Belmont Country Club

19661 Belmont Manor Lane

Ashburn, VA 20147

(703) 723-5330

Amanda and Sean at Belmont Country Club

POP!

CRACK!

POP!

The dazzling colors danced across the night sky.  Something so incredibly simple as a sparkle of light across the DC skyline and Sean just knew.  Timing can be everything and Sean wanted it to be a truly perfect moment when he asked Amanda to marry him.  Right there.  In those woods adjacent to the WWI Memorial.  To be his f o r e v e r.

Sean and Amanda had met three and half years earlier.  Both lived in different parts of the country, both reassigned to Washington, DC.   Work, they found out very soon, was not the only thing they had in common.  Acquaintance turned to friendship, friendship turned into “hey, I think you’re kinda cute”.  After many long distance phone calls, emails and texts later, that love developed into a marriage.  But not just ANY marriage.  This will be one amazing, awesome, fun, and any other happy adjective you can throw in there matrimony.

The wedding took place at swanky Belmont Country Club.  Can you say exclusive?!  It was a truly beautiful day but it wasn’t the scenery that knocked us off our feet.

It was Amanda and Sean.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a more relaxed bride.  There were no worries, no cares, just happiness and an eagerness to be happily married.  When we asked Amanda if it was okay to hang her dress from the staircase (where it would dangle about two stories) her response was:  No problem!  I hired you guys because I wanted unique, artistic images.

The reception had everything from dancing to bacon maple flavored cupcakes.  I mean, what more could you want!?!

And we definitely think that the trust Sean and Amanda put in us paid off . . . we hope they do too when they see the images below!

Take a look at Sean and Amanda’s Sneak Peek Slideshow:

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Airlie Conference Center

6809 Airlie Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187
(540)-347-1300

I have a feeling this is going to get long so don’t mind me!  There’s just so much to say about this couple who’s quickly become one of our favorites.  Like how their personalities are amazing and funny and we couldn’t get enough of it.  Or how we loved all the details of their beautiful wedding day.  If I had to tell you everything we loved about this wedding, we’d be here a really . . . really . . . really long time.  Get the picture?

So, I’ll just go over the highlights.

If I had to pick a theme for Jen and Jim’s wedding, it would probably be:  Family Love.  Jen and Jim were have been friends and workmates since 2006.  One day that friendship took a turn for the better and the two started dating.  Fast forward to 2010.  Every year Jen’s family has a beach getaway/BBQ.  Could there be a better combination of things?  This year’s vacation, however, would go down in history.  This was the one time each year when the entire family would be all together and in one place.  So, plans were made.  Food was bought.  And the vacation home (ironically named:  The Next Step) was booked!  Jim’s dad was even cooking.

The beach that night was perfect.  The sky the color of raspberry sherbet.  The chicken with homemade BBQ sauce had been eaten and dessert was on the way.  Everyone was looking forward to eating some homemade strawberry shortcake when Jim points and Jen and says, “Swan, let’s go”.  Following Jim, they take a walk with the most perfect backdrop of the sun setting.  Suddenly, Jim stops, turns Jen towards him, gets on one knee and proposes.  Jen’s heart immediately goes bananas and all she can think is, Jim proposed!  Jim proposed!  Finally, she says “Oh my goodness!  YES!”

It was dark before finally reaching both families who were happily waiting with congratulatory hugs and champagne.

We tell you this story because it says everything about who Jen and Jim are as a couple.  We love how incredibly close to their family each of them are and how, because of that, they had an amazing wedding day.

It was very important that each and every person feel loved and cherished throughout Jen and Jim’s wedding.  The wedding itself Jen described as a “group effort”.  Jen’s dad spent countless hours hand carving, sanding and staining 16 different walnut boxes — he even burned Jen and Jim’s names and wedding date on the bottom of each one.  Each table was named after a direct relative of Jen or Jim and has a painting of them made by Jim’s Mom.  Jen’s dad collected various branches from the park across the street, where he lives, halved them and cut slits to make the card holders and also little stands for the pictures with the name and table number.  But wait, there’s more!

Jen designed the earrings she wore using small diamonds from a ring of her late grandmother and pearls from her great grandmother given to her by her parents as a birthday present.  Each bouquet had a special pin attached to it.  Jen’s bouquet attached a pin to her bouquet that Jim’s aunt gave her that belonged to his late grandmother.

I cannot express how fortunate you two are to have each other and to have such loving families who want nothing more than to see you happy!

We hope you enjoy the slideshow we’ve designed for you!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

The Carlyle Club

411 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 548-8899

Ever After Visuals is based out of the Northern VA area.  We are a mother-daughter photography team who are photojournalists.  Our focus is on capturing the emotion of the moment!

We’ve heard loads of love stories.  Loads.  It’s one of our favorite things about getting to know a couple.  No love story is ever exactly the same.  We especially love unique love stories, like Dan and Stephanie’s.  Dan and Stephanie met and dated a decade ago for a very brief time.  And although the time they spent together was great, their lives were taking them two separate ways.

Fast forward ten years.  Social networking really is amazing.  You can stalk, spy, follow, tweet, update 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  You can even reconnect.  Stephanie goes to her computer one seemingly normal day to check her Facebook.  One new message.  Hmm, who could that be from?  Yep, you guessed it!  Dan whose first statement is: Please tell me you’re not married!

Many more messages were sent.  And even though Dan was in California and Stephanie in Virginia, love found a way — which leads us to the wedding day.  The theme was vintage.  Mindy and I have ALWAYS wanted to photograph a vintage inspired wedding.  I would describe Dan and Stephanie’s Wedding as classy vintage.  The day started off at Del Ray United Methodist Church which was a great location being so close to Old Town Alexandria where Stephanie grew up.  Old Town has an amazing vintage feel and we were even able to stop by Murphy’s — an old bar where Dan and Stephanie had one of their first dates.

One of our favorite parts was the reception held at the Carlyle Club.  This place screams vintage.  The card holders, the table linens, the dances, everything was classically vintage.  It was definitely one of our favorites venues to photograph.

We really appreciated Dan and Stephanie and their love story that we were able to witness all throughout their wedding day.  Thank you for choosing us!  We are deeply honored.  We truly hope you enjoy the images we were able to capture and through them, the story we were able to tell.  Your story.

To get a quicker overview of the wedding, as opposed to going through the over 1,800 images we took, please look over their slideshow here.

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Bel Air Mansion

537 Bel Air Road
Belle Isle State Park
Lancaster, Virginia 22503
(804) 462-5030

Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter wedding photography team, who specialize in wedding photojournalism in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We also do engagement photography, destination weddings, destination wedding, day after wedding photography, trash the dress, family portraits, lifestyle portraits.

He watched the ice in his glass swirl around for the umpteenth time…he loved his sister, but this potluck dinner that she made him tag along to was sooooooo booooooring…maybe some more liquid refreshment, he thought, as he moved toward the bar.   As his eyes lifted, a smile touched the corners of his mouth…here was someone that looked anything but boring!

Soon he confirmed that this beauty WAS anything but boring! Her petite figure, and long dark hair attracted him. Minutes turned to hours as the evening progressed and he met, flirted, laughed and then wooed her.  Soon that first warm glow spread from his heart until his life was full of love  for one Lissette Vaquerano.

And as their love grew, Tim introduced Lissette to the things he loves — nature, canoeing, and fishing.  And Lissette found that she didn’t mind those things.  No, she didn’t mind those things at all as long as Tim was right there by her side, that warm glow now having spread to her heart and she found that like a steady heartbeat, it grew and grew.

Still, she needed some convincing to come on the first boat trip. As the sun shone and her fingertips trailed in the water, a smile touched the corner of her eyes. But when the storm clouds gathered and then let loose with some of the biggest rain drops she’d ever seen, the smile never faded — and that’s when she knew that she wanted that same warm glow to always fill her heart.

One day, one question “Do you like living here?” was followed by THE question and then a big, beautiful diamond ring!  And every day, as they awoke, he would smile his shy smile, look into her soft brown eyes and ask again “Are you sure you want to get married?” and she would answer, just as she had when he asked her the first time, her heart bursting with that familiar warm glow!

And so it was that Belle Air Mansion was the perfect backdrop for the ceremony.  From the warm glow of the sun as it sparkled across the beautiful view of the Rappahannock River, their love of the water was perfectly incorporated!  Under bright blue skies, Tim and Lissette declared their love for each other, witnessed by family and friends who traveled from near and far, surrounded by all that mattered.

Gardening, the beautiful outdoors and everything French had to be incorporated in this special day for it to truly represent all that is unique about this couple.  With squares of lace hanging from nearby tables along with candles including Tim and Lissette’s names on each and every one, they wanted their wedding to be all about the details. The beautifully colored Conch shell favors were special — with Tim and Lissette’s names hanging from them, thanking each and every guest for coming to their beautiful wedding.

One of our favorite parts of the wedding was the first dance.  Lissette looked into Tim’s eyes and the emotion was so overwhelming.  A moment so perfect, words can’t describe, but if we had to put it into words, it would be that warm glow burst into a love that we know will warm their lives forever.

We give our best to you guys and thank you again, for allowing us to be a part of your truly special day.

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Noelle and Van’s wedding at Airlie Center was one of our favorites! We are so excited to announce that today, it’s being published in Borrowed and Bleu!

Please be sure to check it out here!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Romantic…Fun…that’s what weddings are….just like Lissette’s and Tim’s! More to come soon….

Sunset Romance for Lissette and Tim

Surprises all around...

National Harbor

137 National Avenue
Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745
(301)-203-4170

Ever After Visuals is a photography studio in love with fashion, emotion and couples in love.  We are a mother daughter photography team with a focus on wedding and portrait photojournalism.

It didn’t start off as anything.  Really, it was nothing.  He would go in, she would go out.  Never really knowing that the person they would spend the rest of their life with was living right next door.  a glance.  A smile.  A gentle, slightly awkward hello…both Juniors at The University of Richmond, Ryan and Kara were randomly selected to be neighbors.  And so it started…but languished…until Senior year.

College is busy and it’s quite easy to go a whole year without ever seeing your next door neighbor.  Fortunately, for their senior year, Ryan and Kara were AGAIN selected to be neighbors.  This time, things were different.  So different in fact that Ryan knew he had found the one woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Smiles turned to kisses.  Awkwardness dissolved into the comfort of two lives intertwined to culminate on a wedding day with blue skies and perfection. And on this most special wedding day, this magical couple let it be know that they    really knows how to make an appearance.  As soon as Kara told us a few details about her wedding day we could not WAIT to photograph this gorgeous couple, pier-side with fireworks to boot.  I mean really, who could ask for more?

The day started off at the Gaylord National Hotel.  Ryan and Kara were both getting dressed in separate areas of the hotel.  First of all, the Gaylord is a beautiful hotel.  A beautiful location +  a beautiful bride who let us do our artistic ‘thing” =  lots of fun with bridal images.  Kara, thank you for standing so beautifully in what must have looked to you like a non-descript hallway in front of a bathroom — you are gorgeous, and the images truly don’t do you justice…but we thank you for allowing us to create them!

The wedding took place on the pier at National Harbor.  The backdrop was beautiful.  And even though it rained that morning, the sky cleared, the sun came out and it proceeded to be a perfect day.

After that, everyone was ready to party so we headed over to the Sunset Room at National Harbor.  This room was a perfect choice in my opinion as it overlooks the entire harbor.  So as Ryan and Kara had some fun with us as we photographed them, their guests were able to enjoy the amazing view as the sun went down.

Oh, and did I mention there were fireworks!?!  It was a photographer’s dream.  And with a couple in love to add to the frame, there really wasn’t much we would change.  The who day really was beautiful!

A special thanks to Ryan and Kara for allowing us to document such a wonderful day.

We also had a great time with Ryan and Kara at  Our Outdoor Studio for their engagement shoot.  Check it out here.

Kara had such vibrant colors for her wedding day. We loved the contrast!

What a beautiful bride, don't you think?

We just love photographing beautiful couples in unique locations like at the Gaylord National Hotel!

We thought she looked like a Barbie -- so pretty!

Fun formals at the Gaylord. We loved how carefree the bridesmaids were!

We love details! And these bouquets we fell in love with -- we couldn't help but photograph them!

Isn't her ring gorgeous? Nice job, Ryan!

The Gaylord National Hotel has a great view from the top!

Obviously we love reflections. It didn't hurt that it was a perfect day!

Do you see the yellow-keaved trees in the background? I think they decided to match Ryan and Kara's Wedding colors

We love dark and moody images -- this a perfect example but still showing the happiness Kara felt about marrying Ryan

See the reflection on the shiny floor? You would never guess where we took this!

We loved the cermony location of Ryan and Kara's Wedding -- the pier at National Harbor. It was really pretty.

Ryan's face when he saw Kara coming down the aisle. Priceless.

We love this image -- it's so emotional. A picture really does say a thousand words!

Do you see the fluffy white clouds in the background? So pretty!

The kiss! We loved their model-esque pose

The bridal party looked so nice with the bridesmaids in their beautiful navy dresses and the groomsmen in their cream vests

Do you think they were happy?

It was a hot day but you would never tell. These two were the perfect models

The National Harbor has some amazing elements that made our job as wedding photographers a lot of fun!

Ryan and Kara's first dance as a married couple.

The parent dances. They were definitely having fun

The Sunset Room at National Harbor is an amazing venue. We did indeed get to watch the sun go down on a beautiful day

Did I mention we got to photograph Ryan and Kara against FIREWORKS! Totally amazing experience!

Be sure to check out more of our work if you are looking for a Northern VA Wedding photographer

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

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