Holland Photo Arts Blog – Charlottesville Wedding Photographers

We’ve been lucky enough to have a few Winter weddings keeping us busy and are also hard at work on a complete website redesign, but since we don’t have quite as many weddings or portraits this time of year to blog about, we thought we’d take a moment to highlight a few of our favorite vendors in Charlottesville, Richmond and the DC Metro Area and showcase some of their amazing work. Especially since we know many of you are in the midst of your planning for 2008 and 2009! While we certainly won’t be able to feature all of our favorites, all of them can be found on our recommended vendor list in the Client Area. Let us know if you have any trouble finding it or would like further information on any of them. Enjoy and happy planning!

First up…Shauna of Sweet Creations.

She first came on the scene for us this past spring at Jon & Danielle’s wedding in Northern Virginia. Hers are one of the most tasty cakes we’ve tried, and have even had a couple of them made for ourselves for special occasions (the last photo below, taken with my iPhone so it doesn’t quite do the cake justice, was a surprise by Anne for our Valentine’s Day celebration–how cool is that?!). We’ve been witness (and tasted) some ornately decorated cakes, and while they’re a blast to photograph, the merely beautiful but really tasty ones are some of the ones we’ve found guests really remember. Here are a few images from Shauna’s cakes. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Tessie & Matt who, along with an intimate gathering of family and friends, celebrated their nuptials the gorgeous Clifton Inn here in Charlottesville! This couple and their families had all traveled, mostly from West Virginia, to the inn not only because of its inherent beauty, but because of their culinary achievements. Few chefs in the area are able to achieve what the folks at Clifton Inn can, and Tessie and Matt wanted their guests to eat well. They certainly did, what with a six-course meal after the ceremony, plus slices of two cakes! But I digress…

Tessie had picked out a beautiful Monique Lhuillier gown was looking radiant when Matt stepped into the Rivana Suite where she was staying for their private first look together. They had decided to exchange gifts at the time as well, extending the tender moments between them. We love being witness to the excitement when couples first see each other, and walk together hand-in-hand afterwards. It’s like watching two lovestruck kindergartners on the playground.

Tessie’s a jeweler/welder and Matt an artist-blacksmith and both work with shaping metal, so it’s no surprise Tessie had designed her own engagement ring. In fact, she loved her personally-designed wedding band so much she wore it for months prior to the wedding, eliciting a related joke from their dear friend who also officiated the ceremony. The ceremony was held in Clifton’s dining room by candlelight and dimmed sconces, and could not have been a warmer or nicer place to be.

After the ceremony, their guests were treated to an enchanted forest of sorts within the tent out on the back patio. Our fave local florists, Pat & Sherry, really outdid themselves with the wrapped grapevines and flowers adoring the tent structure and tables, with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Jessica at the Event Company had teamed up with Holly and Melissa at the inn to ensure everything went off without a hitch, and it certainly did. They were totally the dream team! They set up one corner of the patio for the two cakes, both chocolate, which is a great departure from tradition. In fact, Tessie surprised Matt with the groom’s cake from his family’s baker. The one thing he had really wanted was a departure in a vintage sports car, but since they were staying at the inn, it was kind of moot. So Tessie got a model roadster and fashioned teeny tiny soda cans out of clay and affixed them with string to the car topper. It was a huge hit and Matt loved it. The cake was further unique in that as per tradition for all other weddings, the cakes were yellow, but she made an exception this one time to the surprise and delight of all of Matt’s family. It was also quite tasty.

It was a great evening and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thank you, Tessie and Matt, for having us out to document your wedding for you!

Take a look below at a sneak peek, then view a slideshow of some of our favorites.

I took a short trip out to Los Angeles last week to visit with two close aunts and my cousin that I hadn’t seen in a while. It was wonderful! I really enjoyed spending time with them, especially after being gone for so long. The smog wasn’t even all that bad (maybe it was the winter), but overall the trip was an unqualified success.

The night before my flight back, I stopped by one of the ubiquitous In-n-Out Burgers that dot the Southern California landscape. It’s not fast food per se, as everything is cooked to order and they don’t employ freezers or microwaves. Everything is fresh and everything is awesome.

Shown below are before-and-after shots of an order of a Double Double (Animal Style, natch), fries, and a soda. Nice way to end a trip out west.

We ended up taking a brief winter break, as you saw below, at a secluded B&B located on Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. The inn, called Lake Pointe Inn, was one that we had visited in the past, and absolutely loved. We stayed in two different rooms while there just to experience all the place had to offer (not to mention the served-warm chocolate cookies that were placed out in abundance in the kitchen for guests to enjoy. If you’re looking for a nice romantic weekend away, whether it be in the summer or winter (Wisp ski resort is right across the street), you really can’t go wrong here. Certainly one of our favorites.

We ended our visit by bundling up and heading outside with some blankets to the fire pit, where we lit a fire for a short spell and enjoyed the view before reluctantly heading home. We don’t have any weddings during the month of March, so we’ll likely take a slightly longer trip that takes a bit more planning to get to (we’re generally working when everyone else is vacationing in summertime), and of course will share details upon our return. In the meantime, here are a few from the area to tie you over.

View from our room onto the frozen lake:

It was darn cold, and Wisp took the opportunity to make some snow:

We went exploring along most of the lake’s shoreline:

Back at the B&B, here are a couple of lake-facing chairs that usually see more action in the summer:

Down by Muddy Creek Falls located in Swallow Falls State Park. We were amazed by how frozen and snow-covered everything was:

Muddy Creek Falls: