Holland Photo Arts Blog – Charlottesville Wedding Photographers

Last week we were back up in Arlington to spend time with our resident cutie pie, Opal, and her mom and dad Heather and Brad. Frequent blog readers will remember Heather & Brad’s wedding back in 2004, and our prior to sessions with Opal shortly after she was born and then again a few months ago. It always amazes us how much kids grow in the short time between visits, and our time with Opal was no exception. She now has four teeth coming in (two on top and two on bottom), is very expressive, and just loves to hang out with mom and dad.

She changed clothes, with mom and dad’s help, and is currently at a stage where she’s diggin’ her belly button. Anytime she has good access to it, she’s poking and prodding and, well, just being a cutie-pie. It’s fun to watch. We then we all walked to the neighborhood park for some outdoor shots while playing on the swings and slides and whatnot. This is the last of the three sessions for Watch Me Grow, so we’re bummed about that, but will have to go back up periodically to see everyone anyway. We had a great time together!

This week’s wedding pro we love (see below for more) is none other than Pam Barefoot of ATrendy Wedding, based in Northern Virginia. We’ve known Pam for as long as we’ve been in business and have absolutely loved working with her each and every time. She’s the epitome of cool and collected, while ensuring each detail is expertly taken care of. If you’re in need of experienced help with planning your wedding, run, don’t walk to the phone and give her a call. She specializes in creative event design, taking a twinkling of a theme and massaging it into reality. Our first wedding with her of 2008 is coming up next month with Marcie & Garrett, and we can’t wait to see what they all have cooked up for their wedding. In the meantime, here are a few images from a couple of fantastic weddings we’ve done with her in the past:

Here are some from Christina & Aaron’s springtime wedding in Middleburg:

Flowers by Petal’s Edge
Paper Products by Gaddis Design

Here are some from Holly & Ken’s fall wedding in Arlington:

Flowers by Dragonfly
Paper Products by Gaddis Design
Cake by Cakes Unique

Congratulations to Rebecca & Chris, who married on a chilly February day with only their parents, Norm the bagpiper, us and their priest in attendance at gorgeous St. Matthews Cathedral in Washington, DC. They said their I Do’s in one of the beautiful little side chapels just inside the cathedral. We were thrilled to be a part of it and it was absolutely delightful (especially for me since I’m usually in the back of the church) to be able to hear Msgr. Ronald Jameson’s entire lighthearted and touching homily in such an intimate setting.

Rebecca is a founding partner of Petal’s Edge Florist based in the DC area and we were incredibly honored to be chosen to document their afternoon’s festivities since they get to work with a lot of photographers! We get to work with her and her partner Gerry on many weddings together, meet up for lunch when we can and always enjoy our times together so we were really looking forward to meeting Chris and documenting their sweet wedding. Gerry surprised Rebecca with a gorgeous and spring-like bouquet she delivered just before Rebecca arrived. Rebecca was so touched by Gerry’s creativity and attention to detail tears welled up as she looked at it. We loved it!

Our plan afterwards was to originally head to Dupont Circle, just a few blocks away, for some fun portraits. It had been raining all morning, though so we decided to head to the DC Galleria at Lafayette Center for warmth and, if needed, shelter. Luckily, the rain held off as Norm announced our march down M St. It was so cool! People stopped on both sides of the street to see, many taking out their cell phones to take a photo of our little processional, including one cabbie who stopped in traffic to get out and take a photo (with a, we decided, good-natured male passenger in the back who was all smiles). It was so much fun and Rebecca and Chris were so expressive, just having a ball simply walking down the street together. We said many times on the drive home that day how much we LOVE our jobs. Seeing Rebecca and Chris, who are just clearly meant to be together and so in love, touches our lives, as well as our hearts.

After some portraits, they headed off afterwards to enjoy dinner with their families at the Inn at Little Washington, a perfect ending to such a special afternoon. We had so much fun with the two of you–we can’t say it enough, but thank you so much for including us in your celebration, Rebecca & Chris!

Earlier this week we had the pleasure of meeting Mary and Shawn out for lunch to discuss their upcoming wedding plans. Anne and I have been friends with Shawn’s dad Graydon and his wife Michelle for many years so we were doubly thrilled when Mary and Shawn contacted us to photograph their November wedding. We had a great time with them both; they are truly kindred spirits and we couldn’t be more happy that they found each other.. Mary sent us an ultra-cool note the next day, and she gave us permission to share a little bit of it with you.

—-
Dear Bill & Anne,

We hope this finds you both faring well & either gearing up for another love junkie “fix” this weekend or perhaps stealing away just the two of you before the season really gets under way in the weeks & months to come. A rather wonderful feeling to see your wedding photographers so in love with their work AND each other! We can all be junkies together; form a club, recruit others …
—-

One of our dear friends Amy Deputy a couple of years ago coined the term “love junkie” to her fellow wedding photographers, and we thought it was so fitting, and shared it with Shawn & Mary. Just so much fun. We’re so lucky to get to do what we do and with whom we do it. It’s an awesome, awesome job.

Those in the Washington DC area recently found on area magazine shelves the latest issue of My Day magazine, featuring one of our most laid-back and fun-loving couples yet! Nicole & Ashley had their wedding highlighted in the pages of the latest magazine, and it was cool to see it there. Our thanks to John, publisher of the magazine, for selecting their wedding at Veritas Vineyards, and to Nicole & Ashley, who provided such excellent photographic opportunities for Anne and I to capture the day’s moments and details! You guys rock!

The magazine also did a very nice feature interview with Anne and myself. If you’re looking for a local wedding magazine to inspire you in your own wedding planning, we can highly recommend the gorgeous My Day!

Magazine cover: