Holland Photo Arts Blog – Charlottesville Wedding Photographers

Anne and I celebrated our seventh anniversary today (well, only officially–we’ll start celebrating in earnest when we head to Austin, one of our favorite U.S. towns, tomorrow morning for a few days). For all of our clients, both past and present, we wish you all the joy and happiness that the two of us have experienced over the years. She has been such an incredible influence on me, and I really can’t put into words how much she means to me. Can’t wait for another seven more and beyond!

Here are a few photos taken at a recent cocktail party put on by the best three wedding planners in DC, Pam Barefoot, Laura Weatherly, and Jamie Sears. Our great friends and talented photographers Jenn and Mary of Love Life Images brought their fun photo booth out, and we had to play of course (Mary is on the left in the last photo below).

As I mentioned, we’ll be out of town and incommunicado for a few days, and sincerely appreciate your patience. We’ll be back soon, however, and look forward to talking with each of you soon. Keep an eye on this space then too, as we’ll of course post photos of this great Texas town.

Maggie and Okan contacted us some time ago to document their wedding, and while sadly we were already booked on their date, they wrote us later to inquire about a day-after session at Maggie’s parents’ home in Northern Virginia where they originally had their wedding ceremony. It was so cool! They were relaxed and easy-going, and we spent a good bit of time just hanging out and workin’ it. They were the sweetest couple, and I really enjoyed the time spent with them. Thanks, you two, for the opportunity to shoot your portraits!

This first frame is where the two of them said their vows.

We loved shooting in the woods just outside her parents’ back yard. They had an antique cast iron white bench already on woods’ edge for periodic contemplation, so we moved it further in where the canopy created a dark environment, and sat them in it. A contrasty B&W image immediately came to mind with this, and of course the awesome subjects really made the image.

Inspired by an image Anne had captured a couple of years ago, we made our own twist on it to capture the innate intimacy between these two.

One of my favorite lenses is an 85mm f/1.2. When shot wide open, it creates beautiful bokkeh and is the perfect portrait lens. Our brides usually get this during a bridal portrait, with only their eyes and lips in focus, but this time Okan got the full open aperture treatment. Lookin’ good!

A little rain was not about to put a damper on the wedding of Marie & Michael, who recently tied the knot at beautiful Keswick Hall in Charlottesville. A half-hour before the ceremony was to begin, the clouds darkened and thunder bellowed, and rain started spattering the patio overlooking the golf course. Keswick’s staff quickly pulled the chairs and floral pieces inside to prepare for an indoor ceremony. Undeterred, the bridal party waited a short while to see if the showers would pass, and sure enough we ended up back outside with their 100 guests and the ceremony starting close to its original start time anyway. Chalk one up to patience and good luck.

Lisa Hazell, Marie’s easy-going planner and Julianne, Keswick’s on-site manager, kept things rolling along despite the early uncertainty about the weather. They helped keep everyone’s nerves calm and made sure guests were well taken care of.  During the ceremony, Marie’s cousin Rachel sang a lilting rendition of Ava Maria while Rachel’s little sister Carolyn served as a slightly shy flower girl. She clearly felt it insufficient to throw rose petals in the air only during the processional, so she enjoyed the opportunity to do it again after Marie & Michael’s kiss and recessional. Later in the evening, Anne got a wonderful shot of Marie and Carolyn dancing by themselves on the dance floor during dinner. It was clear there was a wonderful connection between the two.

We’ve begun noticing more of our clients coming to their weddings sporting custom-designed drinks for their guests during cocktail hour. Marie & Michael’s sparkly blue cosmo kept everyone chattering happily while we did some family portraits. Then we headed off in a golf cart to one of the gorgeous willow trees down the hill with the Hall in the background. The reception couldn’t have been more fun, what with some very expressive dancing moves on the part of their friends (as well as parents!) which kept our flashes firing all night long. It was just a fun, relaxed wedding, and we were thrilled to have been a part of it. Congratulations, Marie & Michael, and thank you for having us out!

Marie had also contracted us for a formal portrait of her at Keswick Hall, and we were happy to oblige. The first image is one she had printed as a 20×30 Giclée for display at the wedding. She was gorgeous, so you can imagine how many people commented on it.

Now that Angela & Webster recently celebrated their wedding (more on that to come soon!), we can finally post images from Angela’s bridal session! We were like kids waiting for Santa to arrive with wanting to blog about her awesome session. Despite the heat, we all had a great time, and as you can see, Angela was just beaming that day.  We did the session in the beautiful garden at the home of Webster’s department chair, Dr. and Mrs. Jane. They and their family were so gracious, and afterwards we all sat down and chatted for a short while and sipped champagne to cool down. Angela’s mom Jill, was in town from Texas to help with some of the wedding planning, and helped too with the easy-going session. We have to give a shout out too, to the good folks at Farmington Country Club, who were happy to accommodate a rain plan and have us do the session there if need be. Thankfully the expected rain that afternoon never had the nerve to show up!