Holland Photo Arts Blog – Charlottesville Wedding Photographers

Congratulations to Alisa & Brian, whose Veritas Vineyard wedding was the setting for a choice image taken by Anne in our most recent International Society of Wedding Photographers contest! Thanks, Alisa, for providing that great moment with you and your parents for us to capture. We love it! And of course, Alisa & Brian now get a $25 gift card for use toward anything we offer!

Woot! Congratulations today to our dear clients Nikki and Josh, who are celebrating their first anniversary. We reached out to them recently to ask about some of their favorite images from their wedding. This is what they had to share.

One of our favorites. We love the lighting in this and how it hits the lanterns, the dance floor, and the tall ceilings. Mostly we love that it expresses how we felt dancing that night; lost in each other, like it was just the two of us alone together.

We both fondly remember this moment; we took a moment for ourselves and this perfectly captures our realization, as we look at our rings, that hey WE’RE MARRIED!

This photo is just gorgeous. It captures the beauty of the day/ceremony perfectly, with the tall green trees and of course our friend the sun!

We both love the lighting in this one, and the detail.

Josh’s favorites

Nikki’s favorites

Just love Josh’s face in this photo & his reaction to our first sight

This photo is great! Love the vibrant colors of the flowers & grass, Leo’s rosy cheeks and how cute he is in his ring bearer outfit, and the whole story behind this… he didn’t make it down the aisle during the ceremony but he sure made up for it after. Such a sweet boy

Congratulations, you two, and thank you for sharing your faves!

Did you already catch Part 1 of Beth and Peter’s wedding? Well, we hope so. Please…carry on. Shall we review the spectacular team who helped put all this together?

Event planning: Jamie Sears of Simply Chic Events
Hair & Makeup: KPN
Bridal Gown: Melissa Sweet
Venue: Meridian House
Floral Design: Philippa Tarrant
Baker: Maggie Austin Cakes
Catering: Windows
Stationary: Dauphine Press
Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy
Officiant: Bill Cochran
DJ: Aaron Platt of Chris Laich Music Services
Video: Dolce Video
Lighting: Event Dynamics
Favors: Georgetown Cupcakes

We need to take a moment here and admire this cake in its seemingly natural habitat.

Seriously. Gorgeous. Cake.

You go Windows!

First dance.

The cake cutting was widely documented!

Love this shot Anne took!

“It’s gettin’ hot in here…”

And I believe Andrew’s response was “why, yes, it is kinda warm”. Or something like that. ;-D

And a few more favorite details we just had to fit in!

Whoo! Happy Friday everyone! We’re SO excited today to share some of our favorite images from Beth & Peter’s gorgeous wedding at the beautiful and historic Meridian House in Washington, DC, designed by the ever talented Jamie Sears of Simply Chic Events. While the grass was a bit too wet to host their ceremony in the garden, the weather gods smiled upon them – and us. They still got to have an outdoor ceremony AND we got to shoot a ceremony for the first time in the Linden Grove. SO neat! Yes, we just said neat. ‘Cause it totally was.

Take a gander below at some of the early part of the day’s festivities, and return this afternoon to view part 2, carrying us through the rest of the night’s partying.  You won’t want to miss it!

Ready for more? You can view the complete gallery of all images here. The password is Beth’s maiden name.

Love, love this shot Anne got of Beth’s preparation.

Peter was stylin’…

And Elizabeth was gorgeous!

First sight! (By the way, Anne is totally in love with that dress.)

Love, love, love this one Bill got!

Always a sweet treat to serve your guests some pre-ceremony cool drinks!

Peter’s grandparents never stopped smiling that night.

There’s incredible knowing look among couples who have been together for a number of years. We love this moment between Beth’s parents.

Bill Cochran *always* does such a meaningful & laugh-inducing ceremony!

Married!

And just a few of our favorite details from the ceremony…

Dear b&p,

Every single wedding is unique and we take pride in the fact that we’re able to document each couple as they really are and as they really interact with one another, and absolutely loved the quiet yet strong bond between the two of you. It was evident in your engagement portraits and certainly again throughout your wedding, beginning with your tender first sight in Meridian’s gardens. Your sweet, knowing glances towards each other, your easy laughter, and yes, we know the beautiful sun was shining that day, but we swear – you both, along with your incredibly kind families and friends, were just glowing.

It was so much fun listening to your officiant relay stories of your courtship and watching everyone’s reactions (including yours). The day certainly wasn’t all quiet, however, once you two and your families took to the dance floor! There was no question whatsoever who was about to get their groove on, and certainly, Beth,  your brother also provided some wonderful “color commentary” to the festivities. Everyone loved it – including us! Peter, that look of utter delight on your grandmother’s face when she strolled across the floor to dance with you is not one we’ll soon forget.

And good call on your cake artist! Not only was that one of the most beautiful cakes we’ve seen, we don’t think we’ve ever seen cake slices move that quickly, devoured seemingly within seconds. Little did they know, there was also an incredible dessert table AND Lava Fudge cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake to go! So many special touches that surely make your guests feel welcome and adored. We felt incredibly lucky to be a part of it all. Still do, actually.

The day was just the right amount of solemnity, excitement, and calmness. We absolutely love that you took a brief moment during dinner to slip outside, just the two of you, to perhaps, connect, reflect and just take in this incredible, momentous occasion. Beth & Peter, you gave us your trust, sincerity and light – we could never ask for anything more. Thank you so much for inviting us to share in this sweet and beautiful time in your lives. We know you’ll have many, many more together!

xoxo,
…a&b

We had a rare Friday wedding (Valerie and Jared, whose images we’ll be sharing soon!) recently, and were thusly available for something we had wanted to do for a while–attend a NASCAR race. It just so happened the circuit landed in nearby Richmond this particular weekend. Thanks to Living Social (hi Tim!) and their impossible-to-deny daily deals, we got a few extras, starting with an early-morning pace car ride. We spent the rest of the afternoon meeting more hard-core race fans and got some great shots in the meantime. The absolute bonus and perhaps best part of the day? One of our past grooms, Bryan of Erin and Bryan fame, works on a pit crew and offered a little behind-the-scenes tour. How could we turn that down? Thanks, Bryan! It was a blast–we loved it all and can’t wait for another race.

While the shirt is funny by itself, you have to admire the utility of his beer belt. He just needed to strap on some sort of refrigeration unit to keep them all cold.

Baseball might traditionally be considered the national pastime, but I don’t think you’ve ever asked NASCAR fans what their pastime might be.

This gentleman brings out his chair only for NASCAR races. Now that’s dedication to the cause.

Quick self-portrait.

Contrary to the evidence presented here, it really wasn’t that hot out.

Some people started the beer-drinking festivities sooner than others.

A cowboy boot is certainly a convenient spot to keep your spare beer.

Hard core. These bleachers really weren’t that comfortable!

‘

Hee, hee.

Annie & Bryan by his driver’s garage (with the race car in the background).

Slightly used tires.

And of course, the race!

What a fun day, even though our fave, Jeff Gordon didn’t win (dang you, Kyle Busch!). And clearly some great people watching. We can’t wait to go back!

Cheers,

…a&b