Holland Photo Arts Blog – Charlottesville Wedding Photographers

You already saw part 1 of Jenny & Greg’s wedding, right? Sure you did. Read on!

The FAB team:
Venue, baking, catering, and lighting: The Willard Hotel
Event coordination: Jamie Sears of Simply Chic Events
Florist: Dunham Designs
Officiants: Rabbi Arnold Saltzman and Rev. Karen Foley
Gown designer: Liancarlo
Reception entertainment: Jukeboxx through Entertainment Exchange
Ceremony musicians: String Poets
Brides Shoes: Hey Lady

How many people get an entrance of pompoms? We think we should get this every time we enter a room. What do you think, Callie?

Jenny’s brother, a professional musician, serenades them during their first dance.

Hey, get your lavender out of my champagne. No, you get your champagne out of my lavender. No can do – it’s a perfect combination. Or so we’re told.

Danced to the tune, Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Indeed.

We think Jenny had just previously tried some of what the gentlemen were drinking, and respectfully declined. Note the happiness at the proffered glass of champagne below.

Love! This is such a fun moment.

Too bad no one was having any fun at this one!

Notice how only Jenny is still up in the air? Um, oopsie?

Who knows why 5-Hr Energy was needed at this wedding!

Congratulations, Jenny & Greg!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Happy Friday everybody! We trust you’re staying cool inside today (seriously, we are totally loving our A/C these days!) and are in the mood for a fantastic wedding. We’ve been so excited to share this one with you–actually since we first met with Jenny, her Mom and her future mother-in-law when they drove down last Summer to visit us. Meeting Greg at their engagement session was just the icing on the cake. It was pure kismet that they then hired dear friend and wedding planner extraordinaire, Jamie Sears whom they had previously met at a bridal show! Without further ado, we present Jenny & Greg’s sparkling wedding celebration!

Oh, and when you’re ready, you can see the entire wedding gallery here. The password is Jenny’s maiden name.

Each of Jenny’s bridesmaids signed the soles of her shoes. Such a sweet tradition. And how much do you love these shoes??

Vintage glam bouquet with feathers and lots of sparkleys! (Yup, we just make up words over here at HPA. )

M&Ms as poker chips. That’s a creative use of the snacks available to you. And probably less messy than using potato chips.

The bra toss–considered by many to be the hot new Olympic event.

Gorgeous! You just knew we were gong to say that, didn’t you, but seriously, are we lyin’?!?

Sweet capture by the one and only Bill Holland!

An almost-oopsie?

Bill loves this shot Anne got of Jenny’s mom just as Jenny entered the room.

This little guy walked down the aisle holding tightly onto the rings. And his teddy bear. And then settled in to some well-deserved M&Ms during the ceremony.

Annie just might be a master at cool reflection shots. Maybe that should be an Olympic category! Seriously, you should see the positions she has to get into to get some of these! Good thing no one is taking her picture here. Bill knows better and likes his life just as it is.

Married!

Love this sweet shot Bill got – Jenny’s fabulous smile *and* Greg’s computer chip bout – two for the price of one!

If you don’t want to take these two home with you, well, we just don’t know what. Even the Washington Post loved this shot of them! (Out in Sunday’s print section for those who like your Sunday paper old school style (like we do! The iPad’s only for mid-week reading.)

Dear j&g,

When we met up at your brand new home for your engagement session (aren’t you glad we didn’t ask you to play around with paint this time?), you told us you cared the most that we simply capture the real moments between the two of you, your families, and friends and document all the special little touches that so many of your friends and family had a hand in. At your wedding, you then proceeded to create all kinds of great moments for us to do just that and we were not surprised one bit. For example, we wondered at first how you were going to manage a ketubah (designed by yet another family member) signing before your ceremony without seeing each other. With a screen separating two tables at which you’d sit, Jenny you peeked in the room, waved, and bounded in with such joy and infectious enthusiasm we think Greg could barely keep from peeking around the screen to catch a mere glimpse at you. We loved how you re-purposed the screen later that evening by hanging old family letters, portraits, and wedding photos.

The screen wasn’t the only place you came up with new and interesting ideas for your wedding. Greg’s boutonniere featured not just the standard carbon-based plant-life, but an IDE power supply (just in case he needed to plug in a fan after seeing you, Jenny) as well as jumper switches. After 300+ weddings over the past nine years, it was yet again a first for us. Everything else about your wedding had this vintage glam feel, with feathers and jewels in your bouquet, including Greg–your grandfather’s candle holder used during your ceremony, Jenny’s mom’s wedding dress fabric draped at the top of the chuppah, and wearing your great grandmother’s wedding ring, continuing a long-time family tradition. Even mere paper didn’t do the trick when it came to a guest book, as you used pieces of soft cloth on which your guests could write their well wishes. Nor were restroom doors bare–decorated with specific baby photos of each of you. Another first for us! Such fun and sweet touches.

And how cool was it when your brother Rob, Jenny sang your first dance song, Falling Slowly? (We LOVE that song, too!) And Jenny, eschewing tradition, it was so much fun when, during parent dances, you pulled your mom (and many other women present) onto the dance floor to a rousing rendition of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. What a perfect way to get your party started!

We were especially touched with how close you both were with your families & friends. The love and adoration in your Mom’s eyes, Jenny, when she was about to “give you away” is something we won’t soon forget. And Greg, we’re not sure you could be any sweeter. That teddy bear you gave Jenny on the night before your wedding that had an MP3 recording from you hidden inside (complete with instructions on how to use it!) was one of the most thoughtful gifts we’ve ever seen. It was clear that everyone at your wedding was there because you had touched their lives and loved you deeply for it. Even Rabbi Salzman got into the act when he read your letters to him about why & what you loved about each other. Reading your letter’s sign off, Greg, “Thanks, Rabbi Salzman. See you soon!” was so endearing and incited abundant laughter and levity during your interfaith ceremony. We loved it.

Your wedding was rich with such love and compelling moments that we (reluctantly) walked away that evening filled with utter contentedness. Truly. Thank you so much for having us document your celebration for you; it’s meant so much. We know you will have many joy & happy tear filled moments together for years and years to come.

xoxo…
…a&b

Stay tuned for Part 2!!

We recently met up with October wedding clients Liz & Andras near their Washington, DC home on a warm Summer day to spend some time in one of their favorite places, the National Portrait Gallery, for an engagement portrait session! We love that they enjoy the museum (and they got us hooked to boot), and their enthusiasm for the space, architecture, and artwork really shows in their images. We love them all (see the complete gallery here, using Liz’s last name as the password), but we’ve included just a few of our faves below. Afterward, we returned to their home for a change of scenery and few more shots before retiring to their loft for snacks, drinks and great conversation. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon and we can’t wait for this sophisticated, yet fun-loving couples’ wedding!

Congratulations on your engagement, l&a! We can’t wait to celebrate with you in October!

xoxo,
…a&b

We hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend! We’re happy today celebrating the one year anniversary of Celina & Kevin (album here), who married last year at beautiful Woodend Sanctuary. We reached out to them recently to ask about their first year together and about some of their favorite moments from the day. Here’s what they had to say.

Married life is good (I know it’s trite). We are continuing to travel and explore new places with each other (Dublin and Edinburgh were on our anniversary trip). We are both looking forward to many more years.

Kevin’s favorite:

This picture captures Celina’s beauty but also her amazing smile. That smile lights up an entire room and reminds of the joy that Celina brings to my life.

Celina’s favorites:

Kevin turns his ring, even today. It’s just a little gesture, but he does it so unconsciously. I always smile when he does it.

This was one of the first pictures taken just after we had seen each other. After I stopped shaking, I could finally collect my thoughts. I remember thinking how lucky I was to be getting married to Kevin. It really just captured the moment.

Collective favorites:

This is the anti-wedding picture. I am adamant about there being no cake smooshing. However, Ian got into the act, and was the one who ended up with cake on his face. It captures the light-hearted, fun reception we were going for.

This picture is just gorgeous. We are moving on to the celebration part of the evening, moving on to married life, and the light is perfect.

Thanks so much for sharing and congratulations on your first year together as Mr. & Mrs., C&K!!!