An Anderson House wedding is one of the most beautiful events I’ve could attend. Ultimately, everyone who comes through DC must plan a visit to the Anderson House. With a fascinating history, the building is also known as the Society of the Cincinnati. Moreover, it is open to the public. To boot, they offer free tours every 15 minutes or so during the week. Furthermore, I’ve been obsessed with it ever since I became a wedding photographer. Along with others, If you ask me, it’s the most beautiful venue in all of DC! I know that many other wedding photographers in the DC area would totally agree with me. It was such a thrill for me to photograph a wedding there with this lovely couple.

Additionally, the wedding had a very diverse story. Personally, I love a good wedding with lots of personal details. Most interestingly, the bride and groom infused their Japanese and Dominican Republican Heritage into this wedding in so many special ways. Also, most visible is the 1000 crane display installed over the water feature at the Anderson House. Read on for so many more details that are mentioned in the feature.

Ultimately all these lovely details led this wedding to be featured on Southern Weddings Blog. Also, I’m excited to share some of my own favorite photos on this blog. Plus, you can read the whole feature here: CLICK HERE. I hope you enjoy reading about this Anderson House Wedding.

Anderson House Wedding Credits

Photographer: Bonnie Sen Photography 

Videographer: Simon Cook Films

Planner: A. Dominick Events

Venue: Anderson House

Florist: Highway to Hill Flowers

Caterer and Wedding Cake: Spilled Milk Catering

Rentals: DC Rental and Party Rental Ltd.

DJ: Evan Reitmeyer

Paper Products: Flourishing Penguin

Hair Stylist: Bridal Hair by Remona

Makeup Artist: Beauty Mark

Bride’s Shoes: “Packham” by Benjamin Adams London

Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Amsale

Menswear: Custom by Geoffrey Lewis

Crane Installation: Amaryllis Floral and Event Design

Tent: Sugarplum Tent Company

Jamaica bound for their wedding, these two planned their engagement photos to be in DC. Where they currently live. It is always an honor to capture a moment in time. Such as the place where you live when you get engaged. We had such a fun time planning where to go for engagement photos. The newly opened Martin Luther King memorial was a very meaningful place. 

As always, the DC War Memorial is always a very meaningful place. The lovely white marble structure is a perfect backdrop. As well as a celebration of the District of Columbia. For those of us who have lots of DC pride, this location is very precious. A hidden gem, one that gets little attention. Or foot traffic for that matter. Which makes it absolutely perfect for an intimate and cozy DC engagement photo session. 

Since Kelly & Blake are having a destination wedding at the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica this winter they opted for a very “DC” Engagement shoot down on the mall. Kelly came prepared with her hair and makeup done, and her Rent the Runway dress and it made all the difference! The light and weather were perfect this fall day. Given the amazing day we had her, I’m getting great vibes for their upcoming wedding. Which is just a few short weeks away. 

I always love it when a couple comes prepared for an engagement session. And frankly, I think a white dress is quite appropriate. It feels bridal. And it’s flattering to most people. On the bride, the dress was absolute perfection. When the whole wardrobe is considered carefully, confidence shows through greatly. 

Wedding update

Fast forward to the future by seeing a recap of their full wedding in BRIDES magazine. Of course, you can also look at our own favorite photos from the wedding from our blog post. 

Bridal Session Photography is more rare than common. It can be quite a task to get dressed twice, with hair and makeup and all. At the same time, it is a way to extend the magic of a wedding day. Picking a separate day to do bridal portraits before or after your wedding gives you the chance for more photos. Another way to think of it is a redo in case the wedding photos didn’t turn out the way you expected or hoped. Whatever the reason, we absolutely love beautiful Bridal sessions!

The Details of the Bridal Session Photography

This lovely couple is getting married in China, but will be doing a bridal session here in Maryland, where they live. We met at Glenview Mansion in Rockville, Maryland but a thunderstorm rolled in right as we were about to start. Fortunately, we took shelter in the Mansion and were able to wait out the storm. Therefore we ended up with some lovely portraits!

For the portrait session it was helpful to meet at a place with a private area to get changed. We even rented the mansion for a few hours to make sure that we weren’t interrupted. Given that it rained immensely during most of the afternoon, this was a good call. 

As always, when rain is predicted during a scheduled photo shoot day I always suggest to stick it out. More often than not, the rain passes quickly. Often leaving us with tons of sunshine. For this particular bridal session the photography started indoors. We let the bride get ready on the covered porch and captured the moments. Similar to how we would on a wedding day!

I often hear from couples that they aren’t thrilled with their wedding photos. Not always due to the photographer. Often it’s the whole wedding day that just goes by too fast. Sometimes the weather isn’t what was expected. In some rare cases, if you’re not as happy with the wedding day hair and makeup. 

For more Engagement Session planning tips check out this post. 

A St. Regis DC Wedding is one of my absolute favorite places to photograph. And a Spring wedding is often the best type of wedding at an outdoor venue. This was our second wedding at the St. Regis, you may remember Cate & Paul’s wedding here. That past wedding ended up on the cover of the Washingtonian Bride and Groom Magazine! 

Since the bride and groom were an especially lovely couple, this St. Regis DC Wedding will always stick out to me. Through the whole planning process, we got peeks of the big day. Her dress is a beautiful Amsale minimalist design. The bridal party dressed in all black formal wear. Which made for some amazing bridal party portraits. 

Altogether It was such a pleasure to have this couple featured on Style Me Pretty, you can see the post HERE. The bride had such a classic, effortless Washington, St. Regis DC wedding and made sure to have a great time at her party!

From the Bride…

When you’ve been together with someone for twelve years, marrying your best friend and planning your dream wedding is pretty easy and really fun.

Our wedding day was exactly what we wanted and hoped it would be. The love, kindness, and company of our family and close friends made the weekend truly special and unforgettable. We started the wedding celebrations with an intimate rehearsal dinner at a Greek restaurant followed by a roof deck welcome cocktail party for all of the out of town guests. We cherished every moment of that weekend including getting to spend as much time as possible with the people we love. Our guests made the trip from all over the country; the farthest distance traveled was my family from Greece. My Godfather, who traveled from Patras, Greece, married us. We were the first couple that he ever married and didn’t rehearse a single line with him. His script and performance were both charming and heartfelt.

More details

While most of the month was unusually rainy, our wedding day had pristine weather. Luckily we were able to enjoy the hotel’s beautiful courtyard for our wedding ceremony which was perfect for our adorable flower girl, Olive, who ran down the ceremony aisle barefoot wearing a flower crown. Our Dad’s and my brother gave beautiful wedding toasts that left guests in tears. Family and friends danced the night away to our favorite tunes taking breaks to pose for the photo booth and snacking on passed donuts and treats from the candy bar.

At the last minute, we decided to do a sweetheart table so that we could share our first meal as husband and wife, but also so that we could cherish a room filled with those we love the most. Time truly flies on your wedding day.

My most memorable moment of the wedding was when we were sitting at our sweetheart table sometime after dinner and before dancing. I turned to my husband, Brett, and asked how much time do we have left? Without pause, he replied, all the time in the world.

Credits

Photography: Bonnie Sen | Event Planning: A. Dominick Events | Floral Design: Edge Flowers | Wedding Dress: Carine’s Bridal Atelier | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew | Hair + Makeup: Carola Myers Makeup & Hair Artists | Groom’s Attire: Bloomingdales | Venue: St. Regis, Washington, DC | Bridal Boutique: Carine’s Bridal Atelier

Cute family photos at home are my first choice for a family photoshoot. I’ve found that capturing kids in their natural habitat is the most natural way to document a family. Of course going somewhere is always fun, but I suggest starting with some photos near home. If possible. With kids under the age of three, I always say an at-home session is the first preference.

Most of the time we are just looking for a corner with some natural light in the home with simple decor. The bed is often a great spot. Clean white sheets are classic. If there’s a small yard then that’s even better. Given that kids are so tiny, the smaller the kid the smaller the scale of the location is preferred.

Now it’s always helpful when the home is beautifully decorated. This particular session is lovely because the mother is an interior designer. I’ve been lucky to have lots of interior designer friends who have hired me for cute family photos at home. If the whole house isn’t photo-ready it’s not a problem either, we just need one room. In my experience, the nursery is always a great spot. I’ve worked in some of the smallest, darkest, messiest rooms and we still are able to get the amazing shots.

This family welcomed their second child with an at home lifestyle family photo session in their Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia location. I love photographing families with a casual approach, letting the kids just be themselves and have fun with the shoot. Heck if they don’t want to wear shoes by the end of the shoot, I’m fine with that!