It is no secret that I love a Hay-Adams wedding! The venue has so many elements that make this photographer happy: beautiful light, good bones, stunning views and flawless service. Okay, that last one may not be for the photographer in me but it is still an amazing detail.

Katy and Matt’s Hay-Adams wedding was no exception and if anything only fueled my love affair with the space. Katy and Matt worked with A. Dominick Events to plan a light, airy and cheery summer wedding – just like Katy. The day started with getting ready in one the Hay’s gorgeous bridal suites. Katy bridesmaids wore the most adorable pjs before slipping in to their stunning neutral dresses (remember these neutral bridesmaids beauties?). Although Katy’s backless lace gown stole the show!

After the ceremony at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (another gorgeous space) the bridal crew headed back to Lafayette Park for formal portraits. In addition to being across the street from the Hay-Adams, Lafayette Park is such a great option for wedding photos. The park offers a variety of backdrops from DC focused to beautiful and neutral greens. We elected for mostly greens for Katy and Matt. The greenery complimented the overall aesthetic of this wedding including the pop of green in the Cheree Berry Paper invites.

After photos and a cocktail hour in the dark and moody Hay-Adams room the celebration continued in quintessential Hay-Adams wedding space – The Top of the Hay. Decked out with stunning neutral linens and cream chairs the perfectly peach flowers by Sidra Forman popped. Finished off by a super sweet first dance, thoughtful toasts and, of course, a skyline view shot – this wedding was one for the books.

Hay-Adams Wedding Vendor Team:

Church: Holy Rosary Church Reception Venue: Hay Adams Hotel Photography: Bonnie Sen Photography Event Planner: A. Dominick Events  Floral Design: Sidra Forman Hair and Makeup: Amie Decker Beauty Paper Materials: Cheree Berry Paper   Cake: Buttercream Bake Shop Dancefloor: Fabrications Events

Rob and Franco’s oceanfront wedding in La Jolla, California has everything you could possibly want in a destination wedding. Impeccable design, thoughtful details, meaningful cultural traditions, dapper style and two of the nicest grooms in the world. These two met through mutual friends, survived long distance and a cross-country move to be together before heading back to West coast where it all started to tie the knot.

Rob and Franco opted for an oceanfront celebration that reflected their personal styles. They wanted the wedding to feel like a gathering in their home with all their favorite people. They incorporated masculine-yet-refined elements and textures. And showcased the coastal city they hold dear to their hearts.

The modern botanical invitations set the tone for the celebration. Rob and Franco wanted the invites to serve as a nod to the venue’s history and feel like a researcher’s botany book. The letterpressed invitations from Minted are accented with a vellum overlay, green envelopes and vintage stamps from the grooms’ home states.

The countless personal details continued on the wedding day. The two wore lapel pins in place of boutonnieres to represent their sweet pup, Aki. Earlier in the day, Rob and Franco distributed the same pins to 10 of their closest friends to thank them for being a part of their pack. During the ceremony they included a sake ceremony as a nod to Franco’s practice of Nichiren Buddhism. And donned traditional Hawaiian Maile leis to honor Franco’s Polynesian heritage.

I could go on and on about all the perfect detail but you can see more of this gorgeous wedding and all the thoughtful details on Martha Stewart Wedding here. Don’t miss the engagement story, inscription on the saber and story behind Franco’s Polynesian dance.

Oceanfront Wedding Vendor Team:

Location: The Martin Johnson House  | Day-of event coordination: Adore Wedding Design | Catering: Culinary Concepts | Flowers: Layered Vintage | Leis: Puna Kamali’I Flowers | Stationery: Minted | Cake: Hey There Cupcake! | Music: Tim Anderson Rentals: Folklore Rentals | Rob’s suits: Hugo Boss | Accessories, J.Crew (shirts and Franco’s tie); The Tie Bar (Rob’s tie); Hava Lazar (wedding rings); Bruno Magli (shoes)| Lighting: Farm Tables and More | Sake set: Eastern Market Pottery | Donuts: Donut Bar | Guestbook: Undercover

This garden wedding editorial is a fun collaboration with some of our favorite industry creatives. Make sure you saw part one of this day in the first part of the recap on the blog here. 

We are back today for part two of our Jardin de Buis “love bird” shoot with Veronica Rogers and Max Owens Designs. As I talked about yesterday I tend to pull inspiration from architecture, scenery, and my surroundings. But I love seeing what spurs creativity in others. As Veronica gathered inspiration for the shoot she was drawn to de Gournay intricate bird drawings.

In conclusion, Veronica carried the birds and aesthetic of these drawings throughout. To create the “love bird” theme. Therefore, the bird-inspired makeup, subtle bird accents in the stationery, and of course, the real birds featured in many scenes reinforced her design. Veronica strived to show brides that a theme doesn’t have to feel kitsch or tacky. This way a theme can be used as a feeling and overall direction for a garden wedding. Altogether I find that the flowers and birds are a perfect complement to the beautiful garden setting. 

Garden Wedding Vendor Team:

Styling and Design: Veronica Rogers | Florist: Max Owens Designs | Venue: Jardin de Buis | Paper: Carli Anna | Rentals: Something Vintage Rentals | Hair and Make Up: Anna Breeding | Model: Anderson Noel | White Dress: Samuelle Couture from SPINA | Green Appliqué Dress: Santos Costura | Skirt: Liz Martinez | Pink Bodysuit: Fleur du Mal | Blue Dress: Dennis Basso from Gossamer | Veils and Headdress: Agnes Hart | Shoes: Prada and Tamara Mellon | Jewelry: Sofia Kaman | Tux: Gucci | Bird Rental: Taxidermy Rental

When my friend and talented architect Michelle asked me to consider photographing her destination wedding on the West Coast I immediately knew we were in for a treat. Though we went to different universities Michelle and I both studied architecture. I met Michelle when we were both studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. Architecture school alumni always have a common understanding of many things: design, hard work, graphic design and general font usage, among other random skills. Those of us who went to Copenhagen always take that one step further. Anyone who spends time in Copenhagen obsesses over minimalist design and aesthetics along with creating a cozy environment wherever we go.

Day Full of Details

All of these elements were evident in the details of Michelle and Derek’s destination wedding. Every design component was carefully curated; the guests experience was thoroughly considered; and the best part of all was that the bride enlisted the help of the amazing wedding planner, Tara Lee of Sugarcomb Events, to help execute all of the ideas. Michelle also wanted to ensure that as many as personal touches and local Seattle details were worked into the day. This included her co-worker sketching the venue for the invitations, a local dress designer (Luly Yang), cake baker, florist and more.

You may remember this couple from their pie-baking themed engagement shoot from a few blog posts back. Michelle took the photos from their engagement shoot, compiled them into a recipe book with all of their favorites and gifted it to Derek on their wedding day. The groom’s gift to the bride was a set of bespoken notebooks to fill up with memories. The first entry started with their wedding day (swoon!).

Fête Fit For Feature

I could go on and on about these two and the amazing details of their day but the professional writers at Martha Stewart Weddings captured it so well. You can see the full destination wedding feature here. I was so thrilled and honored to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. I often feel very much like a part of my couples’ life stories and even more so for a destination wedding. However with the personal connection and amazing thoughtfulness of this couple I felt a part of their story more than ever.

Vendor Team

We are only a few weeks away from M & A’s wedding with one of our favorites, Favored by Yodit. Yodit is a Washington DC area wedding planner who specializes in multi-cultural weddings. We were excited to meet up with this gorgeous couple for their engagement shoot at the iconic Library of Congress.

M & A’s engagement shoot was a great exercise in how to “work around the crowds.” I love the Library of Congress, both the exterior and interior spaces, but I always expect huge crowds. If you know anything about my personal passions you know I also can’t get enough of the design of the building. The Library of Congress is built in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture.

Dressed to Impress

One of my biggest tips for any shoot is that the people dress to match the environment of the location. M & A didn’t disappoint for their engagement shoot! M had her hair and makeup done professionally and the two dressed to the nines to fit into the formal nature of the space. Can we talk about those tassels!?!?

After a few shots inside and outside the Library we hopped across the street to the garden area of the Capitol building for some more casual shots in jeans. I don’t know if my favorite part is her perfect button down or the red lip.

We are so excited for M & A’s wedding at the beginning of September at the Cosmos Club and The Mayflower Hotel! Could there be two more gorgeous spaces for a wedding? If you’ve ever been to an Ethiopian wedding before you know the music, food and dancing are going to be F-U-N! Not to mention if this sneak peek of the couple’s style is any indication we are going to have some gorgeous fashion in our future.