I first worked with Teresa long before she was a bride, all the way back in 2012 when her family bought a daily deal for a portrait session. We all really hit it off. I might dare say they made me feel like part of the family. Over the years we’ve done a few more portrait sessions together and generally stayed in touch about this and that. Then, one day I learned there was a wedding, Teresa was going to be married, and she and her fiancé wanted me to be a part of it. I couldn’t have been more excited! We waited a little while before scheduling an engagement session at the St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington DC, then about a year later, after some unexpected challenges forced Teresa & Joe to change the wedding date, the big day finally came.
The most important thing to Teresa & Joe in the wedding photography were beautiful images of the ceremony, and then really nice images of the family and wedding party; in fact, that’s the only thing that really mattered to them, and so that’s what we focused on. We started at the Groom’s prep location, an historic monastery in Washington DC, where we captured a few images of Joe and his groomsmen on the roof of the building. Then, we moved over to Teresa’s house where we checked in, captured a few images of Morgan from Metropolitan Makeup doing Teresa’s makeup, then over to the church where the two would be attending an Adoration hour, before officially getting into their wedding attire and walking down the aisle together. The ceremony itself was a traditional Catholic Mass, with an emphasis not so much on the couple themselves, but on their faith. Teresa & Joe saw each other for the first time at the back of the church where Teresa’s father gave her away. The two walked up the aisle together, in a way showing their mutually held intentions and responsibilities. The service was gorgeous, and it was beautiful to watch what faith and tradition do when they are sincerely understood and felt.
After the ceremony we spent another half an hour or so in the chapel creating portraits with the extended family members before heading out to the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC to create portraits with the wedding parties in the garden. It was December, and getting dark quickly at this point, but that proved a blessing. The garden had Christmas lights strung up and they came to life just as we were moving onto images of Teresa & Joe, and it gave the already beautiful space a warm atmosphere on a chilly night.
I left and headed home shortly after the reception began, handing the reins to Teresa’s brother, a photographer who’d flown in from Italy. It was amazing to be there on this day with these two. I feel like I really contributed to something special. (Those are heavy words when they come from someone who’s been to as many weddings as I have.) Check out some of my favorites from this wedding below, and if you’re interested in learning more about our wedding photography services, check out the Wedding Photography page here on our website to learn more. We even have wedding packages specifically designed for coverage that only includes the ceremony and formals. After all, like Teresa & Joe, not everybody needs a photographer all day.
