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Richmond Virginia Wedding Photographers | Amber + Dustin | Michael and Carina Photography

- Nov 21, 2013 -

Richmond Virginia Wedding Photographers

Amber + Dustin Engagement

When Amber and Dustin invited us to be their wedding photographers at their Richmond, Virginia wedding, we were excited.

We love Sunday weddings.

And how fitting for these two?! They are both proud to be the children of pastors.

And what a touching ceremony… where two fathers shared in joining their children together!

Their engagement session (above) took place over the summer in Williamsburg.

They are quiet, these two… but don’t let that fool ya. When they look in each other’s eyes, their eyes sparkle and they can’t help but smile.

Dustin’s dad acted as the DJ at their reception, and Amber’s family from across the American Southwest amazed us with their dance moves.

Truly, it was a Sunday to remember. And these two – their love is amazing.

We photographed their wedding on Kodak Portra 400 film; we shot some digital too.

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Virginia Wedding Photographers | Destination Wedding Photographers
film developed by Photovision Lab

Tags: 400,bridal,contax,couple,engagement,film,kodak portra 400,Michael and Carina Photography,natural light,photographers,portra,portraits,richmond,richmond wedding photographers,richmond weddings,virginia,virginia wedding photographers,wedding,williamsburg

Gloucester Virginia Wedding Photographers | Stephanie + Jonathan | Michael and Carina Photography

- Nov 20, 2013 -

Gloucester Virginia Wedding Photographers | Gloucester Virginia Engagement Photographers

Simple. Intimate. Lovely.

Timeless.

These are words that describe the engagement session we photographed with Stephanie and Jonathan.

We met them for their session at Stephanie’s childhood home in Gloucester, Virginia.

She and her fiance’, Jonathan, had come all the way down from New York City for their engagement session.

What we found was… perfect.

This is why we love engagement sessions so much.

Beautiful images of people in love, just… quiet and intimate.

A table was set in the backyard with drinks and a gorgeous assortment of food from The Cheese Shop.

Both of them lead fascinating lives.

Stephanie’s a teacher in the Big Apple.

Jonathan is a bartender at an upscale bar in Manhattan; he serves everyone from baseball stars to famous actors.

The sun shone through the November leaves onto their table. It was one of the warmest days this month, though; felt more like September.

From inside the house, Stephanie’s mother turned up Frank Sinatra and opened a window…

Now THIS is an engagement session.

What a beautiful time we had.

Stephanie & Jonathan, we’re so excited about your Williamsburg wedding next year! Thank you for inviting us to be your wedding photographers!

We photographed this mainly on Kodak Portra 400 & Fuji400h film, developed by Richard Photo Lab.

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Destination Wedding Photographers | Williamsburg Wedding Photographers

Tags: contax 645,e-sessione,engaged,engagement,engagement session,esession,fuji400h,gloucester va,gloucester virginia wedding photographers,hampton,kodak portra 400,Michael and Carina Photography,photographers,richard photo lab,richmond,virginia,virginia wedding photographers,wedding,williamsburg,yorktown

Personal | Hochzeitswahn Fine Art Wedding Book and 30 Days of Thankful | Michael and Carina Photography

- Nov 12, 2013 -

Day 10 (a continuation of our #30DOT Facebook post)

Well you may have heard… we are so, so thankful first of all for everything that this Hochzeitswahn cover means to us. Hochzeitswahn is a fine art wedding book & blog based in Germany and one of our biggest inspirations.

To have been featured on their blog a few months ago was an honor; to have been asked to photograph an editorial for their book was an absolute thrill; to have been informed that our photo will be on the cover and the back is a dream come true.

We’re so thankful to Patricia and her Hochzeitswahn team and to Carmen and Ingo Photography for their encouragement.

It would not have been possible without a fantastic team here in the US, either. Abbey who modeled for us, Bay Tree Manor for hosting us, Richard Photo Lab for handling our film with care, Emmeline of Gossamer for the gorgeous dress & accessories, Alice of Hair by Alice, Theresa of Theresa Little Makeup Artistry, Ivory of Storybook Events for AMAZING floral, Shelley’s Shabby Shack for furniture, Mehgan Blair Vintage for props, and Jonas & Meagan for assisting. You guys are too much and we are so thankful for you!

This is only the beginning though! Hochzeitswahn is to be released on January 15th, 2014 (in case you didn’t get that from the German caption above). It’s going to go on sale around the world and although it’s German text, it’s still a source of great inspiration for international brides and grooms! Keep an eye out for it! You can even pre-order a copy here!!!!

Day 11

We meant to post this yesterday, but we are so thankful for influences. Heroes in the industry to look up to. People that make us say “WOW!!”

It’s important as an artist to have your own “voice” or “style,” but where would we be without people who influence us?

Everyone can remember that first song they heard that made them want to be a singer, or the first photo they saw that made them want to be a photographer.

We love looking at beautiful photographs, and while we always try to develop our own style (there is such a thing as following too many people on Facebook, haha), there are some people that inspire us without even knowing it.

Here are some of our influences, for whom we are so thankful!! But we want to see some of yours too!

***** Please feel free to comment below and let us know who your biggest influences are. *****

Carmen and Ingo

Jose Villa

Elizabeth Messina

Kirk Mastin

Jen Huang

Jasmine Star

… and a big, big, big thank you to Marion Hogl for giving us a big push to be wedding photographers! Without her we wouldn’t have started!

Enjoy browsing all of this beautiful-ness!!

xoxo Michael and Carina Photography

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Destination Wedding Photographers

Tags: blog,bridal,contax,film,hampton,hochzeitswahn,Michael and Carina Photography,natural light,newport news,personal,photographers,virginia wedding photographers,wedding,williamsburg,yorktown

Destination Engagement Photographers | Kim + Brian | Michael and Carina Photography

- Nov 07, 2013 -

Kimberly and Brian wrote us a little over a month ago about their upcoming wedding at the Inn at Warner Hall. Little did we know that we’d get to be destination wedding photographers for them!!

We Skyped that evening. The four of us just clicked!

Kim and Brian are nothing short of amazing, in every sense of the word.

They’ve been together for several years now and live in Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s where we met them for their destination engagement session.

Kim is a gorgeous woman with a fantastic sense of style, with a great sense of humor to match it.

Brian’s a quiet guy with a soft smile. He has a great sense of humor too and we loved seeing a twinkle in his eyes as he played with Kim on camera.

She’s a Newport News native who is into fantasy (she even has a role in the Hunger Games movie!).

He prefers sports to Lord of the Rings…

But one thing they love to do together is to travel. And travel they do.

Probably their biggest adventure so far, they told us, was a safari in Africa. It climaxed with a trek through the jungle to a meeting with a band of gorillas (I looked it up, band is the proper collective noun, lol). They shared photos of themselves sitting in the jungle surrounded by baby gorillas, female gorillas… even a big silverback male. That was pretty intense.

Egypt, Greece, Italy, Germany… you name it, they’ve probably been there.

The setting for their engagement session was Freedom Park in Charlotte, NC.

And just as the sun was setting, and we packed away our film, and we didn’t think it could get any better… they took us out to eat on a double date.

We walked into the doors of The Waldhorn and we were transported back to Germany. We spent the evening with good German food, meats, potatoes, breads. Wir haben den ganzen Abend mit unseren neuen freunden gefeiert.*

Kimberly and Brian, thank you so much for letting us get to know you and your love story. We’re so thrilled and excited about your upcoming wedding in good ole’ Gloucester, VA! See you soon!

Film developed by Richard Photo Lab | Virginia Wedding Photographers | Destination Wedding Photographers

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Behind the Scenes of our Video, Part 1 | Michael and Carina Photography

- Nov 01, 2013 -

We were blown away by the reaction we got yesterday when we released our video on our Facebook page.

Humbled, too.

We’re happy about how much people enjoyed watching it…

But we’re also even happier for how much fun it was for us, as a couple, to make.

It brought us close together, revisiting old memories, opening old boxes that have been gathering dust in corners…

The video portrays who we are not only as wedding photographers, but as people.

The Girl Tyler team had a lot to do with that.

They made us feel so comfortable…

They asked us early on… “Where do the two of you imagine yourself on an absolutely perfect day where you have the whole day just to yourselves?”

We didn’t have to think twice about our answer.

“Probably picnicking in Keswick Vineyards.”

And that was that.

The script that we had was not so much “scripted” it was converted from two letters we wrote about & for each other.

So even when we were “talking” nothing we said felt unnatural… it was all straight from our hearts.

And everytime we look at the video now… we revisit the distance we had to overcome… and we’re so thankful just to have spent that perfect day together in Keswick, picnicking, and just having that time for us.

And we get a little teary eyed, too.

We’re still trying to get over it… but thank you. Thank every single one of you. Tyler, Graham, Martin of The Girl Tyler for making it happen and working with us the past several months.. the brides and grooms who believed in us and who helped us get this far… Joy and Brian, April and Jake.

And to Seth and Richard, friends of ours, who helped behind the scenes on the day of.

A big, big thank you to Cindy and all of the wonderful staff of Keswick Vineyards for letting us run around their property all day.

Of course, we are sooooo thankful for all of you who not only watched our video, but felt impressed to share it too.

We’ll be releasing some more photos soon, but we’re really excited to share these behind-the-scenes candids our assistant and friend Seth captured the day of filming.

So enjoy these behind the scenes shots!!

Especially this one. Something about our expressions… lol. This was so much fun to do… now we just want to do it all over again!

Tyler kind of reminds us of one of those lions you see stalking their prey in a documentary…

Thanks so much for snapping all of these, Seth!

Here’s a few photos we took in Keswick on film:

Thanks again guys… we love y’all.

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Hampton Roads Wedding Photographers

Michael & Carina Photography | Virginia Wedding Photographers

Tags: behind the scenes,contax,couple,engagement,film,fuji400h,keswick,Michael and Carina Photography,natural light,photographers,promo video,promotional video,richmond,the girl tyler,virginia,virginia wedding photographers,wedding,williamsburg,yorktown

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Miko and Jonathan | Michael and Carina Photography

- Oct 25, 2013 -

Two warriors.

Two lovers.

Two best friends.

Miko and Jonathan are both in service and both have served their country in Afghanistan.

When they’re together, they don’t just get along like partners, but they joke around like old friends.

They tease one another, they compliment each other…

But when they kiss each other, you know they’re meant to be.

We drove literally all the way to the other side of Virginia for their wedding, to a quiet farm on a hill top in Pembroke.

Their whole wedding was unique:

It began early in the morning..

It combined Jonathan’s Jewish and Miko’s Japanese heritage.

And their lovable Pug, Patton, made himself a part of each aspect of the ceremony.

He was, after all, an official member of the bridal party… a groomsdog?

Doe Creek Farm‘s lovely reception hall, a converted barn, decorated with origami cranes and hanging lights, was filled with music and dancing all afternoon.

We photographed their wedding portraits in the soft light of an overcast sky and caught some gorgeous landscapes as well.

At the end, Miko and Jonathan left to head out for their North African honeymoon.

That’s right… North Africa. We can hardly wait to see some honeymoon photos!

Thank you, Miko and Jonathan, for inviting us to document your special day!

Most of these were photographed on Fuji400h film and developed by Richard Photo Lab.

Credits at the end…

Did we forget to mention that this was our very first wedding in the Shenandoah Valley?

An absolute dream come true…

Patton the Pug was just hiding behind her dress, actually almost throughout the whole portrait session.

Vendor credits:

Dress: Vera Wang

Venue: Doe Creek Farm

Film: Richard Photo Lab

Assistants: Seth Brennan, Richard Brown

Tags: blog,bridal,contax,destination,doe creek farm,film,fuji400h,jonathan,Michael and Carina Photography,miko,natural light,photographers,photography,richard photo lab,vera wang,virginia,virginia wedding photographers,virginian,wedding,williamsburg

Hampton Roads Wedding Photographers | Megan and Matt | Michael and Carina Photography

- Oct 24, 2013 -

Hampton Roads Wedding Photographers | Megan and Matt | Michael and Carina Photography

Megan & Matt's Engagement

Megan and Matt's Williamsburg Engagement Session

their Williamsburg engagement session.

Megan and Matt.

He knew she was the one from the first time he laid eyes on her.

From that first moment, as we learned from Matt’s best man, he changed.

Megan is one of those people that just has a contagious smile (which after meeting her parents, we totally see where she gets it from).

She’s a nurse, dedicated to making a difference in the world.

She certainly made a difference to Matt.

For their wedding, Matt actually built their own arbor with the help of his groomsmen.

They made their Virginia Beach wedding all about the things they loved most:

God, family, friends, music and good food (so much pizza!).

As we arrived at Megan’s house, it was an on-again-off-again downpour. It was looking as if it might stay that way all day.

For the detail shots outside, our (fantastic, awesome, wonderful) assistant Anthony Le held our reflector over us and the details to protect them from the rain.

It was looking as if their whole wedding might take place under a tent…

But right as we arrived at the Lynnhaven House, the weather cleared up, and Megan and Matt got the outdoor ceremony they dreamed of in the soft light of an overcast sky.

The wedding went late into the night, and was filled with so much dancing.

The last song was so epic. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” played, and the whole crowd joined in the dancing. Everyone joined in the song; we had goosebumps.

Seriously – we’ve heard this song at weddings before. Now when we hear it, we’ll always remember Megan and Matt’s wedding.

The energy in the air was amazing!

The couple was whisked away through rows of sparklers to prepare for their Northern California honeymoon.

Megan and Matt, we were so honored to photograph your wedding!

We’re addicted to details, especially when they’re this lovely.

Seriously… these folks just look two good on film. I love getting results like this back from the lab.

“Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to that feelin’
Streetlights, people
Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to that feelin’
Streetlights, people…”

Vendor Credits:

Dress: Maya Couture

From the Hearth Pizza

Photography by us & assisted by Anthony Le

Coordinated by Mira Bryan

More vendor credits coming soon…

Virginia Wedding Photographers | Hampton Roads Wedding Photographers | Williamsburg Wedding Photographers

Tags: engagement,fuji400h,hampton,hampton roads wedding photographers,lynnhaven house,matt,megan,Michael and Carina Photography,natural light,photographers,richard photo lab,virginia beach,virginia beach wedding photographers,virginia wedding photographers,wedding,williamsburg,yorktown

Yorktown Wedding Photographers | Mary Lynn + James | Michael and Carina Photography

- Oct 16, 2013 -

Mary Lynn and James had their wedding location all picked out when they met us.

Tucked away in Seaford, near Yorktown, Virginia, Bay Tree Manor was the perfect location for this couple who grew up on the waters of Virginia’s coastline.

Their dream wedding: simple, with lots of family, and with peacock feathers and a bagpiper.

She’s a firefighter and EMT. He helps to build ships in Hampton Roads.

Now they’ve purchased their first home together in lovely Gloucester County, Virginia and are looking forward to making it their own.

James and Mary Lynn, thanks so much for inviting us to document your big day!!