We were hoping for a bigger turnout, but it ended up being Carina, myself, Jennifer, and our gorgeous model, Kimberly.

We ended up having such good fun together!

Getting there in our little blue Prius was an adventure!

Our GPS decided that Jennifer’s house was not where she told us it was…

Being children of the 21st century, we decided to trust it…

… and almost ended up stuck in the mud in the middle of a cotton field.

Waverly is gorgeous, and there’s so much cotton! There are also plenty of roads through those cotton fields not designed with little hybrid cars in mind.

But we made it there safely to find Jennifer and Kimberly waiting for us in a  cottage which is dedicated to making beautiful images.

We walked around outside for a bit but the best part came inside-

The living room has huge windows. We also put Kimberly in a lacy dress and had her pose against a canvas backdrop.

Who says you can’t shoot indoors with natural light and a few rolls of film?

All of these were shot on film, either on Portra 400 or Portra 800, and for the indoor shots we shot mainly handheld at 1/30th – 1/60th of a second.

Thanks so much to Jennifer for inviting us out to the cottage! Hopefully we can have another film get-together and maybe get some more photographers involved!

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!!

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And luckily, that Sunday was still open!

Lucky for us anyway…

Because this couple was SO much fun getting to know!

Aaron is so much more than the tallest guy in the room… he loves dancing. I mean, loves it. Hardly a moment of the reception went by where he wasn’t out on the dance floor.

Allie was so calm on her wedding day… and when she looked up at new husband, and stood up on her tip toes to kiss him, their eyes sparkled.

The reception went late into the night… and we loved every second of it.

Thank you, Aaron and Allie, for inviting us to photograph your special day!

Thanks to our trusty assistant Seth for helping us!

film: fuji400h / developed by Richard Photo Lab

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But sometimes not everything goes as planned…

What they originally expected was perhaps more traditional…

But what they experienced was something small, beautifully intimate and perfect.

This Middle Peninsula couple met us the morning of their wedding at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg. “I picked out this room just for the window light!” Alicia said. Too perfect, right? Alicia and her mother were up to their necks in flowers and flower stems… she had been up since 5am making bouquets with her mother.

Their ceremony was held at Lee Hall Plantation near Yorktown, Virginia. The ceremony was quiet. The breeze was the only thing you could hear, moving through the trees, other than the minister’s voice. We all heard them say “I do,” though.

Afterwards we met up in historic Yorktown on the riverfront, or “Riverwalk.” The clouds had moved off and we had some perfect late-evening sun for some glowing portraits on film.

Their intimate reception was held in the Riverwalk Restaurant.

Alicia and Josh, when you booked us last year it was the encouragement we needed to stay in the United States and stay the course, pursuing our photography dreams.

Thank you so much for inviting us to document your big day!!

Vendors:

Dress – Maggie Sottero “Jenna”

Venues – Lee Hall Mansion & Kingsmill Resort 

Reception – Riverwalk Restaurant 

Hair and Makeup – Robbie Miller Master Paul Mitchell Makeup and Hairstylist

Flowers – DIY purchased from Norfolk Wholesale Floral 

Officiant – Jim Gilley

Cake – Gourmet Bake Shoppe

Odds & Ends / Bridal Hanger – Wish Upon A Starfish  

Cake Topper – DIY

Invitations – DIY

As we walked around Ryan pointed out certain places.

“That’s where I asked her out for the first time…”

“That’s where I told her I loved her…”

This is an obviously gorgeous couple, but they’re so much more than that, too. They’re hard-working and they have set goals for themselves. Now, they have each other and make the perfect team, ready to take on the world.

They’re getting married next year at the Williamsburg Winery and although we won’t be there to document it as we will be away shooting a destination wedding, we wish them all the best and know that they are going to do great things together.

Ryan and Rosemary, it was an honor to get to know you and document one evening in your love story… we look forward to seeing you again!

film: fuji400h

developed by Richard Photo Lab

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Morgan is a Gloucester girl. Mark is a Gloucester guy.

They put so much time and thought into making their Gloucester Point Beach wedding spectacular…

But keeping it country, he wore sandals and she went barefoot.

Perfection.

When Morgan booked us, she said, “I knew when I saw your photos, you were my photographers.”

And we could not have been more blessed to meet such a wonderful couple.

When we photographed their engagement session, they danced with each other in front of the camera and kissed as if we weren’t there.

Morgan and Mark inspired us.

When we’ve needed inspiration, we’ve gone back and looked at their engagement photos.

Their love is what does it.

During their wedding, there were many moments which stood out. 

The dancing… the sparklers… the fireworks…

But none touched us more than when Morgan’s dad escorted his daughter down the aisle… and Mark took her hand..

And of course, the kiss.

Morgan and Mark, thank you so much for inviting us to take part in your special day. It was unforgettable.

Your love will continue to inspire us.

vendors listed at the end

a mix of fine art film and digital photography

Thanks to Anthony Le for assisting us.

Film developed by Richard Photo Lab 

Vendor Credits:

Dress: The Inspired Bride

Tuxes: The Bridal Boutique of Gloucester

Rental equipment: Grand Rentals of Gloucester

Makeup: Salon Vivace

Hair: Drew, Shear Envy

Band/DJ: Fine Swiss Cheese, Felicia Hayes

Venue: Private residence

Flowers: Lynn Thoreson

Planner: Joy Sampson, Friends and Family

Catering: Sally Mears, Friends and Family

Cake: Charlene West and Jean Sterling, Friends and Family

Officiant: Pastor Tom Cohick

Simple… fun… easygoing… beautiful

These are perfect words to describe Chris and Emily’s wedding which took place at the Christopher Wren Building on the historic College of William and Mary Campus last week. Emily’s parents work for the college so it was a natural first choice.

Emily grew up in Williamsburg, but she and her now-husband Chris live in New York City. Chris and his closest friends and family joined Emily’s in Virginia last week to celebrate as he and Emily tied the knot at the Chapel. Afterwards, we all headed over to the nearby Williamsburg Manor Bed & Breakfast for a beautiful, easygoing, simple reception.

We were honored to be a part of this beautiful day. Emily’s indoor bridal portraits were taken at the Wren Building and after the wedding we had a fun portrait session in the nearby gardens, which at one point involved crashing a tailgating party! lol

Emily and Chris happen to be lovers of film themselves-  they brought a Polaroid camera for guests to have fun with at the reception… we were happy to get our hands on it too!

Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of your special day, Emily & Chris! It was a night to remember!

We photographed these on digital & film; the film was developed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab.

We were assisted by our wonderful friend Anthony Le <3 Thanks, Anthony.

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We had shot some film at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens before… but on this particular day the clouds rolled in so we got some really beautiful dramatic light, almost spotlighting our gorgeous couple in the middle of the idyllic gardens (seriously, if you’re reading this and are debating whether or not to shoot there, let’s shoot there!).

Morgan is a meteorologist and Wade is a proud member of the military.

We loved how natural and relaxed they were in front of the camera, exchanging little secret jokes and keeping it romantic but fun.

That’s the secret behind photos like this… we like to describe our work as natural. And Morgan and Wade just fit that description perfectly!

These were shot on a mix of Kodak Portra 160 and Fujipro400h and developed by Indie Film Lab!

Couple sessions begin at $550 and are included for *free* in wedding collections!

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We wanted to wait until we received their film scans to share this blog post…

But we couldn’t…

Morgan and Wade are an amazingly in love couple.

He’s a sailor in the US Navy… she’s a meteorologist, raised on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and currently based out of Milwaukee.

Like we’ve said, we seem to always find those couples who have their love tested by a long distance relationship… just like us…

They are soo perfect for each other… and so hilarious! Such a cool sense of humor, laid back and easy going…

Their favorite restaurant? Chuck E. Cheese.

They were constantly throwing insider jokes back and forth…

We loved hearing how he asked her to marry him <3

But ever so often the perfect quiet moment just… happened.

And the whole evening was beautiful.

The Norfolk Botanical Gardens were the perfect setting… but more perfect was the energy they just shared.

They’re currently planning their wedding on MD’s Eastern Shore…

We know it’s going to be even more breathtaking…

Morgan and Wade, thanks so much for inviting us to document your love story!

Film scans coming soon-

Thanks to Carina’s brother, Jonas, for assisting us!

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Film scans coming soon!

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The summer sun, the light breeze and the sparkling river water just made their wedding magical. Plus, we are in love with Elaine’s gorgeous dress and all the little details! We think the yellow sun umbrellas / wedding favors were a fabulous idea!

This was also the first “First Look” we ever photographed. It was so special, so intimate. She was so excited…and he might have been even more excited

All images were taken on our Contax 645, Fuji H400 and developed by Indie Film Lab and Richard Photo Lab.

special thanks to Will Hawkins for assisting us! 

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