August weddings at the Washington DC Temple are usually scorching hot!  For that reason, I met up with Tona and Doug for a hour before they needed to be at the temple for their sealing.  That way it was cooler and the light was better.  We were blessed with mid 70’s and a beautiful overcast sky.  When there are clouds at the temple, the spires really “pop” and it creates the dreamiest light!  

I have been dying to share this bridal session!  Morgan and Cody were married on Saturday so now I can!  This actually is Morgan’s reception dress.  She chose to do a bridal session in it because she really wanted a beach session and this one was much better for the high temperatures and location she chose.  We had the best time getting to know one another and chatting about all things WEDDING!    Morgan you are BREATHTAKING!  I am so thankful you chose me to document such a special time in your life!  
PS:  Morgan made her own bouquet and did her own makeup for this session!  Amazing! 
Hair by:  Casey Jethro

Martha and Joey are the sweetest couple ever!  They live all the way out in Bristol, VA.  And the fun thing about Bristol is that it splits the states of Virginia and Tennessee.  There is a sign that crosses State Street that shows the dividing line. How cool is that!?  It was pretty much like A Walk to Remember when Landon crosses off one of Jamie’s bucket list items off by standing in two places at once.  WATCH THAT CLIP HERE.  If only there wasn’t traffic and we were really able to do that. haha!  

SO. MUCH. FUN!  That is how I would describe my time with Kaitlin and John at their Virginia Beach Oceanfront engagement session.  We laughed hysterically the entire time!  Couples like this fill my heart with so much joy!   What I loved even more, was having the opportunity to work alongside my husband, Justin, of Gibby Visuals.   We love working together and feel like we give our clients the best experience when our photo and video services are combined!  

My family and I recently went to a family reunion.  We were on the road for 10 days, all over the state of Virginia.  I already had a wedding scheduled at the Washington DC Temple so I made the most of it by scheduling 2 engagement sessions along the way.   One was for Tona and Doug in Old Town Alexandria!  This place is so adorable and we only got to explore a few streets before it started to rain 🙁    I had a blast getting to know them and getting all the details about their DC Temple wedding next month!  Isn’t Tona’s hair to die for?  So pretty!  

Ryan contacted be back in January to schedule a surprise proposal for his beautiful girlfriend, Anna Holland.  We crafted up a secret plan to capture him proposing at the Virginia Beach oceanfront during their weekend getaway trip to the Patriotic Festival.  Can I just stop for a minute and give him a fist bump for being so prepared and excited enough to hire a photographer to capture it all?  What a catch!

I first met Sonya back in 2013 when I photographed her older sister’s wedding.  Flash forward 4 years later and she emailed me about photographing her own wedding!  I loved working with their family so of course I was excited when she contacted me.  

I spent a BEAUTIFUL spring day at the Washington DC Temple with Emily, Cristian and all of their closest family and friends.  The temple was very busy on this day with weddings.  We quickly did all of their family portraits near the front temple doors to allow extra time for Emily and Crisitian’s couple’s portraits.  They will traveled one hour to Frederick, MD for their same day wedding reception.  They had an intimate and small DIY reception at the The Tea Room at Gambrill State Park.

Kim and Stuart’s Washington D.C. LDS Temple post was so full of gorgeousness that I knew their reception would need its own space on my blog.    Temple Wedding Fact:  There are 155+ operating temples for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints throughout the world.  Some regions have many within a short distance, while other areas require members to travel long distances to attend.  The state of Virginia does not have a temple, so when members of the church are looking to get married (or sealed as they call it)  they travel to The Washington D.C Temple in Kensington, MD.  It is 3.5-4 hour drive from Virginia Beach depending on traffic.  Once it even took me 8 hours to get home because I-95 was a parking lot–yikes! 

I was so excited for this wedding!  Not only was it at my favorite place, The Washington D.C. Temple, but I’m so crazy about this fun couple!  I knew when I met Kim and Stuart that they were my kind of people!  They were so fun at their engagement session and I knew their wedding would be just as awesome as they are!  They were sealed as husband and wife on a Wednesday.   We had the entire temple grounds to ourselves.