Karen & Michael's Wedding at Hotel Monaco Alexandria, Part I - Holland Photo Arts

Weddings

Okay, so excitement has been pretty darn high here at Holland Photo Arts World Headquarters in anticipation of being able to share this wedding with you, so I can only imagine what it’s been like in Karen & Michael’s household. (Thanks for majorly boosting our blog hits in the past couple of weeks, you two!! 😉 We know we are some of the luckiest photographers around – we simply get to work with the most wonderful, engaging, down to earth couples and our dear Karen and Michael most certainly fit that bill. Ever since we met them, we felt like we’d known them forever and were so thrilled to be able to capture one of their lives’ biggest events. Sharing their day with them, as well as their friendship, has truly been such a blessing in our lives. And this post would not be complete without a huge shout-out to our dear friend and colleague Jamie Spears of Simply Chic Events, who joyously put together this fabulous wedding. We can’t work with her often enough.

Okay, okay, more mushy stuff at the bottom, so with out further ado let’s get to the pics! If you’ve already seen them here and want to see the complete gallery of wedding images, click here. The password is Karen’s maiden name, and is case-sensitive.

Shouldn’t ever bride have a pair of shiny blue shoes?! 🙂

Yea, we *heart* Karen.

One of our favorite First Sights ever!

We love, love, love moments like this. How to describe a moment here in words? Impossible.

This group of scavenger hunters were looking for a young woman to which they could “propose to” as part of their race. Karen was more than happy to oblige them, even though she was clearly already spoken for.

Anne caught this awesome shot as they were leaving. LOVE his tee shirt!

Okay, we *heart* Michael, too.

News alert: The wind was so strong today it bowled over a local bride. Complete story at 11.

Crazy windy.

The stiff breeze coming in across the Tidal Basin was enough to send these bridesmaids running for cover.

Custom-made bridesmaids necklaces made from Scrabble pieces. How cool is that?

How lucky were we to find a wall painted the same color as Karen’s flowers? Gotta love Old Town!

A wedding day isn’t complete without a cupcake. Or two.

Yes, another reason we love her. She actually ate a chocolate cupcake BEFORE the ceremony! The girl is fearless.

(Next up…ceremony and the party!)

Dear k&m,

We’re all smiles.

From the moment we met for the first time and shared brunch many months ago, we innately knew we would be celebrating your wedding as dear friends as well as your photographers. Being able to watch the two of you that day as you saw each other for the first time, capturing the giddiness and overwhelming emotion (yes, we saw a couple of tears of joy) warmed our hearts and totally set the mood for the day. The fact that you had met in Spanish class in high school and had been together ever since, touched us even more.

And talk about dedication to the cause! Despite the stiff and chilly breeze coming in from across the Tidal Basin, you and your bridesmaids (Michael, while your short hair protected you from the wind’s wrath. Bill’s hair was not so lucky – wish we had pictures to prove it) endured a few Marilyn Monroe-like moments to get some fun shots at the place where you were engaged. And you win the big cojones award for complying with our request to share a rich, dark chocolate cupcake before your ceremony, all in the name of making some fun portraits. You win the award for most care-free client.

The mood you set for the party, what with your high-fiving it with your wedding party after the ceremony, to the dance-your-way-into-the-room announcement, was all about the excitement and fun, and perfectly reflected your personalities. And don’t think we didn’t see you getting your groove on with your air guitar later in the evening. We got a shot of that, yes we did. It was a blast.

We’re so incredibly grateful to have become friends and to have the opportunity to document this next phase of your lives together. Thank you so much for that. We can’t wait to show you more images later today!

With much love,
…a&b