Ann & Justin’s wedding at Oatlands Plantation

• Weddings

We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day filled with lots of love and laughter for our amazing couple, Ann and Justin, who tied the knot recently at scenic Oatlands Plantation. (Just a couple of months back we had met them at sunrise for their engagement session on the banks of the Tidal Basin in downtown Washington, DC, and it was wonderful to see them again and their families and friends, capturing all the great moments throughout the day and evening. Their friends all enjoyed seeing images from the engagement session as well, as they asked us to put together a book of images for their guests to peruse and sign during the reception. There was a line to look at the book most of the evening!) We got started earlier in the day with the two of them getting ready, then were all smiles as they saw each other privately on the deck of Ann’s suite at a nearby resort. After a few family portraits, we headed out with the wedding party to Oatlands for some fun, relaxed portraits in the gardens of the mansion. Ann looked particularly striking, wearing an gorgeous Oscar de la Renta gown that she knew was to be hers as soon as she put it on in the salon. We all definitely agreed!

Justin’s little three-year old niece could not have been cuter that day, striding down the aisle with purpose at the start of the ceremony, carrying her basket of flowers and allaying any fears she might want a hand to hold. Ann and Justin worked closely with their officiant, A.C. Warden to create a lovely, highly-personalized ceremony with custom readings, memories of their childhoods, and tastings(!) with their family and close friends. In a nod to Justin’s Sicilian heritage, the couple fed each other candied almonds to signify the bitter and the sweet in any relationship. The ceremony was held in the late afternoon, casting dramatic shadows on the couple and the amazingly colorful arbor. The afternoon’s breezes cooled things off just in time for the cocktail hour, featuring the couple’s signature drinks, and held in the plantation’s nearby beautifully-manicured gardens. The bright flowers for the arbor, bouquets, and of course tabletops were provided by Amaryllis’s Christopher Vasquez. So enamored with the peonies he had done for past clients, Ann loved the thought of having a large bouquet of them for her own wedding and was touched to learn later that he actually plucked them from his own personal garden the morning of the ceremony to tie together for her.

The entire event was planned and designed by the incredibly talented and wonderful Pam Barefoot of ATrendy Wedding, and it was delightful to work with her again so soon after our early Spring wedding with Jennifer and Bill. Cocktail hour was held throughout the mansion’s unique tiered garden and just as the sun was getting ready to set, their guests were beckoned into the tent just off the plantation’s house for dinner, where they found more colorful displays at the entrance and at their tables. The ceremony arbor was able to be used again as the perfect framing for the delicious cake by Kendall’s Cakes, and the hanging flower balls doting the ceremony’s aisle served double-duty, set atop clear glass vases on several of the table tops that evening. After their first dance as a couple and parent dances with Ann’s dad and Justin’s mom, they all had some great laughs at Ann’s sisters’ toasts and tales of Ann’s childhood (she was the youngest of the girls) and of Justin’s, as told by his twin brother as well as older brother. They enjoyed a relaxing and delicious meal (you’ve never tasted nor seen, beet risotto prepared this well before, not to mention Justin’s personal favorite, the ice cream chipwich) expertly put together by Polly’s team at Ridgewells. After dinner, seemingly every guest either headed to the dance floor for a night of partying, DJ’d by the ever-energetic Chris Laich, or in the adjacent sheer-draped lounge filled with comfy sofas and tables to relax and catch up with old friends. All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and we could not have been happier to be a part of their celebration. Thank you, Ann and Justin, and congratulations to you both!

A quick portrait of Ann before the big reveal.

And because the details were out of this world at this wedding, we just had to do two collages of lovely eye candy! First up, some getting ready and ceremony details.

Absolutely love this shot Bill got of Ann’s dad after he and her mom “gave her away”.

Bill got this amazing infrared shot, too. Such amazing light and shadows that day.

And some lovely cocktail/reception details!

Anne caught them sneaking a kiss outside the tent’s screen walls just before they were announced as husband and wife for the first time!

We love this series of bubble photos that Anne took. What a range of emotions in a mere matter of seconds!

The lounge was a popular spot that night, too!