Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Kelsey and Zack

Lewis Ginter is one of my favorite wedding venues in Richmond Virginia!  The grounds are absolutely gorgeous and well taken care of.  The guests have plenty of room to dance without feeling crowded, and the food is always delicious.  I didn't meet Kelsey and Zack before their wedding day, and sometimes that makes me nervous, but as soon as I met them I knew we were going to have the best day, and that is just what we did!  The weather was sunny and gorgeous and provided some of the best light I've ever had for a wedding day.  The families were welcoming and the guests were so fun, overall it couldn't have been any better!

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day:

Maymont Weddings | Richmond VA wedding photographer

Maymont is such a gorgeous backdrop for an outdoor wedding.  The threat of rain was LOOMING over us leading up to the day, even the day of was a downpour, but somehow (Thank you Jesus!) the sky mostly closed and although there was a tiny light sprinkle in the air, we were able to get all of ceremony and pictures done before it started pouring again.  Sarah and Jason had a more intimate wedding of close friends and family but it was the perfect day being surrounded by only your best.  All of their details came together perfectly and I know it was a day they will look back on with smiles for years to come. 

Here are a few of my favorites from their big day!

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Family Formals

There is a reason photographers sometimes dread the family formals list, and it's usually because without proper flow it can definitely be a bit chaotic!  I do not mind the family formal shots and I work with my clients before the wedding to come up with a list that works well and seems to only take about 10-15 minutes after the ceremony to complete!  That sounds like a win for everyone, the family can get to the cocktail hour quicker, your bridal party begins their pictures sooner, and you and your groom get to get this typically "un-fun" part of the day through so you can head to the reception and party! 

I typically only have the grandparents, parents, siblings (and children if there are any!) stay after the ceremony, but I always say if there is a family member that you are super close to we definitely want to include them in the formal pictures.  The rest? The extended cousins that you likely aren't going to print/frame a picture of?  We save that for the reception!  

As a side note, some couples DOO request one big huge whole side of the family shot which is really great to have and we can do that first if requested, but we don't typically need to break that down further than that unless requested.  

The family formals list is kind of like a diamond, we start small, add in, then take out, then swap to the grooms side!  Easy, right?

Here is my standard family formals shot list:

Bride & Grandparents
Bride, Groom, Grandparents
Bride, Groom, Grandparents, Parents
Bride, Groom, Grandparents, Parent, Siblings
Bride, Groom, Siblings
Bride, Siblings
Bride, Mom
Bride, Mom, Dad
Bride, Mom, Dad, Groom
Bride, Dad

Now, of course this is in the perfect world of the parents still being together and grandparents in attendance, so we definitely modify it for each couple that we work with!  This list and the timeline is the only thing I need from the bride and groom on the wedding day.  

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Julie and Graham at Hermitage Country Club

Julie and Graham were married on a gorgeous overcast day at the Hermitage Country Club in Manakin-Sabot in September.  Yes, you heard that right, a "gorgeous" overcast day.  A lot of people might get discouraged when their wedding day doesn't have the bright sun shining, but let me tell you a positive thing about it not being full sun.  Overcast days mean we can stand anywhere, any time, and ALL the colors pop nicely.  You're likely not going to have any squinty eye issues and if there is a gorgeous spot in the background you will not have any issues shooting from all different angles. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the sun, but as long as there's not a tornado (I am 99% lay in a closet shaking terrified of tornados) we can make different days look super amazing too! 

Originally I only met Julie and her mom to discuss her wedding and didn't met Graham until the wedding day because he was out of town with the military.  So after playing a quick game of "which one is the groom" we moved right along with the day. ;) The details were soft and classic, much like Julie as a bride.  As you will see in the pictures, her happiness was all over her face on her wedding, I loved the expressions she had throughout the day.  From coming down the aisle with her dad to being announced at the reception, she carried that joy throughout the whole day.  

Take a peek at some of my favorites: 
 

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Julie and Brian at Lewis Ginter

Julie and Brian's Richmond Virginia wedding at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens was honestly a highlight of my 2016 year!  From the beautiful florals to her details of the lace gown and her new monogram on a necklace, she is the most genuinely smiley and happy bride and lights up every room she is in.  I think I teared up multiple times during this wedding day just because she was SO happy and in love. 

HIs dad was his best man.  As a mom of three boys, I thought that was so sweet and I hope my boys have the same relationship with their Father!  I remember his dad beaming over at him as they sung one of their songs in the church, it was definitely a proud father look in his eyes!

You couldn't ask for a better wedding to photograph.  Julie's now husband Brian is one of the kindest grooms I have had the pleasure of working with.  Putting these two together was clearly a God thing, and I loved every minute of their wedding day!  Everything seemed to run perfectly and I know they will look back on this day for many years to come with just as big of smiles on their face.

Congratulations you two, and thank you so much for letting me take part in your special day. 

Vendor List:
Florals- Photosynthesis
Cake- Buttercream Bee
Band- Bachelor Boys
Stationary- English Tea Paperie
Catering - Merriwether Godsey
Hair/Makeup - Blackbird Salon
Church - St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Reception Venue - Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | The Mill at Fine Creek

Niki + Deans wedding at The Mill at Fine Creek was one of my favorite weddings from the year. The weather wasn't looking so great but somehow we were able to get every picture outside that we wanted!  The only change to the day that happened was instead of having the ceremony in front of the wall, the ground was so saturated that we had to have it beside the house on the flat top, but it was still just as gorgeous!  And the staff at the Mill is so great to work with and handled the ceremony location change beautifully.  It really makes a world of difference to work with a great venue! 

I remember sitting down with Niki + Dean and walking away from the meeting really wanting them to book.  It's silly how you can get attached to someone during just a quick meeting, but they were so sweet and a previous wedding couple of mine were friends with them, so I knew they would be the perfect couple for me!  

The wedding party was a lot of fun.  I may or may not had to receive a tetanus shot after groomsmen portraits (just kidding!)   But I LOVE photographing a good wedding reception where people can just let loose and dance like no on is watching, and boy, did they! ;) 

Niki + Dean opted to do a first look, which allows them to have MORE portrait time and a little time to breathe together before the ceremony.  I am a big fan of first looks and will write more on them later!

Niki + Dean,
Thank YOU both SO MUCH for having me capture the most important day of your lives.  Your details were pulled together beautifully and I loved working with you two.  I wish you many years of happiness! :)

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Wedding Albums

For the past almost 9 years of being a Richmond VA wedding photographer, I've only ever ordered black leather albums for samples to show to clients.  Why?  I have no idea, except for the fact that likely 75% of my closet is made up of black clothing and i'm quite drawn to the black/white contrast in things.  Well, that is until I ordered this brown leather baby last week and let me say, I may never go back!  I offer my clients about 30 different cover choices, ranging from leathers to faux leathers and fabric.  (Don't worry, the inside has only two choices: Glossy + Matte! So you will not be drowning in options)  These albums are a must have with every wedding! It's such a gorgeous tangible piece to place on your coffee table for years to come.  It allows for your top favorite photos to be stored in one place and for guests (and you all!) to enjoy for years to come.  I usually always order 8x8 albums but can also size up, I just feel like these are the perfect pieces to leave out and not have to hide on a bookshelf because it takes up the entire coffee table and you're worried about it being ruined. 

Brides: Albums also make the PERFECT gifts for parents!  Either as a thank you for all your help with the wedding OR Christmas/Birthday!  If you order the exact copy of yours, there's also a 50% discount there!  And a 25% discount if you are wanting to customize their pages a bit.

My top 5 favorite things about these albums:

• The cover choices.  There is something for everyone!
• Page options. I have a 50/50 split on loving the gloss or the matte.  My mind changes every day!
• Thick pages. These are not going to bend easily or tear easily if little hands want to browse through.  
• No gutter interruption. An image can go across the  middle seamlessly without altering the image in a weird way. I've even had to commit the design 'no-no' and put a face across the middle and it did not alter it in any unpleasing way.
• Fully Customizable Heirloom Products. I design the album and you can make picture swaps!  Years ago when I was having clients pick out the first set of images I would either continually have to go back asking for, "one more ceremony picture to fill the page" or it would take clients a long time to decide on favorites.  I understand fully, you are BUSY!  You have a lot to think about that doesn't include sitting down at the computer right when you first get married.  So I take the stress out of it and create the first initial design for you.  Then you customize it if you need any swaps! 

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Bride Detail List

So you are prepping for your wedding day! There are a few things that make a photographers job go super smoothly, and a big one is having all of your details together and ready to be photographed upon arrival.  You don't have to style them, that's my job!  Just have them all in a pile! 

As an added bonus, leave a few special elements there too.  For instance, if you are having a rustic wedding, leaving a piece of wood that could be used to shoot details on would be great.  Or having a few extra flowers to style with can really make a big difference!  

For the background of the first wedding shown, there were not extra elements handy, so I grabbed one of the bridesmaid dresses, and when it's made into an album means everything will flow nicely from one spread to the other!

Here is the checklist to have handy for your wedding detail shots:

And as you can see below, each of the weddings have a different feel to them, so I place and style them where they will coordinate with that.  The first wedding was a wedding at The Jefferson in Richmond Virginia, if I had taken those gorgeous Kate Spades outside next to a brick wall, it would not have made any cohesive sense to the wedding day, so they were placed on a white mantel in the getting ready suite. 

The second wedding reception was at Lewis Ginter, so I styled that around the wood elements (since it was going to be an outdoor reception) that I could find in the room.  She got ready at her parents house so I walked around the house and eventually found a pretty old wooden chair that would work perfectly, so I grabbed that and took it to the room with the best lighting.

The third was at The Mill at Fine Creek using lots of natural elements, so the dress was hung in a window with full outdoor view and we used the invitation and extra greenery to style the earrings on butcher block.

The last wedding shown here was at the Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel & Conference Center, and the bride loves classy (and classic!) shots, so I made sure a few hints of the gold frames were around the room while I was working with the details.

Having everything together means when I arrive you can continue with hair and makeup and not have to jump up and rush around and try to find all of the things I will ask you for.  But don't worry, I always send the check list before the wedding to remind you!

Richmond VA Wedding Photographer | Kate E and Cody

How do I put in to words how special this wedding was for me?  Kate E's family + mine grew up together at the same church in a small town, and Cody's family lived literally a few miles away but because they went to different schools they didn't really get to know each other until a few years ago.  I babysat for Cody's cousins when I was a teenager.  It's all such a small world, especially in Charlotte county ;)  Growing up in such a small town (seriously, we only have 1 blinking light in the whole COUNTY! And that's our big claim to fame and I think it's becoming a stop light soon, ha!)  it's probably funny that they didn't really know each other, but I think they met at the right time because that led to their wedding :) 

The wedding day was threatened with rain, but it actually turned out to be the most gorgeous overcast day with just a few sprinkles here and there.  They decided to do a first look (which I LOVE but never push my couples to do!) and she also did a first look with her bridesmaid as only her mom helped her get dressed, isn't that so sweet?  I loved being in the room for that!  

Kate E + Cody, THANK YOU SO MUCH for having me as your photographer.  I am so happy I got to spend the day with you and I am very much looking forward to following your journey as a married couple and seeing all that life is going to give you! 

Bride's Dress: Caryn's Bridal
Groomsmen Attire: Men's Warehouse
Hair: The Hair Depot and All Dolled Up by Brittany
Makeup:  Kate Washechek
Flowers: Courthouse Florist and Linda Encinas (family friend)
Ceremony: Farmville United Methodist Church
Officiant: Sarah Locke
Reception: Farmville Municipal Golf Course
DJ: DJ Shakespeare
Caterer: Sheldon's Restaurant
Cake: Sarah Locke