Bayard and Margaret: Married April 13th, 2019

Over a lifetime, certain cities and locations become significant and close to one’s heart.  Sometimes it’s because of experiences, sometimes it’s just a feeling; oftentimes, it’s both.  For Bayard and Margaret, the first city to hold that significance is Williamsburg, home of William and Mary, where they first met.  Washington Dulles International Airport will always be remembered for where they got engaged upon Margaret landing.  But Alexandria is the most recent place of significance for them, because it is their current home, where they celebrated their engagement last Fall, and most importantly, it is the city where they tied the knot this April 13th!

On a beautiful Spring day at Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria, Bay and Maggie said “I do” surrounded by family, friends, and cherry blossoms.  Bay and Margaret have always had a pizzazz about them; I first met Maggie when she was singing karaoke at Nina and Ian’s wedding in 2016.  This is the energy she draws from in planning her famously immersive parties, and this spirit shined at their wedding, from the wedding cake surrounded by cherry blossom trees and protected by his-and-hers Han and Leia porgs, to the Harry Potter candy bar for every house at Hogwarts.

With lots of love (and dancing), Bay and Margaret started a new chapter in Alexandria’s importance in their lives this Spring.  Together, the World holds infinite places for them to discover, collect new memories, and develop new bonds with as they now go and explore the World as husband and wife.  Though the places will change, their love will remain constant.

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I don’t think anybody except my talented assistant photographer Eddie noticed, but if I looked pained at any point during Bay and Margaret’s wedding, it wasn’t because of the wedding!  I woke up the morning of Bay and Maggie’s wedding with what has now been diagnosed as a slipped cervical disc, which caused severe muscle spasm in all muscles in my left shoulder and pec.  It’s an injury I’ve endured a handful of times now, but obviously the timing of this reoccurrence was undesirable, but I didn’t let it impact my performance shooting the wedding!  Luckily now, after two months in PT getting trigger point injections and dry needling + ESTIM, I’m feeling much better.  This injury significantly slowed my progress editing this wedding initially, but with progress recovering I was able to make up for lost time and still get these photos fully edited and online the same week I’d originally projected.

But for now, enjoy this outtake:

Bayard and Margaret: Engaged

This October has been the busiest month for me all year (if you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know what I’ve been up to and all the places I’ve been the last few weeks). I am very glad, however, that I was able to get October started by spending an evening with Bay and Maggie photographing their engagement in downtown Alexandria.

You might remember Bay and Maggie from their July 4th airport proposal as Margaret arrived home from a stay overseas. Bay and Maggie met at William and Mary, and now call Alexandria, portions of which closely resemble Williamsburg, home. With the beautiful cobblestone streets and lines of lights, the old city is warm and beautiful even on a cool evening as dusk rolls in.

These two are just adorkable and I love it.

Bayard and Margaret: The Proposal

Bay and I have known each other since 2005, when we started our first day of work on the exact same day together, so when he reached out asking about proposing to Margaret upon her arrival back from Iceland, I was excited to be a part of it!  Bay had everything ready; flowers hidden as not to immediately give himself away, a quote by Jane Austen, Maggie's favorite author, memorized, and a few helpers hidden including myself to spot Maggie and capture the proposal.  After a bit of anxious waiting, and texting while the flight was deplaning, Maggie finally came out the doors and Bay greeted her with a question he couldn't wait any longer to ask.

She said yes!

Hani and Rita: Married May 7th, 2017

Hani and Rita were married at a sweet ceremony in Chantilly, Virginia, surrounded by family and friends who gathered for the occasion.  After exchanging vows and rings, Hani and Rita joined me at a few locations for portraits celebrating their two years dating, engagement in March, and now newlywed status.  Congratulations Hani and Rita!

Leo and Chelsea: The Proposal

Leo and Chelsea have been dating since 2008.  The two met each other through friends at George Mason, and in the early times of their relationship, including their first date, they spent hours standing by the Reston Town Center skating rink talking into the wee hours of morning.  The two have been inseparable since they met and got together.  They graduated together; Leo watched Chelsea start her career with the Fairfax County Park Authority, and Chelsea watched Leo become a Fairfax County Police Officer.

Leo and I have known each other since high school; we had a math class together, and I always admired his car since we parked right by each other.  Incidentally, I met Chelsea in a psychology class at Mason.  So when Leo contacted me and told me he's popping the question, of course I was going to be there for them!

Because their relationship began in the plaza by the skating rink, it's only natural that that's the spot Leo had chosen to drop to one knee and pop the question.  The plan was simple; take Chelsea on a little date before Leo's family's weekly dinner... little did Chelsea know that it was just a ruse to get her back to the spot where it all began.  But that wasn't the biggest surprise Leo had in store for her; he had both their families and friends standing by waiting so they could all be witness to this big moment in their life together.

Leo had been giving me updates all afternoon, and when I spotted them, I hid behind some columns alongside the skating rink, just across from where they'd stopped.  Leo and Chelsea's longtime friends Emily and Ted had positioned themselves just across from me behind a directory to secretly film.  Finally it was time; Leo pointed out their family and friends, and even their dogs Calvin and Ollie, hidden in plain sight across the street, and dropped to one knee.

She said yes!

Some of the skaters had noticed what was going on the instant Leo dropped to one knee, and when he slipped on the ring and the kissed, the entire skating rink cheered for newly engaged Leo and Chelsea along with their family and friends.

Coincidentally, while waiting for Leo and Chelsea to arrive, I spotted another couple get engaged; you never know if a couple has a photographer for marriage proposals, so I snapped away when I spotted the gentleman dropping to one knee, and got them my contact information before they walked away.  If you are this couple, please contact me so I can deliver your pictures.