This was a fantastic wedding and I really enjoyed shooting it very much. All the folks were very warm and friendly, and Sarah and Brian were a lot of fun to work with too! The ceremony was held at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Arlington, VA and the reception was held at the gorgeous Old Ebbitt Grill on 15th St NW Washington, DC.
Some of the highlights of the wedding include record heat, a trolley car ride to the nations Capitol, and an interview with Fox News WTTG.
It all started at the brides mother’s home in Arlington VA. When we arrived in was about 12:30 AM and it was over 100 degrees and very humid outside, but very nice and cool inside! Sarah and all her many bridesmaids were so beautiful. We shot by window light in the master bedroom as they preprared for the wedding.
I really love the below shot of Sarah looking beautiful and lit by the soft window light, her dad admiring her from behind, and her mothers’ bridal photo hanging on the wall behind and to the right.
I love this portrait of Sarah with the reflection of the bridesmaids in the mirror in the back
We took alot of incredible pictures of Sarah and now we need to start leaving for the ceremony, and some of my favorite shots came as we left.
To the ceremony we walk…… 100 plus degrees! The hottest and most humid day here on record!
And we walked…….if you notice, on the far right, you’ll see a man scurrying around with the bridesmaids carrying a video camera. Many people aren’t aware that video photographers want to get very close as they shoot which means that it is very difficult to take pictures without them in it! On the other hand, it was very easy for me, using a telephoto lens, to get this below shot from a far distance away. I could show you too many pictures with this fellow in them but I won’t. I’ll just trash most of the photos because it would cost a fortune to take the time to try and edit him out of all of them. I find this picture below humorous so I’ll leave it in.
Powerful video lights attached to video cameras blow out and ruin all cake shots I’ve noticed, among many other types of shots as well. Whenever possible, I made sure that he was behind me, and as a result, most of my pictures were salvaged.
Here is another one with the videographer scurrying around in my shot. We had two videographers on this day, so at all times I had one on my left and one on my right. This shot was kind of humorous too so I thought I would include it.
Generally, at Catholic weddings, the priests instruct us to keep in the very back of the church at all times, and never come anywhere close to the front of the church during the ceremony, and this priest was no exception. The church as very large and beautiful. I didn’t notice until later while looking back at the images that the videographer did shoot from the front of the church anyway and can be seen at the top right of the below image.
The recession shot came out great.
Yes we did get the quick kiss at the alter, but I liked this one better.
We took some very nice family portraits on the church alter after the ceremony but I can’t put everything up on this blog. Now it was off in the very cool trolley with the bridal party.
The ceremony is over, and it’s time to have some fun, and this trolley is really nice. There’s no AC in this bad boy, it’s probably about 110 degrees and humid in here, so we’ll be hangin our heads out the windows as much as possible.
Sarah was trying to get a little air on her beautiful legs……more on that to come.
Out of the trolley to take shots near he capital.
This is mid-day hot sun near the capitol
It’s a long way off in the distance, but you can see the Capital back there.
Isn’t that an incredible bouquet?
I saw Sarah adjusting her dress with the bridesmaids at a distance and I noticed her incredibly gorgeous legs, so ……………….. I wanted to see more……..and after much pleading she obliged. Wow! Brian, you lucky, lucky man!
We were all getting so hot that the guys decided to cool off in a little watering hole that they found. I cropped it so wide because you can see the capitol in the upper left.
The girls needed to cool off too! Now before we get arrested, we better hop back into the trolley and hit the road to the Old Ebbit Grill.
But wait, FOX WTTG News , a local Washington DC television news team, wants an interview for the ten o’clock news that night. They were curious to see how we were handling the record breaking 100 plus degree heat and humidity. We had been out on the heat, working up a sweat , and walking alot, with no water, for along time. No joke……as I started to talk to the crew I began passing out from heat stroke. Everything started spinning and I thought I was gonna hit the dirt. Slowly I regained my composure and we jumped back in the sweltering heat of the un-airconditioned trolley. Luckily there was cold water on board.
FOX WTTG News filming the bridal party partialy disrobing and entering the water.
The groom is being interviewed by FOX WTTG News.
The lady from FOX WTTG News who is doing the interview is laughing as the groom comes out of the water and begins dressing to go to the reception.
We are almost there now ……… cool air, cold drinks ……Old Ebbitt Grill here we come.

Now I’m functioning at about 50% heat stroke level, but we manage to take a couple of quick portraits outside ye Old Ebbitt Grill. I’m so looking forward to cool air and much more cold water.
There were creative entrances at the reception.
Ah yes…….sweet success. We made it!

A toast by dad. Ye Old Ebbitt Grill is decorated beauifully. It is really stunning!
An amazing meal was served.
The cake and surrounding ambiance was exceptionally beautiful.
There was an incredible surprise Irish dance performance by a couple of very young and talented family members. You can see Sarah and Brian watching in the background.
Daughter and father dance.
One of the highlights of the evening was Brian’s dance with his mother when he almost drops her to the floor.
These folks let loose and had a great time. There were many memorable and exiting dances.
There were lots of very attractive ladies.
The bouquet was actually captured in mid flight. It is sailing high left straight into the hands of some lucky lady.
What a fantastic wedding this was and we were so happy to be included in it. I can’t say enough kind things about Brian, Sarah and Sarah’s parents and many others. It was truly a joy!
I have listed below the special vendors that helped make this such a fabulous wedding.
Twinbrook Floral Design www.twinbrookfloraldesign.com/
Heidelberg Bakery www.heidelbergbakery.com/
Old Town Trolley www.trolleytours.com/washington…/groups-and-charters.asp
Bialeksmusic (DJ) www.bialeksmusic.com/
Old Ebbitt Grill Venue and Caterer www.ebbitt.com
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Raissa and Duval’s New Baby Nivea – Baby Photography
July 20, 2010
It was a great pleasure working with Duval and his family creating these images. Duval and his lovely wife enjoyed the creative process almost as much as I did. It certainly was a collaborative effort and they made my job very easy, so I can’t thank them enough for helping inspire me. I always expect the unexpected when dealing with a 2 week old newborn baby. During most of the shooting time the baby needed to be fed, so we decided to make the best of it and use it in our compositions. As a result, quite unexpectedly, we ended up with some very real and touching moments from the baby’s feeding. Enjoy!
2 Comments
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WOW!!! We are Amazed at the quality of each all all numerous pictures we were able to get from this shoot. They are each and all breathtaking!! As parents, we cannot stop admiring them ever since you posted them up!!! We simply have not been able to set up a ranking given the extremely pleasant hard choices!!!
We are truly grateful for having worked with Mark, who not only has an outstanding array of talents shooting and painting, but clearly Loves what he is doing! While shooting, it is very transparent that Mark is enjoying himself while carefully searching for the best light, pose, focus, and detail. As such, he passes confidence, calmness, serenity, and joy to everyone participating in the shots. Highly Recommend!!!
Cheers,
Duval & Raissa
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And here we are again, enjoying each shoot!!! Absolutely Amazing!!!
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NeuNel – Fashion Photography
July 17, 2010
I just had the pleasure of working with Nelly of NeuNel. In case you haven’t heard of her, I will tell you that she has designed some really hot vintage clothing outfits and will soon be taking them to some shows in LA. We did a shoot in my studio with three very beautfiul models who happen to be sisters and they were alot of fun to work with.
I particularly love the vintage hat look with the netting and feathers. If you would like any more info about the outfits you can reach the designer at NeuNel.com
I shot tethered to a large screen laptop so we all could see the shots well as we worked. I believe this really helped us keep our focus and have fun at the same time. I think the images came out great and I hope you can sense the fun we were having in the images!
I have posted a few of the pics from today’s shoot below.
I couldn’t resist this headshot. It doesn’t show much of the outfit but I just love it!
One Comment
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Thank you so much, Mark. The photos are fabulous! There are so many artistic photos that I love.
Nelly Kolodny
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Breaux Vineyard is an awesome place to get married. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I highly recommend this location. I have loaded a few of the highlights from the wedding for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to leave your comments at the bottom.
Best,
Mark
MarkLovettPhotography.com
Below is a shot of Jackie and Jonathan taken at dusk with an off camera flash. It turned out pretty sweet.
We started with the girls in a room at the vineyard with alot of cool stainless steel wine making equipment in the background.
These girls were having alot of fun.
We quickly moved over to the barrel room and took a few quick shots of the guys before moving outside with them.
We were shooting in strong sunlight so the sunglasses came in very handy. We wanted to shoot in the vineyards and they were in mid-afternoon direct sunlight. I loved the look of the glasses and the guys were alot of fun so we did it up.
These guys were a blast. These are some handsome guys and the silver suits look real sharp. Now it’s time to leave the vines, and head over to the ceremony.
The beautiful violet chairs were set up in a location with an incredible vineyard view in the background, and the wind was blowing the programs off the chairs. Look at this stunning view!
Let the ceremony begin.
Jonathan was waiting for Jackie. The view here is unbelievable too!

Jackie had a pretty long walk to the alter and she didn’t stumble.
The crowd looked on in anticipation.
We got the whole group together for this one.
I thought it might be fun to use the stairs with the tent as a backdrop for the bridal party shot and spread the group out a little.
Now it’s time to have some fun shots with the ladies.
It’s time to take a walk in the vineyard with Jackie & Jonathan.
Isnt this vineyard a great location for a shoot?
I think this is a classic!
Just loosening up a little and getting ready for the festivities.
I really like this one too.
After the family shots, it was time to step into the tent and start the festivities.
The tent was beautifully decorated and the pole in the center of the dance floor will come in handy later in the evening.
The bridal party went all out on their entrances and broke out into dance.
Check it out…… he’s catching air.
I just love the warm tent glowing in the background in contrast with the cool evening sky and the neutral wedding gown colors in the foreground.
The speaches were great.
The first dance looked really nice with some rim lighting from the back. They are such a good looking couple.
I think Jackie’s glasses look really cool in this shot.
The party was in full swing now.
I told you the pole would come in handy.
And now it is time to say goodnight.
Below is the link to the online photo gallery with many more photos from the wedding for purchase:
http://mlovett.photoshelter.com/gallery/Jackie-Jonathan-Wedding/G0000jJmSnFz0fYo
This was a very beautiful wedding made possible by these very special vendors:
Events in the City www.eventsinthecitydc.com
Breaux Vineyards www.breauxvineyards.com
Capital Party Rentals www.capitalpartyrentals.com
R&R Catering www.rrcatering.com
Kensington Florist www.floralextra.com
4 Comments
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Lauren (our 10-year-old) enjoyed looking at these–she’s given them the “thumbs up” as a constant viewer of “Who’s Wedding Is It Anyway!” We all had such a good time at the wedding. These are beautiful shots!
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The photos are beautiful. We are so sorry we were unable to attend such a lovely wedding and reception.
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Gorgeous shots, fabulous couple, elegant setting: what a LOVELY wedding! Congratulations, Jackie and Jon!
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These pictures are fantastic! I am not just saying that because there are pictures of the DJ. Few photographers include pictures of the Dj. The colors and angles are beautiful. Many pictures have a 3D image to them with the blurred background. The posed group shots have a natural look to them and the random shots are fun.
Visit Mark’s website and check out his guitar performances and paintings as well. He is a true professional to the arts. I am glad to have worked with him.Congratulations to Jackie & Jon. I enjoyed mixing music for their family and friends.
DJ Billy Zee
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Brydon – Children Photography
July 5, 2010
As many of you know, Brydon (not to be confused with my daughter Braeden) has a very special place in my heart. So does Braeden. I met Brydon a few years ago at a Ballet Petite theatrical performance. Brydon was the cutest little reindeer you ever saw. Since that time I have had the good fortune to use her as inspiration for several of my favorite oil paintings, and I am looking forward to doing more with her in future.
Brydon’s mother and I have become very good friends, and she is very helpful in our photo shoots together. Recently, we braved the bugs in the grass and headed out for a little fun in the country sun. Brydon was interested in exploring an old house that we came upon, so we did just that. On the way out, we saw several deer and Brydon chased after them. This little girl fears nothing (except for little bugs) ! Oh that’s right, we brought my sweet little dog Riley along too.
One Comment
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Superb model and brilliant photographer/painter artist!! Can never go wrong!!!
















































































































































































































3 Comments
These shots are incredibly lovely. The emotions of the subjects were really perfectly captured. The sequence of the events were also captured just right. Everything’s lovely. Everything’s perfect. Congratulations!
Hi Mark and Laurel,
Just saw the blog site- incredibly beautiful!!! Outstanding job, Mark in all that heat!
Thank you,
Elizabeth Spoth
Thank you, for a great job! I wasn’t able to attend so I really enjoyed the pics and the laughs and fun you all seemed to be having… “Kelley Style!” Glad it was so wonderful – Blessings on you all & Peace.