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.

The couple took the floor.

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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