Jessica & Wilson April 3, 2010; 2941 Restaurant

I met Jessica and Wilson at a menu tasting for brides at 2941 Restaurant.  Planning a more intimate event they were looking for fantastic photographs but not all the “extras” that sometimes come with large packages.  As 2941 is one of our preferred venues we often work closely to create custom packages for couples getting married there.  After describing what kinds of photographs they were looking for we realized we were a match!  Jessica wanted photos, photos and more photos focusing on fun and creative images especially of the bride and groom.   Desiring  a lot of poses of the two of them they chose to start with photography before the ceremony together.   With so many options for great backgrounds I knew I could deliver.   They  needed only one photographer and as I love the location assigned myself to the job.  One of the perks of being the boss

The groom picked up the bride and we began photographing prior to the ceremony to make sure they had plenty of time to spend at the party with their guests.  The ceremony went off without a hitch – no pun intended and the couple who already shared  the most common last name of Lee were now husband and wife.   Following the ceremony we finished up with a few more formals and then I got the chance to meet and photograph Jessica and Wilson with their friends, some formal and some not so formal.  Wilson just barely avoided getting dropped during one of their fun poses!  Please see our website under online viewing as well their slide-show highlighting key moments.  I hope you enjoy their images.

Jessica and Wilson excited to say there "I do's"

Husband and wife at last!

Jessica & Wilsons friends kicked up their heels and were ready to celebrate the new Mr. & Mrs.

2941 Resturaunt; Scott & Mina September 19, 2009

I was so excited to be returning to one of my favorite locations to photograph weddings, this time Kate came with me so she could experience this incredible venue.  I’ve mentioned before not only is the setting breathtaking but the staff and food are incredible.  Everything runs so smoothly as the event planners make sure every detail is attended to.  This allows us to focus on photography and know that we won’t miss a thing.  Scott and Mina planned this incredible wedding in just 6 weeks!  I’m in the wedding industry and I took 18 months to plan my wedding.  Luck would have it when Scott contacted me I had one open Saturday in an otherwise very busy September and it was on their wedding day.  A few phone calls and emails later and we were ready to go.  I called Kate and gave her the good news, not only were we headed back but the ceremony was scheduled to take place during my favorite time of day the “golden hour”.  Check out the long shadows…  The only challenge we faced is the ceremony was so close to sunset that the sun was directly behind the couple  during the ceremony (not ideal for photographs) however we used our experience to play on this lighting and create some dramatic images that are only possible for a short time period.  Following the ceremony we raced to get photographs done with the remaining light.  The beautiful couple glowed and not just from the gold light.  They were so happy.  I love wedding days you can almost feel the happiness and the hope for a wonderful future.

Following  their introductions the father of the groom and uncle of the groom played a moving first dance.  The first dance was even more special because two people close to the couple played a part in this moment.  We always take several “first dance” images;  your timeless ones of the couple smiling and looking at the camera and then we move on to capture the emotion of the moment with our more creative imagery.   Kate shared her artistic vision with one image I love, from the click of the shutter to the image enhancement she made this image come alive and for lack of a better description “oooze emotion”.  Enjoy!

Want to see more images from one of our favorite venue sites, email me at agodlove@luxphotoservices.com

Incredible lighting set the stage for these dramatic images

Kate's vision of the first dance

checking out the ring

See more of our work at Lux Photography

2941 Restaurant; Beth & Zach July 25, 2009

I have been woefully remiss in keeping my blog entries up to date.  In my defense I was on vacation for the first two weeks in August.  Having said that I am now up to one of my new favorite locations to photograph; the 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church Virginia.  A hidden jem tucked away in an office building the views are incredible and the food amazing.   The pictures below will attest to the scenery and I can say this about the food because the mother of the bride made sure we were fed.  The fillets we received were so tender we cut them with butter knifes.  I don’t often eat meat and do not have what one might call a discernible palate but even this former vegetarian could tell the fillet was close if not at perfection.

Beth and Zach were a fun, low key couple that were intent on enjoying their day.  We maximized their time to enjoy their party by taking the majority of the photographs before hand.  Seeing her groom helped alleviate this brides nerves.  Brandy and I photographed this wedding together and had a blast.  The temperature was perfect, a slight breeze off the lake ensured we stayed cool.  Not only was this a great location but I had rented the newest Nikon camera and telephoto lens to “try out”.  With quality being so important to me whenever possible I like to try new equipment before investing.  Brandy was toting two cameras and after a short time relegated her regular camera to the bag and had fun with my new “toy”;  I say my because I was looking forward to trying out the camera and lens.  Due to the nature of the telephoto lens we had attached it was not practical for most photographs. Therefor Brandy got to stand on the sidelines so to speak and sneak great candids with the new camera and lens.  I will admit I was jealous; I wanted to play more with the new “toy”.  Good thing growing up mom taught me to “share”.    Some day soon we’ll be adding this amazing camera and lens to our lineup and I can photograph with it to my hearts desire.  Until then I can admire the many great photographs Brandy got with it.

Scenery from 2941 Resturaunt

Brandy and the new camera in action

An album spread

2491 Restaurant did the couples wedding cake