Atmosphere Photos

Many of our clients enjoy wedding "atmosphere" photos: images of flowers, decor, the church... and we do our best to photograph each wedding in as comprehensive a way as possible. For example, here's a minister walking towards the church just before the wedding.

The key is to allow us enough time to capture these types of images. If your schedule is busy and we have just enough time to take all the pre-ceremony photos you want, then photograph the ceremony, then take post-ceremony posed photos under a tight timetable... then were off to the reception... we'll do our best to photograph the settings and peripheral events of your day, but our ability to do so may be limited. (Keep in mind neither of the moments shown were staged or posed - we just needed the few seconds necessary to notice and photograph them.)


If atmosphere and mood photos are important to you, let us know and we'll work with you to develop a schedule that allows us to capture everything you want.

"I'm Glad I Don't Face That Type of ID Check"

It's by no means wedding related, but recently one of our brides saw the photo below and said, "Maybe showing two forms of ID isn't such a bad thing after all...."

Before each race all horses have their identities verified by checking the unique ID number that's tattooed on the inside of their upper lip, since names are easy to change but a tattoo is a little tougher...

... and that's what they're doing in this photo taken at Pimlico. It's not a particularly flattering angle, so in the spirit of fairness here's the same horse, on a different day, photographed under much better circumstances.

Safe Return

Nicole let us know that her husband, Marine lieutenant Philip Anastasi, returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.

He left for Iraq a week after he and Nicole were married, and we're glad to hear he's home safe and sound. Our hope is the term "second honeymoon" takes on a new and very special meaning in situations like theirs. We extend our thanks and gratitude to Phil and to all the other members of our armed forces who are serving or have served overseas.

Veils Make a Comeback

Our posts about wedding trends generate by far the most feedback from readers, so here's another one we've noticed this year. A few years ago we saw very few brides wearing veils - maybe once every twenty weddings or so. This summer alone four of our brides wore veils.

Depending on the gown, a veil can add a touch of additional elegance and grace. (But keep in mind if your ceremony will be held outdoors, the wind could play havoc with your veil, making it more of a distraction than an accent.)

It's worth noting that only one of our brides - in the last three years - wore her veil over her face as she walked down the aisle. While the moment the groom lifts the bride's veil at the altar is always a special one, most couples choose not to; that way guests have an unobstructed view of the bride as she walks the aisle - and she can see her guests clearly, too.

Destination Weddings - Redefined

Destination weddings are as popular as ever - each year we photograph two or three weddings in exotic or distant locales. But many couples are redefining "destination."


How? Typically a "destination" wedding involves the couple meeting family and friends at an island location or resort for their wedding. But a number of our couples in past years have chosen a less distant location for their wedding, inviting family and friends to join them there for a week, with the wedding taking place either in the middle of the week or even at the beginning.

The wedding becomes a mini-vacation, albeit a vacation with a theme (and a vacation where bringing nice clothes is no longer optional.) And if you choose a destination like the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, you may be lucky enough to be chauffeured around for post-ceremony photos by a friendly golf course employee.


When we talk to those couples afterwards, all have been very happy they chose to spend significant time with their families before and after their weddings. Most feel it's a great way to "blend" the families and give everyone a chance to get to know each other over a period of days rather than hours. Even small weddings benefit from this approach; you can always take over a bed and breakfast for the week or weekend.

Plus it's a more relaxed celebration - there's no hurry to make sure you spend a few moments with each guest... because you'll have plenty of time to catch up before and after the wedding.

Videotape Your Proposal

We've seen a lot of cute ideas, but a couple months ago at a wedding we photographed Ed, the groom, pulled off something we'd never seen before. He enlisted the help of a friend to videotape his proposal to his eventual bride, Shelley. (We assume he didn't worry he'd run the risk of instead documenting the moment she turned him down.) His friend stayed out of sight and Ed never let Shelley know he'd arranged to videotape the moment.

At the wedding reception he surprised her by playing the video on a large screen. It was a really cute moment - she was very surprised, he was tickled he'd pulled it off, and it was a neat way to involve family and friends in their day. While it certainly took some planning, and required Ed to keep a secret for a number of months, Shelley's response was priceless, and it was a memory they - and their guests - will remember forever.

Floyd Landis Visits Harrisonburg

Floyd Landis, winner of the 2006 Tour de France, in Harrisonburg this weekend for Sunday's Shenandoah Mountain 100 mountain bike race, signed autographs and met fans Friday night at Shenandoah Bicycle Company in an impromptu event. He's both famous and infamous: he won the world's preeminent bicycle race, and days later tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. (He lost his arbitration case, so he's no longer officially the TdF champion.)


Floyd had nothing to gain personally from the meet-and-greet; he wasn't selling anything, representing a sponsor, or pushing for media attention. He agreed to the event because the folks at SBC asked him to come by - his visit generated a lot of attention and brought potential customers (for the SBC) into the store. It was simply a nice gesture on his part.

After about 30 minutes a reporter from the Daily News-Record asked Floyd for an interview. Floyd said, "Sure... but only after there's no one left who wants to meet me or have me sign something ."


The reporter understood, but what impressed me is Floyd didn't seem concerned about accommodating the reporter, even though it's in his best interest to get his side of the doping story out. It was obvious he cared a lot more about accommodating the people who came by to see him.

I enjoyed speaking to him, however briefly, and was left with the impression he's a decent guy who, like all of us, tries to do the right thing even when doing the right thing means doing the hardest thing.

If you're interested in Floyd's doping allegations, the blog Trust But Verify collects daily news about the case and about Floyd. They don't appear to have an editorial opinion, but merely aggregate each day's media coverage.