Aida & Isaac || The UVA Quaker Wedding, Charlottesville VA

The couple chose a Quaker ceremony which I learned it defines as a silent ceremony where there is no officiant, no giving away of the bride. A wedding certificate is signed and there is a period of silent worship . After a period of silence the couple stands and says their vows to each other and exchanges rings. Then everyone shakes hands and all guests have to also sign their marriage certificate. At a Quaker ceremony, no photos can be taken at all during the meeting. So I got to sit in the back with my second shooter and we both felt a little bit overwhelming.

To be honest, this was such a privilege of attending my first Quaker wedding ever. I had to say it was one of the most beautiful and family-oriented ceremonies I’d ever been to.

Thank you Aida & Isaac for sharing your day with me. It’s such an honor to be a witness on your special day. I wish you both love and happiness for all your days. Enjoy my favorite pictures from this beautifully simple wedding.

Ceremony Venue — University of Virginia Chapel 

Reception Venue — Charlottesville Friends Meeting

Cake — Albemarle Baking Company

Catering — DaH Catering 

Bridal Gown — Amanda’s Touch Bridal and Formal

Back To School Session || Fredericksburg Family Photographer

A couple of weeks before my boys went back to school we took some time to snap a few “back to school” pics at the park. I intend to make this shoot as a yearly back to school event for us. As a photographer and mom, having the beautiful pictures of my boys to document such an important milestone in their lives is really important for me and for my sense of memory.

We had a lot of fun that day and my boys were really into the shoot which just makes my job easy! Enjoy..

Beat the Winter Blues with Beauty Shoot (part two) || Fredericksburg Portrait Photographer

Continuing from my blog post part 1 with a blue-color-themed winter styled shoot, the outfits from the images here are bursting with a beautiful red color. I always love the pop of red against the snow. As one of my favorite colors, red is the color of energy and the symbol of life. It also evokes strength, power, and creates a visual impact. People tend to look more happier and attractive by wearing red.

Thank you again to my fellow photographers, models and friends who made this winter styled shoot possible. I look forward to working again with all of you. You guys really put your hearts and souls into this shoot.

Model: Ally, Morgan, Emily and Sarah

Hairstyling and Makeup : Rachel Ranno

Dress and accessories : Personal collection

 

Beat the Winter Blues with Beauty Shoot (part one) || Fredericksburg Portrait Photographer

Winter is generally regarded as the slowest season for photographers. For many of us, that is such a great time to rest and recharge, the time to update the website and set new goals. Some of us probably tend to have the winter blues as our mood rises and drops with the temperature. When other fellow photographers happen to be available, why not we plan a styled shoot together. This should be one of great ways to beat this winter blues and to boost our mood and our creative spark.

We then spontaneously styled a lovely shoot in the winter wonderland with just simple and elegant touches. For this part 1, I highlight here all blue/grey-color -themed style shoots that look elegant and fit good on Emily and Sarah (they were such troopers, brave the cold). Thank you all the teamwork for your wonderful contribution, I loved every bit of it! Stay tuned for next blog post (part 2) a red-color -theme from our snow winter styled shoots.

Model: Emily and Sarah

Hairstyling and Makeup : Rachel Ranno

Dress and accessories : Personal collection

 

My First Wedding Styled Shoot Ever!!

I have been a professional photographer for more than 2 years now. I started my own photography business in mid 2012. I only wanted to do a family photography, not any single mind to do weddings at that time. In 2014 someone asked me to photograph her summer wedding that made me the leap to become a wedding photographer.

Knowing that I lacked the skill and experience to shoot a wedding on my own, I decided to have a simple wedding styled shoot at the park together with MUA from All Gussied Up makeup by Heather, a florist from The Floral Palette, and a photographer friend Ade from Adettara Photography, and a young couple Miranda and Eddie as our models. The purpose to create this wedding styled shoot was simply to build my portfolio. Please enjoy the pictures from my first experience of photographing a wedding couple.

Nina & Daniel || Wilderness Presidential Resort, Fredericksburg Wedding

Nina and Daniel’s wedding was simply charming, beautiful, and personal day with DIY touches and contributions from their friends and family from near and far. The wedding was incorporated with some key Filipino wedding traditions, where the couple asked their close friends and family to serve them as sponsors for the different parts of the wedding. Their sponsors would place symbolic items on the wedding couple, or hand them blessings to the couple during the ceremony. Congratulations Nina & Daniel!

Venue: Wilderness Presidential Resort

 

Maggie & Dave | Fredericksburg VA Engagement

We shot a romantic outdoor engagement session for Maggie & Dave last Spring. We finished up with some golden hour photos and then a few with the downtown background.

    

Hill-Rosebore || The Manor House at Kings Charter

I was so excited when I got a contact from M&A Photography to offer me the primary shooter position or their Associate Photographer for Ashla and Ashley Wedding at The Manor House in Mechanicsville, VA. This particular wedding was SUPER fun because I got to shoot with Treneka from For The Joy Photography who helped me out as a second shooter, although we treated each other like an equal and a partner. We are both members of local (Fredericksburg) and VA photographers group and we sometimes hang out with other photographers from our area. We always have fun together and I seriously hope that we are able to photograph together in the future.

Check out my favorite images from Ashla & Ashley wedding below!