Loudoun County Wedding

Weddings

Jan 9

Written By

From the first emails with this bride, I knew we would be a playful and fun match for one another. Both of us share a love for gardening, florals, indie rock concerts and crafting. We shared so much during our consultation including a few glasses of Pinot Noir ;) The conversation was so playful and fun. A couple of weeks later, I received a nice card that said: "Will you be my wedding photographer?"?!?! How thoughtful was that? I knew that this would be a the beginning of a special friendship and an exciting journey of wedding planning. I have to be honest. I have never met a more passionate bride with such a vision of what her wedding day would be. She was quite the nervous Nelly but only become she's a perfectionist and wanted everything to be so perfect. She really wanted a relaxed, homey feel that was also refined and exquisite and I think she did a fabulous job at finding that. When she discovered Murray Hill during her venue search, it was simply a match made in heaven. The estate provided a refined manor house for the ceremony, transitioning to the gorgeous formal gardens for the cocktail hour, and then the beautiful barn for the celebration. It was as if they had three venues in one, and it all connected organically. They chose Murray Hill because it is such a magical venue, and has so many elements that made them excited - the riverside ceremony, for example. It truly offered 'the best of both worlds'. The estate setting with it's formal gardens has a enchanting elegance about it by the manor house, and then there's the reflecting pool, which has a 'secret garden' feel to it. And last but not least, the renovated barn. Rachel had always imagined having a barn wedding. She loved the idea of everyone feeling relaxed and easy. Having all of these elements in one venue really was the perfect match.

Rachel chose a botanical garden theme that was both organic and refined. Rachel loves everything about flowers and gardening and Chad is a world class outdoorsman and unbelievable home chef who grows a whole garden of herbs and ingredients every year. Rachel was well aware that her favorite florist, Holly Chapple, lives and works in Loudoun County, who was a trailblazer in botanical floral design - it all seemed meant to be. Then one night Rachel was remembering her grandparent's home and how they loved nature and had so many old guide books that she used to flip through, looking at the sketches. Rachel bought several vintage field guides on wildflowers, and used the pages inside for much of their wedding stationary.

Chad proposed with an heirloom diamond ring from 3 generations ago. Chad's family has an interesting lineage of American diplomats and this ring is a piece from his great-grandmother's collection from her living in Italy. One of the things Rachel really loves is that she and Chad got married on the 8th of the month, and this ring with it's two diamonds is shaped like the number "8".

Andrew, my superman second shooter, really show how talented he is during this cocktail hour. These are by far my favorite shots he's ever taken.