A winter wedding in Washington DC that included freshly falling snow and these two dapper gentlemen…

I had such a blast working with these two!  Our first meeting began with Chris saying, “Your work is so crisp, clear and exactly the type of high-quality photography that we are looking for!  Thank you so much for making this decision so easy for us!”
Dan elaborated, “We are also really struck by your ability to capture emotion and personality!  Your photos are creative and fun but not over-done.”  They both mentioned loving my familiarity with the Carnegie and my ability to incorporate the architecture into the photos as well. 🙂
As far as aesthetic, they shared, “With a December wedding, we wanted subtle winter/holiday elements of burgundy and gold, accented with evergreens, winter florals, and candles. We opted to go with tailored navy suites to balance out the stateliness of the venue and keep things a bit more casual.”

I love to play with different photographic elements on a wedding say.  The image above embraces shadow to allow the vibrant, delicate foliage to pop!
The image below plays with the symmetry of  the room and the couple.  They were so much fun to be with, always laughing and joking around!

I love to play with light and enjoyed capturing that golden glow and shadowy silhouettes as they pin their boutonnieres…

Chris and Dan’s home has been in the family for years!  Chris’ grandparents moved into the basement as newlyweds in the 1940s and rented from his grandfather’s aunt & uncle who owned the home.  After a few years, they were asked if they wanted to purchase it when the home was slated to be put on the market.  They did purchase the home and raised Chris’ father and uncle in the house.  Chris & his brother Bryan spent their entire childhood visiting their grandparents there.
Although the house has been significantly updated, it was important to keep many of the family’s furniture pieces and make sure that any new elements tied-in seamlessly with the character and history of the home.  Chris shared, “Our family has been gathering in this house for holidays and special occasions for seven decades which is why it felt so important to have photos taken there on our wedding day.  It’s exciting to have so much history in a house and to be carrying it into another generation.”

Dan shared a bit about their relationship, “How could I not fall in love with Chris? He is truly a one-of-a-kind guy and not a day goes by where I don’t stop and think how lucky I am to have him by my side. I fell in love with Chris because he was the funniest and most genuinely caring person I’ve ever met.  He’ll do anything he can to help out our family and friends.  There’s no one who can make me laugh like he can!”

Chris shared, “I fell in love with Dan’s kindness, warmth, and fun nature.  Dan keeps me grounded and provides tremendous support.  I like the person I’ve become with Dan in my life.  We both seem to complement each other very well!”

On the way there, I snapped this photo– I liked the way you could see the snowflakes sticking to the window and couldn’t resist reflection on the ceiling of the limo!
They shared, “Our day was truly perfect!  The snow was incredible — enough to make the atmosphere feel incredibly special and the scenery beautiful, but not enough to cause travel headaches for anyone. The snow was unreal, just incredible and really put us in a festive mood!”

Chris shared, “My life is truly complete with Dan in it and I feel very fortunate!  I’m looking forward to officially strengthening our partnership, traveling together, and building a family as a married couple!”

Such handsome gentlemen!!!  I just love the touch that the snow adds and the light this time of year!  Their suits and ties were from Suit Supply in Georgetown.

They shared, “After visiting a handful of potential venues, we knew that the Carnegie Institution of Washington was the perfect choice for us. We were going for a very “DC” wedding, and we felt the venue really gave off a genuine and authentic DC vibe.  It simply felt right and embodied all the elements we wanted for our wedding day.  The library, rotunda, boardroom, and staircase all added special elements to our special occasion.”
To say that I appreciate the architecture in the Carnegie is such a huge understatement…

So happy together!

This was a very emotional part in the ceremony for everyone, here Dan’s sister is reading the Supreme Court’s decision aloud…
Justice Kennedy stated, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family.  In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were.”
This was of particular significance, especially with Dan’s involvement and work on the cause…

They shared, “We met through our friend Joanna, so it made perfect sense to have her officiate our wedding. We could never thank her enough — she put an enormous amount of time and energy into planning and writing our ceremony from scratch, and it could not have turned out better. Walking into the rotunda with each of our moms — and seeing all of our friends and family gathered in one place — was a truly overwhelming experience for us, in a good way!!”
I focused on the ring in this photo as it wanted it to be super crisp and clear…

With this ring, I thee wed…
They shared “We had so many people visiting the city we call home that we wanted elements of Washington, DC incorporated into our big day as well.  One of those elements was our D&C wedding logo, which of course was DC, yet also our initials!”  Here you can see the logo projected during their ceremony along with that stunning, classic DC architecture…
It’s official…

Oh wow– the snow!  It was such a beautiful touch…

Dan shared, “I’m excited for the adventures we have ahead of us and the family we’ll build together in the years ahead.”

I love playing with depth of field…

High fives all around– Chris’ brother Bryan was his best man…

Molly was Dan’s best woman…

The couple shared, “Having Bryan & Molly as our best man & women was the only option we ever considered for our wedding party.  Bryan and Molly are terrific in every sense and we knew they would be absolutely perfect on our wedding day.  We are fortunate to have lots of amazing friends, so keeping the wedding party simple just made the most sense.”

Chris and Dan shared, “We loved spending this time together in the snow with our bridal party as well wishers passed by on the street!”

They shared, “We do complement each other very well! When one of us is stressed, the other one can usually balance out and calm the situation. We support each other in pretty intuitive ways.”

Let’s get the party started!!!  I loved the gold beaded chargers and burgundy linens– such festive touches… these details and so many more were coordinated with the assistance of Kaitlyn and her team at Cheers Darling!
Dan and Chris explained, “For the tables we went for a very simple yet refined place setting.  Everything from the name cards, menus, and napkin-fold had been thought through, and the added sprig of rosemary was simply the final touch to tie-it all together.  We actually didn’t get a chance to see the table settings so we are very excited to see the photos!”

I have a wide variety of lenses and have to shoot wide and really capture the whole atmosphere…  here the entire crowd cheers and the bridal party stands as D & C enter the wedding reception.  I love how you can see the architecture of the room as well as the excitement of the happy couple!

I moved in a little tighter to show their dance moves…
A fun perspective of the first dance…

The mother-son dances were so much fun!

Joy-filled…

They shared, “Our day was so much fun!  We really want photos that capture that!”
Dance floor action…

Dan and Chris said, “Our friends and family are top priorities for us and it was extremely important to have several photos take with them, especially large group photo in the rotunda.  That was such a fantastic idea and we’re so glad you suggested it!”
A huge shout out to Michael Bell from MyDeeJay for helping with the logistics of this shot

Milk and cookie shots were a festive tie-in and absolutely adorable!

Chris shared, “At the end of the night, I honestly felt like my life was complete.  I am so fortunate to be married to Dan!”

There were so many light temperatures effecting the Carnegie that night– the street lamps, the spots, the lamp…  it was if all were celebrating this union!   I embraced it all and added my own, too for a little extra pop…

Chris and Dan shared, “We absolutely loved working with you!  You were so much fun and really had a stress-free attitude!!  You helped us to create a wedding day schedule and follow it diligently, consulting us if time was becoming a factor.  You were so flexible and super helpful, even asking us which photos we’d prefer to have you focus on!  Thank you!”
Many thanks, Dan and Chris for being so amazing to work with– I hope that these photos are just the sort of crisp, creative, architectural, unique, emotional images that you were hoping for!
If you’d like to see more of Chris and Dan, check out their engagement photos here. Check out my other work as an LGBTQIA+ Wedding Photographer here.