I am so proud to be a National Arboretum Wedding Photographer, it’s not just the beautiful scenery and proximity to downtown Washington DC, but also just the sort of people that are drawn to the Arboretum! They have an appreciation of nature and art and are kind, intelligent, and authentically themselves– my ideal couple for sure!
Picture this: The year is 1967 and you are in a junior high classroom in Pierre, South Dakota. Two best friends since 2nd grade are smiling at two other friends, who happen to be identical twins. They whisper, “Someday we will marry the Parkinson twins and live happily ever after as sisters-in-law.” Best friend, Deb, married one twin in 1974 and had 50 years of happiness together. The other half of the “Parkinson Twin dream” came true this year as Juanita married Larry 60 years after meeting!
Juanita & Larry met at age 9 and *just tied the knot* at age 69– there is so much to their incredible story including an engagement ring that they purchased when they were 19, more here:
Why Rhinehart Photography?
Larry shares, “We began by choosing the National Arboretum as our wedding venue and then began our search for the perfect wedding photographer, starting with the Arboretum’s list of preferred photographers. Because we’re both retired, we had the luxury of checking out all of the photographers’ websites, not only from that list, but from **literally every photographer who had photographed a wedding at the Arboretum**. Lisa’s work stood out above all the rest as fun, colorful, and personalized, with superb quality! We were also drawn to her because she seemed to share our love for nature, adventure, and family. Her photos of her own outdoor adventures were stunning. Because we had already decided on the natural beauty of the Arboretum for our venue, we wanted a photographer who could capture that setting with flair.”
Juanita added, “When we had our first Zoom call with Lisa, it confirmed what we had seen on her website. She was warm and engaging, with an infectious enthusiasm that made us confident that our wedding day would be fun and relaxed. We were also confident that she would be able to capture the joy of everyone in attendance. Although Lisa was personally booked for our wedding date, her colleague Jim was available. When we had a follow-up Zoom call with Lisa and Jim, we were similarly impressed with Jim’s warmth, personality, and expertise. I (Lisa) book up quickly, and for weddings that I’d love to cover but no longer have the date open on my calendar, I have a solution :). I have a few trusted photographer friends who work under me on the day of to be my eyes and ears, and then I take care of the rest (the editing, album design, emails, wedding day timeline, etc). In this case, my associate was Jim– one of my long-time photography friends that I met at a conference over a decade ago. We have shot dozens of weddings together at this point, he has even belayed me while rock climbing!
She exclaims, “Working with Jim on our wedding day was fantastic! He was creative, technically skilled, patient, flexible, and a joy to work with. His assistant Emily was also wonderful and particularly skilled at coaxing great shots with our four grandkids (all under 5 years old)! Emily’s stuffed animal kept jumping on Jim and popping out from behind him, making the kids laugh and smile.”
National Arboretum Wedding Photographer: First Look
Larry recalls, “I knew the color of Juanita’s dress, but had no idea what it was going to look like. I knew that she and her sister Melinda had made a big effort to choose the perfect dress and have it tailored just right, so I had high expectations. But when I turned around for my first look, I was pretty blown away. The dress not only popped with color, but it fit perfectly and Juanita looked absolutely stunning.”
Kids will be kids, and aren’t they the cutest?!
Juanita shares, “We wanted our wedding day to be all about our families and closest friends. So the wedding party consisted of my two children, Larry’s two children, and our four grandkids. Sisters Margot (age 4) and Stella (age 3) were our flower girls, and brothers Ellis (age 4) and Jonas (age 2) were our ring-bearers.”
She continues, “Larry was escorted by his two kids Andy and Katie, and I was escorted by my two kids Christopher and Catharine. Each of our children had a significant part in the ceremony, with Andy, Katie, and Christopher doing readings, and Catharine singing a beautiful song we had chosen. Catharine was accompanied on guitar by Larry’s son-in-law Andy Hart, who also performed the rest of the music for the ceremony.”
Awww, I love these so much:
National Arboretum Wedding Photographer: Ceremony
Colorful and vibrant are two words that I think of when trying to describe this wedding ceremony and reception– I mean just look at these colors!
Larry says, “In addition to family, we each had our very closest friends in attendance. It was a special treat to have my dear friend, Craig, officiate the wedding ceremony. Craig is a long-time judge in DC and our friendship goes back 38 years, when we began working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office on the same day. Juanita has also become a close friend of Craig and his wife Rosemary. As one who has performed many marriage ceremonies, Craig did a fantastic job and made the ceremony personalized and relaxed.”
Guests in Attendance
Juanita shares, “It was beyond special to have my sister Melinda there at the wedding. Nine months prior, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. She endured eight months of chemotherapy with horrible side effects, feeling like she just wouldn’t have the strength to attend our wedding. However, in the last few weeks before the wedding, the chemo was stopped (because her cancer was in remission) and her strength improved. Thankfully, she was able to attend and enjoy herself! That was a total blessing for us all!”
Larry & Juanita’s Incredible Love Story
Larry shares, “Our story actually began at age 9 when my family moved from the tiny town of Kadoka, South Dakota to the big city of Pierre. Although Juanita and I lived on opposite sides of town during those formative elementary school years, we got to know each other pretty quickly, through church activities and cross-town sports events and became good friends. We stayed good friends for the next 60 years or so. Along the way, we became more than just good friends and started “going steady” as seniors in high school – shortly after Juanita’s best friend began “going steady” with my twin brother. Juanita and I stayed together throughout all four years of college. We went to different colleges as freshmen, but Juanita transferred – twice – so we could be together. But that chapter came to an end after graduation, when I moved to Washington to work for a South Dakota Congressman and Juanita moved to North Dakota for an internship.”
He adds, “When we were 19 years old, we bought an engagement ring and wedding band but had no immediate plans to get married, even though my twin and Juanita’s best friend, Deb, had just gotten married. Juanita and I had just finished our sophomore year in college and weren’t ready to tie the knot. But we thought we probably would marry someday and were planning ahead. So we traveled to the diamond capital of the U.S. – Sioux City, Iowa – and bought our ‘Love Story’ diamond.”
He continues, “Although we went our separate ways after college, we stayed in touch over the years and remained long-distance friends. I was always treated like a member of Juanita’s family, and was never completely out of touch, especially with Melinda, Juanita’s sister who lived in New York City. Fast forward 46 years after college, we found ourselves single and living nearby and reconnected in early 2022. We found our reconnection to be very natural and easy and discovered that neither of us had fundamentally changed in the 46 years since we had become a couple in college. Juanita and I were the same two people who had found each other so many years ago.”
Larry says, “Since there was no marriage back in the 70s, Juanita never got her ring. Fast forward 48 years. When Juanita and I reconnected, I was pretty sure I still had those rings and found them exactly where I thought they’d be: in an old box of stuff from high school and college days. So when we went on a Viking cruise in 2023, I asked Juanita to marry me and presented her with the same ‘Love Story’ engagement ring we had bought together back in 1974. I increased my odds of a ‘yes’ answer by proposing on a little stone bridge over an Italian canal. Fortunately, Juanita did say ‘yes,’ and here we are! Incidentally, the ring no longer fit Juanita’s finger, so we took an afternoon in Corfu, Greece, to get it re-sized!”
Their First Date: Holding hands in the National Arboretum
Larry and Juanita share “We chose the National Arboretum because we love nature and wanted a beautiful outdoor venue. The Arboretum also holds a special place in our hearts because it was a big part of our reconnection as a couple after 46 years. We first held hands again as we explored the Arboretum in March 2022.”
They continue, “We held our ceremony in the Meadow, cocktails in the Herb & Rose Garden, and dinner and dancing under a tent in the Flowering Tree Pad.”
Larry adds, “The original Capitol Columns provided a unique and beautiful backdrop. The 22 columns were part of the U.S. Capitol for 130 years, beginning in 1828, and moved to the Arboretum site starting in 1988. Because I worked in Washington DC for 40 years in federal public service, beginning as a congressional aide at the Capitol, the columns added a special significance.”
National Arboretum Cocktail Hour: Beautiful, fun, delicious!
Juanita exclaims, “Spilled Milk Catering was outstanding. Their food and drinks were delicious, creative, and fun – and their service was impeccable.”
Spilled Milk Catering is so creative, aesthetically and flavor-wise, one of the best caterers around!
Toasts
Juanita says, “After a brief welcome at the beginning of dinner, we did toasts when the band took their break after their first set. All four of our kids made us very proud with touching and heartfelt remarks. We were surprised and charmed when 4-year-old Margot came to the floor to offer her special wishes for ‘Nana and Papa Larry.'”
Larry recalls, “My best friend from law school, Bob, delighted the crowd with three original limericks he had composed on his trip from Chicago to the wedding. Here’s a sample:
When the groom met the lovely Juanita
She was younger than even Lolita.
But Larry, then 9
Had a smooth pickup line:
Come with me and our lives will be sweetah.”
The Party of their Lifetime!
Juanita says, “Our band – 76 Degrees West – was fantastic! We had seen them play nine months earlier at Larry’s daughter Katie’s wedding, and we were so impressed by their energy and playlist. So we decided to book them for our own wedding. We knew Leon and his 10 bandmates would put on a great show and they certainly delivered!”
At the end of the Night
The couple smiles, “After six weekends of rainy weekends in Washington, we had perfect weather: sunny, nearly cloudless, temperatures in the high 70s. In addition to having the Capitol Columns in the background for our ceremony and reception, we chose to light the columns after sunset. This was a special touch that was a big hit with our guests. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!”
My team and I loved being your National Arboretum Wedding Photographers. I can’t wait to come back here and photograph your after-session!
Vendors:
- Venue: National Arboretum, MTG Hospitality
- Caterer: Spilled Milk Catering
- Tenting: Select Event Group
- Florist: Willow Oak Flower & Herb Farm
- Lighting of Columns: Dan Goldman Events
- Wedding Coordinator: IM Events
- Band: 76 Degrees West
Hungry for More?
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Are you or someone you know looking for a photographer for their weddings, portraits, business branding, etc? I’m your girl! Contact me here, I’d love to hear all about it!