Author: DG

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Engagement Photos | Virginia Beach

Catonsville It was a road trip this weekend to Virginia Beach! Honored to be capturing Selina and Andrew’s October wedding this year! They are a fun couple!! They met through a friend. Well actually, Andrew says that he made a “swift move” and stole Selina away; I think it was very mutual; ) And this love story has a furry four legged character named Cheech! One of my favorite pictures is where Cheech is closing his eyes as his “parents” kiss…too funny!

Inver Grove Heights We took the first half of the photos at Selina’s parents home, on the dock right on the bay… and the others were taken at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was established in 1938 as a 4,589-acre refuge to provide feeding and resting habitat for migratory birds. The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds! And there was no fan needed for hair — the wind was taking care of that for us!

It was a beautiful day spent with a wonderful couple! And so excited to share their wedding in the fall!!

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Connecting the dots

In the fall of last year in a meeting with a couple,  (who by the way had some awesome questions for me regarding their wedding photography) they asked me this question: “Why did you get into wedding photography?” I answered their question with something similar to this, “From an early age, I started taking photos—with all kinds of cameras. I love capturing the moments of life, and weddings are such a beautiful collection of some of the most incredible moments in a person’s life.”

But I really started to think about the why, while the above answer is very true and how I feel, I started to really look into what led me in this direction.  I love the opening scene in the Wedding Planner where Jennifer Lopez’s character is a little girl marrying Ken and Barbie, makes me smile every time.  I was a big Barbie fan, but my Barbies didn’t get married, they were too busy having adventures…and actually, my Barbies preferred my brother’s GI Joes…but I digress

When I was a girl about the same age as Jennifer’s character, my mother and her friend started a wedding consulting business. At first, it was a home spun business…but it quickly went to a storefront with different  aspects of a wedding in one place (wedding dresses, invitations and connections with other wedding vendors). I helped out often and since I was pretty tall I got to model junior bridemaid dresses in their fashion shows. And then in high school, I went on to model in various department store wedding fashion shows, sometimes even getting to be the bride:).

Fast forward to my cousin’s wedding in 2004…of course, I took my camera (it was/is pretty much an appendage of me). I took some shots, but didn’t get in the way of the actual photographer; )  My cousin loved the photo I took during their first dance. She told me it was one of her favorite shots of her day. I was hooked. Of course, now I see things I wish I had done differently and this was before I had high quality digital camera.  But it was an intimate moment between her and her husband and I was honored to have captured it.   Shortly, after this wedding I purchased my first Nikon DSLR! The D50…wow, hard to believe! And then in 2006, I started second shooting for other wedding photographers.  In 2007, I made some investments in professional glass and a new camera body … And the rest as they say is history….

It is pretty incredible how life is like a connect the dots puzzle!

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Engagement Photos | Downtown Clifton

Boy, these guys were troopers!! It was was cold …but what a great time we had! We started the session at an Irish pub that Megan and Tim met at…unfortunately, it is now closed down. But it was June a few years back when they met there and it looked different and lively and no big banks of snow around! But alas, even though it is no longer the pub it once was…it has a special place in their hearts! And I loved the colors and textures of the front patio area. Next, we went to the Ice Cream Depot in downtown Clifton (the depot is closed and reopens in the spring!), where they had there first date AND where Tim proposed!! The ring shots were taken in an approximate location of the proposal; ) to hear this fun couple tell the story was great, and there is a bit of controversy surrounding the exact event, but I leave that to them; ) We had a wonderful time and it was nice to spend time with them…at the end of our session, we headed over to the railroad tracks for one last shot and a nice lady, randomly offered her dog to pose with Megan and Tim. You never know about your session… it is always an adventure! Megan loved up on the dog…and I snapped away!

So honored to be shooting their summer wedding!!

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Heart 2 Heart 2014

I am honored to be one of photographers for YFT! Youth For Tomorrow is an amazing organization that helps troubled youth turn their lives around. This event Heart 2 Heart is one of their fundraisers that they have. It was an amazing evening! Erik Estrada won the In-A-Heartbeat Award for his work in protecting children for online sexual predators, Tom Selleck spoke about his acting career with  witty candor and Sara Evans performed! But one of the most moving parts of the evening was the young lady’s story about her life before YFT! Her story was filled with horrible things, but her courage, strength and hope made me cry! She received a standing ovation and rightly so! Please take a look at YFT website and see if there is any way you can help!

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Belle Grove Plantation | Historical Wedding Venue

Today I got the opportunity to visit Belle Grove Plantation! WOW!

Belle Grove is located in King George County,Virginia and is the birth place of James Madison. This is a beautiful place for a weekend getaway or a wedding! Michelle Darnell runs Belle Grove and has put her heart into making this an incredible Virginia gem! There was so much history… and Michelle told me stories about how she has lovingly added elements (like furniture, antique decor and rugs) to the plantation. Belle Grove opened in August of 2013.

There were so many cool things about this place!! Too many for one blog post, but I will share something that really intrigued me. There was a window on the upper level of the house that was hand etched. I asked Michelle about the story behind it, and here is a quote from her,

“The etching came into fashion during the Victorian age. A bride would write her name, her fiance’s name and the date they would marry. It was said to prove that the diamond was real.

Our etching reads:
Carrie Turner
M (or could be W) Vanderburgh
May 18, 1896

Carrie was Caroline Turner, oldest daughter of Carolinus and Susan Turner. Carolinus purchased the property in 1839. The etching has a mystery behind it because Carrie didn’t marry Mr. Vanderburgh and she didn’t get married in 1869. She got married in 1872 to Dr. William Newton Jett. We have done some research and think we have narrowed it down to a Union Soldier. We just don’t know which one (there are several) and haven’t made that final confirmed connection. We hope to get History Detectives in to finish the story one day.”

Oh, there is a mystery there!!

Look for more photos of Belle Grove Plantation! I went there to scope out the light and surroundings for a stylized shoot coming up with Brides and Weddings in the very near future! I am really excited to work with other amazingly talented wedding professionals to create what I know will be an incredible shoot!

Oh, one more thing…James Madison himself stayed there recently! Don’t believe me…check out Belle Grove’s website for his photo and I took a photo of his entry in the room guest book!