Wedding at the Washington Duke Inn

After a short break in my crazy 2010 wedding season, I was really looking forward to going back to the 2nd one of my Washington Duke Inn Weddings this year. Every aspect of a wedding at the Washington Duke Inn is carefully planned, prepared and executed and for Kimberly & Jacob’s wedding, it was no different. We started the day at the beautiful Belle Trio salon where Kim and her mother were getting their bridal updo’s taken care of by Jodi. Interestingly enough, I rarely get to an actual beauty parlor to shoot the bridal preparations so I was kinda excited to shoot this. After both of the ladies had their hair sculpted (Which it turned out gorgeous!), we headed over to the Trish McEvoy counter at the local mall. Due to a scheduling dilemma, Kimberly went to the mall to get her makeup completed. Another cool place I don’t ordinarily get to shoot so I was definitely pumped.

As we arrived back at the hotel, I get the feeling my Washington Duke Inn weddings are cursed as mother nature decided we should have a beautiful indoor affair instead of the outdoor ceremony. Seems like the wedding day theme, so far, was all about change. Gladly no other surprises were thrown our way so I went up to the bride & groom’s room to get a few shots of them getting dressed and meet the families & bridal parties. I do want to mention that I ended up riding down in the elevator with Kimberly and her father. Having a young daughter myself, these moments really get to me and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to understand how precious those last few moments with a bride and her father are. The really great thing about Washington Duke Inn weddings are the hotel affords many small nook areas that you can have a nice moment alone like this.

Kimberly & Jacob had two officiants at their ceremony which was pretty cool. Last time I shot a Washington Duke Inn Wedding, it was two ceremonies and two officiants (separate occasions) so it looks like my string of two’s is still running. With it raining outside, we managed to get a quick shot without trashing the dress but opted to stay indoors the majority of the time for the formals. Having just given a lighting class on “guerrilla lighting”, I was pretty excited to go have some fun with unusual and beautiful lighting techniques.

We headed back into the reception hall where their ban, the Party Nuts, got the wedding reception going with thei first dances. Everyone had a chance to relax and enjoy a fabulous meal from the Washington Duke Inn while live music was going on in the background. After the Bride & Groom walked around to greet everyone, they enjoyed a great toast from their best man and maid of honor. Then to the cake cutting that was surprisingly nice (I lost a bet with myself that a smash would occur) then everyone partied down with the band. Kimberly and Jacob exited the Washington Duke Inn with an array of rose petals tossed in the air (and a few into their faces). From start to finish, the entire wedding was a beautiful event and their friends had flown in from as far as Russia (Moscow) to attend.

It was a pleasure meeting everyone and congratulations to you both! Please enjoy a few of the photos from their Washington Duke Inn Wedding.