I believe this was my 3rd or 4th Berry Hill wedding this year, and honestly, they’re always unique, always gorgeous and always really, really fun. This was also my first time doing a bridal shoot and a rehearsal dinner here, which both went very well.

I had spent time with Brent & Amanda at Colonial Williamsburg for their engagement shoot, and was really looking forward to their wedding. It paid off, and was a lot of fun. I’d like to give special shout outs to Brent’s mom’s Mother (see, I didn’t use the “G” word) and of course both the dad’s were great fun and also a special shout out to my main man, Amanda’s dad’s Dad. My friend, we still need to close on the real estate deal and you owe me a scotch, and some of your tips for chatting up the ladies ;)  Let’s take a look at some photos …

The first photo is from the after ceremony session. This is in the horse drawn carriage which brought Amanda to the ceremony. Here they are being driven down to our shoot location still in the carriage. I wanted to show this one because Amanda & Brent have great looks about them, and also the very cool reflection curves and lines breaking up an overexposed sky with the fields on the left. There is a lot of movement here, which is nice.

I always like to bring up that the Berry Hill house has the best natural indoor light of anywhere I’ve been. It’s soooo soft, and brings out such fantastic colors; everything looks amazing. Starting out with some great details, we see light draping itself over a gorgeous, gorgeous dress; the tiara, which nicely reflected by the conference table and softened by the wall; and the flowers, balanced nicely with some books over the mantel.

Take note of the two photos with Amanda’s mom. I was taking photos of the dress when I noticed her ironing some clothes. I shot it from that room, through the hall and into her room. It works for several reasons – she never saw me, the shadows of the hall and door frame it nicely and the light along the bed-drapes draws you in to her as the subject. We see a similar effect happening with her helping put Amanda’s dress on. The bed-drape on the left of the frame is critical in bringing our eye in to Amanda and her mom, and framing the photo, while offsetting the the darkness on the right. What really makes it work though, is that Amanda is gorgeous, her dress is equally fantastic, and her arms, hands and head were caught all at the right moment.

I am also a big fan of the final two getting ready images. The first, with the bridesmaids all around Amanda is great as we catch only glimpses of them, as light hits the edge of their faces, and dresses. There is a great glow to it, and it’s general darkness actually brings about a nice peace to what is otherwise a somewhat hectic moment.

The second, with Amanda holding up her dress, is just a very nice moment. Seeing all the underworkings of such a great dress, held up, as bridesmaids work to make all the preparations. Balanced with the great wallpaper behind them, the soft light and the vertical lines in the photo, everything works out nicely.

I was really happy with the first dance series of photos. I could have posted so many more, but kept it with these three. With the first, note how the Bridal Party’s line frames Brent and Amanda nicely into the right side of the frame. The line from the feet of the bridal party is extended by Brent & Amanda’s arms, extending our eye nicely out of the top right corner.

The next two in B&W are some of my favorites. Just a spectacular moment, begging to be in B&W, and takes us back to an older time – very classy, very regal. Again, Amanda has a spectacular use of her body, the lines from her elevated arm to her low arm fading into black frames the expression on her face perfectly. Brent’s smile and stillness is all that is needed to allow Amanda to be the rightful center of attention.

I like the second B&W one just as much because all we need is that bit of light on Amanda’s eye to show how much she loves the man she just married. Nothing else is needed.

We end with some great reception photos to cap off the night. It was a fantastic wedding, and my good friends Rhonda & Staff at Berry Hill did another fantastic job coordinating this perfect wedding. It’s been fantastic hanging out with Brent & Amanda over the past year, and we wish them the best going into their first year together as a married couple. Cheers! Let’s enjoy the photos:

Vendors of note:

Cake: Sally Plautz from Cake Dreams by Sally

Hair/Makeup: Roni Conners

DJ: Calvin Nash

Flowers: Sonya Gregory from Gregory Florist

Ceremony Music: Brenda Finch and group and her string quartet

Invitations: Laura

Coordinator at Berry Hill: Rhonda van der Schagt