There are few things that bring a photographer more joy than to photograph the joy of a close friend.  I was thrilled when Christa and Jacob asked me to photograph their wedding in Fall 2018 and especially excited on the day of their engagement shoot!

Christa worked in the Catholic Campus Ministry at Marymount University while I was a student there.  She’s a kind, thoughtful, goofy, adorable person so I was so happy for her when she started dating Jacob, and when I heard they were engaged.

We started our shoot at St. Stephen Catholic Church in DC, where Christa and Jacob go to mass together frequently, and the area around the church where there was plenty of quiet but urban settings for photos.

After we wandered DC a bit, we drove over to Gravelly Point Park in Virginia.  It was an early date spot for the two of them and we even re-created their cozy date of sitting on a picnic table, wrapped in a blanket, watching the planes fly over as they land at Reagan National Airport. It’s especially fitting, as Jacob travels for work a lot and their periods of separation definitely helped bring them closer together as they managed long-distance for a big portion of their relationship; now they get to be together with the very symbol of what kept them apart.

I’ll definitely be returning to Gravelly Point Park for another shoot!  It was a challenge to fight the crowds on a warm Sunday afternoon, but can you get any cooler than an airplane landing in the background?

Let me know what you think in the comments!