As 2023 comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the beautiful year of engagement sessions, weddings, and other work + features we’ve accomplished. It is the biggest privilege to be able to celebrate alongside so many amazing couples and their families, witnessing some of the most tender and joyful moments of their lives. Here’s a recap of what we were up to this year!

Engagement and Portrait Sessions

From cherry blossoms in the Tidal Basin to vibrant fall foliage in the mountains near Charlottesville, we had the chance to celebrate alongside so many couples for portrait sessions this year.

We started off the year with Cherry Blossom Festival portraits in Washington, DC for two couples. First was an early first anniversary session for Dana and Zach, whose wedding we photographed last year. The overcast weather conditions made for soft and romantic portraits that set the bar high for the rest of the year! You can see more of their session on the blog.

And just a couple of days later, we returned to the Tidal Basin for Cherry Blossom Portraits belatedly celebrating Rika and Andrew’s wedding, and we got the perfect sunny morning for more vibrant and bright portraits! You can see more of their portrait session on the blog here.

Our gorgeous spring portraits didn’t end there, however – we photographed Sarah and Max’s Northern Virginia engagement session at the always-stunning Green Spring Gardens Park and accidentally stumbled upon peony season in full swing! You can see more of their portraits on the blog here.

Summertime brought two of the most uniquely dreamy and romantic engagement sessions I’ve ever photographed. First was Anna and James’ middle-of-a-rainstorm session at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens in Leesburg, giving total The Notebook vibes! I can’t wait to photograph their wedding next year. You can see more of their rainy engagement session in Northern Virginia here.

And then we switched gears to an intimate picnic engagement session with Molly and Drew, who brought a sweet pink bouquet of flowers and somehow we made Little House on the Prairie vibes so chic and dreamy. Their Sky Meadows State Park engagement session is on the blog here.

The last engagement session I personally photographed was a casual early fall session in Ellicott City, MD for Sarah Diane and Matt, whose wedding is in April next year!

But wait, there’s more! While I didn’t photograph this final portrait session of the year, I did hire the incredible Kelly of Kaypea Photography to associate shoot a very special engagement session – my sister’s! My sister Stephanie and her fiancé Martin are getting married at The Barn at Edgewood near Charlottesville, VA next fall and Kelly will be the associate photographer for the big day as well. They had a very cold but stunning golden hour session at The Barn at Edgewood and I’m in love with the results!

Weddings

Of course, weddings are the main event around here and we celebrated alongside some incredible couples this year! The first wedding of the year was a sweet and short intro back into the swing of things, with Sarah and Ed’s wedding at the brand new Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Aldie. You can see more of their beautiful Catholic wedding in Loudoun County on the blog here.

Our next wedding of the year was an extra special one as we celebrated alongside one of my best friends on her wedding day! Sara and Matthew had a reverent and beautiful wedding mass at St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria. You can see photos from their rainy wedding day on the blog here.

We had the chance to return to a favorite reception venue next with Kathleen and Steve’s wedding day. The rainy wedding trend continued on, but after their Catholic wedding at St. John the Apostle in Leesburg, we were able to snag a few photos in the rain at Rose Hill Manor. I loved how Kathleen and Steve integrated the tea ceremony tradition into their wedding reception, and this was one of the most fun and high-energy wedding receptions I’ve ever photographed! You can see more of their Catholic wedding in Leesburg on the blog here.

Our next wedding was switching gears a bit – while we LOVE photographing so many Catholic weddings, it is also so much fun and full of beauty to photograph weddings outside the Church. We had the most incredible day with Dani and Connor’s wedding at Blue Hill Farm in Loudoun County. So much so that we delivered our largest wedding gallery to date, with over 2200 photos! Blue Hill Farm is now one of my absolute favorite venues because of the gorgeous rooms for the “getting ready” moments, beautiful views for the ceremony and portraits, and charming reception space. (And sorry, Dani and Connor – your shot ski photos are going to live on forever! Haha.) You can see more of their Blue Hill Farm wedding in Loudoun County on the blog here.

Another dear friend’s wedding was up next, as we celebrated with Christy and Kyle for their Catholic wedding at the St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel at George Mason University followed by a wedding reception at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. We had a perfect day with a gorgeous golden hour for portraits around the gardens. I just can’t get over how stunning Christy looked, especially her crown and heirloom jewelry! You can see more of their Meadowlark Botanical Gardens wedding on the blog here.

Our next wedding was at one of my favorite churches in the area, St. Veronica Catholic Church in Chantilly. Rebekah and Dominic chose to do a first look, pray together before the ceremony, and walk down the aisle together – a tradition that used to be common but is now rare. You can see their beautiful Catholic wedding at St. Veronica on the blog here.

Our next two weddings were both at the same reception venue which was a very fun coincidence! Annemarie and Ethan had their ceremony at the beautiful little historic Immaculate Conception church, followed by a reception at Stevenson Ridge just south of Fredericksburg. It was an incredibly hot day, but Annemarie and Ethan were troopers especially as we dashed outside after a rainstorm ended for some very muggy but gorgeous portraits by the pond. You can see their timeless wedding day on the blog here.

We then returned to Stevenson Ridge for Sarah and Max’s wedding day! These two had a beautiful wedding at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, surrounded by their enormous group of family and friends, as they both come from large families. At Stevenson Ridge we ended up only having a few last moments of golden hour for portraits but I knew Sarah and Max were practically professionals after their gorgeous engagement session earlier in the year, so we got a ton of beautiful portraits in a short period of time so they could get back to their party. You can see more of their Catholic wedding in Fredericksburg on the blog here.

While it seems like microweddings are all the rage on the internet these days, we only had one this year – a late October wedding at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. I got to spend a couple of hours with Evelyn and Alvin for their first look on the lawn, ceremony under the gazebo on the pond, and portraits around the property before they headed out to 2941 Restaurant for a lunch with their family.

Our final wedding of the year was mid-December and what a way to wrap up 2023! Molly and Drew had a Catholic wedding at Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda, followed by a reception at The Line Hotel in DC – a bucket list venue for me! I had Kelly by my side for this one as my second photographer, and we got to work alongside White Lily Weddings for coordination and Foxlight Films’ videography team. You can see so many more photos from their incredible day on the blog here.

Styled Shoots

On a rare occasion, we will participate in a styled shoot and this year included one. I have lots of thoughts about styled shoots that I’m eager to share in a future blog post, but for now it’s worth noting that we are very picky about the styled shoots we participate in. This year, we had the opportunity to photograph a styled shoot for a brand new venue, The Pavilion at Sunshine Ridge Winery Farm in Gainesville. Organized by wedding planner/coordinator Morgan from Elder Fox LLC, we photographed a beautiful reception setup in the pavilion as well as some bride/groom portraits down by the waterfront and the main winery building. It was fun to get to know some new vendors and help launch a brand new wedding venue in Prince William County!

Features and Publications

In September, we were featured on the Brides & Weddings Magazine blog with Melissa and Willoughby’s Fall 2022 wedding at Manor Country Club. It was the most perfect fall wedding day full of personal touches. Our blog post with the link to the wedding as well as the feature is here.

Also in September, we were featured on the blog for The Catholic Bridal Collective with Olivia and Victor’s timeless wedding at St. Rita Catholic Church and reception at Westfields Golf Club in Clifton, VA. The Catholic Bridal Collective launched this year and we immediately joined as a TCBC vendor because we love connecting with Catholic clients + fellow Catholic vendors; being featured on their blog was the cherry on top! Our blog post with the link to the wedding as well as the feature is here.

Finally, in October we were featured on the new blog Northern Virginia Wedding Style with Christy and Kyle’s wedding from earlier this year. Our blog post with the link to the wedding as well as the feature is here.

Personal Updates

Of course, so much more happens behind the scenes and I don’t often share much of my personal life on here! In February I had the opportunity to go on a retreat with the Women Youth Apostles earlier this year, which was a welcome reprieve from mom life for a long weekend and left me feeling so rejuvenated.

In the summer, my husband and I finally got to return to Italy after our previous trip was canceled due to covid in 2020; we visited Verona, the Dolomites, and Venice and enjoyed some incredible food and views. We loved our hotel in Verona that included private after-hours access to the famous Juliet statue, the stunning clear water and mountain views at Lago di Carezza and paddling a private boat on Lago di Braies, dinner at Michelin-starred restaurant 1908, and our gondola ride through the side canals of Venice. Alas, I actually spent most of this trip with some sort of flu (don’t let the highlight reel fool you, it was so tough!) and we didn’t realize just how much of the features/restaurants in the Dolomites would be closed during the “shoulder season” of our visit, so we are eager to return to the mountains again someday!

In July, we had the opportunity to go to Orlando with my parents and siblings’ families for a week which was so special! We were able to take our toddler to Magic Kingdom and take him on his first beach visit which he absolutely LOVED! We stayed in a large rental house with all of my family and it’s an opportunity I’m so grateful for.

We also found out that we are expecting a little boy in February 2024! The first trimester was pretty rough for me with nausea and food aversions, and even extended a couple of weeks into the second trimester this time (which I did not appreciate, haha). At the close of 2023 I’m now 34 weeks pregnant and so grateful that I get to spend the slower winter months on maternity leave with a bit of time to prep before baby arrives and a few weeks to adjust to life with a newborn before my first wedding of the year in April. Please keep our family in your prayers as we go through this big transition to 2 kids!

Family photo credit: Rachel Walisko Photography