The end of 2024 is here! I’ve been thinking back on the fulfilling year I’ve had as a Northern Virginia wedding photographer. Engagement sessions, proposals, weddings, events, and features – we’ve had the joy of celebrating so much! I am truly grateful for every single one of these clients and their families, witnessing some of the most incredible and meaningful moments of their lives. Here’s a recap of what we were up to this year!

Proposals

Dakota and Gretchen’s wedding proposal at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is a standout moment for 2024. I don’t frequently get the opportunity to photograph proposals. I hope that changes in 2025 because this was such a sweet experience! I’m excited to celebrate Dakota and Gretchen’s wedding in DC next year as well.

I also had a bucket list experience of photographing a proposal in Washington DC this year! Eli and Grace’s proposal was at the hidden gem 56 Signers Memorial just off the National Mall.

Engagement Sessions

In the late spring, I joined Sarah and Nick for their engagement session at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. The session was sweet and I loved how they popped boldly against the lush greenery of the park. As a Northern Virginia wedding photographer, Meadowlark is such a gem and there’s always so much to explore. Their wedding day was later in the year, featured later on this page!

I had the opportunity to photograph Sydney and Nick’s engagement session at my favorite location, Oatlands Historic House and Gardens. This early fall engagement session at Oatlands was picture perfect. I am so excited to celebrate their wedding at my alma mater Marymount University next year!

Another bucket list location for me this year was Megan and Robert’s engagement session at Brookside Gardens in Maryland. Even though the main gardens closed for a wedding during our visit, we chased the gorgeous golden hour light around the park. It was one of the last comfortable fall days before the holiday season. Megan and Rob will be married at Meadowlark next year and I’m looking forward to celebrating with them!

Weddings

My first wedding of the year and first wedding after having a baby in February was Sarah Diane and Matt’s. This Catholic wedding was at the newly renovated St. Joseph’s Church in Cockeysville, MD. And it was stunning! Sarah Diane and Matt were one of my sweetest couples ever. Their wedding feels so sentimental as I look back at it now.

I also photographed a small Catholic wedding in Fredericksburg for Kathleen and Thomas. This wedding holds a special place in my heart because Kathleen’s mother passed away just a few weeks after the wedding. I’m truly so grateful to have been able to give their family beautiful images of this last big celebration with her.

Anna and James had an absolutely perfect summer wedding! This day was full of beautiful and sentimental moments. Featuring a precious father-daughter first look, a Catholic wedding at St. Philip in Falls Church, a saber arch exit, thank you cards for every guest at the tented dinner reception at Historic Blenheim, perfect golden hour portraits, and some incredibly fun late night flat lays… As a Northern Virginia wedding photographer, this wedding was a dream.

Sarah and Austin’s wedding brought melting hot temperatures but vibrant midday photos. This micro wedding at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens was short but stunning.

If floral eye candy is your thing, Sarah and Nick’s wedding would be the highlight of the year! Featuring florals and coordination by Floriography (one of our favorite wedding vendors in Northern Virginia), this wedding had a splash of color everywhere you looked. This includes the ceiling, with a stunning floral installation on the chandeliers.

While I didn’t photograph this last wedding because I was in it (more on that below!), our associate photographer Kelly absolutely nailed it with my sister’s wedding at The Barn at Edgewood! I adore how soft yet colorful these peak fall wedding photos came out. I had a blast editing this gallery.

Styled Shoots

We don’t frequently participate in styled shoots. Styled shoots are a very purposeful part of Beauty of the Soul Studio. We focus primarily on making connections with other vendors. We had the opportunity to do that twice this year.

First, I photographed a last minute styled shoot at Halcyon Watson, a barn wedding venue in Loudoun County. Mystical Rose Flowers, a Catholic florist in Northern Virginia, had an oversupply of vibrant florals. So a few of us vendors rallied around her to help put them to good use! It was great to get to know a new venue just around the corner from me, while also working with one of my favorite hair and makeup artists Sandra Makeup Artistry.

Just a couple of weeks later, I received a message from Annie of Floriography (who worked on the incredible wedding of Sarah and Nick above!). Annie had ordered a very large number of flowers for a wedding that following weekend, and knew she would have a lot left over. She frequently works Rust Manor House weddings and asked if I would photograph a styled shoot there the following day. I couldn’t have said yes faster! This styled shoot was stunning and I can’t wait to share it in a full blog post soon!

Special Events

While we focus primarily on weddings and engagements, I occasionally have the opportunity to photograph other special events. This year brought two especially memorable events!

First, I had the joy of helping to welcome Baby Liam to the Catholic Church. His baptism was at the Basilica of St. Mary in Old Town Alexandria. His heirloom baptismal garment was a particular highlight of the celebration!

I also photographed the 2024 Annual Divine Mercy Care Gala. Divine Mercy Care is an incredible organization Dr. John Bruchalski, a former abortionist OBGYN turned pro life advocate, founded. He also happens to be the doctor who delivered my first son in 2021! It was such a pleasure to help DMC with their annual gala at the Westfields Marriott.

Features and Publications

In February 2024, our 2022 wedding for Grace and Peter at Rust Manor House was featured at Northern Virginia Wedding Style. As a Northern Virginia wedding photographer, It was so satisfying to see this wedding finally shared on a wider platform. The florals for this day were just stunning!

Also in February 2024, Olivia and Victor’s timeless wedding at St. Rita Catholic Church was also featured at Northern Virginia Wedding Style. This was one of my all time favorite weddings for its elegant style.

In March, a few of our photos were featured on The Catholic Bridal Collective to highlight to Croatian Marriage Crucifix tradition aka the Tradition of the Cross.

In June, we were featured again on The Catholic Bridal Collective, this time highlighting the incredible December 2023 wedding of Molly and Drew. TCBC was the perfect home for this cozy winter wedding in DC!

In August, we were elated to see Kasia and Matt’s covid micro wedding from late 2020 featured on Novela Weddings! Their fall portraits at Hidden Creek Country Club were beautiful and the couple also made a stop for 7Eleven slurpees on their way to the reception, making it one of the most memorable wedding days I’ve ever photographed.

Finally, just a couple of weeks ago, Sarah and Austin’s micro wedding at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens earlier this year was featured on Novela Weddings. It was a colorful and joyful celebration, very worthy of publication as inspiration for other couples looking for a micro wedding in Northern Virginia!

Personal Updates

I like to include a few personal updates at the end of my annual “year in review” here because this is a one woman show and so many of you invite me into your personal lives in such an intentional way, it feels appropriate to do the same for you!

In February, we welcomed our second child, Isaac. My firstborn Felix was very excited to be a big brother and has remained a loving big brother ever since. We baptized Isaac just a couple of weeks after he was born, with my best friend Maria and my husband’s close friend Joel as godparents.

As you can imagine, having a baby did significantly affect my workload this year, which is largely why the number of weddings featured in this post is lower than usual! While running my own business comes with plenty of challenges, I do love that I have the flexibility to step back a little bit to focus on my family in these more intense months of adjusting to being a family of 4.

Speaking of my bestie Maria – she married the love of her life this year! Her wedding in Fredericksburg was beautiful and a very large celebration (she and her new husband both come from large devout Catholic families) – I was one of 13 bridesmaids!

It was the year of being a bridesmaid for me, as I was also Matron of Honor at my sister’s wedding at The Barn at Edgewood, which I briefly mentioned above as our associate & second photographer Kelly handled actually photographing the day on my behalf. We had perfect weather, peak fall colors in the Shenandoah Mountains, and my toddler was an excellent “flower boy.”

I’m truly so excited to see what 2025 brings this business and my family. We already have a handful of weddings booked for next year, and in March I’ll be going to the Wildflowers retreat for Catholic wedding vendors. It’s going to be a beautiful year!