It was bound to happen… we photographed a coronavirus wedding. The wedding industry has been buzzing with activity as couples reschedule their wedding receptions for later dates, attempt to predict the group sizes they’ll be allowed to have in the fall, and check with their church to move their ceremony to a short and sweet socially distanced ceremony instead of postponing the entire day for months from now. The latter was Sarah and Adam’s situation a couple of weeks ago, when they decided to go ahead and celebrate their wedding ceremony with their closest family at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, Virginia.

I was excited to return to St. James for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the parish my husband grew up in and where we attended many Sunday masses during our dating and engagement. Second, it’s where I photographed my first wedding as the lead photographer for Em and Erik back in July 2017 – it’s actually where i first met Sarah, as she was a bridesmaid! You can see Em and Erik showing support for Sarah further down the set of photos below, holding a sign celebrating their wedding from outside the church! It was really fun to see my own growth in the last three years, as St. James is not an easy church to photograph. I’ve also had the chance to upgrade my gear since then, switching from a Nikon DSLR to a Sony Mirrorless camera, and I’ve refined my editing style as well. And I’m so proud of these images!

The ceremony was absolutely lovely in its simplicity. Sarah walked down the aisle with her father, Andrew visibly excited at seeing his bride. The priest read a few passages as is standard at Catholic weddings, including one from the Book of Tobit that is near to my heart as it contains the prayer of Tobit and Sarah on their wedding night – the prayer my husband and I prayed together after communion during our wedding ceremony. (That’s one thing I adore about photographing Catholic weddings, big or small – it’s a continual reminder of my own marriage vows as so many elements overlap no matter the couple involved.) After the readings and some brief words from the priest, they exchanged vows and rings and were sent on their way as husband and wife!

After we did some photos inside the church, we moved the party outside to the warm, late-spring sunshine and were delighted to find some of Sarah and Adam’s supporters cheering and holding signs on the sidewalk! It was a very touching moment to see support from more members of their circle and a reminder that so many people want to be able to celebrate with them! We took a few photos with their fans, snapped a few of just the two of them out in the garden at the side of the church, and then did a little social-distanced socializing before the afternoon was finished.