Elyse and Julio’s wedding is definitely in my Top 5 weddings I’ve ever had the privilege of photographing. Despite their plans going sideways due to the gathering and travel restrictions from Coronavirus, they had a joyful and romantic wedding day!

Elyse spent the morning getting ready at her parents’ home – her childhood home – surrounded by family. It was so charming, and a sentimental backdrop we don’t often get as wedding photographers; most brides get ready either on site before their ceremony or at a hotel close by. But since Elyse and Julio’s reception would be right there in their backyard, getting ready at home was the easy choice!

Before the ceremony, Elyse and Julio chose to do a first look. I don’t get to photograph a first look too often, and it turned out so sweet! They wanted to do their first look in front of the Mary statue outside the church, which had a perfect little walkway and plenty of space for me to get a variety of angles as they soaked in those first moments of their wedding day together.

The ceremony was held at St. Veronica Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia. This is one of my favorite churches in Northern Virginia – I photographed another wedding there once before and visited a few times personally, and the interior is just so uniquely beautiful with its brightly colored walls and huge skylight. Before the ceremony, Elyse and Julio chose to have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (also known as Eucharistic Adoration) for fifteen minutes. That time of quiet prayer was so special and I’d recommend it for all of my Catholic couples, especially those opting to do a first look already so they can pray together before the wedding. As a Catholic wedding photographer, I hope this is the first of many experiences photographing brides and grooms before the Blessed Sacrament in the future!

The ceremony itself was so reverent and beautiful as well. Elyse and Julio had a musician who alternated between the piano, organ, and harp, and played a lovely recording of the vocals for each song that fit the tone of the space so perfectly that for a moment I wasn’t even certain it was just a recording. I think the music of the wedding ceremony helps set the tone of the wedding itself and Elyse and Julio chose some beautiful hymns that contributed to the reverent and romantic tone of their day. Then again, I’m always biased toward songs that I also chose for my own wedding – in this case, Oh God Beyond All Praising, which hits me right in the feels every time. The ceremony also featured some wonderful words from Fr. Wagner related to their Gospel reading of the wedding at Cana. He pointed out that young love is much like the wine that was served at the beginning of the Cana wedding – joyful, sweet, and in its own way intoxicating. But when a couple invites Christ to transform and deepen their love, it becomes even better, like the wine that Christ made after the original was all consumed. What a beautiful way to think about the transforming effects of marriage.

After the ceremony, we traveled back to Elyse’s parents’ home for an adorable tented backyard reception. The house is backed by a wooded area with a creek so for about twenty minutes after the ceremony we took some time to do portraits of just the two of them out in the wooded area where Elyse grew up. She even knew immediately of the magical spot where the tree branches were hanging low and we got the most romantic portraits. They were proof that you don’t need a fancy location to get great wedding day portraits!

Their reception was simple but incredibly well done. Elyse’s family nestled a tent into a cozy space between the house and the woods, decorated with tons of flowers, and had plenty of food and cupcakes. While unfortunately only Elyse’s family was there to celebrate because of travel restrictions keeping Julio’s family away, her family celebrated with plenty of warmth while Elyse and Julio had their first dance as husband and wife, enjoyed a round of toasts, and cut the wedding cake. And Julio’s family was there in spirit, particularly through their wedding cake as Julio made it himself using his mother’s recipe. The simplicity of the day just added to the beauty and was absolute proof that you can have an incredible wedding day in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions.