The best part about photographing a wedding for your family is getting to be a part of all of the behind-the-scenes, intimate details of the day that most guests would only get to see in photos. The second best part is getting to see just how important capturing all of those little moments truly is, when you’re the one who will want to relive the memories decades later (especially of your grandparents tearing it up on the dance floor!)

Katie and Mario’s winter wedding at Raspberry Plain Manor in Leesburg, VA was one of my all-time favorite weddings to capture. Not just because every last detail was personal and unique to the couple - I mean, books as centerpieces that the guests could take home?! And not simply for the wealth of photography opportunities at their historic venue. But because I got to spend the day capturing the full range of emotions (nerves, elation and a pinch of bittersweetness) that comes with uniting two families, for people with whom I spent my adolescence.

Katie and I had dress-up parties, spent weeks in the summer camping with our grandparents, and (though I try to forget this particular stage of my love life) talked a fair bit about boys. We were sitting around the campfire talking to Mopsie (our grandmother) when she first showed me a picture of Mario, already smitten. Mom and I were sitting in her parents’ kitchen when Katie and Mario walked in, only hours into their engagement. I then had the honor of taking their engagement photos the next day. So, to be able to spend one of the happiest days of her life documenting every bit of that joy, to see her make her forever vows to the man who swept her off her feet, to watch her share a dance with her dad while pretty much the entire room tried not to cry, was pretty meaningful.

Knowing how family-centric their day was going to be, I focused my getting ready photos around capturing each relationship dynamic: Mario’s brother-in-laws-to-be helping him with his cufflinks, all of Katie’s bridesmaids helping her with her dress, and everyone having a fun time putting on their wedding finery. I want to give a special shoutout here to my cousin, Nick, for knowing exactly what photos I could want to capture and directing all of the groomsmen accordingly. It always helps to have someone in the wedding party aiding your process!

As soon as everyone was dressed and ready to go, we got ourselves emotionally ready for first looks. First was the father-daughter first look, always one of my very favorite moments to capture because there’s nothing like seeing his daughter in a white gown, ready to marry her prince, to make a father cry. Katie and Mario opted not to do a first look, instead keeping with tradition, but as soon as I saw that archway I knew we could make some real magic happen. The whole wedding party made sure that the bride and groom couldn’t see each other, then they got to share a quick conversation mere minutes before walking down the aisle, trading any nerves they may have had for excitement.

Aside from the countless leading lines and architectural framing devices available for composing images, my favorite aspect of Raspberry Plain Manor was the amazing amount of natural light streaming through the windows into the ceremony hall. Though winter weddings almost always mean indoor ceremonies, the manor proved that you can still enjoy that beautiful natural sunlit glow indoors!

I usually hang out in the center of the aisle for a majority of each ceremony, getting as close as I can without disturbing the event. Katie and Mario asked that all focus be on the commitment they were making to God and each other, so in respecting their wishes I remained behind the guests to photograph their vows. Telephoto lens for the win!

I make very few appearances in photos, especially when I’m on the job, but I happily made an exception this time. Sometimes the role of photographer’s assistant means actually taking a photo of the photographer, so I’m very happy Erin was there to snap the family portrait for us!

Thanks to the gorgeous venue, we were able to make almost all of our formal portraits inside, a very good thing as it was a whopping 15 degrees. I set up my speedlights on either side of me pointing inward towards each group to give the portraits an added pop of front light, to make sure everyone’s faces were visible and without shadow.

But, of course, we couldn’t pass up the beautiful exterior of the building. As my wedding photo process is all storybook-driven, I make sure to offer a variety of locations for formal and candid portraits, both to showcase all of my couples’ favorite facets of their chosen venue and to bring variety to each album. And, what better story than running outside in sub-freezing temperatures in no-sleeve dresses! Do it for the photo. Luckily, Katie had planned well ahead, adding a touch of winter elegance to each lady’s outfit, which thankfully doubled as protection from the elements. Hot tip: if you’re doing to have a winter wedding, make sure to dress accordingly just in case your crazy photographer asks if you want to make photos outside.

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Often, the most difficult part of photographing the reception - particularly the speeches and toasts - is having enough room to capture the couple, the speaker, and the audience all at once. Because I want to capture as much of the action as possible, I don’t want to simply camp out right in front of the bride and groom, so I usually steak out a spot in the corner where I can be reasonably omniscient. At Raspberry Plain Manor, I had so such problems! The spacious dance floor gave me the perfect amount of space to sneak around each table, quietly capturing the guests as they were enraptured by each speech. This allowed me to photograph my grandfather, Popsie, drying a tear as his son made his sweet speech to his own child. This is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite photos.

These toasts and first dances (as is typical) got emotional, but atypically so did the photographer. I won’t pretend that I was dry-eyed, but I always tell my couples not to be afraid of leaning into the emotions of their day so as to fully enjoy each moment, so I heeded my own advice. For me, really feeling the overwhelming happiness of this wedding and being able to anticipate how best to capture it because I so well knew my subjects already was a fantastic learning experience for delving into emotional captures in future weddings.

Most of this post has been gushingly sentimental, but I do just want to mention that Katie shoved cake into Mario’s face after their cake cutting and I just about died laughing. Oh, and there was a waffle bar.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the entire day, perhaps my favorite part was the couple’s portraits. We’d built in 15 minutes right at the end of the afternoon to dash out for the golden hour, and I made full use of every bit of time we had. The best part about doing portraits near the end of the reception is that all nerves are gone, all forced formal portrait smiles have brightened into exhilarated grins, and stealing away for photos now means the prospect of a few quiet moments together. One of my other all-time favorite capture is the image of Mario looking adoringly over the balcony at his now wife, letting it sink it that they get to spend their lives together.

Since it was obviously still freezing, I suggested most of our poses be as close as possible, involving as many hugs as they desired. My goal was to capture how simply and sweetly in love they are, while also photographing the major fairytale princess vibes that the whole scene was giving off.

We finished our portraits amidst the warm glow of the setting sun and then ran inside to get warm for real. Once all guests were assembled, we ran back outside, where we all celebrated Katie and Mario’s union one last time. The way the sun hit the bubbles, matching the brilliance of the bride and groom’s smiles, was the perfect summation of an incredible day.

Katie + Mario Fairytale Wedding at Raspberry Plain Manor || Leesburg, Virginia

865-934-9400 •Adrian@AdrianEtheridgePhotography.com