Miriam and RJ were married at the
Carnegie Institution for Science a few weeks ago, surrounded by some of the sweetest family I have ever met. And they played Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" without even a hint of irony, which, if you ask me, speaks a lot to how ridiculously genuine they are. Their brunch wedding in the beautiful rotunda was about the most relaxed it is possible for a wedding to be, with plenty of smiles to spare.
Miriam got ready upstairs in the kick-ass library.
It was raining, so we had to do all the portraits inside. Luckily, the Carnegie Institution for Science has some brilliant decor to work with.
I seriously love this library.
Miriam and RJ set up their ceremony in the rotunda at Carnegie, with guests on all sides of them and their attendants standing behind them. Wonderfully inclusive for guests and tricky for the photographer! Luckily I had my brilliant second shooter Julia there with me.
Pretty much taken at the exact same moment as above.
They included the Quaker element of allowing guests to stand up and speak if they feel moved. I love this as a wedding tradition.
I put Julia on the "safe" shots, so I could move around.
They hosted a brunch wedding, complete with drip-through coffee bar courtesy of
Vigilante Coffee.
RJ's mom absolutely dominated the photobooth.
Miriam and her dad sang a song instead of dancing. They're quite the musical family.
This might have been Whitney. Not sure. Let's just pretend it was Whitney. I was like "hell yes."
I do a macro ring shot at most weddings. I go up to my peeps and ask to take their rings. Often they look a little wary, but consent. Miriam told me to be really careful - because her ring is "over 300 years old". Whaaaat? Those little hands are on their own separate rings, and slide closed to cover the heart. How freakin' awesome is that?
Miriam's dad getting down. He's actually chopping wood in that third frame. Yessss.
My favorites.
My SEO-grabbing hidden title for this picture is "bride runs through a circle of high fives." We should all have a circle of high-fives at our weddings.
Congratulations guys!
Miriam & RJ's vendor team:
Coordinator: Meigh with
Lula Mae Events
Ceremony and Reception venue:
Carnegie Institution for Science
Catering:
Eat & Smile Catering
Drip-through coffee bar:
Vigilante Coffee
Cake:
Capitol Sweets
Florist:
Local Color Flowers
Miriam's dress: J. Crew
RJ's suit: Epaulet (New York)
Big shout-out to Katie from The Plannery (who almost certainly is a mom by now - congratulations Katie!) and Stephanie and Liza from Studio DBI for planning, designing and executing such a beautiful setting for these two to get hitched in. We started the day at the Jefferson.
You'll see about seven thousand photos with the flower girls. Here's #1.
We got these over to the Carnegie so they could say hello.
Did I say there were no antics? I certainly didn't mean to.
Too funny. This is why we do portraits before the ceremony.
Rocking a little wedding street photography before we get into the romantic stuff.
A little prep before go time. K&K designed their ceremony in the round, lit by candles held by their guests.
Shout-out to DJ Mark Maskell, who spun the mad beats.
Slam-you-in-the-face with flower girl pictures in 3, 2, 1...
Congratulations guys!
Katherine & Kermit's super vendor team:
Ceremony & reception venue: Carnegie Institution for Science
Getting-ready venue: The Jefferson
Planning: Katie from The Plannery
Coordination assistance, design & florals: Studio DBI
Caterer: Spilled Milk
DJ: DJ Mark Maskell
Hair & Makeup: Modern Bridal Studio
Katherine's lovely dress: Vera Wang from The Bridal Salon at Saks Jindal
The Carnegie Institution for Science has such a cool layout. The main room is this huge round three-story thing with a big dome and a beautiful twisty staircase. It's a popular site for ceremonies in the round. Upstairs, the getting ready room is a really cool old library with tons of books and wooden desks, complete with globes and leather furniture and all things old-school and happy.
Bill and Harry had this incredible light setup at their wedding. It's been more than a year (oy) so I don't remember all the bits, but during some point in the ceremony, a key word from their officiant switched the lights from purple to gold - I think it was something about the sun coming up. Amazing!
Did I mention their colors were yellow and gray? And it was yellow and gray everywhere, from their boutonnieres to the lemonade-looking cocktails to reception decor. Their planner/designer 
They had a LOVE ice sculpture, enough said. Also, it is really difficult to photograph ice!
I know, I'm making a big deal out of decor and I'm always like "oh, who cares about the decor?" but seriously, lemons as escort card holders... lemon trees, cake pop dessert station that was totally decimated and from which I was not able to obtain a single cake pop? This wedding was so adorable.
First dance.
And that is that! Congratulations Bill and Harry and thanks again to Kelly and Natalie for having me along.