“This love is like the ocean that’s crashing over me. It’s like falling rain on the driest plains as far as eyes can see, and this love is like the trees that are looking down on top of me. And this love is like no other; it’s right where I wanna be…” —Tyler Brown Williams
The first wedding of the year is always one we look forward to with great anticipation! We prep days in advance, making sure all of our equipment, batteries, camera cards, and luggage are charged and ready to go!
For 2021, our first wedding took us a few hours south to beautiful Airlie Hotel and Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia, to celebrate with Brian & Jaclynn! We actually stayed on property the night before, and while the various rooms are spread out between quite a few different outbuildings, we found our accommodations to be clean and comfortable!
As it so often does during the April/May months, we awoke to weather that was less than stellar. A large rain system was passing through, so unfortunately what was supposed to be an outdoor ceremony had to be moved indoors to one of the conference rooms in Airlie’s main building. Thankfully we were still able to do bride/bridesmaid photos, groom/groomsman photos, and a first look with Jaclynn and her dad before the weather really hit hard.
Their wedding ceremony was simple and heartfelt which we LOVE. By the time it was over, there was no way we could go “outside” without our bride getting wet, so we headed off to the archways by the Spanish steps for some elegant bride and groom photos in natural light as well as some of the whole bridal party! Thankfully the covered porches provided some old-world fairytale charm in spite of the weather and their portraits are truly lovely.
The reception was a mix of great food and dance floor antics, with two guests dancing so hard that they broke their shoes! It was fun for us to see a tradition we are used to seeing in our Pennsylvania weddings (especially near Pittsburgh) take on new life here in Virginia as Brian & Jaclynn had a cookie table TO DIE FOR! At the end of the night, a glow wand sendoff sent the happy couple off to a wonderful future together with (hopefully) much better weather!
Congratulations Brian & Jaclynn! It was an honor to serve you both!
