If you can’t already tell from the very first picture, these two absolutely love being engaged!! Jolene & Peter both went to Virginia Tech and then moved to the area after college! They were family friends growing up, both having been raised in Buffalo, NY, and had always kept in touch throughout the years. As they started living the post-grad life in the area, Peter would always ask Jolene to come to DC to hang out. But Jolene was NOT a city girl. After some convincing, he got her to come out to the Court House area for a slice at Fire Works Pizza and let’s just say, there may have not been fireworks but definitely some sparks and they hit it off! Fast forward over two years later, Jolene had a bit of a hunch that Peter MIGHT propose on their trip to Portugal! After all, it’s such a beautiful and gorgeous place that they’d be going to. But sensing that, Peter threw Jolene off track asking her if she would be ok waiting for a couple of years down the road to be engaged. And it totally worked! Jolene went along with it and was surprised when, at the top of a mountain overlooking the Duoro River in Quinta de Santa Eufémia, Peter got down on one knee!!! She came back with a ring and her fiancé!!!

I remember the nerves starting to creep in a couple of days right before I went full-time with photography. I started getting feelings of “wow THIS is IT.” And on a day where I started to question myself a little, I walked into Compass Coffee in Rosslyn and met Jolene & Peter. They were both so excited to be engaged, excited for ME who they had literally just met, and we happened to just click! And for me, it was such a firm reminder of WHY I was choosing this path for myself. To be able to work and serve people like Jolene & Peter throughout one of the most exciting times of their life!! Their enthusiasm for their winery wedding at District Winery was infectious. And although District Winery is in the city, Jolene wanted to make sure that they got pictures with the gorgeous scenery!

These guys love their vineyards and we decided to do their engagement session at Stone Tower Winery! We lucked out with such a beautiful sunny December day and had all of Stone Tower to ourselves!! The grounds, the patio and even the wine cellar, it was a DREAM for me! And these two are simply the BEST because you could not tell from these photos just how COLD it got that day! Taking their photos got me SO excited for their wedding day this upcoming fall! I know it’s going to be such a heartwarming, joyful and fun-filled day and I absolutely CAN NOT wait!!!

Such a CLASSIC shot!!!

Casually in LOVE with Jolene’s ring!

Favorite shot, these guys are such NATURALS!!!

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This proposal is super special because this one has been in the works for MONTHS! Pallavi, Surabhi’s sister, reached out to me SUPER excited back in the summer. Her and Anish have been planning out every detail for months and months it was amazing to finally see it come to life! Anish had decided to propose to Surabhi the day of the Virginia Tech vs. UVA football game. He convinced her that it would be worth going to after just having spent one day with her family for Thanksgiving. He told her that they had a hotel booked and she totally bought it!

When I met Anish over Facetime he walked me through the whole campus map and the walk he would take Surabhi on before coming to the end spot to propose. They would start out at a dining hall they used to eat at often, stop by a cafe where they would share milkshakes, walk past their freshman dorms where he would drop her off after hanging out each night. They would then cross the Drillfield, which definitely provided complications for me and Pallavi, because the VT Drillfield although MASSIVE, is very, very open. Surabhi deciding to look over her shoulder would give away the entire thing!! You should have seen Pallavi and me ducking behind a police car that started MOVING and we kept hunch trailing it trying not to blow our cover!! There was also a fair share of hiding behind trees (and definitely getting some weird looks for it), pretending to photograph leaves, Pallavi trying to duck behind me (I am tiny, this doesn’t work too well hahaha), and even having conversations with other game-going fans to try and keep our cover.

They walked past Burruss Hall and ducked behind to Randolph where they had always had their dance practices. This gave me and Pallavi the chance to cut across the Drillfield to our hiding spots behind and across from the Pylons where Anish would bring Surabhi to. Pallavi was in charge of hiding in a bush and sending the rest of the crew a signal when she saw Anish & Surabhi reach the end wall of the Pylons overlooking the entire Drillfield. Now this timing was SUPER important because little to Surabhi’s knowledge, all of her friends AND family were actually gathered in the Chapel below the Pylons! As they walked up through the Pylons as she looked out across the Drillfield, when she looked down, she saw four very familiar looking heads turned facing away. All four of them were wearing red jerseys with the words spelled out “Will You Marry Me?” And at that point SHE KNEW!!!! After 7 years, Anish got down on one knee and asked her to marry her!!!

Everyone surrounding them at the Pylons burst out clapping and cheering as she said yes after wiping away tears. Minutes later all her friends and family came up and gave her the biggest hugs! It was the happiest thing that happened on campus that day, I’ll dare to say, even happier than the VT win over UVA (not that I’m biased or anything)! There were so many tears, hugs, photos, LOTS of staring at the beautiful ring (good job Anish!), and Facetiming relatives that couldn’t be there! And the surprise didn’t end there for Surabhi, Anish had booked out a log cabin for their families and friends to all stay at for the entire rest of the weekend to celebrate together! Safe to say, it was a pretty amazing weekend

Surabhi & Anish, congratulations to you both again!! Driving to and back from VT all in a day was SO definitely worth it to capture the moment for you both! I can’t wait for your formal engagement pictures in D.C. coming up soon! 🙂

She looked out and then turned back to THIS!!

When you get found hahaha!

All the tears!! I was tearing up behind my camera!!

FAVORITE ALERT!!

Is that ring gorgeous or what?!

So cute!!

Their pupper Leo was about the only one that was “chill” throughout the whole thing! Hahaha

Facetiming all the relatives with the good news!

This is a VT thing hahaha I was so surprised when they heard the speakers from Lane Stadium and started jumping up and down 😀

 

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My last session STARTED over a bottle of wine but this one ended with Maya & Darian GIFTING me a bottle of their favorite kind of white wine! Maya heard about me through her mom who knows Nakul’s mom, Arathi Aunty, which is so classic! If you’ve read through the blog you probably recognize Nakul because not only did I get to capture Nakul’s proposal to Lakshmi at Georgetown but I also got to capture their beautiful vibrant Harbour View engagement ceremony back in April! It literally feels like yesterday and these two just officially tied the knot (the phrase still stands with Indian weddings!!) this past weekend in Florida!! I’m so fortunate to have been able to capture parts of their engagement story and I’m SO lucky to have had Maya and Darian referred my way by these guys!!

I met Maya & Darian over FaceTime a couple of months ago when they reached out about having their Indian ceremony and American wedding captured next April! I generally will get to meet my couples in person when talking to them for the first time but for some reason we had decided video chat from the get go. Five minutes into talking with them I realized that not only did they live in Arlington, they also lived in Ballston (aka where I was living at the time!) and were like five minutes down the street from me!! We all totally wish we could have met in person that first time!! It was such a funny coincidence but it only made me even more excited to meet them in person for their engagement session. We debated doing their engagement session around Ballston since so many of their first dates had been around the area but ended up going with Old Town Alexandria which still ties in to their story well since they’ll be getting married in Old Town Alexandria at the GW Masonic Memorial in April next year!! The venue is GORGEOUS and I’m so excited but more than that I already know that Maya and Darian are going to be SO incredibly joyful and radiant on their wedding day! Maya has a patented Maya laugh that literally puts a smile on your face the second you see it and the two of them made me feel like such an old friend within five minutes of hanging out with them at their engagement session!! They were such troopers dealing with the onset October chill and stuck it out with me when I said “just a couple more!!” to get some fall colors in their images!!

As I was finishing up the session with some ring shots they were SO great and encouraging me as I set up some leaves for the ring shot! I was on the ground in probably the least flattering position you can imagine and they were SO supportive and cheering me on through the whole thing! Definitely made it worth lying on the cold pavement, anything for the shot am I right?! And MAN did their ring deserve it!!! Darian custom designed the ring for Maya and it’s INCREDIBLE!!! It’s unlike any other ring I’ve seen, you have to scroll to the end to check it out!!

Maya & Darian, I’m SO excited for your wedding day!!! I’m counting down the days that I get to see you guys again and capture your joyful love and soon enough it’ll be with your family and friends as well!! I know from talking to you guys that you each have so much respect for each other’s families and I know that it’s going to be such a big part of your wedding day story. I love the connection you guys have with each other and I can’t wait to capture it on your wedding day!! Until then, here’s a sneak at your BEAUTIFUL engagement session!!! I hope you guys love it as much as I do!

  OK FAVORITES RIGHT HERE!!!   The Maya laugh should patented!!

Look at this CUSTOM ring that Darian designed!

Ok seriously, her laugh!! She’s going to be the most radiant bride 2019 ever does see!

 

If I can find one or two fall trees, I can make it work!!

 

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You know an engagement session that starts off with sharing a bottle of wine is going to be a good one! I usually will either meet my couples in person or over video chat but I met Ky and Tatiana over the phone so I’ll admit that as an introvert I was a little nervous to be officially meeting them for the first time at their session! I had driven down to Charlottesville that morning and then to Afton Mountain Vineyard which is nestled right at the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. During the drive down I got even more nervous but within two minutes of meeting them in person, the nervousness melted away!! It was Tatiana and my first time at this particular vineyard in Charlottesville despite all being vineyard people and we definitely loved it!

The vineyard was a smaller one and nestled right at the foot of the mountains which made for some pretty epic views!! We joked that we were old friends sharing a bottle of wine and honestly that’s what it felt like from when we started talking at their session!! And when I got them in front of the camera it felt even more like we were just friends taking pictures in the vineyards!! These two are SO much fun to photograph, they were joking with each other the entire time and just naturally fell into every single pose making it look so freaking effortless!!! They’re so fun and easy to be around and incredibly photogenic as well! I loved the outfit they had picked out and Tatiana’s makeup was on point!!

Also, these two were willing to entertain me stopping at random points to get images with the gorgeous backdrop of the mountains that I never fully appreciated while I went to UVA! They had said that they wanted mountain views for their session since it was a big part of why they loved Charlottesville and they sure got their views!!!

Then we drove up to the top of Skyline and got the cutest shots overlooking the soft sunset! It was the perfect end to their session and when I said goodbye I couldn’t believe we’d spent almost two hours together!!! They asked to take a selfie with me and I was SO happy because I always forget to get a picture with my couples and I’m not sure if you can tell but they BOTH had to bend down a foot! I can’t wait for their wedding  in May in Charlottesville!!!! Angelica & Co Weddings from the Capitol Hill blush & rose gold styled shoot back in April is planning it so I already know its going to be THE most perfect day and a definite highlight of 2019!!!! Until then enjoy all the cuteness below!

 Is this not the most unique ring you’ve ever seen?!    

The views up on skyline at dusk were incredible!!   

Fall favorites, fall favorites!

   

Cute human being alerts!

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Adam & Suniah celebrated the beginning of their marriage at the stunning Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna this past Sunday and it was such an honor to capture their day!! I met with these two almost a whole year ago at Cafein in Chantilly over coffee! I had lucked out since they were in town from Florida and Suniah’s sister Rimsha had mentioned that I photograph weddings. We sat down for coffee and got talking about their story and I knew as I was sitting there listening to them both talk about how Adam had proposed to Suniah, that these two were incredibly sweet people, they were my KIND of people (I mean Suniah’s a HOO so how could they not be?!) and that their wedding was going to be such a beautiful day! And such a beautiful day it was!

On their wedding day Suniah spiraled up to the top of the hill to the gazebo with her mom on one side and her sister on the other, it was starting to drizzle ever so slightly but nothing could bring down that huge smile on her face. She looked up and among all the people huddled around the gazebo. All her family and friends in one place on the top of the hill overlooking the beautiful Meadowlark Gardens. And there was one person on the top of the hill that had an equally large smile on his face as he watched his bride walk towards him. Adam and Suniah had one of the most heartfelt and inspiring ceremonies I’ve had the honor of capturing. They were asked to look around at the biggest supporters of their marriage (huge huge smiles broke out on both their faces, you’ll see it below!!), imagine not just time together now but what it would look like to grow old with each other and were told to always remember how they felt in this moment.

Both Adam and Suniah had asked the officiant to especially thank their parents which had been such an integral part of shaping both of them as individuals before they came together. As the ceremony went on it started raining a little at first and then a lot as they exchanged the rings and were officially married!! It was perfect timing and of course, good luck!! What stood out the most to me was watching these two signing their marriage licenses, it had sunk in that they were OFFICIALLY married!! These might be some of my favorite pictures from their entire day!

Suniah and Adam, I hope your wedding day was everything you had imagined and more. I know from watching you greet each others’ families throughout the day and how you welcomed each person at your reception and took the time to really talk with them, skipping out on your own wedding lunch and cake, that you really deeply care for everyone around you. You’re both incredibly smart and caring doctors and it shows even in how you treat people outside of the hospital. I wish you guys the very best on this new adventure and I hope Asheville is a wonderful start to it!! Thank you for letting me capture your day!

Vendors that made the day possible:

Hair & Makeup | Dina Saddat 
Ceremony Location | Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Reception | Maggiano’s Little Italy
Officiant | Jamal Mahmood

SO emotional!! Was trying not to tear up behind my camera!!

When they were asked to look around at everyone! Ok, this is my best friend Sachi’s shot below, love this one!!!

Signing the papers to make it OFFICIAL!!!

It stopped raining right after this and so we got some gorgeous portraits in the gardens just like Suniah had imagined!

Below, ALSO Sachi!! Killing itt with these gorgeous layers!!  

Just mildly obsessed with her henna & ring!   Was so lucky to get some fall colors in!!

EEP!!

THESE ARE EVERYTHING!!!  Entering into their reception, I mean look at how happy they are!!

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My brother Sohum and I are only two years apart so when he joined me at college at UVA it felt natural and like we were both just in the next phase of life. From growing up asking if we’re twins or if he’s older than I am, to his maturity as well, I’ve always felt really close in age to him along with being just close in general!

However, I have a ton of friends who have much younger siblings that I’ve watched grow up from a really young age. From watching them waddle around in diapers, to playing in homemade forts, to running around our cul de sacs every evening in the summer, it’s surreal watching these kiddos start senior year, wear their graduation cap and gowns and travel across the state and even COUNTRY to go to college!! That’s when all the FEELS start to hit!!

I’ve known Namrata since I was probably 4 or 5 years old! I grew up playing with her, her older sister Krittika, my brother, my best friend Sachi and her younger Dhruv in everyone’s backyards. Thinking back, I don’t really know how one adult handled the whole lot of us! They were some of my first friends when my family moved to Virginia so many years ago. Over the years I’ve seen her grow from the youngest and somewhat quietest of the group, to the most beautiful, HILARIOUS yet laid back and calming presence. Also, if you can’t tell from the pictures, this girl has got the BEST sense of style!! I’m so glad she let me take her senior year pictures!!

The session was a whirlwind with a thunder cloud coming out of nowhere and almost losing Krittika’s phone and then at one point, Krittika herself, without a phone! But through the whole session Namrata was so laid back and trusting! She was worried about looking natural in front of the camera but I took pictures of her for TWO minutes and she was perfect, a total NATURAL in front of the camera!! We got the most amazing glow right at the beginning of her session! And although I loved taking her pictures, my favorite part was getting dinner with Namratta and Krittika afterwards! I suggested we go to one of my favorite restaurants in Georgetown, Pizza Paradiso, and they treated me to it before I even realized!! This was already on TOP of the caramel latte they had gotten me from Baked & Wired (if you think they know the way to my heart, well they really do!). Thank you guys SOO much!! So despite the running around Georgetown (with Namrata in admirable booties), it was such a perfect summer evening and I wish I could do it over and over again 🙂

 

 

 

  

FAN FAVORITE below!

   

How cute is this?!

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