FORT BELVOIR WEDDING: KATE & JASON

On what might have been the hottest day of the year in Northern Virginia, I photographed Kate and Jason's wedding at Fort Belvoir. The intense heat didn't spoil any of the fun - we still got some great photos inside the chapel and Officer's Club, even venturing out of the air-conditioning for a few minutes with the bridal party. The reception was inside the Club where floor to ceiling windows gave the guests a majestic view of the Potomac river and, for a while, gave us some backlight for the first dance photos. It was great working with DJ Lauren Bobby again. She keeps everyone on the dance floor until the party's over—which helps me to get some fun dancing photos every time. I'm proud to say that the guy being ridden like a horse on the dance floor is another client of mine with an upcoming wedding. I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw it. So great.

Congrats Jason and Kate. I'm very excited for the beginning of your married life together. And thanks DJ Lauren Bobby, Shannon, Ryan, J.J, and Anthony for teaching me how to Dougie. See you in October!

SAN DIEGO WEDDING: EMILY & GRAHAM

San Diego. It's one of my favorite places in America. It has some pretty great surfing. The Mexican food is phenomenal. Some of the country's most active (and attractive!) people live there. I was excited about taking a trip to attend this wedding but even more excited when Graham and Emily asked me to photograph it.

I'm incredibly blessed to have a handful of friends that I've been pretty close with since the 6th grade. Graham is among them and all of us were pretty excited for him when we met Emily. Graham is super smart and funny. Emily is super smart and funny. Graham is committed to living out his Christian faith. Emily is faithfully committed to Jesus too. Graham is fun and adventurous. Emily is fun and adventurous. Graham likes giving bear hugs. Emily likes receiving bear hugs. Graham is a dancing machine. Emily is also a dancing machine (see below). It was pretty inevitable they would end up together.

So, at the Soledad Club on a hill overlooking Mission Bay, Graham and Emily were married in front of friends and family and then proceeded to dance the night away. In the middle of the first dance they quickly cut to the Macarena (a true crowd pleaser) and then proceeded to show us their Poker Face. Throughout the night we would continue to see great dance feats like The Worm, The Splits and pretty much everything that Kevin James did in the movie Hitch.

I also had the pleasure of working again with my friend Jamie Baldwin of For the Love Photography for this wedding. Jamie helped a ton and got some really great shots which I'm sure she'll post to her site too.

People often ask, "Would you ever travel to shoot a wedding?" The answer is yes. Especially if the clients are getting married in San Diego.