Engagement shoot: to market, to market

Andrew and I had our engagement photos taken around Capitol Hill this past Saturday (finally, yay!), and I can honestly say the whole experience was even more fun and laid-back than I expected it to be! We staged plenty of poses around the Dome and Senate-side grotto before heading to Eastern Market for some more informal photos against a backdrop of brick walls and produce stands. To our delight, the weather held up and despite the wind making its presence known on occasion by messing with my hair in the midst of a shot, it couldn't have been a prettier day.

My mother's sister, Daria, was visiting with us for the weekend and we dragged her along for the ride -- but she captured some great behind-the-scenes moments from the shoot and was able to wander off on her own at Eastern Market to peruse the antiques and jewelry vendors. Even our photographer, Lisa Boggs, came back with acquisitions of her own: a gorgeous amber ring and an adorable, floppy sun hat :)


Lisa tells me that she should have some of the shots up on her blog by Thursday, and I can't wait to see how everything turned out! A BIG THANK YOU to Lisa for her patience with us novice models and for her awesome ideas on composition, and also many many thanks to my makeup artist, Gina Robinson, for making me look so pretty! 

{Andrew and I ham it up between takes; courtesy of my aunt Daria}

Behind the Lens: Lisa Boggs

After many emails, phone calls, and meetings with potential candidates, in January Andrew and I unanimously decided on a photographer for our wedding. The skilled shutterbug who will be documenting our big day from start to finish is a Tennessee transplant to DC, Lisa Boggs, who runs her own photography operation out of Great Falls, VA.

As I previously mentioned, I found Lisa through a local wedding blog that has gradually become less of an indulgence and more of an obsession, United With Love. Pretty much everything featured on that site is amazing, so I figured she would be nothing short of amazing herself. And I was right.

Before Andrew and I even met Lisa in person, she and I spent over an hour on the phone chatting about ourselves, our relationships (Lisa's already been married for a few years), our families, and growing up with food allergies -- it's nice to be able to commiserate once in a while. Lisa is energetic, super sweet, and quirky in the BEST of ways and is just so much fun to talk to. And not to brag, but she's won WeddingWire's Bride's Choice Awards two years in a row. She has a very creative eye and loves colorful exciting weddings, so I'm sure my pastel color explosion will keep her camera occupied.

We had originally scheduled our engagement shoot to take place on Saturday of last weekend, but it being April and it also being DC (where you have a better chance of predicting the weather correctly by flipping a coin than our local weathermen), our plans were foiled first by massive thunderstorms and then by gusting winds when we tried to push back to Sunday.

So we've rainchecked for Saturday, April 30, and I hope to finally have some photos of Andrew and me looking like a happy engaged couple to post on here within the next two weeks. In the meantime, check out Lisa's blog to get an idea of her artistic sense and what our shoot might turn out like!

Back from radio silence...

Once again, I've failed to update the blog regularly. For shame! Especially since December was such a busy month with a lot of goings-on that were definitely worth posting on here. So I'll try to get through a few updates as succinctly and as interestingly as I can.

Firstly, my friends' good juju with the Martha Stewart Show has rubbed off on me, and yours-truly will be in the all-bride audience next week for a very special weddings episode! At the encouragement of my Martha-in-training friend McLean, I submitted a very hastily-assembled pitch through the show's website as to why I deserved an invitation. Apparently, Martha's screeners bought it. So on Thursday, January 13th, I'll be heading up to New York City for an advance taping that will air at a later date (usually the show is live). And, I'm excited to say, I get to bring a fellow bride as a guest -- so that means my dear college friend Marisa (who ties the knot with fiance Aric this May) will be in tow. We've both been instructed to wear BRIGHT COLORS and be prepared to tell our engagement and wedding planning stories, so I'm hoping that means we'll get some one-on-one opportunities with Martha and possibly have the opportunity to win some prizes! At the very least, I expect to come home with some sweet audience swag. McLean and another friend, Kristina, told me they came back with amazing gifts from their audience experiences.

Secondly, we have booked an amazingly talented photographer, Lisa Boggs! :::The crowd roars!::: This development warrants its own post, so more on that later.







Thirdly, we have reserved a date at St. Mary Catholic Church in Old Town Alexandria for our ceremony, and will be importing our own Ukrainian Catholic priest! Both DC-area Ukrainian churches are far away from where we live, our venue site, and our preferred hotels for guests and are additionally not in areas that are easily accessible by metro or other public transportation, so exchanging vows at either location would've caused a lot of problems for everyone. It took some wheeling and dealing to convince parties on both ends, but it looks like we'll be able to pull this all off... and with only a little extra donation in our church coffer each Sunday.

Lastly, there are a ton of wedding showcases, expos, sales, and so-on ahead on the calendar to kick off the new year, and I will try my best to hit as many of them as I can!

Ali and Chris's wedding featured in Martha Stewart Real Weddings!

My super-sweet friend Ali married her college sweetheart Chris back in April, and I've been going to Ali for wedding ideas and vendor suggestions since then. She's really been an inspiration to me in my own planning, and I have to say that her style and attention to detail resulted in one of (if not the) cutest, most creatively designed weddings I've ever seen.

Apparently, Martha Stewart thinks so as well!

Ali and Chris's wedding has been highlighted in the Martha Stewart Weddings website's "Real Weddings" feature. Congrats to both of you for being so Martha Stewart-fabulous! :)

Check out the inspired color schemes, decorations, and photography -- courtesy of exceptional photographer Kate Headley -- right here!

If it's free, I'll take it

Part of the joy of planning a wedding for such a large family and circle of friends is that the cost of food and drink for guests really eats away at the budget. Each time I think I've got my guest list cemented, I'm reminded of another aunt and uncle that I forgot out in Anywhere, USA... and their 4 children. And then the budget shifts a little bit. I can't forget that close family friend that grew up with my mom but I haven't seen since I was in middle school. And it shifts a little more.

There have been a lot of bridal contests popping up on the web lately, and believe me -- I've entered them all. Some are for photography packages, others for honeymoons or bridal gowns. I've submitted my info for each and every one of them almost instantly after finding them.

Bella Pictures, one of the largest wedding photography services, is offering a $4800 package to the lucky winner in their prize drawing. Down side is you also receive a slew of unwanted phone calls and emails from Bella within 24 hours of registering that is bordering on harassment. I guess it's the economy stupid?

My favorite luxury clothing and travel one-stop-shopping emporium, Gilt Group, is running a contest for an all-inclusive equally-luxurious honeymoon worth $5000. Applicants must plead their case to Gilt as to why they need or deserve their honeymoon to be paid for, and Gilt's anonymous panel of judges will decide. Although I doubt I have a sob story good enough to stand out, there's really no down side to this one -- everything about Gilt is simply golden.

TheKnot is encouraging engaged couples to share their stories of betrothal to subscribers on their site for a chance to win a five-night stay at any all-inclusive Dreams resort in the world. Not too shabby. And while the winners for the previous two contests are selected largely at random, TheKnot entries will be based on votes and reader comments.

This mean's I'll be encouraging everyone I know to VOTE FOR ALEXIS AND ANDREW ASAP!!!

Paging Johnny Depp?

Found this story today about a couple who stumbled upon none other than The Boss himself while posing for engagement photos on the beach in Manasquan. How cool of a photo shoot that must've been! From the article: 

The Grammy and Oscar-winning musician did a quick tune up of Dwyer's strings and then riffed on the couple's coming nuptials, as the couple smiled and listened...