Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting…and Wearing Magic Shoes

Washington DC Wedding Photographer: Terra Dawn Photography

I…..have missed you SO much!!!

No seriously!!! I thought about you….dreamt about you….and even debated about stalking you and photographing you from the bushes across from your house!! (Don’t worry…that last one never came to fruition (as far as you know).

I’ve been super busy, though!! Even without the stalking!! I have three weddings and two shoots to put up on the blog. I’m soooo excited. One in a blizzard, one on a farm….and one on NEW YEARS!!!! So, that being said….we shall start backwards with New Years (and try to cut down on the exclamation marks….).

I…..LOVE….THIS….COUPLE!! (Never mind about the exclamation marks….cutting down is OBVIOUSLY not going to work.)

Mike and I photographed these two back in June (I believe) at their lake house at Lake Anna. A piece of advice…..when you take photographer out in a speed boat for an engagement shoot, PLEASE make sure they are actually focused on you and not the awesomeness of being in a boat. We are an easily distracted lot, I tell you!

Moving onto the gorgeous wedding!! What better way to end the year than to hang out with these two in Fredericksburg? We met up with the girls around noon at the New Heights Salon where everyone was gettin’ purdified. I LOVED that the bride’s parents were hangin’ out too…just watching everything go down.

I KNOW!! They were sooo cute!! They were dancing all night….just the happiest parents EVER.

After chillin’ with the girls for a bit, we discovered covertly (NO…not stalking. We actually just called the groom.) that the guys were getting ready to spend the morning driving those little race car things…what are they called? Hold on…I have to google it…Right!! Go karts!!! They were going to ride Go Karts!! So we got in the Mike Mobile and headed over to them to get some fun shots.

It looked like fun but man, that room was cold!!! I had to wear my gloves and sweater and scarf so I wouldn’t freeze to death!!

Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

After we had enough fun and freezing our butts off, we figured it was probably time head back to The Hospitality House to meet up with the gals. We also had a third photographer join us for the day!! A fun fellah by the name of Leo Druker! If you haven’t seen his AMAZING scenics…..you should. Go here ———–> Leo’s Gallery

When we got to the hotel, the girls were already in full swing with their New Years Celebratory Fandango’s! I have no idea what a fandango is, but it seems to be the appropriate word for this group.

Yes…there was line dancing in the hotel room.

This is the daughter of the groom! So gorgeous!! Her hair was very, very red….and i was very, very jealous.

One of the bride’s maids does make-up, so that made things super easy!! And she did an excellent job, I might add!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that portraits are my FAV to photograph….but details run a REALLY close second!! I loved these flowers!! (And the couch they were sitting on…but let’s not get into my love of couches here….). Roses and Daisies!! Who’da thunk it! When the flowers arrived, Stephanie walked around carrying her bouquet singing “I loooove Daisies…..I loooooove Daisies. Daaaaaaisies are my faaaaavorite.” It was a very Grammy moment.

I loved this dress!!! Need I say more?

Of course I do!!

It wasn’t over the top…or under the bottom (can I say that?). I loved the fabric draped over the front and beaded. It was super intricate. It was just perfect and was absolutely perfect for Stephanie!! You can see it here in a second after she puts it on.

Ok……are you ready for my favorite detail of the day?

No really….you have to be ready…because I don’t want this to be a dulled impact.

It’s really super awesome….are you braced?

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!! *Does a magic hand wave in a VERY complex pattern that you can’t keep up with*

Magic Shoes!!

We hung them by their heals on the knobs of entertainment center…and they looked REALLY cool. THEN, I flipped my camera on it’s side and did the happy photographer’s dance when i saw that they looked like a mirror image!!! How cool (and magical) is THAT!!??

*sigh* It gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it.
I loved her something old too!! It was a photo charm of her grandparents tucked into her bouquet. How beautiful is that!! And one of the bridesmaids modeled the groom’s ring for me…I really loved it. It had styyyyle.

And then….it was time to put on the dress. Oh…..she was SO pretty!!

What were the guys doing, you ask? Well, they finally made it back from their race-car adventures and lunch so that Jim could get himself and two sons ready to go, assuming that his groomsmen could get themselves ready. I don’t know to many grooms who are that trusting. But….they all pulled it off.

The ceremony was a late one since the reception would be running easily until 1AM. So around 5:30 we headed downstairs so Stephanie and Jim could get hitched. It was a VERY sweet hitching.

After the ceremony, we headed into the Reception area where David, the DJ from M.M. Jamming Dave’s DJ Service was playing the clarinet!! At least…i think that’s what it was. What does Kenny G play?

Anyways, it was really pretty, and he soon retired to behind the booth so that the dance floor could start rockin’ and rollin’! The first dance was beautiful. They really danced as though no one were watching.

After that, the dance floor didn’t stop! The bride and her father went straight into a slow dance which VERY quickly turned into a combination of Kung Fu Fighting and Thriller. Yup…that is probably a good description of the rest of the night. Kids mingled on the dance floor with the adults, and lemme tell ya….when the DJ played Hannah Montana, I kinda thought she had come in the room.



There were a lot of fun moments from the reception, but wanna know my favorite? It was when the button on the bride’s bustle busted (w00t for accidental alliteration! twice!) and the mother of the groom sewed it back on….IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCE FLOOR!!! It was AWESOME!!

As the midnight hour approacheth-ed……it was finally time for some toasts, cutting the cake….and smashing it in each other’s faces.

Wait? Where is the cake smashing photo? Where’s the New Years photos??!!

Oh yeah!! TERRA DAWN PHOTOGRAPHY IS DOING SOMETHING BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW FOR 2010!!!!

I am, by no means a videographer, but growing up in the 80′s I certainly know how to take a decent home movie!! Check out my first stab at fusion video!! (A lot of the video was actually taken by the bride and groom’s daughter!)

Thanks Mike for having Leo and I along for the New Years wedding ride, and thank you both for helping out with this first experiment!!!

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On a side note!!

I want to thank each and every one of you who stop by my blog on a daily basis, give me tweet love, facebook love and face to face…..er…..love…… 2009 was a HUGE success and 2010 is looking even better. You ALL are my support, my family and my life….and this year wouldn’t have been a success without you.

Awwww!!! I’m tearing up…..hold on….I need a tissue.

I will be at the Dulles Expo on Jan 31st…(you can’t miss me…my booth is HUGE), so if you haven’t met me and want to…PLEASE STOP BY!!!! Goodness knows I luuuurve to talk and have tons of new products and ideas to show off!!

If you need any more info, just shoot me an email. I’ll hook ya up.

*wink*wink*

Terra Dawn
Contact Me Through:
Skype: TerraDawnPhotog
Email: terradawnphotography@gmail.com

Salon: New Heights Salon
Ceremony and Reception: Fredericksburg Hospitality House
DJ: David Canty from M.M. Jamming Dave’s DJ Service
First Shooter: Mike Lesnick Photography
Second Shooter and Fusion Video Producer(a) : Terra Dawn Photography
Second Shooter (b) : Leo Druker Photography