When Lizz and Anton first booked me to be their wedding photographer, they had already had their engagement session photographed by another photographer – however, they didn’t get the chance to have their photos taken with their ao dai on, so that’s where I came along! I love love love the classic, bold pop of red for the traditional Vietnamese dress and how it stood out along the greenery that this location had to offer. I also loved the fact that Anton wore one as well since not all grooms wear one together with their bride. The fact that it was also a white ao dai was perfect, because the white, red, and ornate gold detailing perfectly tied together the color palette for the whole session.

We ventured into the garden space that Oatlands had, snatching photos by the pretty reflection pool there, before heading towards some of the gorgeous floral trees at the top of the hill. I’m not sure what type of flowers those are, but the abundance of pink petals shrouded over the couple just complemented everything altogether, and I loved it! The golden sun rays played a huge role in creating a dreamy atmosphere near the end of the session since it lit up Lizz’s blond hair beautifully as they ran back and forth, giggling and tackling each other for photos.

Afterwards, the couple were so kind enough to take me out to KBBQ! We stopped by one of the bakeries nearby and then enjoyed dinner together while getting to know each other more. It’s moments like that, where we stepped out from the photographer/client role and into friend-to-friend one, that makes me appreciate the type of job I have – that I get to have these opportunities to find people like them and get to know their stories individually and together as a couple while sharing pieces about myself too. I cannot wait to see these two again later this year for their wedding at the Bluemont Vineyard!