District Weddings

Today, Bride Blogger Kerry updates us on why photography and an engagement session was so special for her!

The photographer is definitely one of the most important vendors that a couple chooses for their wedding day.  That’s why we made the decision to book Allison Britton very early in our planning.  We liked her photojournalistic style and light-hearted personality, and her photos from past weddings looked amazing.

As we were picking our photography package, we decided to add on an engagement photo session.  Chris and I only have very casual photos of the two of us, mostly ones we’ve taken ourselves by holding the camera above ourselves and pointing it down.  Also, we had heard that shooting an engagement session with your wedding photographer is a great way to learn to pose together and to get used to being photographed for the big day.

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

We decided on Georgetown as the first backdrop for our pictures, and then afterward, we went over to Rosslyn and the Mount Vernon trail, near where Chris had proposed to me.  Being from the DC area, it was important to me to have some quintessential DC shots with monuments in the background!

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

I’m never terribly comfortable having my picture taken, so the week before our shoot, I made Chris practice posing with me.  We also practiced for one particular pose over and over—the “holding hands while jumping in the air” shot.  However, Allison is so laid back and easy to work with that she immediately set us at ease and positioned us perfectly.  She listened to our ideas and found really interesting ways to incorporate the urban landscape into our shots.

A typical female, I was stressed about what to wear beforehand, but I’m so glad I chose a bright, vibrant color that really popped in the photos.  We also did a quick wardrobe change and I put on a little black dress for a more sophisticated, classic look for our shots by the river.  Looking at the photos now, I really like the variation between the two settings and dresses.

Photography Credit: Allison Britton, A Britton Photography

There are so many unique things couples can do with their engagement photos besides just having them in album.  We plan to use ours on our wedding website, have a photobook as our guestbook, and incorporate them into our thank-you cards.  Having just received the CD of photos, we couldn’t be happier.  Our engagement session was the perfect practice for the big day!