Worthington Photography Blog

5 shoots in 6 days!

I think this is a new world record for us... We have had 5 shoots in the past 6 days so I haven't had time to blog... There's going to be a lot of great stuff to check out in the next few days so bear with me, its been so great and its worth the wait!

posted by Mel @ 3:43 PM 0 comments   

Jen and Pat's Wedding on May 29, 2006

The sun shined brightly behind Jen and Pat during their ceremony in the Rose Belvedere at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardents. The connection between Jen and Pat is so palpable that there wasn't a dry eye in the house during their ceremony, I swiped a few tears myself from behind the lens throughout the evening.

J&P chose to have an intimate dinner reception at the Robins Tea House. Both the wedding cake and the groom's cake were made by Jen's sister (with some help from her mom), they were putting the finishing touches on them when we arrived.

We felt like moose in the room carrying all our photo gear in a setting as cozy as the Tea House but everyone was gracious with us. Family and friends rose spontaneously to give toasts and tell stories (something about a picture of Pat in a tutu?), the atmosphere was very personal.




To check out a preview with our favorite shots, click HERE to see a slideshow. If you would like to be notified by email when the couple makes their pictures available, click HERE. The full version will be released to the couple before July 7th - we know thats a really long time to wait and we apologize for the delay, we've been fortunate to be so busy this May!

posted by Mel @ 6:54 AM 0 comments   

Jenny and Ira's Wedding on May 28, 2006

Everywhere you turned there was a coordinating shade of purple from the pansies planted around the fountain to the Purple Passion martinis on the bar. The ceremony and reception took place at the Meadowbrook Country Club and no detail was overlooked. Jenny designed the programs, fans and table assignments as well as her bridesmaids necklaces.

Jenny and Ira were unstoppable on the dance floor, their first dance left the crowd cheering and foreshadowed the dance party to come. Late in the evening the Rhondels played Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" while platters of mini-cheeseburgers were brought out for the guests.






It was great to work with Meghan and Kurt Madel of da-da Productions again, we love their stylish, documentary video work. There was a lot of joy for all of us to capture, to check out some of our favorite shots click HERE to see a slideshow.

Click HERE to be notified by email when the couple makes all of their photos available online. Jenny and Ira will receive their pictures by June 30th - thanks for your patience, they will be worth the wait!

posted by Mel @ 6:39 AM 3 comments   

Jordan and Peter's Wedding on Saturday, May 27th

Jordan and Peter's wedding was the perfect combination of classy and cool: Jordon wore an elegant gown with her mother's veil while Peter and the guys were decked out in khaki suits and striped ties. A swing orchestra played for dinner followed by an eighty's revival band. The adults dined and danced while kids changed into their swimsuits and hit the pool.

The wedding was held at Jordan's parent's farm in Lanexa, Virginia. Led by Peter and the groomsmen, the guests processed together from the house to the point overlooking the Chicahominy for the ceremony. The flowers were outstanding: in addition to arrangements of peonies, tulips and a variety of varigated rose I have never seen before, planters of blooming gardenia were positioned around the tent to lend their summer fragrance to the reception area.





Late in the evening, Jordan and Peter took a brief pause from dancing to watch fireworks light up the sky. To check it out, click HERE to see a slideshow of our favorite photos...

Click HERE to be notified by email when J&P have made all of their photos available. Their photos will be released to them by June 23rd.

posted by Mel @ 7:05 AM 0 comments   

Emily's Bridal Portraits on May 26, 2006

Emily is a natural... We didn't have to tell her how to smile or turn or anything, she just does it!

We lucked out big time: we could actually see the front moving in towards our potrait location and then it took a turn east. The dark clouds did nothing more than add a little drama to the pictures.

We can't wait to share these with the public after the wedding, Emily and Ryan will say "I do" at Clover Forest Plantation on June 24th.

Emily will receive her portraits by Friday, June 2nd. If you are helping her select an enlargement for display, email her for an event key: these pictures are restricted access only until the big day!

Updated June 27th:
To see more pictures from the portrait session, click here to see a slideshow.

posted by Mel @ 3:09 PM 0 comments   

Savitri and Mike's Wedding on May 20, 2006

On Saturday morning Sam and I witnessed our first Thai wedding... Savitri says it was hers too :) The wedding took place at Savitri's parent's home which was beautifully decorated with pale pink flower arrangements and ribbon. Savitri's grandmother sewed the dress she wore for the morning ceremonies as well as a Chinese dress she had worn the night before. Her family set up "golden gates" with gold chains, barring Mike's passage into the house until he gave satisfactory gifts of money to her family members:




In honor of Mike's Chinese heritage, the couple began their ceremony by exchanging gifts and blessings with their families:


Then they were led to a room where monks chanted over them. A ball of string was tied to the Buddha and extended across the folded hands of each of the monks. This ceremony ended with Savitri and Mike giving both the Buddha and the monks gifts of food in thanks for their blessings.



Lastly, the couple was seated on beautiful red pedestals where crowns joined by a rope were placed upon their heads by Savitri's parents. It makes perfect sense that so many cultures around the world signify marriage with the literal tying of a knot! Savitri and Mike were then blessed by their guests who took turns pouring water over their hands with a gold-laced conch shell. The water dripped into the flower arrangements beneath their hands, I like to imagine that its to help them grow.



To see a photo slideshow of some of our favorite shots from the morning ceremonies, click HERE.

Later in the day Savitri and Mike had an exquisite ceremony and reception at Hermitage Country Club where they exchanged vows and rings. The ballroom with beautifully decorated with orchids that hung from the ceiling and guests found their table cards arranged in a rock garden. After the ceremony, Mike drove a golf cart with Savitri, Sam and myself out onto the greens to take a few pictures before the reception. It was a beautiful day and a rockin' party... To see for yourself, check out another photo slideshow of our favorite shots by clicking HERE.






To receive an email when Savitri and Mike have made all of their pictures available, click HERE or on the shopping cart at the end of either slideshow. If you experience an error in Internet Explorer while trying to view a slideshow, update your Flash Player to 8.0, the most current version, or email us for assistance. The complete collection of photos will be released to them by June 16th.

We want to extend a very special thanks to the Vilassakdanont and Tu families for their warmth and hospitality throughout the day, at least 30 different people asked us if we had gotten something to eat throughout the day and made us feel more like treasured guests than the hired help. Thank you so much, it was an absolute pleasure working with you all!

posted by Mel @ 9:06 AM 0 comments   

Happy Mother's Day on May 14th

Sam and I were fortunate enough to have both our mothers in town for Mother's Day as well as Sam's grandmother. We made brunch for the family at our place, poor Sam grilled in the rain... But he did have the good sense to break out the camera and get a couple shots of mothers and daughters when the sun came back out. This is me with my mom and Sam's sister, mother and grandmother.

posted by Mel @ 4:32 PM 0 comments   

Leah and Jon's Wedding on May 13th

Who says the 13th is unlucky? Leah and Jon had such perfect weather for their outdoor ceremony that Jon told everyone he paid extra for the sunshine. It was money well spent!

Leah and Jon were married at the base of the Carillon, a historic monument located near Dogwood Dell and Byrd Park. Leah and her father descended the winding staircase in place of walking down the aisle and it was breathe taking.

My favorite thing about the pictures we took on Saturday is how well they reflect Leah and Jon's personalities... their sense of humor and joyful energy. It was infectious: you just couldn't help but smile when you watched them together.

Will Rollins spun the party and Leah and Jon led everyone into a dancing frenzy. To see for yourself, click HERE to see the slideshow story (If you happen to get an error message in Explorer, just update your Flash Player to the most current version, 8.0, by clicking here .) To register to be automatically notified by email when L&J make all their pictures available online, click HERE or on the shopping cart icon at the end of their slideshow. Their pictures will be released to them by May 29th.







By the way, I updated my post on Leah's bridal portraits now that the cat is out of the bag so check it out to see her enlargement and a few of our favorite shots. I did notice that the pink dogwoods that were in bloom when we took her portraits were made of icing on their wedding cake!

posted by Mel @ 8:06 AM 0 comments   

Brandy's Bridal Portraits on May 9, 2006

I hope she doesn't get embarrassed when I tell you this, but Brandy is the first bride we've had who shed tears during her portrait session. I asked her if it was starting to feel real and if she was getting excited and we got water works... Her friend Kenya dispensed tissues in addition to helping us with the dress.

We can't share any pictures on this post until June 3rd when Brandy marries Kevin, all I can reveal is that we worked in two historic locations and got some beautiful stuff. Brandy's bridals will be released to her in a couple days so if you are helping her choose an enlargement for the reception, email her for the event key!

posted by Mel @ 8:14 AM 0 comments   

Erin and Billy's Wedding on May 6, 2006

It was a privilege to shoot for Erin and Billy on Saturday. We were fortunate to meet them through Erin's roommate from college, Elise, whose wedding I shot last October. The ceremony was held at the University of Richmond's Canon Memorial Chapel on the most glorious, sunny day that anyone could ask for. After the ceremony we went to both the Canal Walk and to Libby Hill Park to take a few pictures before the reception. Then we headed across the river to The Mill at Fine Creek, one of our favorite wedding locations. We love the naturally elegant atmosphere at the Mill as much as their catering and hospitality which is truly second to none.

Erin and Billy grinned from ear to ear all day, making their wedding celebration a pleasure to document. Their family and friends were equally excited, I thought Elise might just burst!

To see for yourself, click HERE to watch a slideshow story of their day. To receive email notification when E&B have made all of their pictures available online, click HERE or click on the shopping cart at the end of the slideshow. Their pictures will be released to them by May 17th.

posted by Mel @ 11:06 AM 0 comments   

Brand Spankin' New Samples in the House!

All the way from New Zealand, our Queensberry Feature Duo Album and Digital Copy Album have arrived! The Feature Duo is 12x12 in size, has a beautiful, genuine leather cover with photo name plate and is made up of both matted pages and digital pages (flush mount pages). While the concept of a duo album is simply perfect, Queensberry is the only bookbinders we are aware of to offer this option and we are one of the first studios in the world to have designed one! I am still finding the bugs in the design software, but its worth it.

We are very impressed by the beautiful and unique construction of the album including the vellum introduction page and split wing opening page:






We also love the flip page, literally giving you the inside story:




In addition to receiving our long awaited Queensberrys, we also received a new coffee table book from Alex and Eddie's wedding that we designed as a cross promotional book with Occasions Event Planning, who did a smashing job creating and managing every detail.





We invite you to make an appointment to see these beautiful books up close and personal, just shoot us an email!

posted by Mel @ 12:58 PM 0 comments   

The other Sam in my life...

I loved the name Sam even before meeting my Sam so I couldn't blame our friends Michelle and Chuck for naming their son Samuel. Since the day he was born I have called him "Scoop", a hybrid of "Samuel" and "Cooper" (his middle name), and besides who doesn't love ice cream? But the name just doesn't stick... Alas, I have two cute Sams in my life.

Michelle and I took lil' Sam along on a shopping trip to Carytown yesterday and I brought a camera along because he is growing too fast for me. And because I love his Chuck Taylors. What is it with Sams and Chucks, anyway?

posted by Mel @ 9:57 AM 0 comments