What a weekend it has been ! After a long day of hanging out with Dee+Uly on their wedding, I packed my bags and caught a flight to Virginia for Sarena+Graham’s beautiful wedding at the Oatlands Plantation in Virginia. Man, this place is so much bigger and grand in real life. I could have stayed there and photographed all day long. There was so much ground to explore and I definitely need to come back and take the tour one of these days.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a typical Destination Wedding for me without trouble finding me of course. I nearly missed my flight because my Park N Fly shuttle was about 45 min late and then I was directed to the wrong line up for my flight. I literally made my check-in time by 2 mins ! And to rub salt on the would, they confiscated my hair wax because it exceeded the 100mL limit. Thank god I did my hair before I left the house
I met Sarena, or Rea as I have known her, about 9 years ago. Jeanette and her were roommates in University and at one point I was also Rea’s roommate by default since Jeanette and I were dating at the time. It’s been about 7 years since I’ve seen her and all I have to say is that she ages like a fine wine. She looked absolutely stunning and I am so truly, truly honored to be documenting her wedding. She’s still the same goofy girl that I know and I have never seen her so happy in my life.
As for Graham, I met him about 10 minutes before the ceremony. I remember stealing him away before the ceremony for a few relaxed portraits and told him that he was really easy to photograph. Only to find out later that he modeled back in the day. He works for Hugo Boss, so he’s obviously decked out in Boss wear. Very classy. Not only does he have rugged good looks, this dude plays the guitar and sings ! He serenaded Rea (and everyone) with a few songs this evening. He’s the type of guy that every guy hates: good looking, dresses well, plays guitar, and can sing ! Seriously though, as one of Rea’s bridesmaids, Christina, said, I’ve never seen anyone look at Rea with the intensity that he does. They really have something special. It’s beyond words.
I will let the photos tell you the story of their day…
This ‘something borrowed’ was a ring from her grandmother:
Can you believe the one on the left is her mom !!! What a beautiful family.
A quick prayer with the Pastor:
The most amazing “Amazing Grace” I have ever heard…
The Wedding Party:
One might be wondering where the groomsmen were…well, there were none ! And if I had the choice for my wedding, I also probably would have opted for the ‘hot bride and bridesmaids + me‘ type of wedding party too !
The photo guestbook. Polaroids were taken of the guests while they were arriving. I thought it was such a cute idea. Of course I had to include Sandy, Ed and I – the vendors. Yup, I can do self-portraits with a polaroid camera too ! First attempt ever ! Not bad, huh ?
and one with the beautiful couple…
Congratulations to Sarena+Graham and their families. It was just an awesome, intimate wedding with lots of beautiful people…inside and out. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Vendor notes: Videography was provided by my new friend Ed from EA Video Production. He is just amazing to work with. He was so kind enough to give Sandy and I a ride back to the hotel and I’m looking forward to working with him again. Special thanks goes out to Candi+Co., coordinators at the Oatlands Plantation. They helped me with getting some shots of the bride without the groom seeing her on the premises. The wedding planning was done by a future star planner and sister of the bride, Nicole, who is currently studying Special Events Planning here at George Brown. She did an amazing job for this very important wedding.
-Joee
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