To give you an idea of how much fun these two are, guess how they met? Competitive salsa dancing. Yup. Amazing story. I can’t wait for their first dance in a few weeks! It’s going to be just hotness.

But I have a huge soft spot for these two because they are getting married at 6th and I Historic Synagogue in DC. My wife worked there for a year and I fell in love with the place. Yes they have rock concerts there. And famous poets. But the space also is the oldest synagogue in the city with the architecture to prove it. I didn’t know about the space when I was getting married and it’s still a real secret in DC.

D’Alizza and I instantly bonded. We both converted to Judaism from Catholicism. We both have celiac disease (go gluten free girls!!). How many Jewish converts who have celiac disease and are so nice-you-instantly-talk-for-2-hours-on-the-phone do you meet every day? And biiiiiig high fives to Lonny for dressing to the nines for the shoot. I saw him and was ‘omg…this is going to be so good’.

So I’m personally in love with Hotel Monaco in DC. I first saw it when I was editing pictures in my senior internship. I had to know where those pictures were taken, now!! As soon as I found out, I was determined to have part of my wedding at Hotel Monaco so Natalie and I got ready there and took couples portraits there. I’m just smitten with the architecture.

When Mercedes and Matt said they were interested in day-after wedding pictures, I practically begged to do them at Hotel Monaco. Mercedes had shown me all these pictures she loved from other weddings, and they had one thing all in common. Grand staircases. If you don’t know, Hotel Monaco literally has the most breath taking staircase ever. It’s hotness.

And that’s just the stairs! More pictures from around the hotel on Friday

I feel like my emotions have been put through a juicer! My home town of Washington, DC passed the first round for legalizing gay marriage. I jumped up and down. I did a twirl. I then commenced twittering, facebooking and blogging on So You’re EnGAYged the good news until my little fingers were tired of typing.

Then yesterday I got a call from a friend. He sounded really angry and told me to google new york gay marriage. I did. I starred at the screen and silently screamed.  I kicked myself that I should have known better to feel like I was sure New York would pass gay marriage. Especially after Maine. But I was still pissed.

So a win and a loss. Slowly inching forward for equality. Way slower than I would like. I feel so fortunate that I live in Connecticut, a state where I can and did legally marry my wife. I count my blessings I can get health insurance and all kinds of spousal benefits because of our marriage. A lot of little and big things. Like $7 off car insurance for being married, ha! And yet, we hired an accountant to do our taxes this year because of the complexities of gay marriage. Yes, in my state I can file as a married couple. But federally? Nope. My head was spinning trying to figure it all out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

On a much lighter note, I did a Trash The Dress session at DC Hotel Monaco and just sent the couple their slideshow today. Here’s a little sneak peek:

And yes, in case you were wondering, Hotel Monaco is a pet friendly hotel. They even gave us doggie treats to help with the shoot. Genius!

I posted my favorite photo from Lauren and Phantane’s photo session at Meridian Hill Park and U street awhile ago, but I had so many more I wanted to share. We met up at the park only to gravitate towards the fun colors on U Street. Lauren’s wedding colors are pink and purple, and by chance, we stumbled across so much pink and purple. They even had pink balloons tied onto a staircase for us to use. I know the balloon thing is really really popular and it bugs me. A LOT. Because so many times I see the couple actually release the balloons into the air. My brain explodes when I see this, I’m like “Hellloooo? Those balloons are going to totally kill wildlife! Have you seen the amount of sealife that chokes on balloons?” So I was a little nervous to post cute balloon photos that might encourage people to use them and not properly dispose of them. Friends don’t let friends release balloon, ok?

I finally got a couple to go to Ben’s Chili Bowl! We waited in line and they happily munched on their amazing hot dogs. I love the colors of that place. And have you noticed that Lauren and Phantane went all out and wore super bright colors? I’m always telling my clients to go bold or go home, and these guys totally did.

I kept posting mini posts of Desaray and Lauren’s Wedding so it’s time to finish! After a Quaker wedding ceremony(which I got to sit down and enjoy because they don’t allow photographs which quickly went downhill to me crying on a bench in the back after an hour of people standing up and pouring their heart out) and stop at the Dupont fountain, we headed back to Alexandria, Virginia for the reception. Hot dogs, burgers, and beer made everyone feel relaxed and ready to have a good time. Ace of Cakes whipped up their amazing cake with political buttons all over it. I couldn’t believe Desaray and Lauren had designed it!

I found Desaray’s birdcage veil laying around and had to capture it because I was so impressed she made it herself!