Timmester Photography

Lee & Karl’s Winter Wedding at Airlie Center

Tracy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:04:57 +0000

What a weird winter we are having. Yesterday was a 70 degree day in February, and I’ve only seen snow twice so far this winter. Fortunately, for Lee & Karl, one of those snow days just happened to be their wedding day. Lee and Karl are snowboard enthusiasts who hosted a ski-themed winter wedding for their family and friends. So while we did snowy portraits of the two of them outside, their adorable cake of two snowboarders at the top of a slope waited inside (to be admired and eaten later in the evening :) Snow was a much more appreciated outcome than the 90% chance of rain meteorologists were calling for, so we felt very, very lucky. Otherwise, I never would have seen Lee’s adorable snow boots. :)

Many thanks to my good friend, Kim Seidl, who helped out at this wedding and Kelley Cannon, who did a fabulous job with the day-of coordination. Congratulations, Lee & Karl!!!

Lee and her Mom: two very lovely ladies. :)

Lee's reaction to putting on her wedding dress:

Lee & Karl saw each other before the ceremony so they would have enough time for daylight portraits. :)

Love!

The Airlie gardens are gorgeous!

This is one of my favorites. Lee has an awesome laugh.

See what I'm saying?

Kim got this great shot of Lee and her stepdad before they entered the pavilion and walked down the aisle.

Some of their awesome ski-themed reception details. Note the snowboarders on the wedding cake/slope on the left.

Second Shooter: Kim Seidl

Venue: Airlie Center, Warrenton, Virginia

Coordination: Kelley Cannon Events

Cake: Edibles Incredible (the best wedding cake I’ve ever had, hands down!)

Officiant: Say “I Do” Your Way

Please check out more images of Lee & Karl’s wedding HERE or in the slide show below.

Bride’s Choice Award 2012

Tracy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:15:24 +0000

We are honored to be a recipient of the Wedding Wire network’s Bride’s Choice Award for the third year in a row! Thank you, Wedding Wire, for recognizing us with this prestigious award. We are thrilled. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™ recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ are awarded solely based on the reviews from over 1.2 million newlyweds. Awards are determined by a combination of four factors: Overall rating (quality), total number of reviews (quantity), review performance from 2011 (recency), and consistency of reviews from year to year (consistency). This year’s recipients represent the top 5% of WeddingWire’s vendor community, across all service categories and all regions throughout the US and Canada.

A Quick Holiday Recap

Tracy — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:27:28 +0000

HAPPY 2012!!!

I hope you had a relaxing, indulgent holiday break filled with too many sweets and tons of time with your family! While editing photos of my own wonderful Christmas, I determined that my family is so darn cute - I just have to proudly share photos of them with all of you! So bear with me as I give you a quick recap of my fabulous holiday break with family…. Blake and I spent Christmas morning with his awesome family in Alexandria. Our niece and nephew, Janna and Miles, are two of the most precocious and lovable children on the planet. It was wonderful to watch them enjoy their presents, which included a pair of roller skates for each of them, a princess dress for Janna, and a toy leaf blower (with goggles!) for Miles. Needless to say, the roller skates provided us with endless entertainment and activity for the next few days.

And then a few days after Christmas I traveled down to South Carolina to celebrate the New Year with my family. In general it was a calm, wonderful visit with lots of food, conversation, a little bit of shopping, and hours of Scattegories, but there was one raucous night when we had 16 people gathered together in one house for a pizza party. It reminded me of the opening scene of Home Alone, one of my favorite holiday movies, even down to the spilled soda. I loved it. :)

This is one of my favorites from the holiday. This is my brother, Scott, and our exuberant nephew, Eric. He cracks me up.

That's my stepmom, Carol, on the left laughing it up. Adorable!

My sister-in-law, Zeynep, was successful in convincing Emma, Ethan and Eric to play the "quiet game". Here they are, zipping up their lips. :)

We did a quick family photo on New Year's Eve ... (we're going to have to photoshop Blake in to this one :)

... and then brought in the New Year with lots and lots of Scattegories. It's becoming a Timmester family tradition. :)

And now it’s back to work after all of that relaxing, laughing, and stuffing my face! Favorite photos of 2011 are coming soon as are photos from Lee & Karl’s gorgeous winter wedding at Airlie Center. Thanks for stopping by, and Happy 2012!!!

A Lazy Morning

Tracy — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:48:59 +0000

We have some seriously cute cats. This one here, Daisy, doesn’t usually like to be photographed - to my extreme frustration. Normally, she hears the shutter and promptly gets up and moves on. But this morning she let me photograph her in all of her sunbathing glory - she was practically modeling for me - and I just had to share the cuteness. Happy Holidays!!

This was how I found her. So darn cute. And our windows are dirty. Don't judge.

And then she started modeling.

And here’s our other cutie, Roscoe. He normally does model - fortunately he has no qualms with it - so we have tons of pictures of this adorable fur ball. But here’s one from just last week so he’s not left out of the post. :)

I hope your morning is just as lazy and splendid. Merry Christmas!!

Featured in Washingtonian Bride & Groom

Tracy — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:40:18 +0000

I really don’t have the words to express how honored and ecstatic I am to be featured in the newest issue of Washingtonian’s Bride & Groom. Needless to say, there was lots of dancing around the house when I found out, and I think there will be at least one bottle of champagne opened in order to celebrate! Washingtonian Bride & Groom is such a respected, wonderful publication, and I cannot believe they chose to feature my photographs in their first Real Weddings spread! Please pick up your issue - available on newsstands today! - to check out photographs of Linde & Frank’s gorgeous River Farm wedding on pages 34-35! Cheers!

Laura & Steve at Strong Mansion

Tracy — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:06:09 +0000

This wedding was the perfect way to end my 2011 wedding season. The second I saw Laura - with her huge, huge smile - I knew it was going to be a joyful, fun, and relaxed day, and it was. Laura and Steve are such a happy, laid-back couple and their family and friends are the same way, so needless to say, I loved their wedding. The ceremony took place at Calvary United Methodist Church in Frederick, Maryland - a church that has a lot of history for both Laura and Steve’s families. Three generations of their families have attended the church regularly, and Laura’s parents and Steve’s brother were also married there! After the gorgeous ceremony, the festivities moved to one of my favorite venues in the area - Strong Mansion at Sugarloaf Mountain. Strong Mansion is such a pretty site and there was just enough sunlight remaining for us to enjoy the pretty surroundings and get a few pictures before the celebration began. Congratulations, Laura & Steve! Thank you for letting Wale and I be a part of your fabulous wedding!

Laura's adorable grandmother watches her put on the dress.

Here's grandma again. Sooo cute!

Love this little one. What a cutie!

Second Photographer: Wale Ariztos

Caterer: Canapes

Florist: To the 9s, Matt Aspey

Please check out more images in the slide show below!

The Sebastian Family

Tracy — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:28:27 +0000

What an affectionate and close family of four! I loved spending the afternoon with Molly, Matt, and their twin six year old boys, Robert and Joseph. The boys readily hold hands with one another, hug, and make goofy faces, while their parents overflow with affection for the two of them. Jojo took a bit of a tumble while running and the subsequent booboo kept him away for a few minutes, so I do have more photos of solo Robert. Next time I’ll have to focus more on injure-free Jojo! Thank you, Sebastian family. You guys are adorable!

Super super cute. Couldn't you just eat them up?

For inquiring minds, these photos were taken at and near lovely Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. In the off-season, the theater area makes for a great backdrop. :)

Whitney & Sean at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Tracy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:52:26 +0000

I love this laidback family of four: newly-engaged Whitney & Sean, and their adorable dogs, Charlotte & Maddie. The four of them are suuuuper sweet together (not to mention photogenic) and it was a great afternoon documenting the adorable way in which they all interact. Whitney and Sean are getting married at Trump National Country Club in July and something tells me it is going to be a phenomenal party. :)

What a cute family!!

Meet cuties Charlotte (in the front) and Maddie (on the bench):

Look at Charlotte's soulful eyes. I just want to squeeze her.

Catherine & Alex at Renaissance Capital View

Tracy — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:27:51 +0000

I can’t tell you how much I love these two. Individually, Catherine and Alex overflow with cheerfulness, warmth, humor, and exuberance. Together, as a couple, those traits are multiplied, and they are just about the happiest couple I have ever seen. Every time they look at one another, each one bursts in to a HUGE smile and then reaches over to hug or cup the other’s face. Being around them is invigorating, and it’s clear they don’t just have that effect on me, they have it on everyone. I hope to be friends with these two for life because they are - as individuals and especially as a couple - truly special. You don’t come across this kind of joy and love every day. Congratulations, Catherine & Alex. You two are amazing!

I loved the bold colors and chic design of the Renaissance Capital View. Gorgeous!

h Do you see what I'm saying? They are SO in love! And so adorably happy.

Adorable.

The guys, working it.

I love this one. :)

Catherine shares my enthusiasm for shaking it on the dance floor and, thus, I love her.

Love it!

A huge, huge thank you to Artemas Mott, my wonderful second shooter who is a phenomenal photographer and a wonderful person to work with!

Reception venue: Renaissance Capital View

Church: St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church

DJ: Michael Bell, MyDeejay

Please check out more images in the slide show below!

Jen & Pablo (and Franklin!) in Old Town Alexandria

Tracy — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:35:58 +0000

Oh my goodness, I don’t know that it gets much cuter than this. An adorable, laidback couple - engaged to be married - and their CUTE CUTE CUTE English Bulldog puppy, Franklin. Seriously, every picture of Franklin makes me crack up laughing. I loved spending the afternoon with this fabulous family of three. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

O.M.G. Cutest face ever.

These two are pretty darn cute too. :)

Pablo proposed at Flying Fish, on the right, where Jen first told Pablo that she loved him...

... and then a group of friends was waiting to celebrate the engagement with them at this bar, Columbia Firehouse, nearby. So romantic and well-thought out. Good work, Pablo. :)