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DC Wedding Photographers: Julie and Charles at The Carnegie

A fun, colorful, Washington DC wedding for a pair of world travelers…
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Julie & Charlie shared, “We first found you through some of the incredible shots you had already taken at our venue. We loved reading through your process in the blogs about weddings at Carnegie. Your excitement about finding new shots and angles, even in a venue she’d shot many times, made it so clear that you are incredibly passionate about what you do, and have put together a great team to help you!”
They continued, “We’re hoping to a see some classic photos, some of the “must have” photographs from Carnegie and a couple of those super unique shots that we’ve never seen before anywhere. Our engagement shoot set the bar very high – friends and family can’t wait to see how Rhinehart captured our wedding day!”
So the shot I opened with was a new perspective from this familiar space- it actually features a colorful, international embassy neighboring The Carnegie in Dupont Circle.  As world travelers who have visited a whopping *18 countries* together, I thought this was essential. 😉
As far as seeing something that you haven’t before and my awesome team, have you seen ironing captured in such a cool and creative way before?  Go Jim!!!
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Charlie smiled, “We jumped straight into international travel early in our relationship, heading to Panama and Brazil with two friends after dating for only a few months.”
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He went on, “Sixteen more countries later, we’ve definitely learned what works best for each of us, and have found that cruises offer a great outlet for both of us…  Julie loves exploring a new port each day, and I enjoy the relaxation of a floating resort.”
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Charlie chuckled, “We worked this into our wedding as one of the ‘fun facts’ on the cocktail napkins, hence my favorite port we’ve visited is ‘At Sea.'”
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As my assistant, Jim photographed the men, I photographed Julie as she prepared for her wedding day at Hotel Rouge.
Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest impact, Julie’s delicate veil, hand and jewelry certainly caught my eye…
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As Julie’s mother put the finishing touches on her dress I watched through the window created by the two women, watching the reactions of Julie’s friends to the gown.
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Haaa so I can kind of be a ninja on the wedding day, and saw this opportunity for an incredible reflection if I’d climb behind the murphy bed… I mentioned the idea to Julie who was totally game.
Julie shared, “We loved the funky design of the Kimpton Rouge for our getting ready rooms. I felt pretty certain you would find an unusual way to use the space– you climbing behind the bed did not disappoint!”  Haha, I showed her this image on the back of my camera:
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Aside from the intense reds of her hotel room, I had another intense color to work with– Julie’s eyes, wowza!
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Then there are also times when you need no color at all…
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I love to work in special details for my couples… knowing they were international travelers and getting married along Embassy Row, I made sure to work that in…  Here she strolls past the Australian Embassy on her way to her first look with Charlie…
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Charlie waited at the top of the stairs of the Carnegie Institution for Science, heart pounding, as Julie approached, she adjusted her veil.  You can almost feel the tension…
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Julie shared, “Charlie is the only person in the world who I feel like I can be my full self around. He makes me feel both totally safe and loved, but also challenged at the same time to be the best and most thoughtful version of myself. I definitely felt that safety and love as soon as he turned around the first look – it was such a relief to finally get to be together and see each other on our wedding day.”
They were all smiles…
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Charlie beamed, “I am looking forward to a life of adventures and surprises with Julie, because we can do anything together. She’s super cool!”
High-fives all around…
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Charlie continued, “I love my wife because she’s determined but also silly! She figures everything out, but at the same time knows when to not take things so seriously. She’s got a perspective on situations that I tend to forget about, which is valuable, but she also laughs at my jokes and likes it when I talk about random topics, which makes me feel loved.”
It is clear that he likes making her feel loved, too…
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While most of my day is spent capturing moments as they unfold, I make sure to capture more traditional portraits as well.  I love this one of Julie & Charles!
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When Julie shared about wanting classic Carnegie shots, I’m imagining this is one of those, I love this view, and how you can read the name of the venue and see all of the detailing of the iconic Washington, DC entrance…
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Julie shared, “In so many ways we’re really similar and in sync – can often know from a look in social gatherings that we’re feeling the same way. But we also complement and stretch each other – I help Charlie to be less impulsive sometimes, while he will encourage me to take more risks (like the spur of the moment decision to adopt our adorable puppy Piper)!”
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While I love capturing emotion and architecture, I really like to play around on get creative… it had rained earlier that morning and this puddle was making a nearly perfect diamond shape in front of the Carnegie.  I was able to capture Julie and Charles in that puddle, and bring a more modern, geometric look to the classic scene…
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Julie explained, “Our travel history was also one of the fun facts on our custom napkins – we had a great time watching guests try to find all of the facts. (Small practical joke we pulled: there was no fun fact #4, just #1,2,3,5,&6 – just to entice people to keep looking for them.”
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The whole world seemed to disappear as they walked down P Street Northwest.  There were all sorts of people and traffic, even their own bridal party, yet their gazes were locked…
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The ladies caught up with Julie and were all smiles and laughs…best-dc-wedding-photographers-creative-carnegie-institution-for-science-22
Woo hoo, today is the day!
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Julie explained, “We chose the Carnegie Institution for Science for many reasons, but certainly the unique rooms, including the library, were top on the list!”
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Decor was all placed and it was time for the ceremony to begin.  I was captivated by this arrangement, particularly this tulip…
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Julie descends the staircase as her father waits to escort her down the aisle– what a grand entrance!
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Charlie watched, beaming…
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Julie shared, “We both were pretty nervous throughout the ceremony – we knew we would cry if we looked out at the guests , so the overall look and feel of the ceremony is something we’re really looking forward to seeing in photos!”
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Good call, Julie, haha…
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Julie continued, “We wrote the entire ceremony ourselves so it was a huge relief to see it come together and meant that every word was meaningful to us. We’re very grateful to our friend Annie for officiating, and for both of our readers stepping a little out of their comfort zones to be a big part of our day.”
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Awww this is my favorite…
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Julie shared, “I kept trying to make him laugh during the ceremony because I could tell he was really emotional which was so sweet. We definitely did our vows in the right order – I needed some time to collect myself after he choked up during his.”
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Cheers!
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Family photos are usually an important part of what I do, the bride and groom had a few different large groups that they wanted photographed over cocktail hour, I really liked how this one came out– so many people and so much detail in a single photo.
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Charlie explained his love of the space, “I was excited about the overall elegance of the marble and clean lines in rotunda. We wanted a venue where we could host the whole event in one spot, but with separate spaces for different moments – Carnegie was perfect for this. The bar in the boardroom was probably my favorite spot…”
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Ooo lala, a moment alone towards the end of cocktail hour, right before their first dance…
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Hitting the dance floor in style…
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Just wow…
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Aw Julie’s mom…
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Charlie’s mom during the mother-son dance…
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Dinner service is ready to go!
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A toast by Julie’s father:
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I love to play with light and bokeh, in this case the raised champagne glass was my perfect subject…
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Now my cutest subject was probably this little guy…
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How sweet it is!
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Julie’s mom, she was talking to Charlie a bit, beaming and then kissed him on the cheek, so sweet!
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Julie laughed, “Tricking everyone onto the dance floor with the group photo transitioning straight into the Cupid Shuffle was definitely one of our favorite moments!”
I love how the group shot turned out!  This would be epic on canvas, guys…
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Charlie commented, “We also were really excited to have a DJ that we knew well as the MC for the evening – our DJ team was actually the host of our regular weekly trivia night in Chicago. This helped us coordinate a few extra surprises like the transition straight from the group photo immediately into the Cupid Shuffle!”
I love color– DJ lights can be so much fun…
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All of the congratulations shouted by Washingtonians passing by was very sweet, and Julie and Charlie responded with smiles and waves, here is one I caught in a reflection, as I was prepping for one last shot.
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They shared, “We are absolutely stunned with how well everything went. It was so incredible to have all the people we love the most in one place at the same time. We feel incredibly lucky to their love and support as we move forward into married life!”
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I was inspired by the traffic lights and played around a bit more…
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Capturing motion, too…
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And they lived happily ever after! 😉
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Julie and Charlie, thank you for entrusting me to capture such an important day!  I hope I have captured all the classic beauty and candid moments in an artful and creative way, and can’t wait to hear your feedback!
If you’d like to see more photos of Julie and Charles, check out their engagement session, here.

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