Ro and Marc’s Kingman and Heritage Islands wedding was everything that’s awesome about small marriage celebrations. By doing a pop-up outdoor wedding in DC, they made sure that the focus of their day was always on the right things. First and foremost, their brief ceremony was about their love and the commitment they were making to each other. But the intimacy of the event also ensured that everyone present mattered deeply to the couple. And that made every moment that we captured on film significant. Stripped of distractions, every interaction, every word and every glance we photographed meant something. So even though their outdoor wedding was relatively simple, the emotions in the photos of Ro and Marc’s celebrations make them stand out
A Few Reasons Why a DC Pop Up Wedding Might Be Right for You
Every couple has that same thought at some point during their wedding planning. That voice that suddenly pops into your head and wonders whether you should just forget the stress and go get married on a beach somewhere. Maybe with just your closest family and friends in attendance.
Most of us shrug off that impulse as unrealistic and get back to planning the bigger wedding. But one of the things that the pandemic taught us is that small doesn’t mean worse. It doesn’t necessarily mean giving up as much as you think. And an elopement or pop-up wedding could give you a lot of things a bigger celebration can’t. So if you’re thinking about scaling down your wedding, here are a few reasons why that could be a good idea:
- You can focus on what matters most. As we mentioned above, a pop-up wedding celebrates just your exchange of vows and the most important people in your life. There are no other distractions pulling your attention away.
- There are far fewer planning headaches. Fewer moving pieces equal a lot less things to worry about. A simple, smaller wedding allows you to relax and actually enjoy your day.
- Just about anywhere can be your venue. Big weddings don’t fit in every location. An intimate celebration, though, opens up just about the entire world. Your wedding can take place in almost any official venue. And in a bunch of places that aren’t even technically venues!
The place where Ro and Marc tied the knot is a perfect example of what we’re talking about. The Kingman and Heritage Islands are not traditionally sites for wedding celebrations in Washington DC. But if you’re doing an elopement or a pop-wedding? Then the islands could be just the right fit!
Just in case you’re not familiar with this hidden gem of a wedding venue in Nation’s Capital, here’s a little background. The Kingman and Heritage Islands sit in the middle of the Anacostia River on the border of Northeast and Southeast Washington DC, not far from old RFK Stadium. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers created the two when it dredged the river in the 1910s. The idea was to clear a shipping channel in the Anacostia while using the sediment to dry out the marshes that were posing public health hazards.
During the next several decades, the fate of Kingman and Heritage Islands swung back and forth. Different agencies of the federal and DC governments had various ideas of how to best use it. The delays ended up having a very unexpected benefit. Because the land sat unused, various species of birds – some of them endangered – began frequenting the islands. Similarly, the islands have become a home to many different beautiful species of plants. In recognition of these developments, city officials have been working to turn it into a nature preserve in recent years.
Why Pop Up Weddings on the Kingman and Heritage Islands Rock
That rustic vibe of the Kingman and Heritage Islands makes it a rare gem in the Nation’s Capital. After all, there aren’t too many places inside the District where you feel like you’re in the middle of the wilderness. But that’s exactly what a wedding on the islands gives you! If you didn’t know better, you’d think that you were a hundred miles from a major city.
Being “alone in the woods” also means that your wedding photos are going to be gorgeous! All of those trees and plants that sprouted up while the future of the islands was up for debate? They create a truly lovely backdrop for all of your pictures.
Arguably the best thing about using the Kingman and Heritage Islands for your wedding, though? It doesn’t cost anything to have your event there! There aren’t very free outdoor wedding venues in DC (or any free indoor ones, for that matter!), and this is by far one of the best.
DC Pop Up Wedding on the Kingman and Heritage Islands
Ro and Marc had their small ceremony in the Main Meadow on Kingman Island. They and their guests crossed over the lovely footbridges that connect the “mainland” to Heritage Island and then to Kingman Island. Once they all set up some chairs and got everyone settled, they jumped straight into their pop-up wedding ceremony. As we mentioned before, their exchange of vows was brief but very, very sweet. The contributions from their parents had them laughing and wiping away tears – often simultaneously! The highlight by far, though, was the involvement of the couple’s adorable dog, Winnie. Throughout the ceremony, the chihuahua/terrier/etc mix kept stealing the show with cute antics.
Once the newlyweds shared their first kiss and we finished their family photos, it was time to really take advantage of the natural beauty of the Kingman and Heritage Islands. The couple had set aside lots of time for their wedding portraits, and the surroundings offered no end of options for creative and gorgeous images. After a few pictures in the Main Meadow with Winnie, we brought Ro and Marc out onto one of the aforementioned footbridges. We used the arch of the span to create unforgettable images of the couple with the blue autumn sky behind and above them. We also got very innovative pictures of them silhouetted against a parasol that we brought. Then we took them over to Heritage Island for some beautiful, romantic and intimate portraits of them in the woods.
Thank you again, Ro and Marc, for giving us the opportunity to document your pop-up wedding!
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