In our professional opinion, the best DC wedding venues do more than just treat you like royalty. Obviously, the great locations will do whatever is necessary to cater to your needs and to make your day unforgettable. Superlative wedding venues like the St. Regis Washington, D.C., however, go a step further. They give you even more, albeit in a very subtle way. It might sound crazy, but those kinds of locations can actually improve your wedding photography! The layout, decor and overall vibe of a first-class wedding venue can turn an ordinary photo of you and your beloved into something magical.
Though not the be-all and end-all, the background of a matrimonial picture can really add a lot to a photo. It contributes mightily to setting the scene, to adding context and to giving the whole image a particular look and feel. The best Washington DC wedding photographer can take even the ugliest backdrop and create a beautiful picture, of course. But when we can use the wedding venue to enhance your photos, there is nothing like it.
The St. Regis Washington, D.C. is filled with spaces that look stunning and spectacular in your wedding photography. For example, its Beaux-Arts and Neo-Renaissance facade, which faces 16th Street, will give your couples portraits a lovely Old World touch. DC wedding photographers like us can achieve similarly gorgeous results taking pictures of you in the hotel’s luxurious lobby. The gold-inlaid ceilings, plush red velvet curtains and magnificent chandelier will make any portrait look like a million dollars.
Just to the side of the main hotel building is the Astor Terrace — another great spot for wedding photos. It is also one of Washington’s hidden wedding venue gems. It is a patio that offers you that rarest of options: a green space in an urban milieu. The Astor Terrace allows you and your intended to have an outdoor ceremony or reception with up to 250 wedding guests. You can exchange their vows or celebrate your nuptials surrounded by lovely green trees. And the whole time, you are just steps from one of DC’s main thoroughfares and the White House!
The St Regis DC wedding suite in this photo is another example of how a space can improve wedding photography. The light that was coming in through the windows of the living room area was soft and gorgeous. Thanks to that, we were able to get some beautiful and flattering shots of the bride getting her makeup done. Her DC bridal portraits — taken by the room’s largest window — were similarly stunning.
We took this particular image in the bedroom portion of the suite the bride had rented for her Washington wedding. As in the antechamber, the light was gentle and beautiful. Even though relatively little of the interior decoration made it into in this frame, there are still hints of what makes the St. Regis so special. For example, you can see the plush headboard with golden posts peeking out from behind the bride and bridesmaids.
What really makes this picture of a DC bride and her bridesmaids so spectacular, though, is the moment. As is often the case, the emotions on display turn what would have been a standard portrait into something unforgettable. To liven up the wedding party portraits, we had asked the bride-to-be to open the bottle of champagne on the bed while surrounded by her bridesmaids. Our thinking was that a bit of movement and unpredictability would turn a posed shot into a more spontaneous picture. Plus, the introduction of the bottle would bring the bridesmaids’ focus to their friend/relative and away from the cameras. We had no idea, though, that the champagne would bubble over and spill onto the bride. But we are certainly glad that it did! That moment elicited some fantastic and genuine responses from all the ladies gathered there and led to a great image.
Location: The St. Regis Washington, D.C., 923 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20006.
Keywords: DC Wedding (12), DC wedding photographers (13), Weddings at the St. Regis DC.© 2024 Potok's World Photography - Wife & Husband Washington DC Wedding Photographers
