Form submitted successfully, thank you.

Error submitting form, please try again.

Connor Studios Blog bio picture

Welcome!

Connor Studios is owned and run by Michael Connor and his beautiful wife Nicole and their little ones Grace and Jack.

As one of the leading documentary wedding photographers in the Washington, D.C. area and a photojournalist for The Washington Times, it is with great pleasure that we bring you some of the stories and photographs from our daily lives.

You will see photographs from my life as a wedding photographer, a photojournalist and a new father.  We LOVE when you leave comments!  If you have questions (either as a bride and groom or another photographer) don't hesitate to ask. We love sharing!

Michael grew up in Nebraska (Go Huskers!) and has lived in Sweden, Scotland, Indiana and now makes the Washington, D.C. area his home with his new family

Bookmark our RSS feed and check back often! 

You can now jump on the bandwagon and follow us on Twitter as well. Our Twitter link is also integrated in the menus at the top of the blog.

Jill + Todd | Wedding Photographs | Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, Stevensville, Md.

Friday, August 13, 2010 at 11:42am

When the Saturday one week before Jill and Todd’s wedding registered over 100 degrees, I was a bit worried about the next weekend’s outdoor wedding.  Luckily, Jill and/or Todd have it in good with some higher power and they got an 83 degree day with low humidity at the end of July.  Near D.C.!

The day started off at the Loews Annapolis Hotel where they got ready and then everyone headed over the Chesapeake Bay to the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club for the ceremony and reception.  It’s hard to go wrong at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club.  It’s so beautiful, so easy to get to and so relaxing for weddings.

The bridesmaids were a lot of fun and wore awesome green dresses and yellow wedge shoes that were so summery.  Todd spared his guys having to bake in black suits in the sun and everyone wore light colored suits from J.Crew which looked great on the beach.  I absolutely loved Jill’s dress – very simple and gorgeous and it even had pockets!  Of course, the ring bearer kind of stole the show.  He was so cute and had such a good time.

A tip to brides: If you want to use green and yellow as your wedding colors, look at how Jill used it.  Bold greens and yellows are absolutely beautiful!  ”Generally” stay away from pale yellows and greens as they tend to wash out your skin.

The ceremony was beautiful on the Bay and the Reception was held in the Beach House.  Sunsets are always beautiful out there.  We just finished up sunset portraits on the beach and they were able to make it inside and have their first dance as the sun made its final hoorah.

The dance floor started off a little slow but once everyone got warmed up, it never emptied.  They even pushed it into extra innings at the end of the night with an encore set and then the guys sang “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” a la Top Gun to Jill at the end of the night before they left to a sparkler sendoff.

Wedding 411:
Ceremony + Reception: Chesapeake Bay Beach Club | Erin Janes | 410.604.1933
Florist: Great Expectations Flowers | Inka Browne | 410.263.6708
Band: The Jangling Reinharts | 804.240.7951
Officiant: Michael Feehley | 410.822.4533
Photography: Connor Studios | Michael Connor | 202.527.9768

Posted in Ceremony, Details, Portrait, Preparation, Reception, Wedding | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by Michael Connor

show hide 2 comments

add a comment link to this post email a friend

Jessica - Michael, these pictures are absolutely stunning! The more of your work I see, the more impressed I am! I can't wait for my wedding in October :)

WORKING BRIDES - Oh Micheal you got some beauties in here!! I love the pic of the mini chairs and rings, and what a gorgeous day you had!!! As always you are a step above the rest :) Can't wait to work with you in October!!

Our Crazy Kids

Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 12:54pm

Thought I would take a minute out of wedding-editing and post some photos and video that make me laugh.

Our son Jack (6 months) has the craziest hair and is ALWAYS smiling!  When I got him out of bed this morning, he looked so sweet.I try to take Grace to MyGym on Fridays and lately we have been the only people so we have had the run of the place.  I shot this video last Friday and have probably watched it 100 times since then.  If you are in a bad mood, this will cure it.  It just reminds me of how special childhood is when everything is so simple and happy.

Jumping For Joy with Jimmy Buffett from Connor Studios on Vimeo.

The photo and video are all from my iPhone.

Posted in Children, Family, Grace, Jack, Personal, video

by Michael Connor

no comments

add a comment link to this post email a friend

Kim + Beran | Wedding Photographs | Whitehall Manor, Bluemont, Virginia

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11:36am

My favorite memory of Kim and Beran’s wedding was how excited she was while waiting to walk down the aisle. Excited is kind of an understatement! She actually apologized to me in case I thought she was being corny. What!?!

Watching her excitement was just awesome! There are a times we see brides getting ready to go down the aisle and all they can think about is the one detail that wasn’t perfect or a bridesmaid that said the wrong thing… Those are the times where they need to take a Kim pill so they can remind themselves about what they should be feeling at that moment.

It was a warm day. Ok, saying it was a warm day is kind of like saying Kim was ambivalent about walking down the aisle. It was a hot day! Thankfully Whitehall is in the midst of huge shade trees.

The ceremony was beautiful. Kim and Beran laughed a lot which always makes for a great ceremony. Kim’s niece and nephew were the Flower Girl and Ring Bearer and were so cute. The Ring Bearer should turn pro in ring bearing!

Whitehall is a great place to walk around for portraits. I absolutely love the old barns there. We were trying to make sure the portraits were different from the last time we were there and they turned out beautifully!  And departing in a 1952 Bentley is a pretty classy way to make an exit!

All in all, it was well worth a little sweat on the brow!

Wedding 411:
Wedding Coordinator: The Finer Points | Priscilla | 703.728.5585
Ceremony and Reception Location: Whitehall Manor | 703-948-2999
Officiant: Nace Lanier | 571.438.3622
Florist: Blossoms N Bows | Shawn | 703.455.3811
String Quartet: Perfect Harmony | Gretchen Heller | 240.912.7604
Cake: Connie’s Cake Creations | Connie Schweizer | 703.860.2661
1952 Bentley Limousine: Regal Limousines | 703.440.3651
DJ: Nate Dougan | 703.861.9914
Videographer: Cameo Video Productions of Washington | Jerry | 703.569.0095
Photography: Connor Studios | Michael Connor and Jonathan Newton | 202.527.9768

Posted in Ceremony, Portrait, Preparation, Reception, Wedding | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by Michael Connor

no comments

add a comment link to this post email a friend

Michele + Tom | Engagement | Eastern Market, Washington, DC

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 12:32pm

Michele and Tom agreed to meet me at Eastern Market for a 7am engagement session.  Morning sessions always turn out great because you have a lot of room to work with nobody in your photographs.  I loved their clothing choices.  Michele’s dress was almost a perfect match with our logo (somehow, I’m not sure that’s what was on her mind though!) and the sunflowers in the farmer’s market.  Both were such great sports.

We had Eastern Market all to ourselves on a Saturday morning.  I can’t remember that ever happening!  One of my all time favorite photographs is this one inside the empty hall.  Can’t wait for next April!

Posted in Engagement, Portrait | Tags: , , , , , , ,

by Michael Connor

show hide 1 comment

add a comment link to this post email a friend

Astrid Riecken - gorgeous - very cute couple - very beautiful images - particularly like the paired vertical photographs - nicely done - Astrid

Sonya + Vivek | Wedding Photographs | Willard Hotel + Mellon Auditorium, Washington, DC

Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 5:08pm

The hardest part of writing about Sonya and Vivek’s wedding is just trying to do it justice.  It was very much like a normal wedding if by normal you mean 600 guests, the Willard, the Mellon Auditorium, a 10-foot wedding cake, 2 dance troupes and a horse.  You know, normal!  :-)

You should check out the story that The Washington Post did on the wedding.  The wedding was unbelievable!  I have been to shows in Las Vegas that weren’t half as beautiful or entertaining.

We were asked to cover the rehearsal dinner on Friday and then started with them at 7am on Saturday until 1am on Sunday.  It was a long two (three??) days but it was certainly never boring!  The colors, the grandeur, the guests and our awesome bride and groom made for such a beautiful weekend.

Sonya and Vivek were both so much fun to work with.  Vivek was always doing something to make us, himself or others laugh — like his three takes at a first look (made me laugh!).  When we first met, Sonya was so concerned about the photography and how she would look.  I couldn’t believe it — look at her – she is gorgeous and was constantly smiling!!  In the end, I think it was just an unforgettable evening for both of them, their guests and our team of photographers.

Like I said, I am at a loss for words to describe the wedding so let me describe it in the best way I know how:

Wedding 411:
Event Coordinator: Events by Design | Vinnu Kudva | 703.579.1496
Ceremony and Rehearsal Dinner: Willard InterContinental Hotel | 202.628.9100
Caterer: Ridgewells | Blythe Swift | 301.907.3737
Cake: Patty Cakes | Patricia Collette | 571.338.2469
Designer: Nivanjoli | Prabha Bhambri | 703.759.0068
Bhangra Dancers: GMU Bhangra
Dancers: Rhythmology
Reception Location: Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Photography: Connor Studios | Michael Connor along with Andrew Harnik and Jonathan Newton | 202.527.9768

For even more, check out the slideshow:

Posted in Ceremony, Details, Engagement, Preparation, Reception, Slide Show, Uncategorized, Wedding | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by Michael Connor

show hide 3 comments

add a comment link to this post email a friend

jennifer farrelly - HOLY COW. That was amazing. Both the bride and groom were stunning and your work was incredible. The culture they brought to the wedding was so amazing as well. Great job Mike.

Tracy - Wow, this wedding was epic, and you documented it BEAUTIFULLY! Sonya will see how stunning she is after looking at your photos. :)

WORKING BRIDES - WOW!!! This is great!! You really captured the true essense of a grand Indian wedding!! Congrats!!

Sonya + Vivek’s Wedding Featured in The Washington Post’s “On Love Section”

Monday, July 5, 2010 at 5:08pm

We are finishing up the editing from 2 days of photographing Sonya and Vivek’s wedding with 3 photographers.  The photographs will be up this week and they are crazy-insane!!

The Washington Post just featured their wedding in yesterday’s On Love section.  I knew a lot about how they met but it was a great read.  Click here for the story.

Posted in Links, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

by Michael Connor

no comments

add a comment link to this post email a friend