I knew from doing Mona and Peter’s engagement session that their wedding was going to be a lot of fun and full of style and detail. I guess I just didn’t know how much!
Peter is from Montana and Mona is from Delaware. They met during the first day of orientation in college and are very sweet together. I loved how they mixed the states on their red napkins during cocktail hour and mixed their heritage throughout the wedding day.
We photographed Mona and Peter over three days from the Mehndi on Thursday to the Rehearsal and Sangeet on Friday and finally the big day on Saturday at the Gaylord National Harbor. Spending that much time, you really get to know a couple and I don’t think I ever saw a time where either of them were anything but relaxed and enjoying themselves (even when they were overheating outside!). It really makes it enjoyable to photograph when the couple is so relaxed and is enjoying it themselves!
I met Mona and Peter last year at Jill and Todd’s wedding on the Eastern Shore so I knew a lot of Jill’s bridesmaids and friends who were in the bridal party or close friends with Mona so it was great coming in and seeing everyone again. They were a lot of fun last year so I knew they would be a lot of fun this year as well!
The rehearsal dinner and Sangeet were held aboard the Odyssey as it cruised down up and down the Potomac. The dances were great and the weather that evening was awesome so you couldn’t have asked for more.
The wedding day was full of some favorites for me. Mona’s shoes, their backdrop at the ceremony of little colored glass vases, their rings and cake were unbelievable and easily some of the coolest we have ever seen! They started off with a traditional Baraat where Peter traveled to the ceremony on horseback surrounded by all the guests dancing. For the non-denominational ceremony, Peter changed back into a great Hugo Boss suit with some cool blue suede shoes to match Mona’s shoes. The setting was gorgeous and filled with colored parasols and Mona’s dress was stunning. After cocktail hour, it was back into Indian clothes for the wedding party to head to the reception. We had a great photo booth set up and judging from the photos, everyone had fun in it (maybe a bit too much fun!).
Mona and Peter worked with Mihir and his team from Rose Events out of New Jersey to plan their wedding. All the details they put into the days were just perfect and everywhere you turned there was something new and cool they incorporated into the day.
It was a long weekend but just so amazing. I joked with our photographers that we could have dropped the camera and “accidentally” made a portfolio image out there!
None of this would have been possible without a TON of hard work from everyone on our team. Andrew and Charlie did an amazing job photographing the day and our assistant Whitney was invaluable (thanks for always having cold water for us!!). Whitney snagged the last photo of the three of us with Mona and Peter.
For large wedding like this, it’s always fun to add up what goes into it on our part:
13,734 – Total photographs taken (all-time record!)
3 – Photographers
1 – Assistant
57 – Total hours for the four of us over four days (44 of those on Saturday)
1 – Horse
500+ Guests
Wedding 411:
Event Planner: Rose Events | Mihir | 732.904.0510
Rehearsal + Sangeet Location: Odyssey Cruise Ship | 866.404.8439
Wedding + Reception Location: Gaylord National Harbor | Joanna Kaub | 301.965.3763
Caterer: Palace of Asia
Decorator: Elegant Affairs | Shobha Rao | 973.882.8001
Cake: Maggie Austin Cakes | Maggie Austin | 202.448.2920
Horse: Harmon’s Hayrides + Carriages | 540.825.6707
Officiant: Creative Ceremony | Rev. Juli Wilson-Black
Henna: Make Up By Mala | Mala Amin | 301.675.9863
Videography: Suburban Video | Bill Bowen | 301.315.6300
Photography: Connor Studios | Michael Connor + Andrew Harnik + Charlie Shoemaker | 202.527.9768
