Reflecting on 2024, love was certainly in the air! As a Washington DC wedding photographer, I had the honor of capturing so many unique and beautiful love stories. Each wedding was a true reflection of the couple’s personality and love—from iconic city celebrations in the heart of DC to romantic countryside affairs beyond the city, and even an intimate destination wedding in Lindos, Rhodes! These couples remind me why I cherish this work: preserving heartfelt moments, celebrating the joining of two families, and preserving visual stories that will be cherished for years to come. Today, I’m sharing a glimpse into seven of the weddings I had the joy of capturing in 2024—a collection of love stories as unique as the couples themselves.
How They Met
Although we both attended Antiochian Village, our paths didn’t truly cross until we joined the staff in 2018—Nick as the Admin Assistant and Nadia as a first-time counselor. We arrived early that summer to help with Family Camp, which gave us a chance to connect and quickly become friends. Over the course of the summer, our friendship deepened as we spent weekends off debriefing our sessions and getting to know each other better. By the end of the season, it was clear how we felt about each other, and we decided to take a leap and try dating long distance—a journey that lasted 3.5 years! The rest, as they say, is history!
Their Advice for Couples Planning their Wedding
Put your effort into the things you care about the most, and don’t sweat the other stuff!
Venue: JW Mariott Las Vegas Wedding
How They Met
We met on a dating app! I was the one who matched with him, and we exchanged a couple of messages before I came down with a terrible ear infection. I didn’t respond for almost two weeks, and he was convinced I had ghosted him. In reality, I was just too sick to function! To this day, he still jokes that I wasn’t really into him—but thankfully, he stuck around!
Their Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding
Don’t try to keep up with the Jones’. Just do you and have the party you want to have!
Venue: Lake Ritchie Pavilion Bealton, VA Wedding
How They Met
I’ve always considered myself to be an “old soul” and was resistant to dating apps because I thought if there was someone out there for me that I’d meet him “the old fashioned way.” A friend explained to me that meeting someone on an app could still be as random and exciting as meeting someone at an event or walking down the street. She helped me create my Hinge profile and I’ll be honest, I was SO skeptical! A cute guy from New Jersey reached out to me and I was so nervous to go on my first Hinge date — so much so, that my friend drove me there and said she would come pick me up if it was awful! As I approached Ty at the bar, I immediately felt at ease and had the best, LAST, first date of my life.
Their Advice to Couples Planning Their Wedding
Stay true to what you (as a couple) want and make sure the two of you are on the same page before involving anyone else in the plans. Ty and I did this and I think it saved us a lot of headaches because we made our minds up and didn’t let anyone sway us.
Venue: Ampitheatre Lindos, Rhodes Wedding
How They Met
We first met in 7th grade while attending middle school together. We were friends throughout middle and high school, but it wasn’t until we reconnected in 2018 that our story truly began. For our first date, we went to the movies to see Transformers: Bumblebee! Now, it’s become a special tradition to rewatch it every December, marking the anniversary of that memorable first date!
Their Advice to Couple Planning Their Wedding
Take it one day at a time and make date nights out of every step!
Venue: Norbeck Country Club, Potomac, Maryland Wedding
How They Met
We were neighbors!
Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding
Have as much fun planning it as possible and don’t sweat the small details.
Venue: Park Hyatt, Washington DC Wedding
How They Met
We met on Hinge, a dating app! There really weren’t many opportunities to meet people in fall of 2021, since that was toward the end of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Advice for Couples Planning to Elope
As corny as it sounds, make it a weekend entirely about you! We built in time for us to enjoy some low-key activities and simply enjoy being in a bubble with each other. Our lives are already very busy as-is, so we are glad that we took advantage of a three-day weekend to spend quality time with each other and our dogs. We also enjoyed an intimate brunch with our closest family and friends on the following day, which was a meaningful way to share this big life event with our loved ones.
Venue: Carlyle House, Alexandria, Virginia Wedding
How They Met
We met on Bumble here in DC and are forever grateful to the platform for bringing us together! Between work, friends, family, church, running, and everything else that keeps us busy, we both felt ready to meet ‘our person’ and trusted that God could work through any connection. Tanner sent Amanda a direct message on the very first day she had redownloaded Bumble in years! He commented on a photo from Amanda’s 2021 half marathon, and as it turned out, he had run the exact same race. The rest is history!
Their Advice for Couples Planning Their Wedding
Don’t be afraid to keep the guest list more condensed, if that will help with budget and stress- because it has helped a lot for us to keep it around 80 people!
Venue: National Cathedral School Washington DC Wedding
Alexis El Massih is a wedding and portrait photographer serving Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Greece Destination Weddings
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