Gorgeous spring wedding at Washington Golf & Country Club

The Space and Details

The wedding venue, Washington Golf & Country Club offered expansive views of the golf course on its balcony, where the ceremony took place. The entrance to ceremony space was a bright hallway filled with airy light, which was the perfect way to welcome guests. The floral details from the talent behind Lavender Lane Events are minimalist and elegant with spring vibes all over them.

wEDDING pARTY - The Ladies

We first spent some time having fun with the ladies of the wedding at the ceremony space. The pale and baby blue palette in the bridesmaids' dresses add a touch of softness and playful femineity to the classic country club backdrop. We had a good time in the light spring breeze while the diffused light from the windowed hallway made for a dreamy atmosphere.

WEDDING PARTY - THE gentlemen

While the ladies are resting in the president's suite before the ceremony, we moved to photographing the groom and his groomsmen next. Posing in his dashing blue suit, Luke looked confident and ready for the ceremony to get started. We hurried past the hallway with the groomsmen behind and spent a few minutes inside the bar area for some GQ-esque group portraits. Everyone is looking great!

First Look - with mom and dad

Stephanie opted to do a first look with mom and dad before the ceremony. I love how the photos show the pride and joy her parents felt through their eyes and expressions.

The ceremony - Love, faith, family

The ceremony was underway with entrances of the family, the groom, and the wedding party. Then Stephanie and her dad appeared in the doorway with full smiles. The anticipatory walk down the aisle was met by everyone's awe, but no one was more in awe than the groom himself.

During the ceremony, it was clear that the couple's union was rooted in love, faith, and family. They prayed at the altar with their families and listened intently to the pastor's wise words. Neither could contain their emotions and had to dab away tears at the same time.

As they were pronounced husband and wife, Luke and Stephanie shared their first kiss as a married couple and cheerfully walked down the aisle with everyone's gleeful cheers. And we can't forget the classic dipped kiss in the middle of the aisle.

Family & group Portraits - a tender moment

After the ceremony, the bride and groom got to spent time with their biggest supporters at family and group portraits. My favorite part was the tender moment shared between the bride and her grandmother, who traveled from afar to be a part of her wedding. I know whatever wisdom her grandma shared, Stephanie will keep it dear and near to her heart as she spends the rest of her life with Luke.

Intimate moments - couple's portrait

While the guests are mingling at cocktail hour on the balcony space and president's suite, Stephanie & Luke got some moments to embrace the first hour of being married to one another during couple's portrait session. We made our way through the lovely windowed hallway where we all started with the wedding group portraits and then moved over to the piano room. The piano was a must for their wedding photos as Luke's immaculate piano skills is one of the things that really wooed Stephanie. While Luke played one of Stephanie's favorite piano songs, I photographed the couple in their moment.

Evening reception - grand entrance, speeches, First dances

The evening reception programming began with the wedding party entrances with the gentlemen striking a pose and the ladies coming in with paper mask of the groom. The group entrances brought a lot of excitement to the room and then it was time for the bride and groom entering as the newly married couple. Stephanie & Luke came in with all smiles and mesmerized the room with their elegant first dance with many romantic dips. There were nothing but cheers when the first dance concluded.

Next up were the speeches. First the parents of the bride extended their welcome to the room and shared their support to the couple and the two families coming together. Then the Maid of Honor and the Best Man each recounted their stories of the newly married couple and brought laughter to the whole room. The perfect wedding speech is one that makes you laugh, then cry, and then laugh some more - and I would say that both speeches achieved the balance.

Once the speeches conclude, the bride with her father and the groom with his mother joined the dance floor for a dance. I love capturing these dances because the joy on the parents' faces are so apparent and the parent and child can share some moment of alone time on this important day of their lives.

Afterwards, Stephanie & Luke cut and ate their wedding cake, which is a beautiful tiered cake with floral and butterfly accents. And before the dance floor opened up to everyone, the wedding guests joined the couple for a group picture.

The dance floor was lit!

The dance floor played all the hits and old Latin favorites. Wedding guests of all ages were hitting the dance floor and the DJ booth's changing lights kept the ambiance interesting. The dancing was so good even crutches can't keep one from moving to the beat.

Before the night is over

Stephanie and Luke ended the night in style. A trendy wedding night practice is the couple's last dance. The last dance is a chance for the couple to soak in their wedding day alone in the reception hall after all the guests have been invited to leave the venue. This also allows the venue to start cleaning up earlier and avoid being charged overtime fees. To keep the wedding day festivities going, Stephanie and Luke opted for a bubble exit after their last dance so the guests had something to do after they left the reception area. The bubble exit is a cute way to end the wedding night and photographs well at night with ambient light. And to end it all with a kiss of a lifetime.

sEND LOVE TO THE WEDDING VENDORS

This beautiful wedding was made possible by the following vendors

Venue - Washington Golf & Country Club

Planning - Lavender Lane Events

Florals - Lavender Lane Events

Makeup & Hair - Vida Styles

DJ - Chris Legend/GoldEventGroup

Backdrop - Catalinas Wood Designs

Portrait Booth - Express Portrait Booth

Photographer - Stefan A. Photography