Interview with a Real Bride!

Violeta & Chris  – A Marriott Ranch Wedding

Q: Where did your wedding & ceremony take place?

A: The ceremony was at Leeds Episcopal Church in Hume, VA and reception was at The Marriott Ranch in Hume, VA

Q: How many people attended your wedding?

A: Approximately 130 people

Q: How much time did you have to plan your wedding?

A: It was just over a year.

Q: Did you have help with the wedding planning?

A: Yes and No, although we decided not to do a wedding planner, we got a lot of help from our cake maker (personal friend of my Mothers), other people who have gotten married, The Knot.com books on wedding planning, and the manager, Stephanie, at The Marriott Ranch helped to coordinate everything.

Q: Did you meet with Kristen before hiring her?

A: Yes! Even though we knew each other personally, sitting down with Kristen helped me a lot in making the decision whether to hire her or not. I knew that there were also other local photographers, but Kristen had put me at ease in our first meeting and I did not want to look any further.

Q: What was one of the most memorable moments from your wedding?

A: I wanted to have some different things for my wedding that made it stand out from other ones, and my most memorable moment was when my minister brought my husband, myself, and the bridal party down the aisle and for the marriage blessing while Chris and I knelt to pray. My minister had everyone hold hands so that everyone was touching in one way or another. One of the pictures Kristen took showcases this moment and every time I look at it, it brings chills to me, but in a good way because it reminds me of the love and blessings we received that day.

Q: What is your favorite picture from your day?

A: I just mentioned my favorite, but my second favorite is the portrait of Chris and I, where we are looking into each other’s eyes and have our foreheads pressed to each other. At that moment, I was so incredibly happy to spend alone time with my husband and be able to just show him I loved him with just looking at him and Kristen caught that little moment perfectly!

Q: What was the biggest challenge on that day?

A: Not to let the day go by so fast! I really tried to get to enjoy every part of the wedding.

Q: If there was one thing that you could have done differently, what would it be?

A: I really do not think there would be anything I would do differently, other than to have had more time to have talked to everyone because I know there are some people that I barely had time to talk to.

Q: What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other brides that are planning their wedding?

A: Honestly, I think taking your time with the planning is extremely important. I am horrible at planning things, so my mother did most of that. We were able to work together because we gave each other enough time for the planning; we did not wait until the last minute to do things.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with other brides?

A: The only other advice is to not worry about the little things because it’s not the little things that people will really remember; it’s going to be more about the moment and beauty of the love between the bride and the groom. Worrying about the little things is going to make unnecessary stress that will just ruin the whole process. Just take deep breaths as the day comes closer and remember this is supposed to be a wonderful moment where you are joining your soul mate in a wonderful union!

You can see the full feature blog post of Chris and Violeta’s Wedding here!

Looking for a wedding photographer? Fill out a contact form here, or send Kristen a note at kristen@kristenlynne.com