Interview with a Real Bride!

Julia & Brendan – Riverside on the Potomac

Q: When was your wedding?

A: September 13, 2014

Q: Where did your wedding & ceremony take place?

A: Riverside on the Potomac, a polo horse farm and venue in Leesburg, Virginia

Q: How many people attended your wedding?

A: 75

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

A: We had 13 months to plan.

Q: Did you have help with the wedding planning?

A: I did most of the planning myself, but my mom, fiancee, my sisters (the maids of honor) and bridesmaids were invaluable sources of advice, opinions and breaking ties.   They also helped me with all the personal touches we had in our day.

Q: How did you find your photographer?

A: I looked at other photographers who had worked at our venue and in the area, and found Kristen’s photography style matched just what I was looking for.

Q: Did you meet with them before hiring them?

A: I had a phone meeting with Kristen–I was already pretty sure we were going to choose her as our photographer but she really put me at ease with the process and made me confident in our choice.

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

A: Feeling such butterflies as I got ready to walk down the aisle was amazing.  We did a first look, which was great to get some quiet time with Brendan before things really got going–but there was nothing like walking down the stairs and seeing him waiting for me there.

Q: What is your favorite picture from your day?

A: Such a hard question!  My favorite right now is a black and white shot from our first look where Brendan started laughing because my hair tickled his nose and he made me crack up like he does every day.

Q: What was the biggest challenge on that day?

A: Not letting it go by too quickly!  There were a couple things that didn’t go exactly as planned but I was pretty much the only one who noticed and once I arrived at my venue I was able to just try and enjoy the moments.  All my vendors did an incredible job making it go smoothly–I just wish I could live it over again and see everything from another angle–there are so many people to see and so much to take in.

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

A: I might have magically had our hotel, reception site and rehearsal dinner site a little closer together–we ended up doing some driving.  But I loved both of our venues so much though that I don’t think I could change anything really.

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

A: Really enjoy the whole process–I loved planning so much that I wish I could plan someone else’s wedding now!  But honestly I would say, start with a vision of what style wedding you want and a budget, shape it using pinterest and other tools to collect ideas, and then fill in the details within that framework–don’t second guess the big picture “concept” or you will get overwhelmed with choices.

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

A: Picking your caterer, photographer, florist and other important vendors I think is the most important part of planning the day (the biggest expenditures and the biggest impact on the whole event)–so those things are worth obsessing over a little on the front end.  It really paid off for me

You can see the full feature blog post of Julia & Brendan’s gorgeous wedding here!

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

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If you’d like information about my wedding and portrait photography offerings, please contact me by filling out a contact form here; or send an email to kristen@kristenlynne.com! I look forward to chatting with you! :) Warmly, Kristen