So much to say about Rachel and Adam’s wedding at John Marshall Ballrooms! To start, it’s crazy because JMB is where MY parents had their wedding reception 34 years ago! So wild! The funny things was, I didn’t know that until Rachel and Adam booked me for their wedding! The other neat thing about this wedding was that I actually knew Rachel from years ago when we used to hangout with our families! Her mom and my dad actually went to high school together! So, crazy, crazy. Anyways – it was awesome to walk into JMB and be greeted by Adam standing in the lobby and a second later, greeted by hugs from Rachel’s family! I hadn’t seen any of them in probably 13 or 14 years! After all of the hellos – it was like I was part of the family and I galleried all the jewelry, shoes, and invite and started taking detail shots.
Next up – first look! I rode down the elevator with Rachel – “this is it!!!” and gave her the cue to walk down the steps towards Adam! When he turned around – there were smiles all round (including some cheers from the bridesmaids watching from the balcony). We took bride and groom shots indoors and then wandered outside on the city streets for some bridal party shots!
Some of my of my favorite “ceremony/detail” elements from the was Adam’s ring that belonged to his late father who passed away from cancer. As I was taking detail shots I noticed that there were initials engraved in the inside. His mother and fathers’s initials and then Rachel’s and his and the date of their wedding. LOVE! Another moment that melted my heart was when Adam and Rachel were exiting the ceremony and Adam glanced over at the memorial table where his father’s photo was – just scroll down – your heart will melt too.
Rachel and Adam did all of their photos before the ceremony so they could hit up their cocktail hour! The catering staff wandered around with moscow mules and yummy appetizers. I can speak highly of those mini ham biscuits – yum! I let them enjoy while Melissa and I entered the ballroom to capture reception details before the rest of the festivities began! Some key reception highlights: a Hamilton style rap from Rachel’s sisters, a funny picture from Rachel’s Dad, JMU vs VT face-off, and some really “sick” dance moves! ha! One last thing — Adam’s last name is Tracz (pronounced Trots) so their hashtag was #HotToTracz – s0 cute!
As Rachel’s mom was zipping he