Josephine Butler Parks Center wedding photos are amazing!  The venue is absolutely stunning.  Stucco, arches, chandeliers, and the amazing gardens? Oh my!  Shooting Bridget and Filip’s Josephine Butler Parks Center wedding photos was a dream!

Here is part one of two.  Part one covers getting ready and the couple’s pre-wedding photos.  Come back later in the week for the ceremony and reception.

Bridget and Filip met in Budapest.  Bridget was studying aboard.  Filip was attending college while his mother was on a diplomatic mission from Croatia.  They continued to date when Bridget returned to Washington, DC.

The frequent-flyer miles compounded, and they finally decided to get married!  Bridget and Filip first were married in Europe.  Then they married in Washington, DC.  I took their Josephine Butler Parks Center wedding photos.  Interesting fact: the Josephine Butler Parks Center was once the Hungarian embassy.  Perfect wedding location for these two who met in Budapest.

Bridget is an Anthropologie addict.  No wonder we liked one another!  Anthro is one of my favorite shops, too!  Bridget paired a BHLDN dress with Anthropologie bridesmaid dresses.  A perfect touch for this bohemian-chic bride.

In addition to the floral crowns, the wedding included other perfect personal touches.  The groomsmen wore socks embroidered with the wedding date.  Floral invites added to the bohemian-chic feel.  Because the couple as already married in Europe, both bridal parties got ready together.  And, calls to family in Europe peppered the preparation time.

After getting ready for their Josephine Butler Parks Center wedding photos, the couple and their party headed into a local park for our session.  The groomsmen were a mix of European college friends, a younger brother, and new American friends.  All so dapper though!

After shooting with the bridal party, we took at few minutes to shoot Filip and Bridget.  Even though they were already married, Filip was nervous.  His nerves were rattled by beautiful this woman before him and a party to be held in his honor.  Still, he joked.  As we shot, I would hear him whisper American inside jokes to Bridget.  These jokes honed after months of phone conversations and American TV.

And his jokes worked.  Bridget leaned into him and smiled.  This journey to each other was a path only they know.  Fraught with struggles and unknowns, but each other.  Committing to each other again.  A different dress.  Different flowers.  Different location.  But same man.  Same crooked smile.  Same hand that reaches out and holds on so tightly.

Stay tuned for more of the beautiful wedding later this week.

 

The wedding coordinator: Simply Breathe Events