Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene Wedding - Part Two!

If you missed part one of Briean and Casey's Hurricane Irene wedding, go here!  Otherwise, keep reading for some recap of the reception, along with some gorgeous detail and reception photographs!By this time of the wedding we have made it passed the insane outdoor photos with the wedding party and happy couple, Briean and Casey.  Everyone, of course, got completely drenched in the rain, even with umbrellas! Our umbrellas, unfortunately, were no match for the 25-30 mph winds outside, but they did make for some lovely props!  :D

After all the craziness, heading indoors at The Sunset Room at National Harbor was such a nice, warm welcome!  The room was simply stunning, and really captured the essence of Briean and Casey's nautical theme I had heard so much about.  I don't even know where to begin on the amount dedication that Briean and Casey put into their details!   So I'll just start listing all of my favorites:  wooden sailboats as table "escort cards," wooden oars for guests to sign (that Briean and Casey can later display in their home), nautical lanterns as table centerpieces, Briean and Casey's favorite Bethany Beach go-to places as table names (all neatly framed, of course), a giant porcelain boat to hold all of the beer, cocktail napkins with questions about Briean and Casey on them (in the wedding colors, obviously), roped boat knots lining the cocktail chairs and a "Hail to the Hurricane" signature cocktail added the day before the wedding.  Other amazing details were the simple white cake with a gorgeous giant flower, made my Purple Onion (mimicking the flower on Briean's sash she wore with her dress), plus ruby red slippers that Briean changed into for her "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" dance with her father.  See what I mean?  Briean and Casey had everything covered!

Aside from the details, I just really loved how excited and energetic the whole wedding reception was.  Yes, there was still a hurricane going on outside.  Yes, the lights would flicker every once in a while (particularly later in the evening, as things got worse the later it got).  Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed themselves!  The food was incredible thanks to Purple Onion and the dance floor was hopping thanks to DJ Blazin Hot (who came straight from Bethany Beach for the wedding!).  The speeches were incredibly touching and the love in the room was palpable.  I enjoyed every single minute of it!

One more thing I want to say is about the last photo I took, which ended up being one of my favorites of the whole wedding.  Something the Gaylord does down at the National Harbor every Saturday evening in the summer is have a fireworks show at 9:30 pm.  Briean and I had talked about that well in advance and had totally planned out the shot we were going to do with the fireworks in the background.  Well, needless to say, the fireworks were completely cancelled due to the hurricane.  However, throughout the night, I kept noticing how cool the raindrops looked on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Sunset Room, particularly when they were backlit by some outdoor lights.  So, with the same shot in mind as the fireworks, I wanted to illuminate Briean and Casey and capture the window with raindrops in the background.  I was so stoked at the final result of that photograph, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  If it can't be fireworks, I'm definitely happy with this as a runner-up!

Thanks again to my gorgeous couple, Briean and Casey, and to their family and friends for allowing me to capture this incredible event amidst a hurricane.  I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!  :)

Thanks for looking!

Love,

Lisa