rebekah j. murray | » engagement portrait

washington DC engagement | mike + danielle!

Rebekah — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:02:15 +0000

FUN PEOPLE FTW!

mike and danielle are one of the most exciting and genuine couples I’ve ever worked with….they’re like the epitome of unpretentious goodness that everyone wants to have around. I think our every “client meeting” includes enough laughter to result in odd stares from every neighboring table.

they’re both recent Tech graduates but have been dating since high school. last winter mike took her on a Choose Your Own Adventure trip around DC, where at each place she had to blindly choose where they went next. (but mike, being clever, made all the choices the same) for the shoot we kinda followed their explorations, starting at the Theodore Roosevelt Park, went on to Georgetown and ended where he proposed – on the roof of the Kennedy Center.

(hahah and I think my all time favorite shooting style compliment would be mike noticing I’m “easy to kiss in front of.” excuse me while I update my resume…)

enjoy!

mike works in construction so first off we had a Build Your Own Playground challenge, -and what a sweet location eh?

our tribute to awkwardfamilyphotos.com

told you they’re fun.

gosh i love these so much then Georgetown, and “buildings…with the bricks…”

ahhh favorites!

and just in case we didn’t have enough favorites, a gorgeous sunset met us at their corner of the Kennedy Center’s rooftop where he proposed, and life was beautiful.

thanks guys for being so undeniably awesome, and I’m stoked for all the good times we have left : )

washington dc | danielle + mike’s engagement preview!

Rebekah — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:29:25 +0000

a day even theodore roosevelt would’ve approved of : )

the naval academy | claire + patrick’s engagement!

Rebekah — Thu, 27 May 2010 19:28:52 +0000

Ohhh happy people.

Claire and Patrick met each other at and both just graduated from the Naval Academy, so life is all sorts of happy.

They never had mutual friends classes together, but instead were first introduced to each other by their…last names? A summer training camp played matchmaker with an alphabetized lunch line, and Midshipmen Peterson and Murphy were put next to each other. I love it! They started studying and working out together, and I can just imagine their great balance of relaxed fun-loving personalities / competitive spirits making for some awesome times : )

I’m happy we got to fit in their engagement session, can’t wait for their wedding this weekend!

washington dc engagement | hayley + rob!

Rebekah — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:01:21 +0000

ohhh i like these people.

hayley and rob are one of those instantly endearing couples that you feel priviliged to meet. they not only better life by their stellar appreciation of a good time, but also their encouraging care and interest in others. they met through their church and were friends for years before rob asked her to take a walk, and then a date, and then a ring. i’ve loved getting to know them and can’t wait for their wedding this July! the day of our shoot was so cold and windy, but they were professional-grade brave souls as we explored their favorite spots around Capitol Hill.

[ a never-do-this-again-story from the day: it was a busy Friday in the city so i parked on the street and we went to all the locations together. after the photo shoot we went to Union Station for dinner and hung out for a while. later that night they tried to drop me back at my car, but nobody could remember what street i had parked on! we drove EVERYWHERE, tracing and retracing steps while i sat considering the possibilities of homelessness. the car eventually showed itself and we lived happily ever since, but it's a mistake i could really live without repeating.]

but anyways.
on with the love!

f/1.4.love

spring loves love!

3.29.2010 – a boy & girl in love with adventure

Rebekah — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:01:10 +0000

they met over christmas one year and hit it off well enough to keep in touch while he was deployed in the navy. they started falling in love the following christmas, even if it was only their third time seeing each other. not that they’re the type to plan a perfectly structured life, but keeping with tradition their lives changed once again the following christmas — as they were delightfully engaged.

i met abby through a friend of a friend (of a friend?) last fall, and was thrilled to hear of her engagement. some couples you just know have impossibly too much fun together, and that together is how they should be.

the weather the day of our shoot was a wintry mix of freezing temperatures and killer wind, so we switched our outdoor plans to exploring Union Station, the Metro, the Botanical Gardens and then we braved the elements in front of the Capitol. (but those are my favorites! so, totally worth it.) i’d never been to the Gardens before and was shocked that SO MUCH BEAUTY could exist without my knowledge.
can’t wait to go back!

i’ve gotten a lot more into planning / previsualizing shoots, especially engagements since they have so much personality to draw from. i love having a theme, even if it’s just to keep my artistic soul focused…. something to tie together the story of not just who they are, but what their dreams are together. (and if that sounds ridiculous, then you’re obviously not my little artistic soul.) after getting to know them both over coffee and a shopping date we decided on an adventurous, 1940s tourist feel and i’m so happy with the results.

it’s always difficult to choose favorites, but here they are!