Wedding Photo Shoot Ideas for an Elegant Wedding at Hotel Washington

Washington, DC, Wedding Venues, Weddings

couple holds hands at outdoor Washington DC wedding

Your day should be all about your own vibes. For these two, I picked up their vibe as a couple almost immediately. They describe themselves as loving to joke around, have fun and not be overly serious or the touchy-feely type. Even though they also call themselves a little crazy, this just means they want to keep life upbeat, with fun, smiles, and laughs. See how they infused these traits into their wedding photo shoot ideas at the Hotel Washington.

bridesmaid zips up bride's white wedding dress

bride cheers with bridesmaids during wedding getting ready

groom buttons shirt during wedding getting ready

Hotel Washington Wedding Photo Shoot Ideas from Top to Bottom

couple looks out Hotel Washington for wedding photo shoot ideas

couple has wedding first look at Hotel Washington

Stephanie and Tommy’s wedding day photos started with getting ready at their wedding venue, the Hotel Washington in Washington, DC. They wanted to capture the venue from the rooftop to the outdoors starting with the views from the top floor restaurant.

couple kisses on bar for wedding photo shoot ideas

couple drinks cocktails for wedding photo shoot ideas

They loved that the rooftop lounge offered a more informal setting to have fun and play around at the bar since they are both lovers of craft cocktails. There the couple had their first look with amazing views followed by hitting the city streets for portraits joined by their wedding party and family.

couple overlooks DC for wedding photo shoot ideas

couple poses with wedding party at outdoor DC wedding

For the bride, her wedding photo shoot ideas came from a desire to capture photos that had the right lighting and tone. As she describes it, “we honestly aren’t into cheesy photos like with the girl’s hand on his face. There is no way we could keep a straight face to be serious for those.” Or as Tommy put it, “he just wants a huge classy, sexy black and white picture of us to hang over the fireplace.”

groom kisses bride's forehead for wedding photo shoot ideas

Their simple desires were easy to meet as we got creative throughout their day! The nearby portrait locations have all the city vibes either under the canopy in front of the hotel or next door in the square. The couple prioritized the right amount of time for their wedding photography timeline so they could then also join their own cocktail hour.

couple walks with wedding party at outdoor DC wedding

couple walks holding hands for wedding photo shoot ideas

couple walks holding hands at Hotel Washington for wedding photo shoot ideas

I loved how they appreciated the more beautifully captured and not overly-posed looks that are so natural for me to photograph!

Hotel Washington: A DC Hotel for Your Wedding Day

couple kisses at Hotel Washington for wedding photo shoot ideas

couple kisses posing for wedding photo shoot ideas

Hotel Washington is an all-inclusive DC wedding venue that works as a one-stop shop. The venue provides food, drinks, tables, ceremony chairs, with use of the entire venue and enough rooms to host the wedding party and guests.

couple laughs during wedding reception speeches

greenery and white florals at Hotel Washington reception

couple sits at wedding reception table at Hotel Washington wedding

wedding reception with drapes at Hotel Washington

It’s an indoor venue that works year-round full of wedding photo shoot ideas for both indoors and outdoors. It offers a classic Washington, DC look perfect for those who call the city a part of their love story.

couple kisses in aisle at Hotel Washington wedding

There are four different indoor spaces for couples to choose from for various parts of the day so the venue can accommodate a wide variety of wedding sizes. These include the Grand Ballroom (240-600 guests), Elevation (top floor), and the Sky Room (attached to the rooftop bar).

bride exchanges vows at Hotel Washington wedding

bride walks during aisle at Hotel Washington wedding

PRO TIP for Your Wedding Photo Shoot Ideas

It takes a little while to transition between floors using the two small elevators. There is a restaurant bar on the roof so there are also other guests using the elevators. Note that there also isn’t a balcony for the couple’s use since it’s part of the restaurant. One elevator is reserved to transport guests from cocktail hour to the downstairs ballroom when used for the reception. Factor this into your timeline ensuring that all members of the wedding party know where to be when!

couple sips cocktails on bar for wedding photo shoot ideas

A Plan for Your Day That Starts With You

These two were so excited to get married. They met while Stephanie was bartending and Tommy visited along with some friends. He kept returning just to see her and after a year of talking at the bar they began dating. They now live in the house they bought together with Tommy’s daughter and their two cats.

groom hugs daughter during wedding getting ready

Their wedding photo shoot ideas were narrowed down to focused intimate moments that marked the day. The couple was most excited about the ceremony and capturing moments between Tommy and his daughter, Gianna. The groom and his daughter had several special events including a first look, walking him down the aisle, and a father-daughter first dance.

For the fun of it, Stephanie and Tommy also chose to be introduced at both cocktail hour and the reception, followed by the best cake-cutting moment. Their fun-loving personality also came through in the timeless style of their decor taste.

couple eats cake during wedding reception

couple cuts cake during wedding reception

Working with their design team, the reception ballroom was completely transformed with long flowing cream-colored drapes! Other classic spring wedding colors used were black, white, green and gold creating a clean look.

greenery and white florals wedding reception decor

As a way to summarize their experience of the day, Stephanie shared, “Down the road I want us to remember how much fun we had and all our adventures and to always make time to do fun things together.” Their wedding day was only the beginning!