Aaron Watson Photography Blog - Charlottesville, Va » Clifton Inn

Watch Me Grow Portrait Session – Baby Photographers Charlottesville, Va

Kelsey — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:55:21 +0000

We have been fortunate enough to take pictures of adorable Estelle and watch her grow throughout her first months! Aaron was there to take her newborn pictures, she came to the studio for her 3 month portraits, they went to Clifton Inn for her 6 month photographs, and Aaron just took her 9 month portraits last week. We are excited for you to see these amazing pictures of cute little Estie. We would also like to note that she has hair now! Holly (her mother) is very happy about this, and wanted to be sure to show Estie’s hair off in the form of a mohawk.
They went out to Estie’s grandparents’ house for the session, which was also the site of Holly and Dustin’s wedding reception. The yard is enormous, with many great places to take pictures, complete with beautiful views of the mountains. I love the little rock formation Estie is sitting on, and her hats and headbands are SO CUTE! (The pink headband with the flower as big as Estie is my favorite!) It looks like Estie had a blast getting her pictures taken, and I can only imagine what Holly and Dustin are doing off to the side of the camera to get Estie to laugh so much!

Aaron Watson Photography – Baby Photographers Charlottesville, Va

Charlottesville Wedding Photography – Wedding Shoes!

Kelsey — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:00:30 +0000

I am super excited for today’s post: pictures of Wedding Shoes! I love seeing all of the accessories a bride wears on her wedding day, and the shoes are definitely one of my favorite accessories. (Double points if they sparkle.) The dress, bouquet and shoes always get some one on one time with Aaron so he can take some amazing wedding day photographs with them before the bride gets ready.
We had two brides recently who wore Christian Louboutin shoes on their wedding day. I love how Aaron was able to capture the signature solid red color on the bottom of the shoe! (It is a life wish of mine to own a pair of Christian Louboutins.)

These are Hali’s gorgeous green wedding shoes, and Stephanie’s Fish Net Bow Sandals photographed at the Clifton Inn.

These are Liz’s beautiful purple shoes photographed in Delfosse Vineyards wine corks.

Here are Carrie’s elegant Kate Spade wedding shoes photographed at Veritas.

So many reasons to love Sarah’s Kate Spade wedding shoes – not only are they covered in glitter; but they’re pink! Photographed at Pippin Hill Farm and Vineyards.

These are Megan’s sandals photographed at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.

Lauren’s beautiful wedding shoes were custom made for her as a gift from Giuseppe Zanotti! They’re stunning.

I adored Jennifer’s bedazzled wedding shoes from West Main Bridal!

These are Lauren’s gorgeous pink wedding shoes. She added the pearl embellishments herself!

Here are Alex’s shoes photographed at Mayhurst Inn.

Charlottesville Wedding Videographers – Stephanie & Leigh’s Fusion Film at Veritas Winery

Kelsey — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:30:07 +0000

We posted some pictures of Stephanie and Leigh’s beautiful May wedding at Veritas, and if you’ll remember we told you to stay tuned for their Fusion Wedding Film. Well, here it is! We mixed some of the video highlights of their wedding day with Aaron Watson Photography’s amazing pictures.
We started the day with the girls at the Clifton Inn as they were getting ready, then went over to the Doubletree Hotel to capture some footage of Leigh getting ready and hanging out with his groomsmen. Then they all piled into the Albemarle Vintage Limousines 1940 Packard Limo and headed to Veritas where Stephanie was finishing getting ready and awaiting the ceremony!
Stephanie and Leigh’s vows to each other were so heartfelt and emotional. Then everyone laughed when Stephanie made sure she hammered the box with their love letters shut! The reception was beautiful thanks to help from Beehive Events, and the toasts were incredible. Stephanie’s Maid of Honor had everyone smiling as she told the guests what Stephanie said about Leigh in the beginning of their relationship, and kept us laughing when she divulged Stephanie’s Aunt’s first impressions of Leigh. Leigh’s best man was his father, and he gave one of the best toasts we’ve ever heard. We chose ‘Enjoy the Ride’ by Katy Voegele as the first song, and then ‘Happy’ by Secrets in Stereo for the second, and happiness seemed to be the theme for Stephanie and Leigh’s wedding day. Enjoy!

Wedding Videography: Exist N Motion Films
DJ: Lenny Baker
Event Designer & Florist: Beehive Events
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Virginia Glenn
Officiant: Rev. Claire Goodman
Trnasportation: Albemarle Vintage Limousine
Wedding Cake: Cakes Unlimited
Wedding Gown: Ally Bridal & Tuxedo
Wedding Photography: Aaron Watson Photography
Wedding Venue: Veritas
Getting Ready Venue: Clifton Inn & Doubletree Hotel

Long Exposure Photography – Virginia Wedding Venues

Kelsey — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:54:47 +0000

One of our favorite times to take a picture of the wedding venue is after sunset when the sky is a deep blue. We love to use Long Exposure Photography to bring out the vibrant colors in both the sky and the glow of the venue. Long Exposure Photography is when you leave the shutter of the camera open for a few seconds instead of a fraction of a second. If you want to try this yourself make sure your camera is mounted on a tripod so the picture is not blurry.
In my opinion, some of the most beautiful photographs taken at weddings are these long exposure pictures. In fact, one of these types of pictures brought tears to a mother’s eyes when she saw the beauty of her daughter’s wedding night. Sometimes you can get a starburst effect around the lights which gives the picture a mystical feel (if you are able to have your aperture small enough; like an f/11 or f/16). I recently looked back at these types of pictures from weddings past and I wanted to share a few of the best with you. Enjoy 10 of our favorite Long Exposure Venue Photographs!

Panorama Farms during Hali and Tony’s Wedding

Veritas Winery during Stephanie and Leigh’s Wedding

Pippin Hill during Sarah and Matt’s Wedding

Mayhurst Inn during Alex and Philip’s Wedding

Pharsalia during Maria and Adam’s Wedding

Clifton Inn during Ingrid and Aaron’s Wedding

Willow Oaks Country Club during Lauren and Garrett’s Wedding

Trump Vineyard and Estates (formally Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard) during Alison and Jonathan’s Wedding

Dominion Club during Becky and Phillip’s Wedding

Heritage Hunt Golf and Country Club during Heather and Matt’s Wedding

Charlottesville Photographer – The Clifton Inn Remodeled

Kelsey — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:48:09 +0000

Recently we had the pleasure of going out to the Clifton Inn and taking pictures of all the new additions. They have just completed the new Chef’s Counter, which is an exquisite marble topped bar in the kitchen. Guests can sit at the bar and observe their delicious dinner being made while having the opportunity to chat with Clifton’s extremely talented culinary team. They have also renovated the Terrace off of the Verandah. They extended the end of the Terrace so that it can now accommodate 130 people.
Thanks to Sarah and Matt (who you may recognize from their recent wedding at Pippin Hill) as well as Paula and Cody for being great models!

Charlottesville Commercial Photographer: Aaron Watson Photography

Stephanie & Leigh’s Wedding at Veritas

Kelsey — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:36:41 +0000

You may remember Stephanie and Leigh from a post last fall of their awesome Engagement pictures. Now we are so excited to share with you a few pictures from their wedding! We started the day at Clifton Inn with Stephanie and her bridesmaids, where I spent the majority of the time drooling over her Christian Louboutin wedding shoes. Next we went over to the Doubletree Hotel to meet up with Leigh and his groomsmen. Aaron got to ride to along with them to Veritas in the 1940 Packard Limo from Albemarle Vintage Limousines (the only one of its kind still operating today!)
The ceremony, officiated by Claire Goodman, was absolutely beautiful. Before the ceremony Claire had Stephanie and Leigh write letters to each other about how much they love each other and all the emotions they were feeling on their wedding day. Then, instead of exchanging the letters, Claire put the letters in a box and Stephanie and Leigh hammered the lid shut during the ceremony. Claire explained that if they ever hit a rough patch in their marriage, they open the box and read the letters they wrote to each other on their wedding day. What an incredibly romantic thing to do at your wedding!
Shawn Cossette from Beehive Events did an amazing job designing the reception, it looked magical! The flowers were exquisite, and the complimenting details were gorgeous. She had set up a “Make Us A Wish Tree” where guests could write their wishes for the newlyweds. After they finished writing their message, they tied it to the tree for Stephanie and Leigh to read later. In keeping with the romantic fairytale theme, Stephanie and Leigh made their exit amidst sparklers and many cheers from their family and friends.

DJ: Lenny Baker
Event Designer & Florist: Beehive Events
Makeup Artist & Hair Stylist: Virginia Glenn
Officiant: Rev. Claire Goodman
Wedding Cake: Cakes Unlimited
Wedding Gown: Ellis Bridals
Wedding Photography: Aaron Watson Photography
Wedding Venue: Veritas
Wedding Videography: Exist N Motion Films

Grier & Tad’s Wedding … Fusion Style!

Aaron Watson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:23:21 +0000

I am very excited to show you Grier & Tad’s wedding! For many reasons, but most of all because every time I watch this video I think of what an awesome couple they are and how blessed I was to be a part of their special day! … now before I start getting all teary eyed and stuff I want to thank Erin Manfredi, Ashley Chipman, and Kyle Patton who all were an awesome help and I could have not done this without them. You guys rock! Now to tell you a little bit about Grier & Tad’s wedding day …

One of my favorite places for weddings in Charlottesville is The Clifton Inn as everyone there is very nice and accommodating, the food is the best in all of Virginia (maybe the universe), and in the spring it is absolutely gorgeous with flowers galore! Grier & Tad were married on April 18th, 2009 which was perfect timing as all of the blossoms were just starting to peak! Pat’s Floral Design did a beautiful job bringing in additional floral arrangements for the bouquets, garters, and tent decorations.

The ceremony was very unique as Dave Norris, the mayor of Charlottesville, officiated his first wedding along with officiant extraordinaire Claire Goodman who local brides might know from the Charlottesville Wedding Blog and Sacred Ground Ceremonies. It was a very touching and heartfelt ceremony that had many choking up and a few tears being shed. Later on that evening the party kicked off with the Kings of Swing rocking out! I don’t think I had seen a 12 piece band play at a wedding until then … it was very impressive! To add a nice little touch the tent (from Skyline Tent Company) was adorned with beautiful lanterns that really made for an awesome and unforgettable atmosphere. I definitely recommend them for all weddings and I think you will see why when you watch the video!

With that said I would like to wish congratulations to Grier & Tad, and I hope you enjoy the film!

This film was shot by Aaron Watson and Erin Manfredi on a Canon 5D Mark II and includes photography by Aaron Watson and Erin Manfredi. Editing was done by Ashley Chipman and Aaron Watson.

Ingrid & Aaron’s Wedding

Aaron Watson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:29:54 +0000

This past weekend was hot! Like heat index of 106 degrees hot! Perfect weather for a nice tan, swimming in the pool, and Ingrid & Aaron’s wedding! You may remember Ingrid & Aaron from our recent engagement session in New York (if not check it out), a truly awesome couple who first met in Law School at the University of Virginia. So for their wedding they returned to Charlottesville and had the most gorgeous wedding at the Clifton Inn!

Thanks to my awesome team (the amazing Erin Manfredi and Thomas Dalton!) we captured many great moments and beautiful pictures! Unfortunately, that has given me the impossible task of choosing a few of those pictures to share with you. … I just couldn’t choose a few though … so I choose over 130 and made a fun little slideshow.

Lastly, I love the song for the slideshow and found it to be very appropriate for Ingrid and Aaron’s story. I have provided an english translation for the lyrics below. Depending on your bandwith the slideshow may take a few minutes to load, so check them out while it’s loading. Enjoy!

Song: Ya Tu Veras (You’ll See)
Artist: Canvas

Lyrics (English Translation):

IT COULD BE THAT THE LOVE I HAVE INSIDE CAN FINALLY CONVINCE YOU THAT I’M YOURS AND YOU’RE MINE. COULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT WITH THIS SONG I CAN FINALLY GET INSIDE YOU WITH EMOTION.
DON’T THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE. LET THIS GREAT LOVE BE A BIG SURPRISE WITHOUT FEAR. DECIDE AND LET’S MAKE GOD AND DESTINY TALK ABOUT THE TWO OF US.

CHORUS:
YOU’LL SEE THAT THIS FRIENDSHIP IN TIME WILL TURN TO SOMETHING ELSE. YOU’LL SEE THAT YOU’LL FALL NATURALLY IN MY ARMS.

IT COULD BE POSSILE THAT MY FIERY PASSION ACHIEVES INVADING YOUR BODY MAKING AN EXPLOSION WHEN WE TOUCH EACH OTHER. IF YOU WANT LOVE. DON’T THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE. LET THIS GREAT LOVE BE A BIG SURPRISE WITHOUT FEAR. DECIDE AND LET’S MAKE GOD AND DESTINY TALK ABOUT THE TWO OF US.

CHORUS
YOU’LL SEE THAT THIS FRIENDSHIP IN TIME WILL TURN TO SOMETHING ELSE. YOU’LL SEE THAT YOU’LL FALL NATURALLY IN MY ARMS.