Some weddings announce themselves the moment you walk in. Christine and Ben’s was one of those.

Last November, Christine and Ben married at Hotel Washington in a black tie celebration that wove together two faiths, two families and one very happy ending. As their Hotel Washington wedding photographer, I had a front-row view of all of it, from the window-lit ceremony upstairs to the portraits framing the Washington Monument to the hora that nearly lifted the roof off the room.

Portraits Framing the Washington Monument

Their first look and a set of couples portraits happened in the Sky Room, the upstairs bar at Hotel Washington, where the glass frames the Washington Monument like a painting. There is no backdrop in the city quite like it. Later we slipped down to the small park in front of the Willard, trading skyline for the soft green of the trees, for a few quieter frames away from the crowd.

This is part of why couples love this venue. You get the polish of a historic hotel and one of the most iconic views in the country, all in the same evening.

Two Faiths & One Celebration

Christine grew up in Potomac, Maryland, so this was something of a homecoming. She and Ben met in law school at American University, the kind of origin story where two people argue case law and somehow fall for each other along the way. They live in Chicago now, but they came back to the DC area to marry where Christine’s story started.

A Jewish Christian wedding is a celebration of two traditions choosing to stand together. Christine and Ben’s ceremony honored both, blending the customs of each family into something wholly their own. It is one of my favorite kinds of weddings to document, because the symbolism where two become one runs deep and the joy runs even deeper.

A Ceremony Lit from One Side

Christine and Ben married upstairs in the Freedom Room, a space that has in full-length windows for an entire wall. We made a deliberate choice to keep the main lights off and let the room fall dark, so the only light in the room was what poured in from the left through all that glass. It fell across the two of them from a single direction, soft and quiet and a little cinematic. Sometimes the most dramatic thing you can do in a bright room is turn the lights *off*.

A Quiet Moment Just After the Ceremony

My favorite frame of the evening happened when no one was looking. Just after the ceremony, Christine and Ben found themselves alone, and they simply held each other. They didn’t know I was there. No posing, no audience, nothing performed. Just two people who clearly and genuinely *like* each other, caught in the first quiet breath of being married. Those are the images I chase. The ones that happen on their own.

A Black Tie Reception at Hotel Washington

Then the celebration opened all the way up. Guests in black tie, a room designed beautifully by Marriage & Mimosas, and a hora that turned the floor into a blur of lifted chairs and laughing faces. The cake cutting was all ease and affection. By the end of the night the formality had melted into something pure and a little joyful and a little wild, which is exactly how it should go.

Looking for a Hotel Washington Wedding Photographer?

Christine and Ben trusted me to tell the story of one of the most important evenings of their lives, and that is a trust I do not take lightly. If you and your fiancé are planning a celebration at Hotel Washington, or anywhere in the DC area, I would love to hear about it.

See more of my work at akbarsayed.com or reach out at hello@akbarsayedphotography.com.

The Team

Venue: Hotel Washington
Planning & Design: Marriage & Mimosas
Photography: Akbar Sayed Photography
Music: MyDeejay
Hair & Makeup: MAB Artistry
Florals: Lal Moya Design