This Perfect May Wedding at Rust Manor House in Leesburg, VA was photographed by Sarah Mills on Saturday, May 15th, 2021. Sarah is a Washington, DC wedding photographer available for weddings in surrounding areas such as Rust Manor House and beyond.

Hannah & Zach were such a joy to get to know throughout the HBP experience! However, their experience looked a little differently than we had hoped. This is because originally Cassie was their wedding photographer, but due to the unfortunate pushbacks caused by the pandemic, their reschedule date for Cassie was already taken. Fortunately for us, this is one of our favorite parts of being a photographer team! I was available for their new date, and because their engagement session with Cassie was so long before, I got the chance to get to know them while doing another session! 

The three of us met officially in the summer of 2020 at their excellent choice for a location – Brookside Gardens. The flowers were in bloom and at their peak, so as you can imagine we had endless amounts of spots for beautiful photos. After meeting them I felt so lucky for the opportunity to photograph such a fun, natural loving couple and couldn’t wait for their well deserved and long awaited celebration! We learned our mutual love for our fur babies, Cooper being their beloved beagle and my Georgia also being a hound dog too. Their fun friendship with each other was so evident as I guided them between each spot. Because of this I knew their wedding day was going to be so much fun!

It was just that and more! The weather was perfect, sunny and at just the right temperature. The Rust Manor House is such a beautiful venue, and couldn’t have been a better backdrop for the day! My favorite parts of the day include Hannah surprising Zach with a first look being at the top of my list! How sweet is that? Originally during the start of wedding planning they discovered Zach wanted to do a first look, but Hannah didn’t. As their new wedding date was approaching, Hannah decided she did want a first look after all but wanted to surprise him day of. Our plan was for me to start taking portraits of Zach, with his back turned toward where Hannah would be walking toward him. He had no clue! It was the sweetest moment, and one I imagine they will never forget! Remember the part of the story where Cassie was their original wedding photographer? Well, Hannah also got a surprise for the day being that Cassie’s wedding the same day was postponed, so she was able to be the second photographer with me for the day! It was so sweet to see Hannah so happy about this. The fact that Cassie and I both got the opportunity to get to know Hannah and Zach before their wedding day made it even more special! It was such a joy to celebrate these two – congratulations, Hannah & Zach! I imagine you feel that this day was well worth the wait:)

 

VENDOR TEAM:

Photographer: Sarah Mills with Hannah Bjorndal Photography

Venue: Rust Manor House

Day-of Wedding Planner: The Coordinated Collective

DJ: TheDCdjs

Florist: Ash to Oak Floristry

Hair Stylist: Georgetown Bride

Wedding Cake: Sweetz Bakery

Invitation Suite: Minted

Wedding Dress: Love Couture Bridal

Wedding Dress Designer: Alyne by Rita Vinieris

Mens Formalwear: The Black Tux

Bridesmaid Dresses: Show Me Your Mumu