We’re in print! Thanks to the Washingtonian for featuring the wedding of our clients Claire & Brent in the August 2024 print edition of the Washingtonian. The wedding was likewise featured in the Washingtonian Real Weddings Blog.
Claire & Brent are a fun, entrepreneurial D.C. couple; Brent is an award winning sommelier who owns Maxwell Park wine bar, Pop Fizz Bar, and Trouble Bird, while Claire is a client experience manager who owns Caviar Concierge, a roaming caviar bar. They were married last summer at The Clifton, a historic inn in Charlottesville on a lush 100 acre property with gorgeous gardens and multiple houses and cottages.
Here is the fabulous team of wedding artists that contributed to this special day:
Photographer: Katie Lewis
Cocktail Hour Second Photographer: Sarah Sheldon
Venue & Caterer: The Clifton Inn
Planner: Marriage and Mimosas, Samantha Jaeger
Florist: Petals by the Shore
Invitations: Steph Marie Designs
Cake: Cake Bloom
Hairstylist: Flawless On-Site
Makeup Artist: Captivating Complexion
Gown: Brooke’s Bridal and Ballroom
Suits: Suit Supply
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Show Me Your MuMu
Band: The Bachelor Boys Band
Rentals: CB Unlimited
Transportation: Albemarle Limousine
Mobile Oyster Shuckers: Oysters XO
Ice Cream Station: Ice Cream Jubilee
And while this is the first time that Katie Lewis Photography was featured in the Washingtonian, I realized that this is not the first time that I myself have been mentioned in that publication! The Washingtonian’s December 2009 issue included an article titled, “Hell on Wheels: Roller Derby in Washington.” A few paragraphs down, it reads, “Last February, 26-year-old photographer Annie Lethal-Hits was an official Cherry Blossom Bombshell for one day before she fell and broke her ankle, prompting surgery and a year on the bench.” That’s me, folks!
I was a D.C. Rollergirl in my 20’s and absolutely adored the sport. After training several times a week for a year, I was finally drafted to a team and was allowed to choose my official Womens Flat Track Derby Association stage name: Annie Lethal-Hits, a play on the famous photographer. However, at my first team scrimmage, I broke my ankle. Womp! And thus, I became the article’s illustration for the risks of playing a contact sport on roller skates. (Which is a reason I later gave up the sport…broken ankles are incompatible with working on my feet! But at times I still mourn the loss of one of my most exhilarating hobbies.)
When I read the article, a lot of it still rings true all these years later: “The roller girls in Washington say they’re a little more buttoned down than players in other cities. But the software engineers, military women, working moms, and teachers who make up the group aren’t dull….’This is a group of very smart, very dedicated, seriously badass women.'” That’s still how I feel about my amazing female friends and colleagues in the D.C. area! We may seem more buttoned down than our peers in other cities, but I know that behind that facade is a smart, hard-working, brave, and determined soul with big goals. Plus, we know how to have fun after hours!
While I was active in roller derby, I came across an interview with professional racecar driver Danica Patrick, about how she performs best when she is relaxed. When she was about to begin a race, she would take three deep breaths and relax her body. At the time this seemed counterintuitive to me, because I’d previously thought athletes performed better when they were in a warmed up, and thus amped up, state. When I returned to jams after recovering from my ankle injury, I would feel incredibly nervous on the track as we waited for the whistle to start. But I found that I, too, performed better if I took those moments before the whistle to take three deep breaths and relax my body.
As I reread that 2009 Washingtonian article, I realized I still carry a “game day” approach and preparation to weddings: “When you get up for that first jam, there’s a lot of nervous tension…But as soon as the whistle blows, it’s game mode.” These days, I’ll often feel nervous anticipation before a wedding, as I work hard to ensure I’m prepared to perform well on the big day. But as soon as I park my car, I like to take a few minutes to close my eyes and relax. Then once I walk inside and start photographing, I get swept up into the magic of the day and feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I’m proud to regularly receive compliments from my clients’ family and friends that they appreciate my calming presence, because I know this calm has been hard-won through not just many years of photographing weddings, but also from also that time I was brave enough to pursue a challenging new sport.
