When Sam and David reached out about photographing their courthouse elopement at the Library of Congress, I knew it was going to be a good one. I actually met David as an undergraduate student when we were both amateur photographers roaming around campus, and we connected a few years later when he was planning his proposal to Sam.
Fast forward to today, they were ready for photos to remember something just for them first: a chance to make it official, to sign the papers, to call each other husband and husband before the bigger party caught up. They weren’t planning their full wedding yet; that celebration was coming later that year, overseas, surrounded by family and friends from every corner of their lives.
That’s the thing about DC elopements that I love so much. They strip everything down to what actually matters, i.e. two people choosing each other and somehow that makes the day feel even bigger, not smaller.
The Journey
We started right there in the Library of Congress, with its marble and gold and the kind of architecture that makes you whisper without meaning to. Sam and David were exactly what I hoped they’d be: silly, easy with each other, cracking jokes between portraits like they’d already been married for years instead of minutes.
Their family (and doggo Gnocchi) came too, which turned the whole afternoon into a true DC adventure session. We wandered from the Library down toward Union Station, ducked into the Metro for a few frames because why not, and let the city be as much a part of their story as the courthouse itself. We even had a fun little Shake Shack moment!
By the end of the day, we had images that felt less like a formal wedding album and more like a love letter to the city they share their life in. This is proof that the start of a marriage doesn’t need a guest list or a reception to feel like the biggest day of your life.
If you’re planning a DC elopement of your own, whether it’s courthouse steps, a favorite museum, or a wandering adventure through your favorite neighborhoods, I’d love to help you tell that story.
