First look or no first look? That is the question.



And despite what Instagram, Pinterest, your planner, your photographer, your mother, your best friend or anyone else may tell you…



There isn’t one right answer.



We’ve photographed enough weddings to know that both can be incredibly meaningful — for completely different reasons.



A first look gives you something wedding days don’t offer very often: a few minutes together before everyone else gets you.



For Corey and Abigail at Poplar Springs, this was theirs.



Corey waiting.



Abigail walking toward him.



That little bit of anticipation before the tap on the shoulder.



And then… there you are. 🤍



No aisle. No guests watching. No expectation about what your reaction is supposed to look like. Just the two of you getting to actually see each other, talk, laugh, hug and have a minute before the day starts moving very quickly.



There are practical benefits, too. A first look can allow us to complete couple portraits and sometimes wedding-party or family photographs before the ceremony, which can give you more time with your guests afterward.



But does that mean we think everyone should have one? Nope.



If you have always imagined seeing each other for the first time walking down the aisle, protect that.



If cultural or religious traditions make that moment significant, protect that too.



And please don’t choose a first look only because someone tells you it makes photography easier.



Our job is to photograph your wedding — not redesign your wedding around our convenience.



So, first look or no first look?



Our vote is whichever one makes you think:



“That’s how I want to see you.”

There’s a very particular kind of quiet that happens right before you see each other.



And we love photographing it.



For Abigail, it was those last few minutes surrounded by the women who had been there through everything — one last check, one more adjustment, a little laughter, and that collective okay… this is really happening.



Across the way, Corey had his own version of it.



Jacket on. Details checked. Guys assembled. Everyone looking remarkably composed considering what was about to happen. 😉



These are the photographs that make a first look feel like more than the first look itself.



Because the story doesn’t begin when Corey turns around.



It begins in the rooms before it.



The people helping you get dressed. The friend making you laugh. The parent watching everything a little more quietly than usual. The nervous energy that somehow disappears the second you finally see your person.



At Poplar Springs in Warrenton, Virginia, Corey and Abigail were just a few minutes away from that moment here.



Two separate rooms.



Two completely different energies.



One very short walk away from seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day.



And THAT is why we don’t rush getting ready.



There’s too much happening before anything officially happens. 🤍

@poplarspringsmanor

The details are in the details. And no detail is unimportant.



It sounds redundant until you’ve photographed enough weddings to realize how true it actually is.



The invitation suite someone spent months choosing. The jewelry borrowed from family. The embroidery that took hours upon hours to create. The perfume worn that morning. The shoes kicked off by the end of the night. The rings that will eventually show a few scratches from actually being lived in.



Individually, they’re beautiful things.



Together, they tell us something about this particular wedding, this particular couple, and this particular moment in their lives.



That’s why we photograph the little things with the same intention we bring to the big ones.



Because twenty years from now, you’ll remember what you wore.



But seeing the tiny details again?



That’s different.



They bring back the texture of the day — what was chosen, what was meaningful, what your families contributed, what was tucked into a box afterward and what may eventually be handed to someone else.



And at a place like Poplar Springs Manor, there’s another layer we love: using the surroundings to make those details feel like they actually belong to the wedding, rather than photographing them against something generic simply because it’s pretty.



The venue. The light. The textures. The season.



It all becomes part of the photograph.



Because details shouldn’t feel like evidence that something existed.



They should feel like part of the story.



And around here, no detail is too small to matter.



📍 Poplar Springs | Warrenton, Virginia

@poplarspringsmanor

There’s a reason South Asian weddings keep finding their way to the Mellon.



The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium has a kind of scale that just works for our weddings.



The columns. The marble. The enormous ceilings. The symmetry. The stairs. That unmistakably Washington, DC sense of occasion.



But we think there’s another reason it works so beautifully for South Asian celebrations: our weddings aren’t exactly known for being visually shy. 😉



Give a space like this to a designer like Vikram with Elegant Affairs and suddenly the architecture isn’t competing with the decor — it’s giving it somewhere to live.



For this reception, Vikram once again completely transformed the room, while Ani with Ace of Events brought all the moving pieces together. You’re not simply decorating a ballroom here. You’re designing within a piece of monumental DC architecture.



And for our brides considering the Mellon, here’s something you may not realize during the Pinterest-and-pretty-pictures stage:



The Mellon has rules. Real ones.



Historic and government-managed spaces like this have requirements for the professionals working inside them. Access, equipment, where we can work and how we operate within the property all matter.



That becomes VERY important when choosing the people responsible for documenting it.



We check those boxes. ✔️



We know how to walk into spaces like this as professionals, work within the requirements of the property, collaborate with an experienced planner and design team, and still create photographs that make the grandeur feel every bit as impressive as it did in person.



Because at the Mellon, experience isn’t only knowing where to take the photograph.



Sometimes it’s knowing what you’re allowed to do before you ever pick up the camera.



And when Ani + Vikram are involved?



We already know there’s going to be something worth photographing. 🤍



Planning: Ani | Ace of Events

Design + Decor: Vikram | Elegant Affairs

Venue: Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium | Washington, DC

@aceofevents @vikramdesign @elegant.affairs @eventsatmellon

Because some days you just don’t take any chances with obstacles. 😉



And those who know, know.



Before the ceremony begins, the room itself has a job to do.



This is something Vikram and the team at Elegant Affairs have always understood so incredibly well—and something Ani with Ace of Events knows how to carry through the entire experience.



You aren’t simply decorating a stage.



You’re telling everyone in the room where to look, what matters and, almost subconsciously, how the moment should feel.



The mandap should command your attention before anyone ever steps onto it. The pathway toward it should feel intentional. The details surrounding it should quietly build anticipation for what is about to happen.



And then there’s the lighting.



Illuminate the ceremony enough that every expression, ritual and detail feels important. Let the guests have enough light to comfortably find their seats, see one another and be present…



…but perhaps not so much light that everyone starts thinking it’s chai time. 😂



There really is an art to that balance.



Especially during an Indian wedding ceremony, where so much is happening visually and symbolically, the environment should help focus attention rather than compete for it.



And we love seeing a team that understands the difference.



From that very first welcome from Lord Ganesha, to the glow of the candles, to the florals overhead and ultimately the ceremony space itself, everything here was doing exactly what thoughtful design should do:



setting the scene for what was about to matter most.



Vikram + Elegant Affairs on design.

Ani + Ace of Events bringing the planning together.

The Potomac Hotel giving everyone the space to make it happen.



And Lord Ganesha making sure we could proceed accordingly. 😉



Some things you simply don’t leave to chance.



— Amy + Srinu

The Regeti’s

@aceofevents @thepotomachotel @vikramdesign @elegant.affairs

Can we talk about timelines for a second? 🙋‍♀️ South Asian and fusion weddings are BIG — multiple events, hundreds of guests, family expectations, layers of tradition we absolutely love capturing. But here`s the thing: a wedding day timeline shouldn`t feel like a relay race where you`re handed off from one obligation to the next.



The best timelines build in breathing room. A few quiet minutes before the baraat. Time to actually eat at your own reception. Space to look around and feel the day instead of just running through it. That`s what we plan for with every couple we work with.



How are you feeling about your timeline so far — excited or overwhelmed? Tell us in the comments, or DM us and let`s map it out together. 💛

Before “guest experience” became a wedding-industry buzzword, the legends were already doing it.



And this Mehendi is such a perfect example.



As Indian weddings have become increasingly multicultural and fusion, we’ve watched something important shift. More and more of the people walking into these celebrations may be experiencing the culture for the very first time.



They may have never attended a Mehendi.

Never seen the colors, textures and details up close.

Never understood why certain things are there or what they represent.



And they may never have another opportunity to experience it quite like this.



That’s why we’ve always believed context is everything.



Inside The Potomac hotel, Vikram and the team at Elegant Affairs created more than a beautiful room. They created a mini experience—one filled with little visual moments that gave guests something to discover. The colors, the installations, the textures, the objects and even the smallest vignettes helped set the scene before anything even began.



And Ani with Ace of Events understood how to bring all of those pieces together into an event that didn’t simply happen around the guests—it invited them into it.



That distinction matters.



Because especially with fusion weddings, thoughtful planning and design can do something much bigger than make a room beautiful.



It can give someone a window into another person’s culture.



It creates context.

It sparks curiosity.

It starts conversations.

And it helps guests understand that what they’re witnessing isn’t simply beautiful—it belongs to a much bigger story.



Long before immersive weddings, experiential design and “guest experience” became things everyone was talking about, teams like this were already quietly showing us how it should be done.



Vikram + Elegant Affairs. Ani + Ace of Events. And The Potomac Hotel providing the canvas for all of it.



The legends were doing it before it had a name. 🤍



And all these years later, this one still deserves to be talked about.



— Amy + Srinu

The Regeti’s

@thepotomachotel
@aceofevents
@vikramdesign
@elegant.affairs
@wildsmilesphotobooth

Ten days. 🤍

It feels a little wild to say that considering the last time we had Nikita + Kevin in front of our cameras, DC was in full cherry blossom mode — and anyone who has attempted the Tidal Basin during peak bloom knows exactly what that means.

Traffic. Crowds. Construction. A whole lot of walking. People absolutely everywhere. 😂

Nikita wanted cherry blossoms, though, and cherry blossoms she got.

But what I remember most about this evening isn’t actually the blossoms.

It was how easily these two settled into one another.

There’s something we really love about engagement sessions for exactly this reason. Yes, we make beautiful photographs. But more importantly, we get time together before the wedding becomes the wedding.

No timeline running the day.
No family waiting for portraits.
No ceremony about to begin.

Just time to walk, talk, laugh a little, figure each other out — and for Nikita + Kevin to learn that when we tell them, “Don’t worry about everything happening around you. We’ve got it,” we actually mean it.

Because if we can make the Tidal Basin during cherry blossom season look this quiet… we’ve earned at least a little trust. 😂

And now that part matters.

Because in just 10 days, we trade cherry blossoms for wedding clothes and an engagement-session stroll through DC for two days of wedding celebrations at the Omni Shoreham.

And we’re especially looking forward to seeing everything Nikita and Christine Godsey of CG & Co. have been dreaming up together. There is something so good about walking into a wedding weekend knowing there’s an experienced planner at the helm — someone who understands the couple, has been living in all those details alongside them, and is making sure those ideas actually become an experience for everyone who gets to be there.

Christine, we cannot wait to see the magic you and Nikita have planned. 🤍

Nikita + Kevin, we’re ready.

And after getting this little preview of the two of you together, we have a feeling there’s going to be a whole lot to photograph.

September 11–12, 2026. Let’s do this.

— Amy + Srinu & Diego too!
The Regeti’s X Diego Stuart Films

By the time Nikitaa + Durgesh walked into their reception, the nerves were gone.



The ceremony had happened. The families had gathered. The traditions had been honored.



And now?



They could finally just enjoy each other.



That is the part of a reception we love most—the shift from wedding day into we’re actually married now.



You can see it in the way couples move differently.



The smiles are easier.



The touches are more natural.



The laughter comes faster.



And for Nikitaa + Durgesh, there was such a sense of relief and joy in finally getting to celebrate everything that had led them there.



Their whole weekend had carried so much personality, culture and family energy, but the reception gave them space to simply be themselves.



No translating the moment.



No explaining the tradition.



No wondering what comes next.



Just the two of them, surrounded by the people who had watched this relationship become a marriage.



By this point, photographing them felt incredibly natural to us.



From the very first call, to their engagement session, to showing up for the wedding weekend, there was already that comfortable familiarity that makes this work feel less transactional and much more personal.



And that matters.



Because when a couple trusts the people behind the cameras, they stop performing for the photograph.



They just live the moment.



That is where the good stuff is.



Nikitaa + Durgesh, this was such a beautiful way to close out your celebrations.



And we are so grateful we got to witness all of it. 🤍

One of the things we wish more people understood about Indian weddings is this:



“Indian” is not one culture.



Not even close.



Nikitaa comes from a Goan and Manglorean background… Durgesh comes from a Bihari background.



Two families.

Two regional histories.

Two sets of traditions and expectations.



And now, one marriage.



That is part of what makes photographing South Asian weddings endlessly fascinating to us.



A Hindu ceremony may contain rituals that look familiar from one wedding to the next, but the way they are performed, the order they happen in, the language used, the family involvement and even the meaning attached to certain moments can shift depending on region, community and family tradition.



So our job is never to walk into a wedding thinking, we’ve seen this before.



We pay attention.



To the priest.



To the parents.



To the hands reaching in.



To the subtle cues between families.



To the tiny rituals happening off to the side while everyone else is watching the obvious moment.



Because sometimes the most culturally significant photograph isn’t the widest image of the mandap.



It is a mother adjusting something.



A hand being placed into another.



A sacred thread being tied.



Feet touching.



Rice being offered.



A glance exchanged between two people who suddenly realize this ceremony is no longer theoretical.



They are married.



And with Nikitaa + Durgesh, what made this ceremony so beautiful wasn’t simply the color or the rituals.



It was watching two different family histories begin folding into one.



That is the part we never want to photograph casually.



Because years from now, these images won’t only show what their wedding looked like.



They will help their children understand where they came from.



And that may be one of the most important things photographs can do. 🤍



@ganeshjagtap4866 · Dhol Player

@bollywood_bistro · Caterer

@makeupbyaafra · Hair Only

@hennabysravani · Mehndhi/Henna

Some photographs look effortless because the work happened before the shutter was ever pressed.

That little curb moment with Nikitaa + Durgesh?

Very intentionally placed.

We were looking at the direction of the light, the background, how the colors in their clothing would sit against the environment, where we wanted their bodies positioned and how to create something that felt natural without leaving the outcome entirely to chance.



And here’s something couples rarely realize:

When you have a strong photography team leading a scene, your cinema team often gets to benefit from that experience too. 😉



Good light is good light.

Good composition is good composition.

And a beautifully constructed moment usually looks pretty fantastic in motion as well.

Make no mistake though—some of the best wedding cinema happens because photographers know when to lead, when to create, and just as importantly, when to get out of the way and let something real unfold.



That balance comes with experience.

But Nikitaa + Durgesh made all of this ridiculously easy.

By the time we photographed their engagement session, the “getting to know each other” part had disappeared completely. Showing up for their wedding felt less like arriving to photograph clients and more like catching up with old friends we happened to have cameras around.



And then came their first look.

The smiles. The nerves. The little glances. That wonderfully familiar feeling of two people realizing, okay… this is actually happening.



Those are the moments we never want to over-direct.

Because our favorite photographs usually live somewhere between what we intentionally create and what we patiently allow to happen.



One of the greatest blessings of doing this work for as long as we have is that so many couples don’t simply disappear after the gallery is delivered.

They become people we genuinely love.



Photographing the wedding is beautiful.

Getting to witness what comes after it might be even better. 🤍



@nikitaa_kenkre

@vitruvian_me

@theregetis · Photographer

@ganeshjagtap4866 · Dhol Player

@bollywood_bistro · Caterer

@makeupbyaafra · Hair Only

@hennabysravani · Mehndhi/Henna