Washington Dc Engagement Photography

A wedding is a story – your love story—filled with moments of romance, contemplation, silliness and adventure. Your engagement photos should illustrate all that your love is – and even catch the surprises that made you fall in love in the first place.

Let the grand gateway to Washington illustrate the gateway to your marriage—plan your engagement photography along D.C.’s George Washington Memorial Parkway, a single road that preserves the stunning natural scenery along the Potomac River: This photo itinerary threads from the Great Falls of the Potomac through the heart of the capital city and ends at Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall. Capitalize on five spectacular photo opportunities in your shoot from parks to monuments.

Start at the fall line of the Potomac River, 14 miles upstream from D.C. which can be accessed easily at Great Fall National Park on the Maryland side. Begin with some playful photos on the grasses and hiking trails. Shoot some candid images along the wooden bridges, and then arrange a portrait against the misty backdrop of the white waters and the jagged rocks.
Note: Be advised that the Fisherman’s Eddy is closed until further notice due to flooding.

Engagement Photography at Glen Echo Park

Second, head to the magical Glen Echo Park, a vintage 1891 amusement park perched above the C&O canal, just a few minutes down the Parkway from Great Falls: Glen Echo Park operated as an amusement park until 1968, and is now the site of local arts education for residents and visitors. Sit atop a hand-carved stallion on the Denzel carousel that still operates four days a week, May through September. Dance the tango in the Spanish Ballroom, or play in the bumper car pavilion to catch the whimsy between the two of you on film.

Next to Glen Echo is the Clara Barton House, home to the American Red Cross in 1892. Her Victorian-style, Glen Echo, Maryland home and grounds provide an exquisite backdrop for your engagement photography with rustic masonry and a wide, classic front porch.

Engagement Photography at the Arlington Memorial Bridge

Head across the mighty Potomac for the rest of your Washington D.C. engagement photography, over Arlington Memorial Bridge, widely regarded as Washington’s most beautiful. Its architectural, sculptural and landscape features represent the neoclassical urban design of the National Capital. Integrate the bridge into your engagement photography for not only its beauty, but its symbolic value: The bridge features nine broad arches across the river and linking North and South to show the strength of a united nation. Access Arlington Memorial Bridge on the Washington D.C. side via Independence Avenue and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway. Access on the Virginia side is provided by George Washington Memorial Parkway. Parking (for a fee) is available at the Arlington National Cemetery Visitor Center.

Engagement Photography at the Lincoln Memorial

Complete your engagement photography in Washington D.C. at sunset, the perfect reverent light for the elegant, serene photography you can capture at the Lincoln Memorial. Formal portraiture and intimate moments will provide the finishing touch to your engagement images. The Lincoln Memorial stands at the west end of the National Mall as a neoclassical monument to the 16th President. The memorial, designed by Henry Bacon, after ancient Greek temples, is surrounded by a peristyle of 38 fluted Doric columns. These solid, regal columns command a calm presence for your final shots. A temple itself, the Memorial is a symbol of inspiration and hope where you and your fiancée can pose for private photos. General visitor parking is available along Ohio Drive, SW between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials.

Along just fourteen miles of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, five breathtaking photographic settings all directly accessible and a regal setting to celebrate your engagement and preserve the moments for a lifetime.