Menu

edit / search@3x

John + Rachel | Wedding at the John Marshall Hotel

June 25, 2018

Share

the bride and her bridesmaids in their purple getting ready robes

Last Saturday, John + Rachel got married in Richmond, Virginia! They needed a BIG venue to hold all of their friends and families comfortably! The John Marshall Ballrooms served as the perfect downtown Richmond setting for this group.

the bride getting ready at the john marshall ballroom with bridesmaids

Rachel + John are both such sweethearts! They have the gentlest and calmest hearts! I honestly can’t picture either one of them ever getting mad!

Their Filipino families couldn’t get enough pictures with them!! Their cheeks must have hurt from all of the iPhone pictures they were asked to take, but the newlyweds happily took as many as their families wanted without hesitation!!

John + Rachel’s Ceremony took place at the bride’s hometown Catholic church. Both of Rachel’s parents beamed as they walked their youngest daughter down the aisle.

Bride and groom at catholic ceremonyBride and groom whispering to each other at ceremony

When the Priest prompted them to share their first kiss as Husband and Wife, John did his best to take this moment in slow motion. Very slowly, he held Rachel’s face in both of his hands before a very sweet kiss.

Back at the John Marshall Ballrooms, we did a few Bridal Party Portraits in the gorgeous hotel lobby away from the day’s heat!

Bridal Party at john marshall ballroomBridal party pictures at the john marshall ballrooms Bridesmaid and bridal flowers and bouquets of whites and pink peonies

Loved these girls so much!! Many of them veteran bridesmaids or brides themselves, they anticipated anything Rachel needed by keeping a fully stocked emergency kit in the bridal suite for her!!

The guys and girls both loved taking pictures and were up for anything we suggested both in the heat or the AC! These best friends made the day very fun!

Bride and Groom walking together with bridal party in john marshall ballroom lobby wedding at john marshall ballroom the tuckers photography

When it came time for Bride + Groom portraits, we made a quick drive over to the Virginia Capital Building and had the whole place completely to ourselves!! These are some of our absolute favorites!!

Bride and groom arm in arm at the virginia state capitlaBride and groom walking on stairs at the virginia state capital building in richmond virginia Bride and groom walking along stairs of virginia capital building bride and groom portraits at the virginia state capital building along the stairs and front of the building Bride and groom portraits at the virginia state capital building

How they Met: John devoted most of his time to his career in the Navy and the Veterans Affairs. He was giving online dating a shot, but had just gotten orders that he was scheduled to deploy to Africa for a year. As he was just about to close down his Plenty of Fish profile, a beautiful girl messaged him!!

John relayed that he was bound to a foreign country for a medical mission in the military for almost the whole year of 2015. Also, if there were any prospects of seeing if it would work, they would have to get to know each other over long-distance. Again, he thought to himself, “She’s definitely going to say “NO” and that no way was this going to work! He feared of missing his chance!!

Funny thing is – Rachel was also just about to give up on online dating, too!

To John’s utter surprise, Rachel was willing to give it a shot! Even without meeting each other in person, due to a mix of bad weather + timing, they started dating long-distance with Skype dates on a John’s dial-up connection every weekend in Africa. Each call, they became closer and closer to each other.

Rachel was accepted into a graduate program in Philadelphia for her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy. Another funny coincidence is that John’s pre-deployment work was located right next to Rachel’s school!! The couple doubts they would have ever met in person, if it weren’t for online dating.

Upon John’s return from deployment, they were finally able to meet in person! The couple was able to strengthen their relationship in Philadelphia, conquering one restaurant at a time and exploring the adventures the city had to offer. 

Bride and groom pictures at the virginia state capital building

Throughout their relationship, Rachel and John had talked about their future together. 

In February of 2017, John proposed to the love of his life on a gondola atop a scenic mountain!! 

bride and groom kissing at the virginia state capitalReception at the john marshall ballroom with bride and groom first dance  John surprised everyone by singing to Rachel complete with a HILARIOUS choreographed dance for his new Bride! 

Groom planned a choreographed dance to surprise his new bride at the john marshall ballroom

2017 + 2018 Tuckers Photography Couples spotted and looking fine!! We met this sweet couple through Andrew + Michelle!!

Bride and groom cutting cake with saber and JMU group picture on dance floor at receptionBride and groom at john marshall ballroom Reception pictures of guests dancing to the DJ in the john marshall ballroom

John + Rachel,

We are so honored to have shared this day with you and your BIG families!! You and John are absolutely perfect together! I am so thankful that you both took one last chance on online dating!! Your love is so genuine and strong, and that’s only going to deepen as you count your married years together! We can already tell that guys are going to have such a loving marriage because you have SO many marriages in your family cheering you on – ours included.

We love you both!! Congratulations, Newlyweds!!

 

Love,

The Tuckers

 

 

Vendors:

Venue |John Marshall Building

Photography | The Tuckers Photography

Catering | Homemades By Suzanne

Bakery | Imelda Raguindin

Hair + Make up Artist | Kelsea Dayberry

Photobooth | Richmond Photobooth

Bridal Dress | Oleg Cassini

Grooms + Groomsmen Attire | Navy Uniforms

DJ | Ricky Heraldo

Florals | FloraWorx

Videographer | Alida Huynh

back to the top

Let's set up a phone call!  We want to hear ALL the details on how you met the love of your life! 

Set Something Up

We want to meet you! 

Share on

Follow Along

#thetuckersphotography

Instagram

Based in Richmond, Virginia and serving the surrounding States and World Wide

Browse by Category

Browse the Website

Based in Richmond, Virginia and serving the surrounding States