Stella and Jamie are planning a coastal Maryland wedding at Swan Point this Spring, so I thought it was a wonderful idea for them to choose Swannanoa Palace for their engagement session. Swannanoa is the complete opposite genre of venue! I love it when couples have engagement session images that give them a completely different feel from their wedding day images. Swannanoa is located in Afton, Virginia in the mountains and like Maymont Estate (in Richmond), it was built by James H. Dooley. It is partially based on buildings in the Villa Medici in Rome. It has a fascinating and mysterious history and although in partial disarray, it also hosts a Tiffany window featuring the likeness of Dooley’s wife, Sallie May.

It was a beautiful evening, just one day after a two day bitter cold and windy spell. So it was a joyful surprise to have such mild weather. Stella and Jamie had two sets of coordinated clothing styles for their engagement session and not only looked great together, but were ready to smile. They made their engagement session look completely effortless.

They graced the grounds of the palace, the gardens and the fountain and as the sun got lower, we explored the stone tower area as well. I’m fairly certain we narrowly avoided a skunk as well!

It was a lovely session to be sure and the images of these two speak for themselves! I can’t wait for their wedding later this Spring at Swan Point as well.

And just for fun, when I asked Sky how Jamie proposed, she wrote the following…

“He proposed at the tidal basin surrounded the cherry blossoms. He was nervous for sure haha! He found probably the only secluded spot and asked me. We weren’t able to get any photos because of all the tourists. We had his favorite ramen afterwards and had a lovely weekday outing in DC.”

We may not have seen the cherry blossoms for their engagement session, but we definitely explored this beautiful spot and Stella and Jamie look incredible together! They are so sweet and fun together and I can’t wait to serve them next month.

Michelle with Lieb Photographic is a Northern Virginia Wedding Photographer, a Charlottesville Wedding Photographer and photographs destinations worldwide. To see more weddings and engagement sessions in the Washington DC area, view the Washington DC Wedding Venues page. If you’d like to explore some more of my favorite wedding venues in the Virginia and Washington D.C. areas, view the Wedding Venues page.