Real Wedding | Normandie Farms, Potomac, MD | Washington DC Wedding Photographer Michael Temchine

Real Wedding Description

I have photographed Jewish Orthodox weddings and Greek Orthodox weddings but until Sarah and Daniel’s I had never photographed a Coptic, or Egyptian Orthodox wedding. Filled with beautiful ritual and regal garb that hearkens to another time, their wedding at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church was an intimate affair. The smell of incense filled the small chapel in Potomac, MD.

In Jewish Orthodox weddings the couple are referred to as the king and the queen. One look at Sarah and Daniel made me think that the Copts have that view as well. Daniel told me afterwards that he was as nervous as he has ever been but he looked cool to me.

The party at Normandie Farms, also in Potomac, started off in great Egyptian style with a belly dancer, Samira Shuruk. Who doesn’t love photographing belly dancers? The movement, the swords, the hip scarves, all whipped the crowd into a jubilant mood and the dance floor never emptied.

The difference in atmosphere between the ceremony and the party could not have been greater. The similarities in mood could not have been closer.

Weddings are rooted in family and ritual. They bring together generations and tie us to our past. The most intense weddings I photograph all have orthodox in their name. Primarily as a Jewish Orthodox wedding photographer but also I have learned in the Christian Orthodoxy.