DC and Baltimore Photographer - Weddings and Corporate

October 12, 2015

Baltimore Family Photographer: Portrait Session With the Speaks Family

I have beautiful friends. No – really, I do. I can probably count the number of the friends I hold dearest on just my fingers – and maybe a few toes, and I am truly blessed to have them. Case-in-point – Mandy and Scott. They are also my neighbors, and trust me when I tell you that they are beautiful on the outside (obviously), but they are even more beautiful on the inside. Beautiful on the inside people make my job as a Baltimore family photographer that much easier!

I love summer family portrait sessions. Mandy went to great lengths to coordinate their outfits in a patriotic red, white and blue theme. She managed to dress everyone in theme, but in a way that brought out their unique personality.

Want to update your family portrait to reflect your family’s personality?

Not only do I photograph weddings and corporate events, I also photograph families.

Baltimore Family Photographer: Portrait Session With the Speaks Family #BaltimoreFamilyPhotographer #OutdoorFamilyPortraits #FourthOfJulyThemedPortraits

September 14, 2015

American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore Maryland Wedding: Carly and Michael

American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore Maryland Wedding: Carly and Michael #CityWedding #OutdoorCeremony #AmericanVisionaryArtMuseumWedding #BaltimoreMarylandWedding #Photojournalist

Carly and Michael gave us an inside look at their American Visionary Art Museum wedding day!

What will you remember most about your wedding day?
Carly: Our toasts. Most of all, Michael’s daughter Kaya’s toast. Kaya is a confident, vibrant 11 year old and was very adamant about wanting to give a speech at the reception to “get everyone hyped.” Kaya work on the speech secretly for weeks. She ultimately brought the house down and earned a standing ovation for her amazing, witty, hilarious toast that noted “I was so happy when my dad found Carly because I always knew he needed a strong woman in his life, and an 11 year old can only do so much.” When the toasts started we both sat back, laughed hysterically and were consumed with joy about the new family we were creating together.

Michael: I will remember tearing up as soon as the music started. Seeing our friends, flower girls, and my son and daughter start coming down the aisle and then seeing Carly’s brothers walking her out to me. And the Panda, I shall always remember the Panda. (A friend surprised us near the end of the reception by donning a full on panda costume and doing an unexpected and elaborate dance to LMFAO’s “Sexy and I know it”.)

Favorite wedding photo and why:
Carly: I love the candid photo of Michael and I walking out immediately after being being pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Harris and laughing – I think a friend or relative shouted something funny. We look as giddy as we felt!

Michael: The black and white photo of Carly and myself through her veil…it’s just classic.

Most stressful thing about planning your wedding?
Trying to keep track of all the moving pieces and balancing planning with the other chores of our daily lives while also making sure we both stayed sane.

Most enjoyable thing about planning your wedding?
Making our wedding really ours and seeing everything come together the way we wanted. We wrote the ceremony for our close friend Ryan to officiate and made it personal and befitting of our blended family. We also had so much fun picking out music that we loved and had meaning to us. We regularly added songs to our “wedding playlist” for our awesome friend Erik who DJ’d – that playlist got us through wedding planning!

If you were able to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?
Michael: Nope. 100% satisfaction.
Carly: No! Honestly, the only thing I would do differently would be to stress a little less in the months leading up to everything.

Any words of wisdom for brides/grooms who are currently planning their day?
Any words of wisdom for brides/grooms who are currently planning their day?
Michael: Always strive to remember the real reason for the event amidst the chaos and stress that can arise during wedding planning.

Carly: Let go of all the things you think or are told you “should” or “must” do. At the end of the day the only thing you really have to do is get married to your partner – everything else is a bonus. Also, avoid doing or planning anything (other than getting yourself ready and getting married) that requires your attention on the day of the wedding. We have amazing friends and family who generously helped with so much — from arranging centerpiece flowers in my hotel room to printing out last minute escort cards to appointing themselves the much-needed coordinator of our family wedding portraits to minimize the chaos — and it added to all of the love we felt that day.

Wedding location:
Ceremony: American Visionary Art Museum
Reception: American Visionary Art Museum
Bridal Shop: BHLDN
Dress Designer: Tadashi Shoji
Bride’s shoes: J. Crew
Hair stylist or salon: Scene 217
Makeup artist or salon: Scene 217
Groom & Groomsmen suits / tux: Macy’s
Invitations & Stationery: DIY 🙂 – Vistaprint
Florist: Whole Blossoms
Officiant: Rev. Ryan McLaughlin
~~Cake~~ Pies: Teeny Pies
Music/DJ – pre- ceremony: Simone Shuffett
Music/DJ – reception: DJ Erik Anderson
Lighting and/or production: Absolutely Perfect Catering
Caterer: Absolutely Perfect Catering

American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore Maryland Wedding: Carly and Michael #CityWedding #OutdoorCeremony #AmericanVisionaryArtMuseumWedding #BaltimoreMarylandWedding #Photojournalist

August 17, 2015

Union Mills Homestead, Westminster Maryland Wedding: Jenilyn & Michael

Check out what Jenilyn & Michael had to say about their Union Mills Homestead wedding!

What will you remember most about your wedding day?
The fact that my groom did not want me to walk down the aisle by myself. My father recently had a stroke and was not well enough to make the trip to attend our wedding, so neither of my parents were there. I didn’t want to have anyone else walk me down, although there were plenty of people who would have jumped at the opportunity to do so. My groom (Michael) gave me the strength to realize that I have been on my own since I was 18 yrs old and I am a strong woman who can walk myself down the aisle, just as I have come to be where I am in life. So down the aisle alone I walked when he stepped out of line to meet me halfway. He said he did this so I knew he would always be there with me when I felt alone. I remember hearing our guests gasp and then sounds of sobs when they realized what he was doing.

Favorite wedding photo and why:
Not my absolute favorite, but the one that made the biggest impact on me. This was the photo of us standing in the field with the rainbow behind us. This was so special and touching to me because I worried so much leading up that day about the weather and I prayed and also talked with my grandpop (who passed 2 months prior to me meeting Michael and I feel played a huge part in sending us together, as I asked him just before he passed to send a good man to me who I can love like he did my grandmother). When I saw that picture…I cried because I felt it was his sign telling me that everything was going to be ok and I was doing the right thing marrying Michael. I felt my grandfather with me so much during the planning of this wedding and with that rainbow…he let us know he was there that day as well!

Union Mills Homestead, Westminster Maryland: Jenilyn & Michael #UnionMillHomesteadWedding #WestminsterMarylandWedding #CountryWedding #OutdoorWedding #PoliceOfficerWedding #Nurse

Most stressful thing about planning your wedding?
Trying to stick to a small budget, but include everyone. We paid for the wedding entirely by ourselves and in the midst of it we decided to also by a house! This was so stressful but with Michael working overtime and me working a second job as a floor nurse on the weekends, we were able to pay for it completely on our own and without using credit!

Most enjoyable thing about planning your wedding?
The cake tasting for our cake at the Rehearsal dinner! It was the most delicious cake ever and we have made frequent trips back to that bakery since then!

If you were able to do it all over again, would you do anything differently?
Absolutely nothing! Everything in our eyes was just perfect!

Any words of wisdom for brides/grooms who are currently planning their day?
Don’t let vendors overwhelm you. And make sure you have a contract, my caterer did not have a contract so I communicated with him solely via email and kept all communication in one email string. So when his finalized quote was way off, I referenced a communication in the email string and he came down on his quote by a few hundred! I also would advise to not stress out about little things. We all have this picture of a perfect wedding….but it’s not gonna happen! Let it go and move on. You can’t control everything…for example our officiant was so nervous (he was a family friend and wanted it to be perfect) that after we got to the alter he forgot to tell our guests they may sit down. Our guests diligently stood the entire time and laughed about it in the end. And the pictures are hilarious…we laugh and wonder what each person is thinking when we look at them!

Wedding location: Union Mills Homestead
Theme or style: Rustic elegance. Our theme is very intimate and is really connected with how Michael and I are. We also have some police and nurse themes thrown in here and there since that is our profession.
Bridal Shop: David’s Bridal
Dress Designer: David’s Bridal
Bride’s shoes: Justin Brand Cowgirl boots
Hair stylist or salon: Up Do’s by Theresa Davis
Makeup artist or salon: Done by Lindsey Funk
Groom & Groomsmen suits / tux: Tuxedo House – Timonium Md
Invitations & Stationery: Made by the Bride
Florist: Inspire Wedding Flowers
Desserts at reception: Made by important women to the bride and groom
Music/DJ – ceremony, reception, cocktail hour, etc.: Jeanie Smith – BeatMix DJ
Caterer: Kountry Kafe
Honeymoon: San Fransisco Ca. for 1 week and then Kauai HI for another week.

Union Mills Homestead, Westminster Maryland: Jenilyn & Michael #UnionMillHomesteadWedding #WestminsterMarylandWedding #CountryWedding #OutdoorWedding #PoliceOfficerWedding #Nurse

July 23, 2015

Ceresville Mansion, Frederick Maryland Wedding: Katrina & Matthew

Katrina let me in on some great DIY tips for her wedding at Ceresville Mansion!

“Biggest piece of advice for DIY projects, COUPONS! Everytime a 40% or 50% coupon came out for Hobby Lobby, Michael’s or Joann’s I’d go in and get ONE item. We saved over $500 by only getting items with coupons. Especially with the burlap and ribbon.”

Wedding location:Ceresville Mansion
Bridal Shop: The Sample Rack
Hair stylist or salon: Tres Belle Beauty Judy Lopez
Makeup artist or salon: Tres Belle Beauty Judy Lopez
Cake: Karen Rodkey

The flowers were from an etsy shop called The Blooming Corner and were made of sola wood I believe it was called! All the music we did was through an app called my wedding dj that we got in the apple App Store for $4.99! Luckily we have had a lot of friends get married before us and they were able to send over their music so we only ended up having to buy around 5 songs, ended up saving so much money because of that! The bird feed favors were from etsy as well, the shop was called Green Doxie Events, they’ll send the kits disassembled or assembled, we did them disassembled because they were a LOT cheaper!

Garland – Stitched burlap ribbon about 6 inches apart to give a ruffled look. Cream burlap roses were spray painted coral. Strands of pearl beads were placed on top of garland as well as the coral roses. Burlap ribbon and cream burlap roses were purchased at Hobby Lobby. Pearl beads strands were purchased at Rod Works.

Mr. and Mrs. Banner – Cut triangles from large square burlap sheets from JoAnns. Printed Mr. & Mrs. using my Cricket with a Cursive cartridge. Laid the template on the burlap triangles and stamped with cream paint. Attached rope to the top of each burlap triangle.

Centerpieces
Flowers – Coffee filters were folded and glued to a styrofoam ball. Wilson food coloring mixed with water was spritzed on the filters, hand upside down to dry or else the paper will flatten out. Flower balls were then glued to the candle stick. Candle sticks were bought at Pier One. Burlap ribbon with lace from Hobby Lobby was wrapped around the base of candle.

If I would have to make the centerpieces again, I’d leave them white! Loved the color, but it creates a lot more work. The color starts to fade after a week, making it a last minute project! I also spent a lot of time “fluffing” them and gluing ends together because of the coloring changing the shape. Also, the glass candlesticks broke SO easily! We ended up having to put soda cans under the candlestick to prevent them from falling over and breaking on the table (that’s why the lace was at the bottom- hide the pepsi can) having a base with a more solid surface would have helped SO much.

Table numbers – Wood numbers were bought at Michaels. The numbers were spray painted cream and placed on a handmade rectangular blocks (4 in X 6 in) with routered edges. Each number was decorated with flowers, ribbon, or pearls from Michael’s Wedding Section.

Activity book for the kids- Downloaded for FREE from http://www.lovelyindeed.com/diy-activity-book-free-printable/ and then bond the pages together with burlap

June 25, 2015

What if you don’t want to wear a wedding dress for your wedding? Answer – HER Tuxedo – tuxedos for women

Last year, I photographed a wedding with Megan Evans Photography. I have photographed weddings for nearly twenty years, I have met many vendors and learned of a number of options for my clients, so it’s not often that I find a vendor or company I haven’t heard of before.

I was thrilled to find out about HER Tuxedo. Here’s how they describe themselves on their website:

“Her Tuxedo is the first on line retailer that specializes in Tuxedos for Women. Our American Couturier has designed an exclusive selection of classically styled apparel that has been beautifully tailored by superior workmanship and which you will love to wear on those special occasions. Our expert team of professionals take pride offering a quality service our aim is to provide great customer satisfaction behind every item we sell.” – About us

It is so refreshing to find a company that caters to women who choose to forgo the traditional bridal gown for their wedding day, and who are looking for something more formal than a pants suit!

What if you don't want to wear a wedding dress for your wedding? Answer - HER Tuxedo - tuxedos for women ~ #vendors #her tuxedo #TuxedoSuit #TuxedoForSameSexWeddings