Sorry for not blogging much lately!  Now that Spring is here, I can start to come out of hibernation.  I’m getting married next weekend (woop!) so have been a bit distracted.  Although I don’t plan on shooting weddings myself anymore, I may still second shoot for my photographer friends.  I’m sharing some images below from a wedding I shot with Michael Temchine this past summer at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. I’ve shot several conservative Jewish weddings, but never a true Orthodox wedding, though I believe this one would still be considered “modern”.  I’m fascinated by different religions and cultures, but underneath it all, the meaning of these weddings is the same.  They are all about two people committing their lives to each other, while surrounded by their loved ones. Joy and excitement permeated the air throughout Rachel and Joel’s amazing wedding day.  Here is a detail shot of Rachel as she was having her makeup done.  She was very calm with just a hint of nervous anticipation.Rachel’s mom was a ball of emotion when she saw her daughter in her wedding gown.I photographed many hugs and smiles during the Kabbalat Panim, where Rachel was surrounded by all the women closest to her and Joel was in a separate room with the men.
Next came the Bedecken, where the groom is escorted to his bride with much fanfare and he lowers her veil.The Chuppah ceremony was held in the courtyard of the hotel.  It was a beautiful day.  Here is Rachel being escorted in by her parents.Joel beaming at his bride…Reception time!

What a day!

I had the honor of photographing Bonnie and Kevin’s intimate wedding at the Kitty Knight House in Kent County. It was a beautiful day with just a bit of an Autumn chill in the air.  They were joined by just their family and closest friends for a quiet ceremony by the water and an elegant afternoon lunch.
Bonnie was calm and collected as she got ready.Seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony….so sweet!Kevin proposed to Bonnie on the porch of the Kitty Knight House, so they have some great memories there.Kevin’s twin sons were his “best men”.  Bonnie’s brothers were her “men of honor” and escorted her down the aisle.Happy!Can you guess what one of their favorite pastimes is?An Autumn ring shot!There were several heartfelt and funny speeches…I always find the cute kids!  That’s one of Bonnie’s nephews on the right reenacting his performance from when Bonnie and Kevin made their entrance into the reception.First dance as man and wife…And of course, the cake!  Congrats Bonnie and Kevin!  Thanks for letting me share your special day.

Liz and Colin were married a couple weeks ago at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mount Washington, followed by an amazing reception in Liz’s parents’ backyard in Lutherville.  Liz is one of those people who you like instantly and feels like a friend within minutes.  She and her family did most of the cooking and decor themselves, yet she was still a picture of calm before the ceremony.

Check out the amazing flowers below from the family garden! Liz looked super-adorable with her curls and lacey dress…The Church was gorgeous…I love, love these kiss photos!  This is so Colin.  He seems like a pretty serious guy at first, but then these bursts of humor come sneaking out.We were expecting rain and more rain that day, but to everyone’s relief, it held off until late in the evening. I was so excited to get some photos outside of this cute new husband and wife.Thanks to the amazing Kirsten Zarek for being my second shooter. Here’s one of her shots from the brief, yet hilarious, toast by one of Colin’s sisters.  That’s the John O’Dell Band in the background…they were playing some amazing bluegrass!First dance….awww.  The lighting looked amazing!One of my fave dancing shots from Kirsten:I got many shots of Liz looking like this….just blissfully happy!Here is Colin and his mom on the left and the cake cutting on the right. Liz’s mom made the cake if you can believe it!

Congrats Liz and Colin!

I can’t believe it’s already been an entire year since I shot Josh and Ashley engagement photos at the Howard County Fair. They finally had their big day a couple weeks ago and everything went perfectly.  It was pouring down rain when I arrived at Temple Oheb Shalom in Baltimore, but it cleared up just in time for portraits.  Thanks to the fabulous Jen Lowe for being my second shooter again!

Here are the girls getting ready. Ashley’s daughter looked adorable with her curls and flower wreath headpiece. That’s Ashley in the background observing.

The glowing bride!Here’s one of Jen’s shots of the guys. I love their expressions here….serious but about to crack smiles.Ashley and Josh gave M a heart locket with their photos in it before the ceremony.  Sooo sweet!Josh and his dad before the ceremony…I love how Jen included the gorgeous stained glass in this shot:
Being a ring-bearer is exhausting work!Jen caught some hugs after the ceremony:This was a huge wedding party….the more the merrier!Cutie flower girl!After the ceremony, we headed to the Baltimore Museum of Industry for the reception. Could the cake toppers be any cuter?  Can you guess what Josh and Ashley do for a living?
You can always count on interesting mixed lighting at the BMI.  I love all the colors.Now THIS is an entrance!The BMI has a bunch of fun displays that are perfect for portraits like this movie theatre and city street.Love the contrast of these two….Good times…Congrats to the new family of three!

I was so excited to be Chris and Sarah’s wedding photographer in lovely Havre de Grace last weekend.  I got to see some familiar faces because Sarah is a friend of Lauren and Rick, whose wedding I shot in Chesapeake City back in 2007. Sarah and Chris are sweet, laid-back and so easy to work with. Their wedding ceremony was held at the Havre de Grace United Methodist Church and the reception was held at Bulle Rock Golf Club.  Thanks to Jen Lowe for being my uber-fabulous second shooter.

I always love getting-ready photos.  I wish you could feel the material of her dress…it’s this super soft flowing satin.

The gorgeous bride!Jen was hangin’ with da boys getting ready:I was psyched when I saw Sarah’s parents’ backyard with a lakeview…perfect for portraits!The navy bridesmaids dresses looked so nice with the white and pink accents. Sarah’s two sisters are on either side of her including her twin on the right. No problem telling those two apart on this day!Ceremony time. I love this shot I caught of the nieces and nephew having a serious discussion.The ring exchange….Sarah is just glowing.The church was gorgeous and bright.  That’s Jen’s shot of The Kiss on the right. So sweet.
A funny little moment right after the ceremony and just before the receiving line. I love Chris’s expression.We did a few portraits outside of the church on the cute streets of Havre de Grace.  The two shots below were taken a few seconds apart and none of us had to move other than my squatting down and switching to my camera with the wide lens.
There is a really cool barn at Bulle Rock that these two definitely wanted some photos next to.  Thanks to Jen for speeding the four of us there on a golf cart. That’s Jen’s shot on the right with the sun flare…one of my favorites.Details!  The LOVE sculpture is a tribute to Philly where the happy couple have a history and a future.The dance floor was packed all night thanks to a fun crowd and Jeff from Premier Mobile DJ spinning the tunes.

Congrats Sarah and Chris!

Casey and Bryan had an amazing wedding last weekend on a gorgeous summer day in Baltimore and I had the honor of photographing it. I had such a hard time narrowing down my favorites for this blog post!  Thanks to the super-talented Teri Pozniak for shooting with me.

Casey got ready at the Peabody Court Hotel with her family and friends. Here is a shot of Laura Vaeth applying the finishing touches:Casey’s mom carefully tying a perfect bow:Isn’t Casey stunning??Casey’s Kate Spade glittery peep toe pumps were so fabulous that I’m giving them their own little collage!Here is Casey with her girls looking sassy in Mount Vernon Square.Teri got to hang with the boys as they tried to chill out despite the heat!  Bryan and Casey had a very sweet first look before we started the portraits. I love when couples do this because it lets everyone relax after the ceremony instead of running around like crazy people trying to squeeze in some photos.
This is one of Teri’s shots….love it!Such a sweeeet couple!Their ceremony was held at Old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church just a few blocks away from Mount Vernon Square.Here is a gorgeous wide shot from Teri…The new Mr and Mrs!Lovely pink and green details at the Engineer’s Club reception:This is one of Teri’s shots on the left of the mother-son dance, and one fun one I caught of Casey dancing. I love the swirl of her dress…Father-Daughter!They cut a little cake for pictures, but the cupcakes were the main attraction.Hmmm….decisions, decisions….And lastly, a quiet silhouette to end the day….

I was so excited to photograph Amy and Steve’s wedding in Baltimore as soon as I met them. They’re just one of those couple that seem like a perfect match. Amy told me that they are “best friends in love.”  *sigh*  They had an intimate ceremony at their home with just immediate family followed by an Indian dinner at The Ambassador Dining Room.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from their perfect evening.

The stunning bride….

Amy and Steve’s baby, Abby, in her fancy dress from Anthropologie (who knew?).Both Amy and Steve were giddy-excited for their “first look” down in Fell’s Point. Thanks to Teri Pozniak for capturing a different point of view during their first look and portraits. That’s Teri’s shot on the left….gotta love Amy’s expression as Steve ran to embrace her.  One of my faves below. It’s so Baltimore. So love. Sassy….Off to the ceremony!  For my photo friends, the inside of the car was cave-like even with the front door open, so I threw (okay, very quickly placed) my speedlight on the center console up front.  I already had it wired with a pocketwizard, attached to the little stand that comes with the flash and a mini-softbox on it.The short and very sweet ceremony had a few laughs, too.  Doggy Abby wandered in at one point and was hanging out on Amy’s dress train.

Lots of cute nieces and nephews!A quiet conversation with Grandma:Despite a long table of family at the Ambassador, Amy and Steve often seemed to be in their own happy bubble. Here’s a peek at them I took using a mirror on the wall.Yummy cake with smooth buttercream frosting…

Congrats to the happy couple!

Okay, I’m a bit delayed posting this one but I’m sure you’ll forgive me. I shot Heather and Bobby’s fabulous wedding in October with Jenn of Jenn Link Photography. Their ceremony and reception were at Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, VA.

I hung out with Bobby and his attendants and family before the ceremony.  That is his sister’s bouquet on the left…she was the “best woman” and that’s his mom on the right helping Bobby with his boutonnière.

The weather was perfect for their courtyard ceremony.  Heather looked so excited going down the aisle with her parents.
Here are some of the sweet details…origami cranes and a cute hippo cake-topper.My favorite…their big entrance to the reception.The parents of the happy couple were so adorable and emotional during Heather and Bobby’s first dance.Emotions were rising during the toasts….Heather and her dad gettin’ down…

Congrats to the happy couple!

I love to occasionally share a wedding from my pre-blog days. What better time to share a summer wedding than on a snowy day? This one goes back to September 2006 and I still remember it well.  I especially remember how I locked my keys in my car along with ALL my equipment shortly after arriving at The Oaks in St. Michael’s.  Ahhh, the memories!  Megan wasn’t aware of my snafu (though she’ll know now!) as I still arrived for the getting-ready photos right on time thanks to a wonderful auto service company who rapidly came to my rescue.  I’m always early to weddings as being late is not an option in my book. See, it’s good to have some extra time padded on!

Anyway, enough about my shenanigans. Megan & Aaron had the most beautiful wedding and they just recently welcomed their first baby into the world. Here are some of my favorite photos from their big day.
This following image is weird, I know.  I like it though, of course.  She spotted me!After the ceremony at St. Luke’s Methodist Church, the newly married couple and all their attendants rode on a boat back to the Oaks.Aaron and his nephew….so cute.Lots of laughs during a slideshow:The band, 80′z Enuff, rocked it out until late in the night.Keep warm, everyone!

As I mentioned at the end of my last post, I participated in a couple shooting workshops while in New Orleans. Basically, this was an opportunity to learn how other photographers “do their thing”, take photos of models, and see more of the city.

This first one was led by Kurt Gerber, of Chicago-based Gerber + Scarpelli Weddings. The theme was “60 Looks in 60 Minutes” and focused on getting creative with posing, composition, locations, and light. This is a real couple who were recently married in New Orleans. They are cute and edgy and complete naturals in front of the camera. Kurt did all the posing and directing and our swarm of photographers (about 15 of us) shot them from every angle and tried not to trip over each other!The shot below is one of my favorites because it’s more “my own.”  I was the only one on this side of the band…you can see some of the other shooters opposite me. Now, this next workshop has quite a different look. This was all about night shooting and was led by two husband-wife teams from Nashville: Sean and Melanie McLellan and Whitney & Peter Carlson. Here’s a shot I grabbed of Peter during one of our stops on the streets of the French Quarter.
Sean and Melanie focused on using lights already in the environment like the spotlights over the couple below, as well as small video lights which give off a constant light (like a flashlight) rather than a strobe/flash. See how the “groom” (in quotes because this is not a real couple) is lit from the left?  That is the video light.

Whitney and Peter work more with off-camera flash. There is a light on a stand with an umbrella right around the corner illuminating the “bride”. I like how Whitney set this up to show so much depth.This is another video light shot that I think is funny. Check out the shadow on the right side….is it a ghost or someone holding one of the lights?

I can’t wait to hear where PartnerCon will be held next year because I certainly hope to be there!