Melissa & Greg Got Hitched! | Maryland Photography

I think Melissa and Greg’s friends and families would say they FINALLY got hitched.  They’ve been together for more than a decade and decided to finally make it official at the River Road Universalist Unitarian Congregation in Bethesda.  It was wonderful to see everyone together and the super-closeness of all their friends. Melissa and Greg have been living in Singapore for Greg’s work, so they made quite a journey back for their nuptials.  I didn’t have the opportunity to meet them in person until their wedding day, but quickly became comfortable as they are such warm, genuine people. 

I loved Melissa’s hair style…done, but not overdone.

This is when they first saw each other all decked out in their wedding attire:

The bridesmaids were just instructed to wear “jewel tones”.  Their dresses are all different, but still look united and gorgeous.

We lucked out with the weather. A rainy day was predicted, but instead we had sunshine.

Is she the sweetest little thing or what?  Her assigned role in the wedding wasn’t technically “flower girl”.  Her job was just to be “cute” and she nailed it.

They held the ceremony and reception in this nice, open space.  You can see the tables for dinner over to the right and they moved the chairs for the dance floor after the ceremony.

Love their faces here!

No shortage of cute kids at this wedding!

The Hora! Greg is Jewish so they had the best of both worlds during the ceremony and on the dance floor.

How nice to be able to stand on a balcony and shoot down at the cake.  Cool perspective:

Where’s Waldo?

Melissa got to snuggle with this little baby while Greg had about 6 kids climbing on his back.

I caught this little man making goofy faces during one of the toasts.  Silly guy:

Finally, the cutting of the cake.  For my photo geek friends:  I had my second flash behind them on a light stand to create the rim light that so nicely separates them from the background.  Yep, I’m a geek too.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Anna & Dan Are Married! | Baltimore Wedding

After much, much planning and re-planning, Anna and Dan were married at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.  They were looking forward to a destination wedding in Mexico, but the Swine Flu outbreak caused them to do a quick switcheroo back to B’more.  Their ceremony and reception at the AVAM was filled with tons of friends and family and fun, so it must have been meant to happen there. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the day.

Anna getting her stunning dress on with an excited smile:

Anna and Dan’s first look at each other before portraits and the ceremony:

Here is a view of Anna courtesy of my super 2nd shooter, Lutecia Lopes:

I had to lay down on the floor to get this shot and it was totally worth it!

I loved the glow around them during the ceremony: 

Check out Anna’s sweet expression during the veiling ceremony outside. I shot from the 3rd floor balcony as the area around them was so packed with people. 

The wedding party was wearing these fabulous bright colors that were originally intended for the Mexican beach wedding, but they fit right in at the eclectic AVAM.

It can be so interesting to compare my shots against my second shooter’s.  Here is an example of us catching the exact same moment just a little differently.

Mine:

Lu shot with her long lens from a distance.  It’s okay…you can like hers better and not hurt my feelings.  I think I like it better, too!  = )

Anna carried this single large flower, which I thought was so elegant:

Anna’s gorgeous blue eyes really stand out against this mosaic wall:

Someone finally got Dan’s cute little niece to smile!

Here is one of Anna’s sisters dancing with Dan’s grandfather….so cute:

Congrats Anna & Dan!!!

Nicholas is one! | Maryland Baby Portraits

Remember little Nicholas?  Check out this post to see the two previous versions of the first photo below when he was a newborn and six-months.  Nicholas just turned one and has already been walking for a couple months now.  He is on the go constantly unless he’s being snuggled by someone.  I had a great time last weekend hanging out with the little man and his family at his first birthday party.  I’ve been photographing Jen and Bob since their engagement and wedding in 2007, so it’s awesome to be able to watch their family grow.

Jen made this cake!  Impressive, huh?  It tasted yummy, too.

Nicholas and his great-grandfather see eye-to-eye:

Here is Nicholas’s cousin who is just six months older.  I love this photo of him:

Nicholas and his daddy:

Bonding time with his Grandma:

Ummmm, don’t think he quite gets it yet:

Ohhhh, sugar!  Now he gets it:

Here is Jen cleaning the icing out of his ear at bath time.  I think Nicholas was saving that for later, so was probably disappointed.

Could the little stinker be any cuter?

He’s always excited to see his mommy return, even when she just steps outside for a minute!

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Anna & Dan – almost wedding time!

Anna and Dan are getting married this weekend and I just recently shot their engagement portraits.  They are so sweet and goofy together….I just know their wedding is going to be a fabulous event!

We met up at Silo Point for their portrait session.  It was a rainy evening, but I knew there were plenty of good locations to shoot inside.

Dan and Noreen’s Slideshow!

Click here or on the image below to see a slideshow of some pics from Dan and Noreen’s wedding.  It was so hard to pick which ones to include…what a great day!

Noreen & Dan | Maryland Wedding!

Noreen and Dan had the most perfect wedding day complete with sunshine, laughing, friends, and family.  Their ceremony was held at St Columba Catholic Church in Oxon Hill, which is where I shot the wedding of their friends, Mae and Fred, last summer.  We had a nice, long break after the ceremony to take some portraits around Old Town Alexandria before heading to their reception at the new Crowne Plaza.  Thanks to Bill Black for being a fabulous 2nd shooter and also great company.  Here are a few of my fave shots….slideshow to come soon!

Getting ready at her parents’ house.  Doesn’t Noreen look gorgeous?

Cutie ring bearer keeping himself occupied before the ceremony:  

The kiss!

Newly married and they just passed under the saber arch:

Putting the rings on some wrought iron seemed appropriate in Old Town:

Noreen/Dad, Dan/New Mother-in-law:

They had a photo booth set up for the reception which everyone sure enjoyed:

Posing for a pic with friends:

Congrats Noreen and Dan!

Boordy Vineyards & Grimmel Farms Maryland Wedding

This past weekend was my first time shooting with the super-talented Kim of Kimberly Brooke Photography. I love her work and the idea of shooting a reception at Boordy Vineyards was something I definitely wanted to be a part of.  Going to Boordy’s Midsummer Concert Series on an occasional Saturday is one of my favorite things to do once summer comes.  Anyway, back to the wedding!  Jake and Kristen obviously have a lot in common as Jake’s family owns Boordy and Kristen’s family owns Grimmel Farms, where the ceremony was held.  Scattered showers were predicted, but not even a drop fell on their perfect day.

Cutie-pie flower girl checking out her in-progress hairdo:

The beautiful bride – doesn’t her hair look cool?

Kim took a lot of the formal portraits in the barn where the ceremony took place.  The light streaming in from the big open door on the side was gorgeous!

Kim had Kristen stand in this doorway for a silhouette while I hung back and got a wide shot to show off the barn:

Look at her dad’s face…he is so proud!  This is right before they walked down the aisle.

This was during the wedding party portrait time at Boordy:

The gorgeous new husband and wife:

Lots of laughs during the Best Man’s toast: 

In case you’re curious, the cake topper is a little John Deere wagon with a cow bride and groom in it.  Very cute.

I love this sweet mother and son shot:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much energy from both the girls and the guys during the bouquet and garter toss:

I got a lot of fun dancing shots, plus the lighting in the tent was fabulous. 

I think Kristen had a good time….what do you think?

Art with a Heart “pARTy” at Silo Point

Art with a Heart had its annual fundraiser party last weekend at Silo Point in Baltimore (Locust Point).  There was yummy food, great music from The Motorettes, a silent auction, and art activities that everyone could get involved in.  I was helping guests work on decorating a kid-sized table and chairs to be put in the House of Ruth shelter in Baltimore, which is a wonderful resource for battered women and children.  Art with a Heart provides art classes at the shelter in addition to tons of other locations around the city including group homes, homeless shelters, community centers, public schools, and more.

Silo Point was an amazing location for this event.  It is a new condo community and has a huge lobby and cool outdoor space, not to mention a stunning view of the harbor.  I brought my camera to just take a few pics and was wishing I had brought some other lenses with me!  No wide shots of the space, but I think you can still get a feel for the atmosphere.  Hopefully I can shoot some engagement portraits there sometime.

Here is the sign out front.  You can see part of the rustic original silo behind it:

I couldn’t decide which of the following two pics of The Motorettes lead singer to include, so here are both!

Here is the table I mentioned.  We were covering it with pieces of colored stickers which is easy to do, but still makes a dramatic statement.

Playing with my 50mm lens at 1.4.

Sweet looking cake!

There is a killer sky lounge on the 19th floor.  It has two levels and is very swanky….would be a perfect place for a smaller private event.

More sky lounge shots:

CharmCityBride.com and Baltimore Magazine!

Hey all!  Just a quick note to tell you to check out this new blog, charmcitybride.com, for an interview with yours truly.  I feel honored to be the very first vendor interview on this site that provides resources and inspiration for Baltimore weddings.  I love me some Baltimore, so I was happy to support Lauren Wenchel’s new endeavor. 

By the way, the two images featured are of Becky & Rich.  I gave Lauren several images to choose from including more recent ones, but I have to say I’m not surprised because Becky & Rich’s wedding was also chosen to appear on Baltimore Magazine’s Real Weddings online gallery last year.  There is just something contagious about the energy from them.

Screen Shot from Baltimore Magazine's Site (Click me!)

 

Screen Shot from CharmCityBride.com (Click me!)

Julian’s slideshow | Maryland Baby Photos

I’m excited to share this slideshow that covers Julian’s entire first year. I’ve been photographing him since day one and watching him grow has been amazing.  Can you believe the two images below are the same little guy?  Click here or on the photos below to view the slideshow. Enjoy!