D+J | Wedding

I would be remiss if I didn't start by saying that I was not the primary photographer for this wedding. The fantastic, Brittany Thomas let me come shoot with her on the most perfect day in May. 

Being that I'm in the process for planning my own wedding, what this bride did 5 days before the wedding had me floored. The original venue was to be in the heart of downtown Baltimore. The couple made a big decision to move the wedding outside of the city secondary to the rioting and the imposed curfew that had been currently going on. So wow. But D+J knew that the day wasn't about their venue, but that they were getting married. 

So the new venue. Guys. Wow. They got married at The Winery at Elk Manor. There are no words. The ladies got ready in the sweetest blue cottage that overlooked the water. The men got ready in a lighthouse. A LIGHTHOUSE. Everyone smiled. And laughed. I didn't once notice anyone being nervous. They were ready for this. 

The bride wore a custom, blush, 2-piece dress that twirled and twirled and twirled. Any time someone came up, she very happily demonstrated the twirling capabilities of her dress! 

And then there was the cake. Oh this cake and its cat cake topper. Being a cat lady myself, this cake spoke to me. I even got the name of the Etsy shop where it came from (in case I can persuade my own man to let me put it on our cake) because I loved it that much. 

There were so many wonderful moments, I can't begin to cover them all. And I've already written far too much. Enjoy! 

A+M | Portrait Session

Do you see the family resemblance? All my siblings and I look very much alike (so much so that if you haven't seen us in years, you still know we must be related-strong genes I suppose).  Abby was on the blog a few weeks ago, and now it's Amanda's turn. Abby and Amanda used to be asked all the time if they were twins (close in age, and those strong family genes) but now I really think it's Amanda and I who look most alike. (We all are mismatched-I have dark hair and skin coloring like Abby, but facial features similar to Amanda. Abby and Mike have similar facial features but Amanda and Mike are the same coloring) 
OKAY-THAT WAS WAY TOO LONG WINDED. I got sidetracked. I write like I speak (my English teachers in school used to hate that, not formal enough) I DIGRESS AGAIN. 

SO. With much less explaining, Amanda and her sweetie are on the blog this beautiful summer morning! We took pictures at The Shrine of St. Anthony. The grounds of this Friary are beautiful. (So much so that we had hoped to have our wedding ceremony here, but alas they don't do weddings. Womp). It's easy to see why they wanted their pictures there. 
Fun was had by all. And the pictures, well I think you can tell these two are each other's lobster (Friends, anyone??). Also-the last picture showcases their personalities quite well. Mike just scooped Amanda up and I started snapping away. Not exactly art, but it was totally them. 

Bryce's Birthday | Personal

Happy Birthday to the one whom I chose to do life with. 

As you wrote on my birthday card, for the first birthday we celebrated together, "You are half way to 40!" Well my eloquently spoken love, you are 3 years from  30! 
You must have noticed when you opened your present (sheets, because even though we have 3  sets, you really wanted the extra soft ones we saw at Target), that there was no card. This is your card. 

Adventure. 

This word seems to make a occurrence quite frequently in the 5.5 years we have been together. Before we started dating, I knew, life with you would never be boring. It would be an adventure. We have since gone on countless adventures (to Wegmans on a Sunday morning-which might be the scariest of them all, to hikes up a 14'er in Colorado at which I cried when we got to the top-I swear it was just the lack of oxygen playing with my emotions, or the time in Yosemite when you asked me if I wanted to hike down the way we came or go another way, to which I replied, "Well does it keep going up, or does it come down?" You know how that went. OH and what about the Precipice hike in Acadia. I will say no more. You know what you did.)  

These BIG adventures are just a part of our daily adventures (Especially Wegmans.) When you proposed to me, one of the things you said, was that you wanted to go on adventures together, always. All our adventures start the same way, me waking up next to you (and usually grumbling for some coffee) and typically me asking what the weather will be so I can dress accordingly (also me usually refusing to wear my hiking boots if we are hiking, in favor of athletic shoes).  We gather up our cameras, maps (who am I kidding, you type some address into Google Maps and I'm supposed to navigate but I NEVER do-sorry about that) and off we go. 

"Oh darling, let's be adventurers." 

This quote has had a special place my heart, because I feel like it relates to us so well. 

You have made me an adventurer. Both by being in a relationship with you, and by dragging, I mean hiking with me up mountains. I love it all. Even when I don't (and by don't meaning I'm wildly throwing clothes out of my bag in the middle of the San Fran airport, rushing to make my bag 50 lbs, cursing you for having to bring so much gear, or when I have been duped into the most recent hike, that's "so not a big hike at all").

I love doing life with you, the whole damn adventure of it all. I love that your heart yearns for something bigger, something wilder, something mildly chaotic and most definitely exciting (and something that ideally contains doughnuts, because doughnuts.) 

Happy birthday to my always adventurous boy. May this year be full of adventures. 

Rachelle + Jaryd | Engagement Shoot

This is a session I've been waiting along time for! When Rachelle reached out to me about engagement photos she said they really wanted to have them while it was snowing! How fun! Of course as much as I wish I could, I can't control the weather. We have been watching the weather closely for 2 months now, and finally it snowed on the weekend during the day when we were all free! It was perfect! These images will make you want to snuggle up with your significant other (or cat) and have a cup of hot chocolate. I wore three layers of pants and 2 pairs of socks plus my yellow duck boots. To say I was ready for this shoot would be an understatement!