the blog

We met Courtney and Ryan at her sister’s wedding reception and then ran into them at a Bridal Show at the venue her sister got married at. It was so special with Courtney asked us to be their wedding photographers, secretly because I get to be with her awesome family all over again.

We woke up on Sunday and looked at the weather once more. Rain was a definite. But we had a smile on our face because we know, Ashley and Will were the perfect couple for a rainy day wedding. Upon arriving at the AirBnB where the girls were getting ready, I walked into a house. I heard Laughing coming from the second floor, so I knew, it was going to be an awesome day.

Out of all our rainy day weddings this year, Ashley and Will dominated their day. Their attitudes were incredible. They wanted gorgeous pictures to the point that her expensive shoes were left indoor, umbrellas were grabbed and flipflops on and out the door she went at the venue for her first look, her portraits, and her wedding party pictures.

In July we were part of the 4th of July parade in Catonsville. We did a giveaway and got to spend time with one of the winning couples, an amazing and power duo, Frank and Erin. These guys have such a cool story. They are best friends, and Frank owns a gym in Catonsville called Frank’s fitness. Spending time was so cool as I got to learn about body building, fitness, and competitions, a world I don’t know or have ever been a part of. These guys had so much fun, and it’s obvious that they have a blast together!

Megan and Seth hands down get the award for best more improvised and classy first dance, oh and a rocking bubble send off too.

The morning started at the 4 seasons hotel while the guys got dressed at their home in downtown Baltimore. Megan read a love letter from Seth that made her cry and us too without even knowing the contents of the letter.

If you’re here it probably means you saw our post on Instagram and Facebook. If you didn’t but stumbled upon our site, let me share a little bit about our story and why this post exists. 

On Sept 7 I left a card for Patrick on his night stand to share with him our awesome news. We were pregnant with our second child. We hugged and rolled around in our bed with excitement. He kissed me a few times and we were like, awesome, let’s not tell anyone just yet! But in just 3.5 days, our joy turned to fear, sadness and mourning as I started experiencing every symptom of miscarriage. I even shot an entire wedding on the worst day of the miscarriage, smiling in front of our couple and their guests while my heart grieved and even physically my body ached.

OMG>>>>> This is like the post of the year! So first off…. this is probably one of those posts that I get really really excited about posting, but I’d like to set up this story, because it’s awesome.

I’ve known Aubrie for like 8 or 10 years… something insane. We met through church and we have been great friends with her parents for years. When Aubrie got engaged I was like a giddy little girl… probably because Aubrie is like a little sister to me. She was in my wedding party 5 years ago. To be shooting her wedding is so so special to us.

When we met Robyn and Robert and they told us they were getting married on a glacier in Alaska I knew they were a perfect fit for us. Instead of the big huge ballroom wedding they opted for a backyard reception, with minimal decor as they just wanted it to be a reunion and meet and greet as newlyweds.

I get this inquiry from this girl named Kari basically sharing with us that he brothers know Patrick from Calvert Hall and she’s a wedding planner and has wanted to hire us from the first time she found us. When you get that kind of inquiry you know it’s gonna be a fun wedding. Mutual friends, someone who already understands this crazy wedding industry and who loves our work.

When we met Kari and Tom, we realized that we were in for a real treat. These guys are like forever friends, the kind that come over to your house just to hang out. We actually got to know Tom a lot more than most our grooms because of online gaming. He’s even friends with my brothers now which is hilarious.

I’m going to kick off saying that I’m really proud of myself. I’m not proud that I made beautiful set with a desk and a chair, but that I actually completed a project right before the start of our 2018 Fall wedding season. 

This time last year we broke ground on our new house. We thought we were crazy. We decided to sign our name to a house where Patrick’s parents live, take over the mortgage and claim a place that would be “home” to us for years to come. When we were designing what it would look like, inside and out, what color the living room and bathrooms would be, what fixtures would hang from the ceiling, I knew I wanted to really nice and inviting space. A place where family and friends are always welcome and strangers would walk through and feel a sense of belonging in a home away from home. But also a place to share where we’ve been and where we are going.

About a year ago, Patrick’s dad, Bunk, pulled a desk out of storage. It was a mess. It needed serious love. It has broken drawers and the middle one actually was broken and Patrick and Bunk decided to fix it. I always thought we should do something with it, I just didn’t know what. The desk belonged to Bunks Dad, Daddy D they called him. Patrick’s grandfather.

Then about a month ago, it came to me. I’ve lived overseas, I love to travel, and I’ve been to 9 nations. I got a fortune cookie in high school that said “Your Feet will cover the soil of many nations.” I totally believe it was prophetic and the Lord speaking something into my heart that I didn’t even know. 

So fast forward to last week. I was feeling down, stale, unmotivated. We are in the start of the fall wedding season with 18 weddings left before New Years and I didn’t want to go into it feeling the way I was, so I literally told Patrick, “I need to do something else creative.” I needed another outlet for this creative girl to get inspired, to find joy again, to renew passion and the things I loved. Then it hit me. Patrick was in the basement moving stuff around and I asked him to leave the desk out. I knew I wanted to fix it, restore this 60 year old family heirloom. Bunk gave it to us and gave me the freedom to do with it whatever I’d like. So I took it and ran.