the blog

They met on a Friday night at the bar where John works, Ropewalk Tavern in Fed Hill. They immediately hit it off and spent most of the evening together getting to know each other and dancing. They lost touch for a couple weeks only to reunite and they’ve been together since. Olivia is a horse lover, and they both have a mutual love for their dog, Slurpee, who gets the award as Maggie’s favorite dog name ever because of her love for Slurpees.

Dear Patrick and Stephanie,

We don’t even know where to start with your wedding. For one, pretty sure Stephanie you have one my favorite wedding dress to date. Taking it out of those bags to hang up had us like “WHAT?!” and all day, watching you walk, it was like “dang, what a babe. Can’t believe she’s one of our brides.”

Your demeanor, your gentleness and your gracefulness came so naturally, it’s so evident in your photos. When your girls saw you, when your dad saw you, when your mom helped you get ready, it just embodied sweetness and beauty. You guys are a classic bride and groom.

Patrick, my Patrick said the same, but way more masculine haha. What a stud. Thanks for trusting us. Your encouragement throughout the day reminds us of why we do this, why we spend hours with strangers and why we personally get to know our brides and grooms. 

We left your venue 12 hours later thinking, yep, dream client. Not because of your jimmy choo shoes, even though they are killer, and not because of the vendors you picked (they were killer too) but because you wanted us there. You wanted us to do what we do best. We had a blast, we felt empowered, we felt like we could create, try new things and really let us rock and roll. Not literally even though we love to dance haha.

When we were helping Katie and Daniel figure out a location for their engagement session, these guys had so many incredible ideas. They kept saying, we want something really unique. These guys opted for two locations which was so great, because 1) they have very different photos and feels at two locations and 2) we got to do something unique and something close to home for them.

At a bridal show last year that I did solo, a girl and her mom walk up to me and I’m like “no way!!!” It had been YEARS since I had seen Tess, as we went to Bryn Mawr around the same time and graduated high school just a couple years apart. I hadn’t seen her since then. I met Ray that night and we were so excited when they reached out again about hiring us for their wedding. We were so pumped and honored!! 

If there’s two people that just go together, it’s Chelsea and Matthew. We met these guys at a Bridal Show when Chelsea told me that her photographer bailed. Her dad, little did I know, was watching us from afar and approached me and said “we want to hire you. I’ve been watching and we love how you deal with people.” They literally booked us that night. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. I’m gonna stop for a second and say, Off Beat is exactly who these people are. They aren’t into trends, they don’t care about fame. But what they do care about is those they love, their heirlooms, their music, and of course, their mopeds.

When I think about this wedding, all I can do is smile. I drove with our Bride and Groom, Jenny and Phil after their ceremony, just moments after saying I Do, and they just said “Thank You.” I’m like, guys, the day isn’t even over and besides, you JUST GOT MARRIED! Woot Woot! This day was such a gem for us this May. We had wedding after wedding of rain, which as you all can imagine, is a wrench thrown into months and months of planning for our couples and their vendors. Things shift day of and everyone has to roll with it. Well, every couple handles it differently and these guys just rolled with it. They didn’t really care what the rain would do to the day because they decided it wasn’t about the rain, the day was about the two of them enjoying their people, their family, and mainly each other. We have proof that they had a blast at their wedding. Even their guests had a ball! But let’s back the day up.

the fact that Elliott proposed at a Lighthouse in Cape May at the beach is so incredible and sweet. It’s permanent. That place is sentimental for a number of reasons. The love addiction in us says Lighthouse = A guide, a constant, a place of hope and safety, a place that realigns direction. How awesome that their engagement started at a lighthouse. Amy and Elliot, Patrick and I honestly can’t wait for your wedding. We are excited to come alongside you in the months to come and share life with you and share that marriage isn’t always calm waters, but at times stressful and heavy seas.

Sara and Greg had a beautiful wedding at Valley Country Club in Towson on what was a gorgeous January day. Man did they luck out with the weather. It was an evening wedding with a gold and navy color palette. With their kids alongside them they said I Do under the canopy in the ballroom, where they all lit candles and brought their blended family together as one. Wait until you see their boys… what cuties and man can these little guys dance. 

Lauren and Alex were one of our last fall engagement session of 2017. They had the last of the leaves, the last of the golden lighting in the fall, and the last warm weather… well kinda haha. It actually was a really chilly day and these guys did awesome. We talked about all things wedding and life, and dogs. Lauren and Alex have 2 cute dogs… but definitely didn’t make the cut for the esession (I was sad). Anyway, we are so excited to shoot their 2018 Springfield Manor wedding… it’s gonna be beautiful out there in October!!

Talk about a cold engagement session… these guys were champs in the super super cold. We literally had Federal Hill to ourselves with Stephanie and Patrick as they rocked their session! Stephanie braved the cold with a gorgeous dress and beautiful fur wrap to both keep her warm but also to rock for fashion!