the blog

We’ve never had a bride love her rainy day wedding as much as Tiffany did. And when we say rain, we Lena like down pour. At our final meeting with Tiffany, like most our brides, she said “I totally want rain picture.” Some don’t know what that actually entails until it actually happens. Rain in unavoidable but beautiful rain pictures are for the brave and free.

Let’s just say, William and Tiffany dominated their rain pictures. Like I mean danced in the rain at the end of the night, rung out her dress mid photos, and loved that her bouquet had rain drops all over it.

This wedding was so sweet and unique. William is Jewish and Tiffany is Chinese. Together they created a beautiful wedding woven with Chinese culture including a tea ceremony with their elders and gold flaked red gift envelopes, to a Chuppah and Ketubah signing honoring Jewish law. These guys even had an outfit change to honor both.

It downpoured under the tent during ceremony while friends read readings and the challah bread was broken. It kept raining while folks danced under the rain covered white tent. Sweet toasts were shared and tears resulted as parents and wedding party shared memories and secret admiration of the bride and groom.

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.

They held hands laughing as they walking through the gardens under umbrellas in between sun and rainfall. Their bridesmaids were prepared with rain boots and smiles. Kevin and Ashley are sentimental and intentional. Kevin’s gift to his bride: a time capsule full of letters for the present and future. Ashley’s gift to Kevin: a love letter, a toast for he and his groomsmen, and a star map of their love story. One of our favorite details was a surprise gift Ashley gave to her mom, an illustration of the two of them on her wedding day. These are just a few of those details that were woven into the day.

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.

YAH! So Genevieve and Alex kicked off our 2018 Spring Wedding Season with a GORGEOUS wedding at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club!! We have been looking forward to this wedding for months, probably because 1) They were the first of the Spring season, 2) our bride is our WeddingWire sales rep (which is awesome!) and 3) because we knew it would be a wedding packed full of details, details, details!

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. 

When we show up to a meeting and the bride has already decided she’s going to hire you because she loves your work, AND her fiancé said, “They snowboard and have the same vehicles? Hire them.” You gotta love it. 

These guys are old souls and deep lovers. Meet Katt and Nick. Their love for music, antiques, people, and special touches, these guys honestly rocked their DIY rustic wedding. Katt literally made every single thing that was part of her wedding day. From their canned jam favors, to the centerpieces, and even incorporating antiques like an old bike and gramophone, and choosing to have eco flowers as a way to preserve the flowers, everything had meaning. Their first look was pretty awesome. We loved that they shared a moment together praying. Katt gave Nick a journal of letters that she wrote from day one of being engaged to their wedding day. Pretty incredible. Nick wore a custom Christopher Schaffer suit, which we totally digged!!

The word “darling” comes to mind when I think of Melissa and Tom. They are sweet souls, gentle, and full of kindness. When these two lovebirds asked us to be their wedding photographers, we knew we would have so much fun and really enjoy their wedding day. 

The spent their wedding day at the historic Gramercy Mansion. It’s a relic on its own. Their vast gardens are full of blooms that make any white gown pop. Melissa and Tom shared a super sweet first look in the front of the mansion, and they said I do on a brick portico, even one brick is etched with their name. Their sweet kisses and smiles filled the night, and you could just tell how excited Tom was to hold the hand of his newlywed wife. 

I’ll never forget this sweet couple of ours. I walked into Starbucks, ready for a normal meeting, and I see this non-millennial couple sitting on the couches, signing and smiling to each other. I smiled, got a table and waited. Little did I know that this same couple was a bride and groom to be waiting for me. We locked eyes, communicated who we were, and with that, sat at the table. That day I was challenged to not talk, but to show and share, and using technology get to know a couple that would soon become a Radiant Bride + Groom.