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I’ve been known to ask for five more minutes many times in my life.  On the playground when I was little?  Maaaa-oooommmm, five more minutes!  On the dance floor?  Just five more minutes!  So, obvi you would think a wedding day would be no different.  Well, to be totally honest it was.  In the beginning I was afraid to ask for the time I needed.  I just went along with the day and grabbed what I could when I could.  And unfortunately, I found that I was disappointed with my results.  Why don’t people understand?  And then, over the last five years I learned something very important.  One, that couples just don’t know how much time you need to take the beautiful creative portraits that they hired you for.  And two, it is our job to educate them; I normally suggest no less than forty-five minutes for bride and groom portraits.

So, over the weekend after Amanda and Sonny’s gorgeous wedding ceremony at Historic London Town and Gardens, we continued over to a beautiful spot to shoot their family formal photographs.  They had originally decided to forgo the first look but changed their minds last minute and decided on indeed going with a first look, so all of our portraits were completed at this point.  We finished up with the family photographs about ten minutes early, and as I looked through my lens the sun was sparkling through the leaves as it was setting behind the trees.  As their families began to walk away, I debated for a second and I just had to because I knew if I didn’t I would regret it.  I walked up to Amanda and was all sooooooo, I know we finished with portraits, but the sunlight is absolutely beautiful right here, is there any chance you could give me five more minutes?  And she looked at me, and said, ok we can do that.

And just because I asked, they gave me the most amazing extra five minutes from the day.  Can’t wait to share the rest of these with you!

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She greeted them at the door, beaming with a smile and after taking in just how beautiful Stephanie looked, Darrell’s mom realized something was different.  She told Stephanie that never in her life had she ever seen a bride so calm and collected the morning of their wedding.  Stephanie smiled and just said that it was all Darrell.  Even with the threat of rain looming in the forecast Stephanie said Darrell brings a calm to her and she just couldn’t wait to see him.  She finished getting ready, made her way to the church, and started walking down the aisle escorted by both of her parents.  And there he was, at the end of the aisle waiting for her, trying to hold it together, lip quivering as he lifted his hand to wipe the tear streaming down his face, at the sight of his stunningly beautiful bride.

Stephanie and Darrell were married at The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland.  I’ve never met a couple with so much passion and joy for life and for each other.  They are two of the nicest and most sincere people with the biggest hearts you will ever meet, and it was such an honor to be able to photograph their wedding and document their love.  Hope you guys are enjoying Barbados!!

Stephanie’s pink heels were the perfect way to start the wedding day.

Pink peonies in a bridal bouquet are always stunning.

Stephanie looked so gorgeous!  And HOLY BLUE EYES, they are the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.

I loved all of the pink wedding details.

Love this moment.

Since the church was so pretty we started off their portraits at the church just in case the sky opened up and started to rain on us.  How adorable are they?!

Then we made our way over to the Evergreen Museum to finish up the rest of their wedding portraits and their wedding reception before the storms moved in.

Girl, I mean, seriously.  Stunning.

Darrell.  Looking mighty finnne!

Ya’ll are just perfect.

Stephanie and Darrell are so easy to photograph because they just love on each other all the time and make my job super easy.

This amazingness might be my favorite from the day.

Thankfully we finished up with their wedding portraits just in time before the storms moved in.  Though the Evergreen Museum is absolutely stunning,  I’m not gonna lie, that sky looks angry.

And inside they literally danced the entire night away.  Such an amazing party and night.

As if the first wedding of the season doesn’t bring enough wedding day jitters then the forecast has to go ahead and predict oh I don’t know NINETY PERCENT CHANCE OF VIOLENT STORMS.  Megan, seriously, it’s not supposed to storm until after your bride and groom portraits.  DUDE HOW DO YOU KNOW?!  Portraits are at 3:45.  Storm’s at 4.  This can’t be good.  You’ll be fine, it’s not supposed to storm until later.  Besides I’m just your mom, part-time assistant, bag carrier, do-girl, and if I’m wrong, just fire me!  OH I’LL FIRE YOU, ALRIGHT.

Thankfully I had a backup plan, and a backup-backup plan to my backup plan.  And guess what, I didn’t need either.  Moms, she’s always mostly right.

Can’t wait to share with you Stephanie and Darrell’s beautiful wedding from the Evergreen Museum in Baltimore Maryland!

It was an usually warm day for being the last day of the year.  The sky was cloudy and mysterious, but things were just getting started at the Tidewater Inn, that day.  It was New Years Eve, and Megan and Mark’s wedding day, seemingly the best day of the year for a celebration.  Megan made her way down the aisle with her father, and Mark couldn’t take his eyes off of her.  They both laughed with nervous excitement as they stood in The Crystal Room surrounded by their friends and family.  They sat down to listen to the ceremony and still, and even though Megan was sitting right next to him, Mark couldn’t take his loving eyes off of her and kept leaning in to whisper in her ear.  They vowed to support each other and continue this beautiful love, forever.

The Tidewater Inn, in Easton, Maryland, was a perfect venue for their beautiful New Years Eve wedding.

Megan couldn’t have picked a more perfect wedding dress.  Her Paloma Blanca dress looked stunning on her.

I fell in love with Megan’s bouquet immediately, the purple blooms were so beautiful.

Mark’s nieces were the flower girls, and if you could have heard their adorable little English accents you would have wanted to pack them up and take them home with you, just like myself.

Here’s Megan, her mother, oh yes, and then there is her matron of honor, Meghan.  Triple threat, Megans that day.  Whoop!  Whoop!

Gorgeous, Megan, you looked elegant and absolutely gorgeous.

We literally only had a few minutes of time for portraits, but Megan and Mark smiled and laughed the whole time.

Mark looked quite handsome that day.  Cheerio!  What?  That’s my best English accent, CUT ME SOME SLACK.

The Tidewater Inn looked so beautiful all decked out for the celebration.

Purple and sparkle, everywhere!

After a touching first dance, the party got started.  And let me tell you, it was one hell of a New Years Eve party.  I may have secretly danced a little.

It was certainly a wonderful way to close out and start a new year, all in the same night!

Megan and Mark had one heck of a wedding, and I can’t wait to share with you all of the beautiful details!  Coming soon!

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