Snowy Upstate New York Cabin Engagement Photo Session

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  4th April 2013

Before we even started this snowy upstate New York cabin engagement photo session, Tom promised us this was going to be the most fun we have ever had. To be honest, I had no doubt; we were in for a treat!

Tom & Laura and Ryan & I actually go “way back” to my first year at Bucknell. Tom and I lived on the same hall and Laura was on the next hall over. Within just a few hours of being on campus, we all pretty much were inseparable! For the longest time, we knew Tom and Laura had a “thing” going on, but it wasn’t until the start of the second semester that it “secretly” became the real deal. ;) They did a pretty good job of hiding it for awhile! In fact, fast-forward 9 years and I just found out last week that they “almost” shared their first kiss in my backyard! ;)

Spending the weekend with Tom and Laura at Laura’s family’s cabin in upstate NY for their engagement session took us right back to the days of hanging out in Smith 2C & 2D. We reminisced about the good ole’ days, but in the strangest ways we felt like we were right back in our dorm rooms having the time of our lives! Between the snowball fight, the grocery store run (buying way too much food- typical for us), and building a fire in the CRAZY cold, we laughed until our cheeks hurt! ;)

Tom and Laura… this was, in fact, SO MUCH FUN! We had a blast celebrating your love and capturing your AMAZINGly FUN relationship! We love you guys and are so incredibly honored and excited to be a part of your wedding! Thank you for introducing us to mountain pies and taking us right back to those days on 2C & 2D and loving every minute of it!

Rustic Pennsylvania Engagement Session | Kellie and Matt

Engagement, Love, Stories Documented  //  28th March 2013

Even though we grew up in the area, we never imagined how beautiful this rustic Pennsylvania engagement session would be! Yes, the creek, snow covered woods, frozen pond, random wood piles and everything about the environment made this session remarkable… but it definitely was the beauty of Kellie and Matt’s love that made the session unforgettable!

We have known both Kellie and Matt for quite some time. We all grew up in the same small town and got to know each other through different avenues of life! (For example, Ryan worked with Matt during high school and was in many of the same school classes as Kellie… starting all the way back in 2nd grade!) When we received an email from Kellie sharing her excitement that she and Matt were planning their wedding, we could not have been more excited! We couldn’t wait to hear more about their love story and how this beautiful world brought them together!

Although we knew both Kellie and Matt growing up… it wasn’t until after graduation that Kellie and Matt got to know each other! In fact, it took a blind call from Matt to Kellie to start their relationship off! Matt’s cousin was looking out for him and suggested that he give Kellie a call! After just a few dates, they knew they had something special!

When Kellie and Matt are together, their love radiates from their smiles! We loved spending some time with them at a local hunt club in Pennsylvania over the weekend! It was such a beautiful and peaceful setting… the perfect place for Kellie and Matt to escape the busyness of their lives and soak each other in!

Kellie and Matt… thank you for sharing such a beautiful day with us! Your peaceful love and happiness radiates and is a joy to be around! We are so excited for your wedding and so grateful this beautiful world brought you two together!

 

 

Santa Barbara California Estate Photography Shoot with Mike Larson

Stories Documented, Wedding  //  7th March 2013

Last week while we were out in Santa Barbara for the Showit United conference, I went to a photography workshop with Mike Larson.  The weather has been particularly cold and gloomy lately back in Baltimore, so it was great to get outside and shoot a little bit somewhere warm and sunny.  Plus the workshop was at an AMAZING private estate just before sunset.  Suzy and Lukas VanDyke, another (SUPER FUN) photography couple we had the pleasure of meeting earlier this year in LA, were the most adorable couple and the perfect models.  Below are a few of my favorite photos from the workshop. Enjoy!

This was the first workshop given by Mike Larson that either of us had attended.  Mike specializes in vineyard and private estate photography.  His approach to a wedding is slightly different than ours, so it was really good to get a different perspective and to hear how he interacts with his couples while photographing them. Thanks for sharing so openly with everyone, Mike!

Tomorrow we will share a more in depth wrap up of our trip to Santa Barbara and the United 2013 Conference. Have an AMAZING Thursday!

 

Washington DC Proposal | Proposal Photographer

Love, Stories Documented  //  21st February 2013

When Kevin contacted us last year about surprising his girlfriend, Jennifer, by asking us to be his proposal photographer when he proposed at the Jefferson Memorial, we literally jumped up and down. Seriously… picture Ryan checking the emails and saying, “That is so fun.” And then I say, “What, What is so fun?” And then I literally run over to Ryan and both of us hover around the computer reading Kevin’s email with a whole lot of excitement to follow!

Having a guy contact us about surprising his soon to be fiancé is magical to us! But having him ask us to be a part of it is even that much more magical! Not to mention, Kevin shared with us that Jennifer was a blog reader and the Maid of Honor in Allison and Tom’s wedding from a year and half ago! Ohh my goodness- yes we were super super pumped!

Photographing a proposal is always a little tricky… as much as we plan ahead of time, we are always a bit nervous. What if the timing doesn’t work out the way we had planned and we actually miss it because they arrived earlier than planned? Or what if the taxi driver knows a different entrance and drops them off there? Or what if the sun sets early?!? Haha! I know that’s not really possible. But if these are the thoughts going through my mind, I can only imagine the thoughts that were going through Kevin’s.

Kevin handled EVERYTHING so calmly and with so much joy! His “story” was that they were going to be attending an event at the Memorial. When they arrived to the Memorial and did not see the friends they were supposed to be meeting or any other sign of an event, Jennifer definitely had the look of concern on her face. But Kevin, without skipping a beat, just kept right on going. They made their way to the top of the stairs and Kevin got down on one knee. The rest of this amazing story can be seen in the photos! Words are hard to describe the pure joy, happiness, and AMAZING love that poured from their hearts! ;)

Congratulations Jennifer and Kevin! We are so honored to have captured this AMAZING moment in your love story!

 

Weekend Wedding Photography | Only 5 wedding openings left for 2013

Stories Documented, Wedding  //  20th February 2013

Ryan and I have been chatting about our 2013 wedding photography season and getting SUPER excited because our couples are pretty much AMAZING! ;) They all exude an incredible amount of love and huge excitement about the most important thing… their marriage! We are so excited and so honored to be the ones photographing this incredible time in their lives!

Looking at our rapidly filling calendar for 2013, we have decided to only take 5 more weddings for this year! Only 5 remaining wedding openings are available for 2013! CRAZY! ;) We are feeling so blessed and truly grateful!

Over the past 4 years, we have recognized that our talents and our passions stem WAY beyond “just” documenting this special day in a couple’s lives. We recognize the beauty in all of our couple’s love stories and we see it as our responsibility to capture that joyful happiness and unconditional love as a documentation for generations to come… as well as a constant reminder to that couple of the AMAZING love that they share!

After documenting quite a few weddings ;) that have all been quite unique (local, international, ballroom, waterfront, small, huge) there has been one similarity that we have noticed that has allowed us to truly recognize the talents and passion we have to offer. When a wedding is not just a 6 hour event, but is truly a weekend long celebration that we are able to be a part of, we feel like we have the opportunity to really dive in and capture a love story beyond just the wedding day! By being present on more than just the wedding day, we are definitely more able to capture the truly authentic emotions and moments that are unique to our couples and tell their love story!

With just 5 remaining openings for 2013, we would love to fill those spots with weekend celebrations that are full of joyful happiness and unconditional love and are ready to be documented in a special way! We are looking for couples, to join the rest of our 2013 couples, who recognize the beauty in this AMAZINGly special moment in their lives and have chosen to plan their celebration in a way that maximizes their time with their family and friends while not minimizing the true reason they are all together to celebrate in the first place!

We have put together a special weekend wedding photography collection for the 5 remaining wedding openings for 2013! (Contact us for more details) If you are in need of someone to document your special celebration, or you know someone who is getting married and is looking for someone to document their love story, please pass along our information! And tell them to let us know you sent them our way! ;) We would be truly honored! (By the way… they do not have to be located in the Baltimore area. We LOVE to travel and are happy to chat about the specifics of that with the couple!)

Thank you for helping us utilize the special gifts we have been given to make the greatest impact on the lives of others! We are so grateful!

Below is an example of a weekend wedding photography love story we captured last October for Molly and Adil’s weekend celebration at the Combsberry Inn on the Eastern Shore in MD.  You can view more photos from their wedding weekend by clicking the links to follow:  The Cake, The Adarni Ceremony, The Rehearsal Festivities, The Wedding Day.